Anything worse than a bad grind on an expensive knife?

Yeah there's something worse! When you buy to identical customs($4K each) and they have to be returned immediately because the mirror finish on the blade is flaking off.
$400 or $4000.... I get it! Money ain't growing on trees.
 
I have recently had time to reflect on this by having to fix a too acute edge bevel on an expensive knife with AEB-L steel. I still have not reached a good edge yet. I have a small place and I don't want to get a power grinder. I don't like wearing out my coarse razor edge stone, I don't like spending all this time on my day/days off sharpening this recurve, I don't like that fact that if I finally get a decent edge on this I will have to polish out all the scratches on my blade.

It pisses me off. I am now ready to absolutely hate what would otherwise have been a great fun knife.

SO THE ANSWER IS NO NO NO !!!!! GET IT RIGHT AT THE FACTORY WITH ALL YOUR FANCY GRINDING MACHINES THE FIRST TIME SO ALL I HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IS TOUCH UPS. I AM PISSED OFF THAT I SPEND THIS MUCH MONEY FOR WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE A KNIFE BUT I THOUGHT KNIVES ARE SUPPOSED TO CUT.

IF IT'S A NOVELTY TOURIST SHOP ITEM DON'T ADVERTISE IT AS A KNIFE.

I COULD SAVE A LOT MORE MONEY BUYING A CHEAP FOREIGN IMPORT BECAUSE A DULL KNIFE IS NOTHING SPECIAL.
 
BOHAWG said:
Yeah there's something worse! When you buy to identical customs($4K each) and they have to be returned immediately because the mirror finish on the blade is flaking off.
$400 or $4000.... I get it! Money ain't growing on trees.
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Really curious to know how a mirror finish on a blade can "flake off." It's not as though it's a chromed bumper.
 
BOHAWG said:
I paid 4K for it..... wasn't my problem to figure out. I sent it back and let the maker figure it out.... but there's the picture of it flaking away.
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Ah, I see. Not a mirror polish of the steel, but some sort of surface treatment that broke down....assuming you didn't take that picture in front of a purple fireplace.
 
Nahhh... that ain't a purple fireplace and yes that is a mirror polished of the steel...
 
greater said:
I have recently had time to reflect on this by having to fix a too acute edge bevel on an expensive knife with AEB-L steel. I still have not reached a good edge yet. I have a small place and I don't want to get a power grinder. I don't like wearing out my coarse razor edge stone, I don't like spending all this time on my day/days off sharpening this recurve, I don't like that fact that if I finally get a decent edge on this I will have to polish out all the scratches on my blade.

It pisses me off. I am now ready to absolutely hate what would otherwise have been a great fun knife.

SO THE ANSWER IS NO NO NO !!!!! GET IT RIGHT AT THE FACTORY WITH ALL YOUR FANCY GRINDING MACHINES THE FIRST TIME SO ALL I HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IS TOUCH UPS. I AM PISSED OFF THAT I SPEND THIS MUCH MONEY FOR WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE A KNIFE BUT I THOUGHT KNIVES ARE SUPPOSED TO CUT.

IF IT'S A NOVELTY TOURIST SHOP ITEM DON'T ADVERTISE IT AS A KNIFE.

I COULD SAVE A LOT MORE MONEY BUYING A CHEAP FOREIGN IMPORT BECAUSE A DULL KNIFE IS NOTHING SPECIAL.
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What angle was it? Idk too acute was a thing?
I've already tried for 5° on some stuff

Slicey is Usually good. :)
 
The edge bevel was too thick to even be a decent cutter let alone slicey.

Maybe a good angle for an ax

Oh ps Having a great heat treat makes matters worse in that it is harder to remove the steel. Those knives are the ones that really need to come out of the factory right in the first place.

Not everyone has a belt grinder.
 
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Danke42 said:
$400 ain't no expensive knife.
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"Expensive" is  always dependent on the income, living expenses, and other expenses (EG. vehicle fuel and insurance, life insurance, out of pocket medical and prescription and OTC drug charges, Cable/Satellite TV and high speed Internet, cellphone/smartphone bill, etc.) of the person involved.

For example: Since forced to take early retirement six years ago, my income dropped to under $940 a month. (2023 after COLA). My rent is a little under $800 (2023 after COLA)
(No. I didn't save anything for retirement. Heart Attacks at an early age run in the family. I did not expect to see 54 and still be looking down at the grass.
My paternal grandfather (along with his father and all his siblings) were gone before age 55. Several were gone before 50. My baby brother dropped dead of a massive heart attack at 53. (same age as Grandpa)
Both my dad and my uncle had their first heart attack at 48. (dad died from brain cancer in his 50's) That uncle had a total of seven heart attacks, and a record 187 stints, allowing him to make it to 82, before his kidneys gave out. Even in high school, I figured I would be pushing up weeds before my 54th birtday.)
For someone like me, on a low fixed monthly income, $400 for  anything is "expensive". Heck! $40 for a knife is "expensive" to me.
 
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afishhunter said:
"Expensive" is  always dependent on the income, living expenses, and other expenses (EG. vehicle fuel and insurance, life insurance, out of pocket medical/prescription drug charges, Cable/Satellite TV and high speed Internet, cellphone/smartphone bill, etc.) of the person involved.

For example: Since forced to take early retirement six years ago, my income dropped to under $940 a month. (2023 after COLA). My rent is a little under $800 (2023 after COLA)
(No. I didn't save anything for retirement. Heart Attacks at an early age run in the family. I did not expect to see 54 and still be looking down at the grass. My paternal grandfather (along with his father and all his siblings) were gone before age 55. Several were gone before 50. My baby brother dropped dead of a massive heart attack at 53. (same age as Grandpa) Both my dad and my uncle had their first heart attack at 48. (dad died from brain cancer in his 50's) That uncle had a total of seven heart attacks, and a record 187 stints, allowing him to make it to 82, before his kidneys gave out. Even in high school, I figured I would be pushing up weeds before my 54th birtday.)
For someone like me, on a low fixed monthly income, $400 for  anything is "expensive".
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See what I do is tell everyone "this is expensive to me" then they know it needs to be perfect from the get go. The customer is always right; that's what people like about us.
 
Perfect ????? How about starting with making a knife that just works (cuts decently and sharpens without having to compensate for bad grinds) in the first place before worrying about of all the fine details that make it look nice. It seems the other way around for some high end knives.

I don't see why it's not understood that knives with blades that make life hard for those who buy them is not a good marketing strategy.
 
Danke42 said:
I guess the lesson learned is that if you're a quality guy don't cut corners and buy an entry level OTF. You're gonna have a bad day.
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I agree to a degree. $400 is an entry level for a collector, but for a carry/duty $400 gets you plenty of really nice user carry/daily users.
 
Hashishiin said:
Agreed. Spyderco does it, why can't a larger company??
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No clue. A carry level knife, not some crazy mirror polish limited run, knife should CUT and have what ever action it is WORK. Even a $200 dollar knife should have a good grind and NEVER fail to lock. I get that a $200 should be expected to fail to fire eventually, but grinds should be at least decent and locks should NEVER fail above even the $150 or $100 mark.
 
UncleBoots said:
Really curious to know how a mirror finish on a blade can "flake off." It's not as though it's a chromed bumper.
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Oxidation spots from a contaminated buffing wheel?
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upstate88 said:
I recently bought a GT 040 and the grind was terrible. It was super uneven, with one side even having areas where there were chunk of finish showing where they did not grind enough. It was only the 1" of the tip. One side was like a 20 degree and the other like a 25 degree. It was terrible, and so disappointing. I sent it back, with no issue, so that was good, but it put a sour taste in my mouth for sure. It seems to just happen from time to time regardless of brand, human error and all. Although I would say that Spyderco impresses me time after time, after time....
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You know Spyderco's Golden factory is one of the most notorious offenders for uneven grinds, right? Have yet to get one from there that isn't 17ish DPS on one side and 20ish on the other. They're consistent, but not in a good way.
 
OrangeBlueOrangeBlue said:
You know Spyderco's Golden factory is one of the most notorious offenders for uneven grinds, right? Have yet to get one from there that isn't 17ish DPS on one side and 20ish on the other. They're consistent, but not in a good way.
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That has not been my experience with Spyderco. They all sharpen fine at both the 30 or 40 degree angle on the Spyderco Sharpmaker. That’s how they are designed.
 
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