Accident with a Starmate

[calyth]

I was preparing dinner yesterday night, and I have to cut a bag of chicken wings open. Of course, I grab the knives that I have on me because they're a lot sharper than the kitchen knives that my parents keep. However, I did not realize that one of my most beloved knives would be damage. It had successfully cut open the bag, but not realizing that a ceramic pot was in the way, the blade struck edge first to the handle. I check the blade immediatly, which at first, it appeared fine (I didn't believe that even CPM440V would survive unscathe), but on closer inspection, the blade had a little dull spot (the edge was impacted in) right near where the logo is on the blade.
Of course, damaging one of my prized knives is a heart breaking thing, but then I attempted to do something that could potentially worse with it. I attempted to sharpen the damage out. Good thing I got some really rough benchstones, however they aren't as flat as I wish they were. I did a pretty good job, and the dented part now is barely visible, and it does have an edge on it (light doesn't reflect).
Now the question is, should I have kept my Starmate in a glass box, or should I keep using my Starmate? It's one of the CPM440V left in my collection at the moment, and I really like the steel. To be frank, I would have thought that any softer steel would have caused more damage.

 

[LAG3]

Now that you've carried, used, and sharpened it, it is "your" knife. Keep carrying it and using it. It's a great design. We all have those "oh crap" moments, but that's part of owning them. I sold all my "too nice to use" knives. Accidents happen.

Leo G.

 

[fudo]

USE THAT SUCKER!!!!!!!!!

 

[brownshoe]

It's a production knife. Use it. It has limited long term collector value even if you had kept it as a closet queen. Right now NIB sells for about 1/2 original list price in the after market.

 

[baraqyal]

Originally posted by brownshoe
It's a production knife. Use it. It has limited long term collector value even if you had kept it as a closet queen. Right now NIB sells for about 1/2 original list price in the after market.

I'm not so sure about the "limited long term collector value" part.

Try getting a NIB Q for list price. Or a NIB Terzoula C15.

As the designs get rarer and rarer, some collector or user out there might be willing to pay excessive prices to get a hold of a particular design.

On the other hand, the Starmate is still around quite a bit. It probably won't be really rare for at least 10 years. Go ahead and use it. You can always pick another one up later on if you need a collectors piece.

-- Rob

 

[Greymoor]

All of my knives are users. So far I have not bought one that I could not bring myself to use. I do know if I would either.


Use it!!

 

[calyth]

Thanks for the reassurance
I just can't get enough of how well this blade cuts!

 

[marty123]

I use mine. No real collector premium there.
And, I'm going to sort-of flat grind my Starmate soon, to make it an even better knife. I've done this with a few other knives, including my 440V Native. Maybe I'll start tonight.

 

[Jazzman]

You should do neither...you should send her to me! Seriously though, keep on using her.
Matt