AFRAID TO SHARPEN A KNIFE?

Joined
Jan 28, 2001
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A few days ago, I was at a local bookstore and a guy who had noticed my knife clipped to my pocket, approched me and asked what kind of knife I was carrying. I pulled the knife out and showed him my Microtech L.C.C. and he said he was into knives himself and showed me a Benchmade Ares he was carrying. He said he only carried it but would never put the knife to use because he didn't want to have to sharpen it for fear of scratching the blade. I told him that I sharpen all my knives and as long as they all have a sharp edge and cut well, who cares about a few scratches on the edge. Are there any others who feel this way? Do you sharpen your own knives or send them to the manufacturer? Do you sharpen your expensive custom or high end production folders?

[This message has been edited by el cid (edited 02-16-2001).]
 
If you do not sharpen yourself, you are not a 'nut.
Happy sharpening
smile.gif


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Ted
 
If he's into knives enough that he's willing to spend a little money, he can get an Edge-Pro and get a sharp edge without any risk of scratching the blade. I personally don't mind a few scratches on a using blade either, but it's nice to keep the pretty ones looking nice while keeping them sharp too.
 
Of course I sharpen my own knives. I used to use my bench stones, now I use my Sharpmaker 204 because it's so easy to use. I enjoy keeping my knives sharp it's part of the fun of being a KnifeKnut.

I do have knives that I don't use and have never been sharpened, but the users I take care of.

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"Will work 4 Knives!"
My PhotoPoint Site
 
I would have to say that there are three types of knives;

1. Everyday Carry/Utility

2. Defense Oriented

3. Gentlemen's folder

My everyday knives are usually sharpened after about a week of good use, regardless of how I may scratch them.

My Defense knives are RAZOR sharp, and would therefore dull easily, so I NEVER cut anything other then leather or flesh with them. It took me a long time to bring their blades to the thin sharp point they are at now, and I would hate to ruin that by cutting into a cardboard box and hitting a staple. My defensive knives are sharpened maybe once a year, but are lubed with lithium soap monthly, only to be left sheathed in an ammo can.

My dress-up knives are carried only when I am in a suit or tux. I have yet to sharpen some of them, while I have only sharpened my LCC once or twice since getting it. BUT: I did carry it as a utility knife for a little. I rarely turn to these pieces, unless it is ABSOLEUTELY necessary!!! My current dressy pieces are Spydie Viele, LCC, BM 330, Cherry Handled Mini Stryker, Lynn Griffith Patrolman (HIP KIT), and an old CASE XX my step-mother had given me.

Please note, no matter what the knife, and how dull it has become, I ONLY use my Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker 204. I just wish I had some coarse and medium coarse ceramic sticks, they would make re-beveling some of my utility knives a lot easier!

Steve in NYC

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What we do today in life...echoes in eternity...
Every man dies...not every man lives...

[This message has been edited by DANGELO (edited 02-16-2001).]
 
I'd venture to say that people (I'm talking primarily about non-knifenuts here) would be more enthusiastic about sharpening their own knives (and possibly use their knives more often?), if they felt like they had half a chance of ending up with a decent edge.

Sharpening systems like the Spyderco Sharpmaker and the Edge Pro Apex come with excellent instructions and instructional videos that almost guarantee success. But how many of us started with one of these as a first sharpener? Chances are most of us began our lives as knife sharpeners with a simple arkansas oil stone. And in my opinion, the instructions that often accompany these less inexpensive entry level stones are incomplete at best, and horrible at worst. I'm not suggesting that a $20 book on sharpening should be included with one of these $5 stones, but shouldn't the little booklet at least mention the concept of raising a burr?

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Semper Fi

-Bill
 
I used to worry about sharpening my knives on anything but the spydee sharpmaker. I knew the basic idea of how a stone was supposed to work, but on practice with junker knives was never able to get it right. Finally a knifemaker showed me his method of using a stone, and how easy it really was. All I use now is a DMT diamond stone and a leather strop. Its actually kind of fun to be able to free-hand sharpen a knife to a hair popping edge.



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Richard Todd - Digital knife photography
icq 61363141
My WebSite
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i'm with philL. i use a 204 , but i still use bench stones also. i carry a spydie doublestuff stone on me for quick touch-ups. just touched up my carson 4 on it last night.no scratches.

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a cat almost always blinks when hit in the head with a ball-peen hammer, if he sees it coming, that is.
A sick mind is never bored.

life's tough, get a helmet.

(escalation of hostilities)
A few of my Knives
russ aka BladeZealot
 
Fear of Sharpening????

Only those beatiful convex grinds.
eek.gif


Scared I am of them!!!!
smile.gif


--The Raptor--
 
I don't worry about scratching the blade of a "using" knife, but I don't really enjoy sharpening. (I don't dislike it, but it's not something I prefer to spend time doing.) So for edge-dulling things like cutting up boxes or opening taped packages, I use a POS lockback that I sharpen periodically with a pocket diamond stone. That way, I don't have to spend a lot of time and labor touching up the nicer knives -- just slap a working edge on the POS every now and then.

-Razor

PS: For fun, I bought an "offical Blade: Sword of the Daywalker" letter opener. It adds a touch of class to opening the day's mail.

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AKTI #A000845
And tomorrow when you wake up it will be worse.
 
I sharpen all my knives myself. I would never send them back to the maker or manufacturer, they might get lost.

Keith.
 
Speaking of sharpeners. A few days ago, I was in a hardware store and picked up an "el cheapo" Lansky-type angle sharpener by a company called ARKANSAS PERFECT. It was way cheaper than even a basic GATCO; if you can believe that.

I didn't have too high an expectation but decided to gamble a few bucks. What do you know...it sharpened a cheap lockback, a kitchen cleaver, and a SOG Magnadot to "hair-popping" sharpness (better than NIB).

Now I haven't tried harder steels yet, but I only spent a few minutes with the 440A SOG Magnadot. I would think it would do fine on ATS-34 with a bit more elbow-grease.

For all the money we spend, I sometimes wonder how much we pay for a product's name, and marketing.
 
I sharpen all my knives with various stones and when I want to cut cardboard I use a BOX CUTTER so when it gets dull I change blades.
 
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