Edge rolling

I will be following this thread.

I have a Salt in this steel, and have been carrying it often, as I love the design.

However, I noticed yesterday that it was incredibly dull, and the edge was smooth like a butter knife.

It had the factory edge, and I had used it to cut plants in the yard, some nylon rope, and two small pieces of rubber against a wood 2x4.

I was replacing some bicycle tires on my wife's bike, and was going to cut up the tires to fit them in the bin.

One my first cut attempt, I saw the edge was completely rolled and blunt, and I was not even able to score the tire. (Very thin road bike tire).

It is now back to sharp, after a progression through DMT course to extra fine, then stropped on green compound and leather.

We will see if it was a fluke.
 
MolokaiRider said:
I will be following this thread.

I have a Salt in this steel, and have been carrying it often, as I love the design.

However, I noticed yesterday that it was incredibly dull, and the edge was smooth like a butter knife.

It had the factory edge, and I had used it to cut plants in the yard, some nylon rope, and two small pieces of rubber against a wood 2x4.

I was replacing some bicycle tires on my wife's bike, and was going to cut up the tires to fit them in the bin.

One my first cut attempt, I saw the edge was completely rolled and blunt, and I was not even able to score the tire. (Very thin road bike tire).

It is now back to sharp, after a progression through DMT course to extra fine, then stropped on green compound and leather.

We will see if it was a fluke.
Click to expand...

Is it possible it hadn't been properly de-burred? This has happened to me when I had a massive burr from sharpening that I didn't properly strop off.
 
I find LC200N really hard to deburr and am constantly fighting it. The other time it became super dull I think there was a burr left over. Being careful to remove the burr between grits has helped a lot.
 
Spyderco has a variety of serrated LC200N knives that will work better when cutting on hard surfaces. The points between the gullets may roll, but for food, most of the cutting seems to be done by the sides of the gullets.

Most steak knives are serrated. I use serrated knives for cutting almost anything on a plate. My wife likes to use plain-edge paring knives, which get dull at least 10 times faster than the serrated knives. And the edges on her knives get mushroomed, which feels like having a burr on both sides. In my experience, mushroomed edges cannot be fixed by any of the usual deburring methods. I find that I usually have to go back to a medium grit stone/plate to remove the mushroom.
 
scdub said:
Sidebar to the question, but awhile back my wife bought some compressed bamboo plates to take camping. They have a similar feel to melanine but don’t seem quite as hard.

I recently started using them instead of regular plates for steaks, etc., to keep my edges sharper and they’ve worked well for this purpose…
Click to expand...

Bamboo contains silica (silicon dioxide a.k.a. quartz) - not a good choice for a cutting surface as regards edge integrity. Though often pushed as an "eco" alternative to plastic or wood these days. I like end-grain teak for a cutting board; camping I'd choose melamine (note: "m" in the middle, not "n") over bamboo.
 
kafolarbear said:
Is it possible it hadn't been properly de-burred? This has happened to me when I had a massive burr from sharpening that I didn't properly strop off.
Click to expand...
It didn't seem like it had one when new, but it's possible.

The edge had taken significant damage, as I could run the knife over my hand .
RugerNurse said:
what model do you have out of curiosity
Click to expand...
I have an H1 older model, but the one in question is the newer one in LC200n.
 
Another Shepherd said:
Spyderco has a variety of serrated LC200N knives that will work better when cutting on hard surfaces. The points between the gullets may roll, but for food, most of the cutting seems to be done by the sides of the gullets.

Most steak knives are serrated. I use serrated knives for cutting almost anything on a plate. My wife likes to use plain-edge paring knives, which get dull at least 10 times faster than the serrated knives. And the edges on her knives get mushroomed, which feels like having a burr on both sides. In my experience, mushroomed edges cannot be fixed by any of the usual deburring methods. I find that I usually have to go back to a medium grit stone/plate to remove the mushroom.
Click to expand...
I'll second this suggestion. I've got a Pacific Salt in LC200N and like it very much, but I don't think I would like it if it wasn't fully serrated. It's easy to touch up on the ceramic Spyderco Sharpmaker and seems to hold a decent edge, but I think the serrations really help with that. As mentioned above, the points on the serrations keep most of the cutting edge from contacting hard substances like ceramic plates, thereby protecting and prolonging the life of the cutting edge. It's exactly why most steal knives are at least partially serrated as it's expected they'll be used to cut down onto plates.
 
MolokaiRider said:
I will be following this thread.

I have a Salt in this steel, and have been carrying it often, as I love the design.

However, I noticed yesterday that it was incredibly dull, and the edge was smooth like a butter knife.

It had the factory edge, and I had used it to cut plants in the yard, some nylon rope, and two small pieces of rubber against a wood 2x4.

I was replacing some bicycle tires on my wife's bike, and was going to cut up the tires to fit them in the bin.

One my first cut attempt, I saw the edge was completely rolled and blunt, and I was not even able to score the tire. (Very thin road bike tire).

It is now back to sharp, after a progression through DMT course to extra fine, then stropped on green compound and leather.

We will see if it was a fluke.
Click to expand...

It's my understanding that most bicycle tires have a steel wire inside them along the beads. Sometimes they have Kevlar strands instead of steel on more expensive tires.
 
killgar said:
It's my understanding that most bicycle tires have a steel wire inside them along the beads. Sometimes they have Kevlar strands instead of steel on more expensive tires.
Click to expand...
I believe you are correct. I wasn't even able to score the outer rubber, so I suspect it was dull prior to trying, but I am unsure.

For fun, I'll try and cut the same tire with another knife and see how it goes.
 
My only thoughts are that the OP is dealing with a wire edge that folded over or that was overheated during it’s initial sharpening.

I cut food on plates all the time without an issue. Cut the food, not the plate.

My Dad was a perfectionist when it came to sharpening knives to a polished edge, actually awe inspiring. I can’t be bothered, I sharpen to a coarse edge and find it to be good enough.

The weird part my edges lasted longer than his.

My only explanation is a toothy edge is basically finely serrated.
 
A wire edge is a bur waiting to happen. It hasn’t folded over yet so you can’t feel it with your thumb nail. But it is so thin and weak that it can’t hold up to anything but will pass the paper test or shaving test.

At least that is my definition.
 
Any tips of burr removal? When I try to weaken it by running it on the stone very lightly it starts to make a burr on the over side.
 
Tires are pretty tough these days, lots of Kevlar belts in road bike tires and the like.

But how tough was the steak the OP was cutting to need that much pressure? Soft hockey puck or hard hockey puck?
 
TC said:
Bamboo contains silica (silicon dioxide a.k.a. quartz) - not a good choice for a cutting surface as regards edge integrity. Though often pushed as an "eco" alternative to plastic or wood these days. I like end-grain teak for a cutting board; camping I'd choose melamine (note: "m" in the middle, not "n") over bamboo.
Click to expand...
Good point. I avoid bamboo cutting boards for that reason too, but melamine seems very hard and I wonder how it affects edges.

(Thanks for the spell check btw - I’m looking into having the M and N keys separated on future keyboards… 😄).
 
eveled said:
I can’t be bothered, I sharpen to a coarse edge and find it to be good enough.
Click to expand...
same. Usually 220 grit on my modern folders and a Norton medium India for traditionals unless I’m gifting one. Then I’ll make it polished and pretty. A cleanly apexed coarse edge is a fine cutter!
 
scdub said:
Good point. I avoid bamboo cutting boards for that reason too, but melamine seems very hard and I wonder how it affects edges.

(Thanks for the spell check btw - I’m looking into having the M and N keys separated on future keyboards… 😄).
Click to expand...

We've had some melamine camping gear for decades - with the cheap camping knives in earlier days it didn't matter one way or another, these days when I use one of my better knives I just make sure I don't do hard cuts into the plate. Easier on the knife, easier on the plate. It's all just a matter of developing some muscle memory for that particular action.

I only mentioned the spelling in case others where going to look up melamine tableware. 😊
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top