The Knife Thread

In My Humble Opinion
21

Many a heated arguement has started over the proper way to sharpen a knife, and indeed just what constitutes ‘sharp enough’, so please, take what I am about to divulge to you as strictly one man’s experience.

I am definitely not an expert when it comes to sharpening knives. In fact ::hangs head:: I am sharpener impaired. I cannot put a razor sharp edge on a knife. I know this cuts to the very quick of my identity as a man, and I feel this lack in my character as keenly as my total lack of musical talent. It is with this shameful disability in mind that I relate to you a secret:

A friend of mine had an old table saw with a little arbor attached to it, and on this arbor was mounted a hard cotton wheel. He would charge that wheel with buffing compound, and use it to sharpen his knives. Even I, incompetent though I was, was able to achieve edged perfection using this device. I believe the original purpose of this apparatus was to put a fresh edge on cabinet scrapers, as it would leave a very tiny curled edge on the blade. (One applied the blade to the wheel in the ‘away’ position rather facing the cutting edge into the wheel.) A quick touch-up on the leather strap would remove that curl and leave an edge that one literally could shave with. I have seen similar set-ups for sale in good quality woodworking stores for less that $40 - $50, IIRC. You’ll also need an arbor or grinder motor setup.

Of course, if you are competent with a stone, I can recommend the diamond dust surfaced stones. I do have a nice little diamond stone with which I can put a decent and serviceable edge on a knife, but I certainly wouldn’t want to try to shave with it.

22

That should read: *“rather than facing the cutting edge into the wheel” *

And I previewed too. sheesh.

23

Oh boy, knives! Yay! I used to spend far, far too much money on knives. I have a few pattern welded knives that could be meteoric, but I’m not entirely sure. A bunch of the iron in Indonesia comes from a huge meteor strike. (The knives in question are indonesian keris)

I’m personally fond of Spyderco knives. No one seems to have mentioned them, which makes me wonder if they’ve dropped off in quality since I stopped following the production knife scene.

I have some sort of spyderco (it’s got a 2" skeletonized blade and skeletonized plastic handle) that’s small and really, really light. It stays sharp, I can open it faster than I can open my switchblades, and it rides very nicely in a pocket. (I have some clunky combat folders that practically pull my pants off)

I’m also a fan of benchmade. I have an AFCK switchblade that’s really nice, very sharp, mean looking, and with a kick-ass spring. (Some of the switchblades are so anemic they barely open) Benchmade also made a lot of nice butterfly knives. Much fun to play with.

As far as damascus steel, if you want a good edge you’re best off getting a sandwich-constructed blade with regular steel in the middle. These tend to be a little hard to find, though. There’s also the other sort of damascus, also known as wootz, which is one of my faves. I have a David Boye damascus knife (he calls it Boye Dendritic Steel) that stays nicely sharp. I also have a few antique indopersian knives and swords made of wootz, but I try to refrain from sharpening them. :slight_smile: FYI, if you want to learn more about damascus steel, check out Dr. Hrisoulas’ excellent book “On Damascus Steel”.

BTW, I once found a Wenger SAK. It had been sitting in the gutter, and obviously been run over several times. But it still worked, and the blade still could be made razor sharp. It’s the only SAK I own, so I can’t really compare it, but especially considering its abused past it’s not half bad.

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I would feel undressed without a good-quality pocket knife. And in most cases, that’s all a person needs - not one of those huge folders that you can kill a grizzly with, or a $500 drool-drool showpiece. My main interest is in pure utility.

My favorites are two: A Vitorinox (and yes, only Vitorinox) medium size Swiss Army knife. The only real drawback is that it can be a pain to properly sharpen the stainless steeel blades. A diamond stone is an absolute must. On the other hand, the edge also lasts longer.

The other choice, and my personal favorite, is a single blade Schrade Old-Timer folder. I forget the exact model, but the blade is about 3" with a rounded end to the handle, rather than the squared off end most folders have (possibly a 134OT?). Old-Timers have a high carbon steel blade that is a little thiner than most, and it is fairly easy to put an amazingly sharp edge on them. Doesn’t last as long as stainless, but is very easy to touch up.