cheap knife recommendations for practicing

8

80sskater

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May 30, 2018
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before I butcher my good knives I want to buy something I could practice on I guess it comes down to what Steel I could get for the price mtech knives are pretty horrible I've heard 420 steel is difficult to sharpen would I be better with something like a Schrade? Looking to spend like 15 bucks or less.
 
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I had my son practice on a Dollar store knife (kitchen) to start him on sharpening. After that, I let him work on a couple of inexpensive paring knives that i use. He did a good job.

Good kid (now in college). Periodically takes his sharpening stone with him to his girl friend's to sharpen her dad's kitchen knives.

You can go to wally world and get one of their cheap folders to practice on. i ave one or two that I keep around for loaners.
 
80sskater said:
before before I butcher my good knives I want to buy something I could practice on I guess it comes down to what Steel I could get for the price mtech knives are pretty horrible I've heard 420 steel is difficult to sharpen would I be better with something like a Schrade? Looking to spend like 15 bucks or less.
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The best knives to practice on are your kitchen knives. They take a beating and the resident cook will love you for sharpening them. I do all my kitchen knives on the Spyderco SharpMaker about once a month. Best of all it will not cost you a penny as you already have knives to practice on.
 
some really good ideas there thanks . So I guess the steel really doesn't matter obviously it won't hold an edge and that's fine just more practice
 
80sskater said:
before I butcher my good knives I want to buy something I could practice on I guess it comes down to what Steel I could get for the price mtech knives are pretty horrible I've heard 420 steel is difficult to sharpen would I be better with something like a Schrade? Looking to spend like 15 bucks or less.
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Go to Goodwill and pick up any kitchen knives you can find that are made in USA, SHEFFIELD, GERMANY, SWEDEN...ect which should be $1 or less it will more than likely have decent steel you can sharpen.
If it's made in China, Japan, Korea...ect leave it, there's a good chance the steel sucks and it won't take an edge very well.
 
80sskater said:
some really good ideas there thanks . So I guess the steel really doesn't matter obviously it won't hold an edge and that's fine just more practice
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It does matter in a way, it may not have to hold an edge very well but it does need to be capable of taking one.
 
Go to Costco and buy a pack of kitchen knives for $15 or so. I think there are 4 or 5 in each pack.

They are actually decent knives, and you'll be able to get in plenty of practice.
 
80sskater said:
before I butcher my good knives I want to buy something I could practice on I guess it comes down to what Steel I could get for the price mtech knives are pretty horrible I've heard 420 steel is difficult to sharpen would I be better with something like a Schrade? Looking to spend like 15 bucks or less.
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Opinel.
Being as thin behind the edge ad they are, they offer quick feedback to you and responsiveness to the stones.

Plus, once you are done, you will have a knife that you can still carry and will be a joy to use.
 
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Hickory n steel said:
Go to Goodwill and pick up any kitchen knives you can find that are made in USA, SHEFFIELD, GERMANY, SWEDEN...ect which should be $1 or less it will more than likely have decent steel you can sharpen.
If it's made in China, Japan, Korea...ect leave it, there's a good chance the steel sucks and it won't take an edge very well.
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Awhile back, I got some MAC kitchen knives at Goodwill or Salvation Army. Japanese, looked nice. Recently I looked them up. VG10 steel, currently about $50-$60 each! I probably paid $10 for three of them.
 
USMCPOP said:
Awhile back, I got some MAC kitchen knives at Goodwill or Salvation Army. Japanese, looked nice. Recently I looked them up. VG10 steel, currently about $50-$60 each! I probably paid $10 for three of them.
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Mac was good and you got a great deal.
Kaicut is great too and I've got 2 large chef's from my dad, but there's a whole lot of cheap kitchen cutlery from japan that's total garbage.
Just yesterday I threw away some cheapo old Japanese knives in favor of some American made knives I got for $1 and under at Goodwill.
I only said to avoid the Japan stuff because the good stuff is few and far between.
Nobody wants to practice sharpening on a knife that won't take an edge.
If its made in japan but looks nice , has a brand and a model number...ect on it I'd probably gamble on it but not a sterile JAPAN.
 
The difficulty in 420J isn't specific to 420J, it's just that softer, less alloyed steels tend to roll at the edge, forming what we call a "wire edge". A thin bit of metal that kinda flops back and forth when you sharpen from side to side. The wire edge has to be eliminated or when the knife is actually used, it'll flop or break off entirely, making the knife dull again. Eliminating the wire edge takes practice and technique. Because of this, working with softer, simpler steels are a good thing to practice on, so you're aware what is happening when you sharpen and use them.
 
OP:
About 420 steel being difficult to sharpen, it depends. GOOD 420 (like 420HC, from Buck) is generally easy to resharpen. Some others may vary, depending on heat treat. If you mean 420J2 steel, I wouldn't know, because I don't have anything in that steel. But sometimes softer does not equal easier to sharpen. Some soft steels are like trying to sharpen a bar of soap. Again, it depends on the overall quality and heat treat.

I use a Sharpmaker, and for myself, the all-time easiest steel for me to resharpen with virtually no effort is Victorinox blade steel (SAK and kitchen knives). Good quality at good prices, AND what they make is extremely useful. All the knives I use in the kitchen are Victorinox, and when they begin to drag, all it takes is light pressure for a few seconds at 15 degrees per side.

Jim
 
James Y said:
Some soft steels are like trying to sharpen a bar of soap.
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I like this analogy. I had a few "hunting knives" family bought me from the flee market as a cheap gift and for the bloody life of me could never get the thing sharper than a crayon. Pretty sure used "surgical stainless" from Pakistan.
 
A very cheap knife may actually frustrate you when sharpening. If the steel is unnamed and barely heat treated you may actually over sharpen the blade and get poor results and poor feed back. You could fall into an endless loop of wondering why the knife isnt getting sharp.

Get a blade that’s say aus 8. Like a Ontario rat. Inexpensive, easy to sharpen and will give you good feedback. And you also will get a decent knife out of it too.
 
USMCPOP said:
Awhile back, I got some MAC kitchen knives at Goodwill or Salvation Army. Japanese, looked nice. Recently I looked them up. VG10 steel, currently about $50-$60 each! I probably paid $10 for three of them.
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I have been looking at them for awhile now, how do you like them? How is their heat treat?

I really like the looks of their 4.5" utility with the very offset handle.
 
Old Hickory knives.... any style... work on different sizes and belly shapes.... its what all of my boys learned on and they have all progressed on to doing their own knives of quality with no issues
 
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