dull knife?

balisonglover5634 · May 26, 2009

do blades just dull over time? i know it sounds stupid but i have a balisong that i never use for cutting anything but i just recently tried to show how sharp it was to my friend and it wont even cut paper. it has cut paper like a razor before though. any ideas?

THG · May 26, 2009

I suppose the edge can oxidize a little over time. I think it was Sal that said that the metal at the edge is twice as susceptible to corrosion because it is exposed on more than one side, unlike the metal on the rest of the blade.

Roger999 · May 26, 2009

Very minute amounts of rust on the edge can take the edge away, also technique is important in cutting paper.

balisonglover5634 · May 27, 2009

Roger999 said:
Very minute amounts of rust on the edge can take the edge away, also technique is important in cutting paper.

so it might be that im just cutting wrong not that im not getting my knives sharp enough?

Roger999 · May 27, 2009

balisonglover5634 said:
so it might be that im just cutting wrong not that im not getting my knives sharp enough?

Slicing is easier than pushcutting, try put the edge under a light and if you see any reflections, then the edge is dull at the reflections.

balisonglover5634 · May 27, 2009

Roger999 said:
Slicing is easier than pushcutting, try put the edge under a light and if you see any reflections, then the edge is dull at the reflections.

thank you.
so if it is shiny at the edge keep sharpening? because my edge on all my knives are lighter than the rest of the blade

Josh K · May 27, 2009

balisonglover5634 said:
thank you.
so if it is shiny at the edge keep sharpening? because my edge on all my knives are lighter than the rest of the blade

The whole "don't let the edge reflect light" thing is a bit outdated in my opinion. Sure I know what it means, and you will too in time, but it's a bit hard to describe and leads to some confusion.

Knives shouldn't really "dull" from nonuse. The edge on carbon blades is more prone to corrosion because it's thinner and more exposed, but that's a different matter. If it seems dull, sharpen it. What are you using to sharpen?

balisonglover5634 · May 27, 2009

Josh K said:
The whole "don't let the edge reflect light" thing is a bit outdated in my opinion. Sure I know what it means, and you will too in time, but it's a bit hard to describe and leads to some confusion.

Knives shouldn't really "dull" from nonuse. The edge on carbon blades is more prone to corrosion because it's thinner and more exposed, but that's a different matter. If it seems dull, sharpen it. What are you using to sharpen?

I am using a lansky guided system. i want to do freehand soon but dont have the money or the feel for the right angle yet

Josh K · May 27, 2009

balisonglover5634 said:
I am using a lansky guided system. i want to do freehand soon but dont have the money or the feel for the right angle yet

I dislike Lansky's or any type of clamp system. Just my preference, but they only give consistent angles if you clamp it in the exact same spot every time.

Pick up a Spydero Sharpmaker and work on that. :thumbup: It's less expensive then a couple diamond hones or whatever you'd need to freehand, and I love it.

balisonglover5634 · May 27, 2009

Josh K said:
I dislike Lansky's or any type of clamp system. Just my preference, but they only give consistent angles if you clamp it in the exact same spot every time.

Pick up a Spydero Sharpmaker and work on that. :thumbup: It's less expensive then a couple diamond hones or whatever you'd need to freehand, and I love it.

yeah, i have noticed thats a lot of people's opinion on here. but i realized that after i asked for it and my parents bought the diamond so i don't want them to feel bad. is the sharpmaker hard to use?

Josh K · May 27, 2009

balisonglover5634 said:
yeah, i have noticed thats a lot of people's opinion on here. but i realized that after i asked for it and my parents bought the diamond so i don't want them to feel bad. is the sharpmaker hard to use?

The Sharpmaker is hands down the easiest system to use. It's the quickest and simplest to setup, completely functional and very versatile. :thumbup:

I don't think your parents would feel bad.

Mine continually told me to never buy knives.... see how well that turned out.

Disclaimer: No, I do not work for Spyderco in any capacity. They just know what they're doing.

balisonglover5634 · May 27, 2009

Josh K said:
The Sharpmaker is hands down the easiest system to use. It's the quickest and simplest to setup, completely functional and very versatile. :thumbup:

I don't think your parents would feel bad. Mine continually told me to never buy knives.... see how well that turned out.

Disclaimer: No, I do not work for Spyderco in any capacity. They just know what they're doing.

hah, my dad actually bought me my first knife.
thank you. i saw on their website that the sides are for spyderco's serrations, would they not work for a benchmade?

Josh K · May 27, 2009

balisonglover5634 said:
hah, my dad actually bought me my first knife.
thank you. i saw on their website that the sides are for spyderco's serrations, would they not work for a benchmade?

Lucky to have a dad like that.

The corners of the rods work perfectly (actually designed to work perfectly with) the Spyderco Serrations (SpyderEdge).

Taking a look at the Benchmade serrations, it should do fine. :thumbup:

Course then you have a very interesting notion in Benchmade's FAQ

Benchmade FAQ said:
Q. If I pay extra, will you sharpen my serrations?
A. We do not sharpen serrations on any Benchmade knife currently. Feel free to contact us to confirm prices of new blades.

Seems you have to buy a whole new blade instead of getting the serrations sharpened.

THG · May 27, 2009

Josh K said:
The whole "don't let the edge reflect light" thing is a bit outdated in my opinion. Sure I know what it means, and you will too in time, but it's a bit hard to describe and leads to some confusion.

Outdated? How so? I think it's the best standard way to see if you've got a good edge without doing any cutting.

You look at the knife from both sides and twist it and turn it around a bit in the light. If you see a wire along the edge, you've got a burr.

Then you look at the edge from the top under bright light. If you've got shine, you've got a dull edge. If there is no shine, you've likely got a shaving-sharp edge.

balisonglover5634 · May 27, 2009

Josh K said:
Lucky to have a dad like that.

The corners of the rods work perfectly (actually designed to work perfectly with) the Spyderco Serrations (SpyderEdge).

Taking a look at the Benchmade serrations, it should do fine. :thumbup:

Course then you have a very interesting notion in Benchmade's FAQ

Seems you have to buy a whole new blade instead of getting the serrations sharpened.

yeah, he bought me a m-16 bayonet at a gun show.

so it will work for both serrations? because i don't own any spydercos yet. are the byrd the same serration as the spyderedge?

Josh K · May 27, 2009

THG said:
Outdated? How so? I think it's the best standard way to see if you've got a good edge without doing any cutting.

You look at the knife from both sides and twist it and turn it around a bit in the light. If you see a wire along the edge, you've got a burr.

Then you look at the edge from the top under bright light. If you've got shine, you've got a dull edge. If there is no shine, you've likely got a shaving-sharp edge.

I prefer looking at the edge under a loupe, but looking for reflection isn't bad. I'm saying it's harder to describe to someone beginning sharpening, though you seem to have put it quite simply.

balisonglover5634 said:
yeah, he bought me a m-16 bayonet at a gun show.

so it will work for both serrations? because i don't own any spydercos yet. are the byrd the same serration as the spyderedge?

I believe they are, and it should work for both. :thumbup: Just make sure to watch the DVD that comes with it. Very helpful.