Convex edges and feather-sticks = boo

[retzius]

Hi all.

I had some time tonight to myself so I settled down with some sticks, a pile of knives, and my friend Jack Daniels. I had my Fallkniven F1, Mora Bushcraft Triflex, SOG Seal Pup, SOG Team Leader, Cold Steel SRK, Nick Allen Sierra Scout, and Ritter RSK2. Two hours later I had a pile of feather-sticks, a sore hand, a lighter bottle of Jack Daniels, and some surprising results. I rate the feather stick ability from best to worst as follows:

1. Mora Bushcraft Triflex (best by a big margin - and the cheapest knife by a big margin)
2. SOG Team Leader (this knife continues to surprise me, if it wasnt for the over-textured handle this thing would be almost perfect)
3. SRK (it looks way too thick but cuts surprisingly well)
4. RSK2 (pretty much tied with the SRK, did well for a big knife)
5. Sierra Scout (I wanted it to do better, it was VERY comfortable in the hand but didnt bite the wood too well, I think the edge bevel is too small, easy fix)
6. SOG Seal Pup (it was ok, it would work in a pinch but the deep hollow grind bites to hard for a primary woods blade)
7. Fallkniven F1 (OK.. I was shocked.. I still love this knife to death and it works decent at everything, but the convex edge tends to roll off hard wood unless the angle is JUST RIGHT.. if the angle is too steep it bites way too hard and gets stuck)

What do you think of these results? Am I crazy or are thick convex edges like the F1 has not very good feather-stick blades?

 

[dogstar]

Well, scandis excel at carving wood. I'm not surprised the basic knife did the best, because it has everything you need, nothing extra.

 

[Mikael W]

It's about geometry!

The F1 has a thick edge as standard.
It is set with toughness and survival situations in mind, for downed Fighter Pilots.
When hunters send their F1's to Fällkniven for resharpening, they get a regrind to a thinner edge that bites wood better.

You can do this thinning by Yourself, using a DC 3 stone or a beltsander.
If You want better geometry for wood out of the box, the TK2 or Kolt are my choices.

Mora's are great on wood, but sometimes come with a too thin edge that rolls.
The solution is to give the edge a microconvex secondary bevel.

Before the F1, Swedish Airforce used Mora knives...


Regards
Mikael

 

[FW JSB]

Check out some of virtuovice's vids on YouTube. He will lay to rest the idea that convex grinds don't do feather-sticks well. Au contraire.

 

[retzius]

Check out some of virtuovice's vids on YouTube. He will lay to rest the idea that convex grinds don't do feather-sticks well. Au contraire.

I have seen most of his videos and he heavily reprofiles his blades before he tests them. He thins out the primary grind on water stones and then strops out the edge with a compound progression. His videos show the results of his reprofiling more than the ability of the knife as it comes from the manufacturer.

 

[awestib]

I noticed a difference even between a new scandi knife (I only use 1/8 inch scandis !) and a scandi knife after hand sharpening. The slight convex after freehand sharpening improves the shavings/featherstick ability by quite a bit. A nice sideeffect is also a somewhat better edge stability/retention IMHO.

 

[Shotgun]

I noticed a difference even between a new scandi knife (I only use 1/8 inch scandis !) and a scandi knife after hand sharpening. The slight convex after freehand sharpening improves the shavings/featherstick ability by quite a bit. A nice sideeffect is also a somewhat better edge stability/retention IMHO.

I have the same results. An almost flat convex seems to work the best for me. Sharpening with sand paper on a leather backed strop does the trick to all of my knives.

 

[liamstrain]

I think Mikael got this right. The F1 has a thick blade (well down near the edge). That has more to do with it than the specific grind on it.

I have some convexed blades that are great with feathersticks and other wood work, and others that are not. The thickness behind the edge is almost always the deciding factor.

 

[retzius]

I agree with all your points. The main problem with the F1 is that it is too thick right behind the edge. I might send it in to Fallkniven to have them thin it out and reprofile it, she is pretty beat up and could use a restoration anyway.

 

[Mikael W]

I might send it in to Fallkniven to have them thin it out and reprofile it, she is pretty beat up and could use a restoration anyway.

If You do that, I'm pretty sure Peter will enjoy seeing Your wellused knife!
He has told me several times of the joy he feels, from knowing his knives are used hard by their owners.


Regards
Mikael