Farm Life

We put 3 more Cornish in the freezer this morning. Ole Blue is certainly into it's vanadium edge at 7. No edge rolling. We have 5 more which I'll work on this afternoon. I can tell for my liking after 12 the edge will be a sluggish type and I could call it good and touch it up. I could likely do
10 more at this point. And those last few most guys here would not enjoy the degraded edge. If I were trying to get the elk skinned before dark, I would continue, just as long at it would cut. But I would not like the way it was cutting. I'm on a project that I can afford to stop and
touch up the edge before continuing. So, it would be the users call and I'm certainly giving you the information we were after. DM
 
During this usage I have tried not to cut large bones w/ this s90v steel. If I felt them I moved over. Except the ribs, those I cut thru. These Cornish are 10 weeks
old. So, we are finding birds over 10 lbs.. I never find whole fryers weighing that in stores. Those usually run 4.5-5 lbs.. Perhaps capon
or a young turkey could be found weighing in this range. It usually takes me 25 mins. knife work from the time I catch it to the time it's
packed in the freezer. Then I have some clean up time. So, you can add that up for 25 birds and know more than me. This steel could handle
5-6 hrs. work if that helps you with information toward this deer season. As long as your close to a diamond stone or a beer by then you should be fine. DM
 
Ok, we finished all the remaining Cornish and at this point I would sharpen the 110. I found 2 rolled areas on the blade of a 1/2" each.
I think I could press it to do 2-3 more but I would touch it up tonight after supper. Thank you for reading and helping me out on this
test. DM
 
Last edited:
I looked at it closer and there is 3-4 places with a half inch spot of rolling. When I say rolling, you can feel it on one side of the blade and not on the other. It feels like a slightly curled edge when rubbing your fingers straight down and off the edge bevel. It is slight/ mild but can be felt with finger tips. I suspect the way this occurs is from edge fatigue during use. When the edge cannot be supported it folds to one side. DM
 
This rolled edge then causes the knife to not be able to initiate the cut. So, we think the edge is worn and becoming dull. I think that most all
of the edge is still there. It just became fatigued and rolled and thus cannot cut.
The same thing occurs when you push cut through bones only it does it quicker. DM
 
I've seen this same thing happen with my double edge razor blade after 6-7 shaves. It don't shave so good. After a stropping session the edge
bevel is corrected and it shaves better for another 7 shaves. I realize that these blades are made of simple stainless steels and they are much
thinner, thus easier to correct. With these I cannot feel it but with 8X magnification I can see it. Whereas a knife's edge is much thicker and the
material cut more substantial than whiskers. Then throw in a complex steel like s90v and mere stropping cannot correct it. You have to remove some metal. DM
 
Another item worth mentioning is during the last 20 years of raising meat chickens I have processed around 125 birds and I've cut myself
only one time. DM
 
The s90v blade had about 2" of it's blade with burrs and rolled edge. After 20-25 mins. working it on a x fine diamond and some stropping
I had it back to a decent sharp condition. I prefer a 8X Opti-Visor head set when sharpening as it allows one to identify the areas of the edge
that need work. A good magnifying glass with a side window doubler will work for this sharpening as well. Use bright lighting and you'll see the target
areas. Thanks, DM
 
Last edited:
David Martin said:
She said this size knife works great for this type work. This model is the maroon micarta so it has the contoured handle. I also did another one with ole Blue. #4 and no rolling. DM
Click to expand...

I got my wife the 13pc cutlery set a couple years ago now I think, and while putting a knife back in the block this a.m. I remembered we are always reaching for the old cheap knife block that has a 6" blade in it as it seems to be the best fit.
 
st8, I think you make a good point. When our set arrived I noticed the absence of a 6" boning blade too. So, I got on a search for a Empress
Trio set. Which ran $135 with the walnut holding box. This was fine with me as these knives are of such good quality. I wanted 2 in that set, the
6" boning and the 9" slicer. Both I cannot live without and these 2 style knives are not in the current set. After I got the Empress set I noticed my wife snitching them for her use. O-well, she really likes them too. The handles are maroon micarta and the blades are 440C. A real first class kitchen set. DM
 
View attachment 918447 I use Titanium and Stellite blades in the kitchen among others. Both of these materials have great wear resistance owing to the types and quantities of Carbides. They both have lower Rockwell hardnesses than blade steel, and so the edges deform more readily. The rolled edge fix is quite simple. Put a 1/4” diameter brass rod in a vise and straighten the roll by pulling the knife, edge trailing, in the affected area. If you over correct, flip the knife over and repeat. After the edge is realigned, I “steel” it on the sides of a ceramic knife blade, edge leading.
 
Off and on today I gave some thought to what I would change on the next big processing project for our year supply of meat. Next time I'm
going to use a 6" boning knife. Either the Empress Trio 6" or the early 121, a 5.5" blade. Both of these have thin blades. Whether it be with Cornish meat birds or a buck, I'm going to use that size and style knife more. Because I think it is a good size and design to use for the task. DM
 
tiguy, I don't think a steeling rod or a ceramic rod would have much affect on a high vanadium steel. Now, a diamond rod,-- yes. DM
 
David Martin said:
tiguy, I don't think a steeling rod or a ceramic rod would have much affect on a high vanadium steel. Now, a diamond rod,-- yes. DM
Click to expand...
now that you've sharpened it a bit I wonder if the new exposed steel will roll anymore?
 
jb, a good question. One that I cannot answer right now. I'm learning about this steel as we go too. But I think this characteristic is common.
I tell you what I'll do, we feed our goats a few limbs of oak brush daily. They like the leaves and this roughage is beneficial in their diet. Instead of using the pruning sheers to cut these limbs I'll use this 110 (ole Blue). These limbs run the diameter of your little finger (somewhere in that
range) and they would compare closely to cutting chicken bones. As I use it for this I'll examine it and see what develops. By this coming weekend I should have an answer for you. Another real world test that will give us additional information about this steel. DM
 
David Martin said:
tiguy, I don't think a steeling rod or a ceramic rod would have much affect on a high vanadium steel. Now, a diamond rod,-- yes. DM
Click to expand...
A steeling rod or ceramic rod would not work for straightening the rolled edge. A brass or mild steel rod immobilized by a vise allows you to apply a lot of pressure with both hands to the deformed area edge trailing. The Vanadium Carbides do not affect the process. The ability to move the rolled edge is determined by the strength of the crystal lattice structure of the blade (HRC) rather than the inclusions in that lattice.
Once the rolled portion is brought into “line”, the edge can be touched up by sharpening or steeling or some combination thereof.
 
jbmonkey said:
now that you've sharpened it a bit I wonder if the new exposed steel will roll anymore?
Click to expand...
The propensity of an edge to roll is not determined by its sharpness, dullness, or how recently it has been restored. Rather the likeliness of new deformation will be determined by the number and strengths of fresh insults to the edge. When working with food (soft stuff), the edge will be fine until a bone is whacked. How hard is the bone? At what angle was it struck? How hard was the strike? How many times was it struck?
A dull edge will roll just as readily as a sharp one. Meat cleavers have obtuse edge angles in anticipation of bone strikes. Fine edged cutlery.. not so much.
 
David Martin said:
Off and on today I gave some thought to what I would change on the next big processing project for our year supply of meat. Next time I'm
going to use a 6" boning knife. Either the Empress Trio 6" or the early 121, a 5.5" blade. Both of these have thin blades. Whether it be with Cornish meat birds or a buck, I'm going to use that size and style knife more. Because I think it is a good size and design to use for the task. DM
Click to expand...

Hey Dave,
Have you tried the Buck 539 Open season small game?
Aside from my general preference of the 6" blade for processing/boning, I have enjoyed using this knife.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top