Current photo of the edge on the knife you used today, prior to touch ups.

[NJBillK]

This was a deleted post and it defaulted into becoming my thread due to that. So instead of locking it and letting it sink, I decided to create a usable thread from it.
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I want to see the current condition of the edge on the knife you used today prior to touching it up.
I want to know what most peoples knives (edges in particular) look like after a days work.

I will edit to post my photo.

 

[craytab]

Thanks for the thread change and good idea. Here are mine from the EDC thread:

I'll get closer pics in a bit and the Seal Pup is getting a full resharpening tonight as that is the original owners edge.


Edit: And just so people know, the original post was someone asking what their knife was worth without the proper membership and also he posted links to a live auction. This was my response: "Breaking multiple rules in one post. I will never understand why people don't read the rules to places they go......."

 

[craytab]

Here are some close ups:


The AFCK edge looks factory although the knife is obviously heavily used and almost 20 years old. I am thinking the original owner sent it in to Benchmade for life sharp. I touched it up when I first got it. Haven't touched it since. It will shave hair.

The Seal pup looks like the previous owner convexed the edge. Very sharp. It looks good but I want a V grind with a more acute angle on this one. I'll do that tonight.

 

[JR88FAN]

Yesterday, pulling staples....



Today, fixed and back to razor sharp....all done on Ceramic Whetstones and a strop....

 

[The Aflac Duck]

Rockstead after stripping wires, cutting cardboard, zip ties, plastic packages, and sharpening a pencil.

 

[Skimo]

 

[ginaz]

i loved BM's ats34. that Rockstead... very nice. so much for the brittleness of zdp?

 

[The Aflac Duck]

i loved BM's ats34. that Rockstead... very nice. so much for the brittleness of zdp?

Thanks Brother!

Rocky's ZDP is actually pretty brittle, but it will hold an edge forever if you mainly cut softer materials. The one in my picture is with their YXR7 @65.2 hrc; its some really tough stuff and can handle tougher jobs that would otherwise chip ZDP-189 @ 67+ hrc.

Both are really great steels, but have their purpose. Rockstead is very clear about their intended uses for said blade steels too.

 

[PinkmagicK]

Rockstead after stripping wires, cutting cardboard, zip ties, plastic packages, and sharpening a pencil.

That's gnarley Blues Bender! I did end up ordering a Higo in yxr7 per your recommendation and experience with it. I am very happy with the size. Not a huge fan of the thumb studs, I wish they put the same studs as the Shin model on it. Kinda difficult for my thumb to deploy reliably. It's not as smooth of an action as I was hoping either. I'm really wanting to love this knife, so I'm hoping I can get over the couple issues I have with it.

 

[craytab]

This is the pair for today. I greatly improved the edge on that Pup.

 

[craytab]

A close-up of the tip:

 

[HwangJino]

I should mention that I wipe my edge after every use. Habit from working in a kitchen, but also I dislike cross contamination since I open food packages like ground tuna etc.

 

[The Aflac Duck]

That's gnarley Blues Bender! I did end up ordering a Higo in yxr7 per your recommendation and experience with it. I am very happy with the size. Not a huge fan of the thumb studs, I wish they put the same studs as the Shin model on it. Kinda difficult for my thumb to deploy reliably. It's not as smooth of an action as I was hoping either. I'm really wanting to love this knife, so I'm hoping I can get over the couple issues I have with it.

Awesome! I actually love the studs, they work great for me, but everyone's hands are different. I find that if you really crank the screws down, the action becomes a lot "smoother"; "smooth" being a subjective term. Rockstead puts a pivot bushing in there, and with the extremely precise tolerances they use, it feels stiff if every screw isn't tightened down pretty good. I was surprised at how tight I had to make the screws to make mine less stiff.

I don't define smoothness as "a blade falling shut under its own weight", as long as it's not gritty and opens uninterrupted then it's smooth enough for me. Honestly, I like the "lack of smoothness"; a blade this sharp can be a hazard if it closes too easily IMO. Keep in mind, the lockbar is very strong and secure, so that puts tension on the tang which also makes it feel "less smooth".

I hope you can look past those small issues. I have the Higo with Ironwood handles, so if you have the Duralumin version, the thumbstuds might feel entirely different than mine. I really find my Higo-X to be The Perfect Knife (for me, that is)

 

[BP_]

plenty beat up, but still quite slicey. [emoji16]

 

[gooeytek]

 

[PinkmagicK]

Awesome! I actually love the studs, they work great for me, but everyone's hands are different. I find that if you really crank the screws down, the action becomes a lot "smoother"; "smooth" being a subjective term. Rockstead puts a pivot bushing in there, and with the extremely precise tolerances they use, it feels stiff if every screw isn't tightened down pretty good. I was surprised at how tight I had to make the screws to make mine less stiff.

I don't define smoothness as "a blade falling shut under its own weight", as long as it's not gritty and opens uninterrupted then it's smooth enough for me. Honestly, I like the "lack of smoothness"; a blade this sharp can be a hazard if it closes too easily IMO. Keep in mind, the lockbar is very strong and secure, so that puts tension on the tang which also makes it feel "less smooth".

I hope you can look past those small issues. I have the Higo with Ironwood handles, so if you have the Duralumin version, the thumbstuds might feel entirely different than mine. I really find my Higo-X to be The Perfect Knife (for me, that is)

Oh weird, seems counter intuitive to tighten everything down to make it smoother! I'll give that a try. And I would go so far as to say it's actually a tad bit gritty if opened slowly...just wasn't expecting that in a knife of this price. The lockbar tension is very strong though so it may just need to break in a bit? I may try taking it apart and relubing it with some crk grease/put a dab on the detent ball. The Thumb studs just don't really provide my thumb with enough purchase, they actually stick out quite a bit wider than the knife which seems kina awkward in my pocket. There's no denying it's amazingly built, amazingly good looking and SHARP though!

 

[The Aflac Duck]

Oh weird, seems counter intuitive to tighten everything down to make it smoother! I'll give that a try. And I would go so far as to say it's actually a tad bit gritty if opened slowly...just wasn't expecting that in a knife of this price. The lockbar tension is very strong though so it may just need to break in a bit? I may try taking it apart and relubing it with some crk grease/put a dab on the detent ball. The Thumb studs just don't really provide my thumb with enough purchase, they actually stick out quite a bit wider than the knife which seems kina awkward in my pocket. There's no denying it's amazingly built, amazingly good looking and SHARP though!

It does seem weird that tighter would equal smoother, but the Higo's only have 2 points of contact (pivot and spacer) so when the 2 points aren't tightened all the way down, they aren't in sync together and "pinch" the pivot. I hope this makes sense because it's hard to explain without seeing it in person.

That's unfortunate about the grittiness. I know mine gives a small impression of "grit" when opened slowly, but that's because the detent ball rides close to the jimping, and the ridges in the jimping impart a "gritty" feeling when opened slowly. I don't notice this under normal opening/closing; only when I open it very slow and look for it.

I agree the thumbstuds are very wide, but since mine has the wood handles, the handle itself is much wider than the Duralumin handle version. The edge of my thumbstuds are even with the scales and don't protrude wider than the handle. I can see how they might feel awkward on a thinner handle, I would imagine it's because you don't get the leverage that a thicker handle would provide.

I'm sorry to hear you're unsure about your Rocky! Don't give up on them though. Maybe try one of the models with the stingray inlays; I think those ride on bearings and may be smoother. Also as you mentioned, the studs are completely different on those. Or try the Ironwood Higo

 

[Gizler00]

Ill contribute to this thread. I though this was supposed to show pics of knives being used?

I use mine exclusively at work (auto Tech Instructor), and also for everything else in a day. Yesterday was spent making ground cables from 8 gauge wire, and this morning has been 10 cardboard boxes, a crap load of wiring needed cut up to toss in the trash, and everything in between.

I have not made a touch up in weeks.

Here are a few pictures.