Advice on Peanut or similar

M

mr_bsii

Joined
Jul 21, 2006
Messages
9
Hey all,

I'm kinda looking for a peanut-ish knife, but was wondering if there is something similar in a better blade steel than the Case CV (like D2 or similar). I know Queen has some D2 offerings, but haven't seen one of theirs that they call a peanut. Alternatively, something like a small texas toothpick would work too. Case has the sizes that I want, but if I can find the same thing in a better steel that's not a million dollars, I might go that route. If I can't find it, I'll just get a one in Case CV and sharpen daily.

Thanks in advance.

bs
 
mr_bsii said:
I'm kinda looking for a peanut-ish knife, but was wondering if there is something similar in a better blade steel than the Case CV (like D2 or similar). ... If I can't find it, I'll just get a one in Case CV and sharpen daily.
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I think you're really underestimating Case's CV.
 
You may be right. I have a trapper in CV right now, and I may have the angle a little on the thin side. I usually head back to the sharpmaker after an evening's cutting of veggies. However, it doesn't take but a minute or two to get it back to being really, really sharp. I have it at 15 deg right now, but have a tiny 40 degree micro bevel. I may need to make the micro bevel a little larger to get a little more steel behind the edge. Does that make sense?
 
mr_bsii said:
You may be right. I have a trapper in CV right now, and I may have the angle a little on the thin side. I usually head back to the sharpmaker after an evening's cutting of veggies. However, it doesn't take but a minute or two to get it back to being really, really sharp. I have it at 15 deg right now, but have a tiny 40 degree micro bevel. I may need to make the micro bevel a little larger to get a little more steel behind the edge. Does that make sense?
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mr bsii,

I hope you don't take this wrong, but a CV Case should be able to cut up enough veggies for Attila and all his Huns to have a salid bar, and not need to be resharpened. If I may ask, what kind of cutting board are you using?

Also;

I think you are trying to use a high tech tool for a low tech use. With something like CV, don't put the micro bevels on. Don't put those mirco bevels on the blade at all. Just sharpen at a resonable copy of the factory angles, and it will be fine. I know this goes against alot of what the shapening gizmo makers say, but a simple carbon steel blade is not rocket science. Just give it a reasonable angle and strop it. It really makes very little difference between 15 degrees, and 20 degrees. In fact, stop worrying over the degree at all. It should be stropped a good 3 or 4 times before it needs to be honed again. I have used a yellow peanut and a yellow soddie to break down cardboard boxes that held White Flyer clay birds, and after many boxes, just gave it a stropping on the back of my belt, and it came back fine. When it does get dull, I use a small diamond hone I keep in my wallet to touch it up free hand. Takes a few minutes.

Try just giving it a simple one bevel edge, and then a stropping, and leave it at that, and see what happens.

Plain old carbon 1095 is a widly used steel for industrial cutting tools and scrapers. It's pretty durable stuff. Mix in a bit more Vanadium and you have a pretty tough cutlery steel.
 
Thanks Jackknife.

I'll give that a shot. By the way, the cutting board is bamboo. I'm wondering if I'm commiting some kind of sharpening blunder. I've read the volumes about wire edges, etc., but I don't think that I'm getting one. I don't feel any drag on either side of the edge sliding it (trailing) on my thumbnail, and it will slice and shave paper from both sides after sharpening (and it'll shave hair). Maybe I'm rolling the edge during my cutting or something like that. Any ideas?
 
mr_bsii said:
Thanks Jackknife.

I'll give that a shot. By the way, the cutting board is bamboo. I'm wondering if I'm commiting some kind of sharpening blunder. I've read the volumes about wire edges, etc., but I don't think that I'm getting one. I don't feel any drag on either side of the edge sliding it (trailing) on my thumbnail, and it will slice and shave paper from both sides after sharpening (and it'll shave hair). Maybe I'm rolling the edge during my cutting or something like that. Any ideas?
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Bamboo?

Is that a pretty hard surface?

I know a few years ago I was watching a cooking show, and they were a little down on anything but a un-coated wood cutting board. I know thats all I use, a plain wood cutting board. I don't even like the plastic ones they sell, even though I've heard they are not too bad.

Do you not feel any drag on your thumbnail just after sharpening, or after cutting?

Just out of curiousity, try this; go ahead and sharpen your knife like normal with no micro bevel. Strop it good and make sure theres no wire edge. Get a good newsprint slicing edge. Now when you cut the veggies and it feels a bit dull, try just giving it a good stroppiing, and then feel it.

Also, I'm getting a gut feeling about the bamboo cutting board. Is it fine laminated bamboo epoxied into a flat block? Just for grins, get a plain un-coated wood cutting board from Walmart and try it out for a week.
 
No drag after sharpening. I didn't even think to check after cutting. I'll give your suggestions a try and report back.

The cutting board alledges that it won't dull knives, but it could certainly be wrong. I think that it's just bamboo pressed into a block (I don't think that there's a coating or anything, but I'll try the cheapo wooden one.
 
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I think that the carbon steel,stainless&D2 offered by the well known American cutlers and their foreign counterparts have more than good enough cutting properties for traditional pocket-knives. Super steels do exist in more outlandish and trend driven knife areas, but in general, I see no particular need for them in traditional pocket knives.

As for alternatives to the Peanut, other small patterns worth considering are the Pen-knife/Equal end, Butterbean or small canoe, certain Whittlers, Serpentine Jacks and the newly released and deservedly acclaimed, CASE Swayback in cv or stainless. Good luck.
 
I don't know how small a knife you want.

Queen make a Stockman and Jack at 3 1/4" both in D2
Still too large?
 
Just get a yellow Case CV peanut...super easy to keep an edge and you can get it super sharp. Like Jackknife said, sharpen it like you did when you were cubscout age and it will work great for you.
 
Hey guys and thanks for the suggestions. I have some looking to do. Fortunately, the local Ace is a Case dealer so I can handle some.

As a possilbe hyjack to my own thread... what's the best way to get a feel for stropping? Best medium to use? I've read about using the backs of legal pads, jeans, glossy printed magazines and of course leather. Since I'm new to it, I'd like to start with the method that gives the best feedback so that I don't dull my honed edges. If I need to post this in another thread (forum etiquette), just let me know.

And finally, as a potential double hijack of my own thread, a pox on the house of jackknife and others who suggested that I give a CV peanut a try;). I looked at the afore mentioned Ace, and couldn't leave it (chestnut bone) in the store. I just need to learn to keep the best edge that I can, and it will probably ride with me all the time.

Thanks again gentlemen.

bs
 
Sharpening and stropping are discussed in the knife maintenance forum. Please post any questions there. (There are many, many threads there on techniques and equipment.)

Thanks.
 
mr_bsii said:
... a pox on the house of jackknife and others who suggested that I give a CV peanut a try;). I looked at the afore mentioned Ace, and couldn't leave it (chestnut bone) in the store. I just need to learn to keep the best edge that I can, and it will probably ride with me all the time.
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Welcome to the Hotel Peanut. You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave. :D
 
I can see how it'd be easy to have one of these on you all the time. Really small (unobtrusive), but you can still use it plus the practicality of two very different blades for very different uses. I'll see if I can get the hang of stropping without screwing things up too much.

I've had my eye on the Queen offerings, and will definitely keep an eye on them as well as looking at some of the other trad. small folders.

Roger Blues. I'm off to maintenance for a while.

bs
 
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