Accidentally scratching knives

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I wonder if having a non-scratched up knife looking all pretty, never been used, and safe ontop of a pedestal is a metaphor about how ones own life is being treated the same way, never gaining life experience in the process because they don't want to get all "scratched up". ;)
 
QUOTE="Shotgun, post: 17452195, member: 157673"]Tomorrow. Next to the love of my life. :D

OP; no way of using a knife without it getting scratched. It's not jewelry.[/QUOTE]

That's beautiful. What's his name? :D
 
i don't mind scratches on my keepers, in fact most of my permanent collection are "users". i only worry about scratches on knives i'm not sure i'm keeping forever, because of resale value.

kind of ironic, i scratch up knives i like, and baby knives i don't... sounds off, but i know some of you get it
 
josh yu said:
i don't mind scratches on my keepers, in fact most of my permanent collection are "users". i only worry about scratches on knives i'm not sure i'm keeping forever, because of resale value.

kind of ironic, i scratch up knives i like, and baby knives i don't... sounds off, but i know some of you get it
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That describes my sentiment exactly. I started this post when I scratched my PM2 which is a keeper - but my concern is mainly for those I don't know if I want to keep. My Feist for example is a definite keeper and has snail trials galore.
 
LadyEarth said:
I wonder if having a non-scratched up knife looking all pretty, never been used, and safe ontop of a pedestal is a metaphor about how ones own life is being treated the same way, never gaining life experience in the process because they don't want to get all "scratched up". ;)
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I carry a Rockstead that is all sorts of scratched up. That must mean I live one hell of a life:D
 
G. Scott H. said:
Tungsten carbide is very hard, the same stuff they use for drill bits made to go through hardened steel.
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which is why you wear gold, which is soft. i've heard horror stories of people having fingers amputated due to fractures/sprains. the ring cuts circulation off to due to swelling, and the doctors can't saw the ring off...
 
josh yu said:
which is why you wear gold, which is soft. i've heard horror stories of people having fingers amputated due to fractures/sprains. the ring cuts circulation off to due to swelling, and the doctors can't saw the ring off...
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I wondered about that the first time I saw they were making rings out of the stuff. What if you need to cut that sucker off for some reason? :eek::(
 
Scratches, sheath marks and stains break up the profile of a blade, which I find harder and harder to look at as time goes on.

A damaged blade, that I care about, I will have Cerakoated or refinished to a new appearance, and then I will try to leave the hard use to blades I don't like...

I view "Survival Knives" and "Fighting Knives" (most of what I own) as emergency-use items that should only have wear on the outside of the sheath from carry (or the handle on folders), never obvious wear on the blade itself... I see them a bit like beautiful fire extinguishers: Once used, even if partially, they have to be brought back to pristine, otherwise they are sub-optimal.

This is why my two most difficult fixed blade requirements to meet (aside from apex impact stability at thin angles) are: 1- no sheath marks on the blade, yet 2-not blade movement inside the sheath when the snap is shut: Usually no movement in the sheath means sheath marks, and no sheath marks means movements within the sheath...

If the blade moves within the sheath, this can mean routine carry will move the knife and rub the edge on the edge of the sheath, making the blade sub-optimal very quickly. With a dagger for instance, if you rub one edge on the draw, even on leather, it will show very obvious dulling, compared to the other edge, within as little as twenty draws... Usually a close fitting sheath makes daggers difficult to draw without rubbing one edge of the other: I found Spec Ops sheaths, with my own makeshift nylon spacers glued inside to stabilize the blades, are the best solution, owing the loose width of the plastic liner's width compared too a narrow dagger's blade. The nylon inside does not mark the steel, yet the loose shell width makes it easy to not touch anything on the draw...

For single edge knives, I find a cross-guard strap on the edge side generally better, because it keeps the knife immobile, with the blade spine pushing against the sheath, without pushing the edge against the sheath edge/spacer. Most people point out the risk of cutting the strap, but that is -to me- better than a knife that is pushed edge-wise towards the sheath side, and thus may rub its edge constantly when carried.

Blade wear from the sheath is a reason I generally prefer saber ground hollow grinds: The saber grind offers a "riding surface" that keep scratches away from the edge: The edge essentially "floats" in the sheath, and the scratches look way, way more tidy, because they are not only confined away from the edge, but the grinding on the saber grind flats can be length-wise, thus parallel to sheath scratches... In the field, any sand particle on a Full Flat Grind can rub a scratch right up into the edge, across the grind lines (which looks even worse), because the Full Flat Grind has no "guiding" saber surface to try to prevent the edge from rubbing directly on the sheath "body" (the main flats of the sheath). This scratching tendency is more severe on "swollen" convex blades, especially those with softer San Mai blade sides...

Generally, but not always, I find the notion of a hard material like Kydex for the sheath to be a cause of awful scratches, and this gets even worse with dirt sand etc... I'm more partial to a loose plastic shell with minimal soft nylon spacer/"rails" glued inside, or simply a well-designed leather sheath, with a saber grind blade acting as a "guide" to help keep the edge "floating". Full Flat Grinds tend to have untidy looking sheath marks that are hard to minimize.

Gaston
 
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Scratches and wear = a.ok

Chips and broken tips = a friggin' nightmare!

I love the look of a worn CRK handle. My small PJ 21 is starting to age nicely. The scales are smooth now to the touch on the outside. I have seen some CRKs where the edges of the scales were so worn they were polished to the point of starting to shine.

The other wear I love is coated blades as the coating wears thinner on the higher points of the blade grinds that get the most contact. Coatings on blades that flakes or chips off looks awful.
 
G Gaston444 I think you may be over thinking things somewhat. It's a safe queen, or it's not. If You use it and carry it, it won't be pristine for long.

Edit: to tag Gaston
 
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lieferung said:
Found out today while cleaning my PM2 that my tungsten wedding band has been scratching my knives, mostly on the clip. Unfortunately on the PM2 it was the blade itself! Anyone else encounter this or find a way to counter it?
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Yeah, there's a nice wear patch on my Ti Delica scales from my wedding band. I switched it to right hand carry to avoid it. One of these days I'll get around to stonewashing the scales to even it back out.
 
danbot said:
G Gaston444 I think you may be over thinking things somewhat. It's a safe queen, or it's not. If You use it and carry it, it won't be pristine for long.

Edit: to tag Gaston
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True, but carrying does not necessarily imply using, and a proper sheath should keep a knife blade in safe queen condition, even when carried...

Most sheaths actually cause very visible blade scratches without any use (See this ApostleP video):


)

Or, if they don't, then they cause dulling from loose blade movement when carrying, also without any use. I would say the majority of sheaths actually cause, or at least encourage, both kinds of damage, to one degree or another... For instance, even a correctly done Kydex sheath can easily create dull spots by direct edge contact when re-sheathing (usually near the tip).

This is why scratches can't be taken lightly: If you don't keep track of them, how do you know something did not get into the sheath and is not dulling your edge? A scratch does mean something hard is in touch with your blade...: It might now be trapped between the kydex halves, rubbing your edge apex the whole way...

Gaston
 
Gaston444 said:
True, but carrying does not necessarily imply using, and a proper sheath should keep a knife blade in safe queen condition, even when carried...

Most sheaths actually cause very visible blade scratches without any use (See this ApostleP video):


)

Or, if they don't, then they cause dulling from loose blade movement when carrying, also without any use. I would say the majority of sheaths actually cause, or at least encourage, both kinds of damage, to one degree or another... For instance, even a correctly done Kydex sheath can easily create dull spots by direct edge contact when re-sheathing (usually near the tip).

This is why scratches can't be taken lightly: If you don't keep track of them, how do you know something did not get into the sheath and is not dulling your edge? A scratch does mean something hard is in touch with your blade...: It might now be trapped between the kydex halves, rubbing your edge apex the whole way...

Gaston
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Sure, but many a hunter and many a camper carry their knives in less than ideal conditions and have no complaints with the performance of their knives. For all intents and purposes, they do the job quite pleasantly!

Micro folds and all.;)
 
Hi! My knives are tools and I only have users in my “collection” :). On the top of this, I never plan to re-sell my knives so really I don’t mind scratches and wear marks and can have a peace of mind about this :p. I agree with those who say these add on “character” to the blades and, for me, these also carry some memories :). I have one comment though: I use my knives but try to not misuse or abuse them. It’s really rather rare I put visible, permanent marks on my blades. Steel is normally tougher than wood, plastic, cordages, food, etc. I normally cut through. I can say, from my own experiences, I manage 98% of the times to bring back the blades to pristine conditions after use, with a decent maintenance. I scratched badly few blades when using them to do things other than plain cutting, for example while sharpening (the Lansky diamond homes are quite nasty and the ChefChoice can be a grinder :D:p), tough cleaning (a Scotch Brite sponge can do some damages :D), when using them improperly against other metals (e.g. prying something open, scraping, etc.) or when accidentally rubbing rocks, stones, etc.
 
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