Disappointed

markhait

markhait

Joined
Jan 14, 2007
Messages
297
Let me tell you a story that leads to my disappointment....

A few months ago I discovered this web site and was intrigued. I've always loved knives and sharpening them has always been an issue with me. I just could never do it right. A few posts later and I bought a Sharpmaker. Phew! I never though in a million years my grind lines would be straight and I could shave arm hair to boot.

As I now began to sharpen all my knives to this new level of sharpness, I've always carried my Cold Steel Voyager in VG-1 stainless steel. I like it as it fits nicely in my hand and the price was tolerable. This knife is always kept hair shaving sharp!

Last night (Saturday), my family and I were invited to a get together at an old friends house. There was going to be pizza, smores and a big 'ole bon fire.

I make great smores and so I usually get the honor of browning the marshmallows. I started an awesome fire with 1 match (I didn't want to seem to be too primitive and break out my flint and steel), and found 2 great sticks for my upcoming duty. I sharpened just the ends and preformed my duty flawlessly and to everyone satisfaction.

Sunday morning now....after getting dressed to rounding up the kids to go to church I pulled out my knife to "check it out" after some "official duty" from the night before. I couldn't shave hair with it! I only sharpened the ends of 2 sticks! What gives! Is VG-1 a joke? If it is, I'll gladly dump this crap and get something that can stand up to a little work. I mean 2 sticks...come on Cold Steel....guess I should have stuck with car hoods and doors :)

Your input would be greatly appreciated!
 
I had an Aus8 voyager that I whittled a knife handle out of Hickory with, and it was still shaving sharp, though it was more of a rough scraping shaving.:)
I have had that happen w/ other knives, but I don't know what it was. It would be shaving sharp, and a day later, without being used, it would not. I guess it just wasn't as sharp as I thought the first go around.
 
What kind of steel is "best". I have an Ontario Rat 7 in 1095. I chopped with it, but can't remember how sharp it was after.
 
If you want edge holding and ease of sharpening you've got to go carbon.

Your cold steel story sounds typical to me...
 
I don't know...I have alot of knives in varying stainless steel. and I whittle frequently, my sak holds up nicely Is there a chance you might have made the edge to thin with yur neqw sharpener??? no offense I'm no expert but maybe it's not the steel...or maybe it is just a suggestion.
 
I dont know this steel, I dont know this knife.

But I do know that every knife will sooner or later get dull.
and sooner or later the owner of a knife will need to learn how to sharpen it to be as sharp as the day he got it.

So, try to look on the bright side of this...You now have a chance to sharpen that knife better than when it was new.
 
I did sharpen it sharper than it was when I received it. I'm just shocked that it would dull that quickly. I mean from the claims from Cold Steel, I should have been able the cut a car open and still shave my arm. It seems to me that it should have stayed sharp much longer.
I don't believe it had a wire edge as I'm pretty conscience of checking for that during the sharpening process.

Any suggestions for a "better" locking pocket knife with "proven" steel?
 
Yeah, I just sharpened my Sebenza yesterday. Was in a hurry, so didn't do such a great job, but it was shaving hair when I got done with it.

Then this morning I needed to open a cardboard box. Didn't seen the giant staple in it and I ran the knife right into it. Now the darn thing won't shave anymore. :)

Guess I'd better get out the old sharpmaker again tonight. This time I'll do a little bit better job while I'm at it.
 
Knives get dull, fast when you cut some things, slow when you cut other things. When they get dull resharpen them. There is no perfect steel but people still look for it. My favorite steel is 1095, ask 3 other people and you are liable to get 3 different answers. BTW don't listen to knife company hype they will tell you almost anything to sell their products. Chris
 
markhait said:
I did sharpen it sharper than it was when I received it. I'm just shocked that it would dull that quickly. I mean from the claims from Cold Steel, I should have been able the cut a car open and still shave my arm. It seems to me that it should have stayed sharp much longer.
I don't believe it had a wire edge as I'm pretty conscience of checking for that during the sharpening process.

Any suggestions for a "better" locking pocket knife with "proven" steel?
Click to expand...

Your first mistake is as you stated, you listened to Cold Steels claims.

The steel may not be at fault here though. Alot has to do with the profile and grind. Most of the tactical type of knives have a sabre type of grind, the blade being full thickness for a way down the side, then tapering to an edge. This is not a real good way to profile a blade. You will end up with a high angle of cutting edge, unlike a full flat grind, or even a convex grind like on an Opinel.

Try a knife made out of a good carbon steel like 1095, or even D2, and shaped in a more traditional blade shape, and you may be surprised by the increase in effortless cutting. With the proper blade profile, a knife can loose its razor edge and still cut well. Next to heat treat, the profile of the blade is the most important factor in how well it will cut.

Just for yuks, try an Opinel for a month, just to see how it cuts. Then find a stainless knife with a blade profiled like that.
 
an opinel is an excellt suggestion I just got one in carbon steel and it's real neat....it's NOT a tactical knife but so far has been a solid performer and cost only 9 dollars at ragweed forge...hard to beat...at that price you could buy the knife and beat the heck out of it for a year and than get another one,(the original however will definitely hold up)
 
Allan Molstad said:
I know nothing about V-1 steel...
Whats it concidered by most knifemakers?
Click to expand...

I'm speaking strictly off the top of my head here, so take this with a large grain of salt. (I can't seem to find the links I want to refer to.) Anyway as I understand it, V-1 is sort of a low-grade stainless, similar to 420 or 440-A. 420HC and 440-C can make darn good knives if heat-treated well, without costing much more at all.

There's a lot of people here who know much more about steel than I do :o, hopefully one of them will chime in and clear this up!
 
No expert here either, but am thinking that maybe a burr(?), that had developed during the sharpening process, either rolled over, making it seem like the blade had dulled, or was removed during the whittling process, producing the dulling effect, when in fact, the sharpening process hadn't been compeleted yet.
 
I agree with Longbow50. I bet you had a micro burr after sharpening. They'll shave like a razor but upon impacting anything solid will fold over and make the edge disappear. A good strop is in order after the stones to help keep those edges cutting. I made myself a strop by glueing a strip of leather to a piece of G10 scrap. Then I rubbed in some white polishing rouge from Sears and now my edges are sharper and stay that way a lot longer. The other benefit of a strop is that not all knives will need the stones to bring em back to sharp. Usually just a few swipes on the strop and BINGO!!!! Back to a shaving edge :)
 
Try sharpening at a slightly increased angle your last few passes, then stropping the blade on a pair of jeans (pull the blade backwards at an increased angle a few times). I do this with benchstones on steels that tend to form a wire edge and it takes care of them. The problem with wire edges is that when they bend over, they form a very dull edge (if you have a knife steel, you can steel the edge back to strait).
 
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