Barmaley's Aggregated Questions Thread

Do you have a source for this claim? Amazon takes returns for sure... That's why I'm asking if you have proof, or if this is just something you suspect is happening.

Brian.

I doubt there is a smoking gun like Watergate, but the proof is in the reviews if you read them. Any number of reviews on Amazon complain of receiving obviously opened items, items obviously used, items obviously counterfeit, etc. Some of the reviewers might not know what they are talking about, but I do not believe they are all wrong.

This number seems to be larger when fulfilled by third parties and not Amazon, but the complaints remain there for those who wish to see. And who wish to be enlightened.

If, however, your level of proof required is to have someone swear on a bible in open court that they took a returned item, for example a knife, that was known as a fake, repackaged it, and boxed it to be sent to a customer, then, I doubt there will be proof.

As in politics, we have to follow the trail of bread crumbs and reach a conclusion.

Not trying to be nasty or aggressive here although it sounds like it, but with all the worldwide scrutiny these days, everyone has become better at covering their tracks. We have to adapt to this as consumers (and voters) and get the answers any way we can including circumstantial evidence.
 
Yes Amazon takes returns. They actually have a warehouse that is dedicated to taking them and then products are put together and sold as Lots that you can bid on. Seen a special report on the local news about it but I also had seen a report where some one received a waffle iron that was listed as new and it came threw with burnt waffle batter on it... yum. Bottom line you got a great looking knife for $14 clams so enjoy it for whatever steel it is and if it gets dull you don't even have to sharpen it you can toss it and get another.
 
In terms of finish, white compound used on a strop of denim will bring up a bright mirror finish on most stainless steels. So, the equivalent in a stone would be something very, very fine, like an ultrafine ceramic or finer.
David,
I see that white compound on denim is your favorite. Do you still have some application where you use leather strops? I got a ouple of meters of stropping leather and I am contemplating about application for it - LOL.
 
I see a nice discussion about many knife issues in this thread. Let me re-phrase my initial point. I bought a knife for abuse just to perfect my sharpening skills. When the knife came I actually like it and the longer I have it I like it even better. It performs on a par with another VG10 knife. I feel sorry to abuse it and I am thinking about buying something like Victorinox Fibrox or Mercer Culinary Chef for experimenting.The reason I started that thread was to check if the knife is indeed made of decent steel and I may keep it for culinary use. I still appreciate all your suggestions since I learnt a lot about knives in the thread as well I enjoy this forums and experts here :)
 
If you are making your own make sure to use a respirator. When the pandemic calms down you might be able to buy one
 
My guess would be that your rod is significantly finer than any stones that you own. That coupled with the strip is allowing you to effectively remove the burr from your knives - something that can be tricky on just the stones
I think you are correct since the rod and leather strop which I just started using yesterday did magic to my blades! I never saw them as sharp before!!! I think I need to practice on fine grit spectrum of sharpening for now!
 
Just buy some compound and use it. From what I've gathered, you're just working with basic steels. Don't over complicate it.
 
Is it true that DIY compound made of Silicon Carbide Powder or Diamond Dust is better?

Commercial formulas are carefully designed to avoid particle agglomeration and other problems especially at extremely small particle sizes. They should perform better than DIY compounding.
 
Silicone Carbide, AlumOx and Diamond all are listed as irritant for occupational exposure - it takes a lot of exposure to create a true health hazard.

Some of the better honing compounds out there use multi-grit size formulas on purpose - the Lee Valley honing compound mfg by Formax and Flexcut Gold are two good examples. This works a lot better for reconditioning the edge, not so good for pure cosmetics.

Formulating a better binder than the pro is the toughest part, you want it to go on thin and uniform without too much abrasive mobility. The compound I make for my Washboard kits is multi grit in both size and abrasive (SiC and diamond), with the binder formulated to work best on paper. To achieve this I add a small amount of pine rosin. The vapors from this are hazardous at melting temps, so my entire operation is done outside when the weather allows.

This also creates a lot more traction for the SiC powder, which is not very aggressive in a graded form (looks like jelly beans under magnification) as opposed to what you can reclaim off of the top of a vitreous SiC stone (looks like shards of broken granite).

Many commercial makers use stearine for the binder, an animal or veg based tallow that can be had at most candle supply outlets. I use paraffin, beeswax and pine rosin.

For an improvised compound, the grit from a waterstone or oilstone smeared on paper and allowed to dry is the easiest solution by far. Getting the binder just right for a crayon type compound is a jump down the rabbit hole. Also, different abrasives have different suspension rates - IIRC I can get AlumOx to about 92% by weight (!), the SiC/diamond mix gets to about 80%.
 
David,
I see that white compound on denim is your favorite. Do you still have some application where you use leather strops? I got a ouple of meters of stropping leather and I am contemplating about application for it - LOL.

I only use bare leather, when I strop with it. No compound for that. I do this for most of the EDC edges I use & like, and only for cleaning up an edge of loose burrs and such, when I otherwise don't want to overpolish a more toothy edge.

But for polishing using the stick-type compounds and AlOx polishing pastes, I prefer the hard-backed denim for that. I like this method for some of my kitchen knives in low-alloy stainless steels, for polishing the thin & shallow convex I put on those blades.

I also do a little bit of stropping with paste-type diamond compound on hard/firm wood. This is mainly with more wear-resistant steels warranting the diamond compound.
 
It wasn't my intention to be rude, just to say not to stress over it too much. :)

When safety is paramount, coming off as abrupt or even brusque is worth it if it prevents one from injuring themselves.

Frankly, I have no idea why someone with little to no experience is hypothesizing and postulating about more advanced areas of sharpening before even mastering the rudiments. But that's just my thought.
 
Back
Top