First 8OT -- wow!

KeithAM

KeithAM

Joined
Dec 15, 2003
Messages
3,154
Probably not earth shattering for most of you Schrade guys, but today I recieved my first 8OT stockman that I won on FleaBay. Yes, it's a made-in-USA model, NOS in a clam pack.

Anyway, I'm really impressed with this knife. No gaps, good strong springs, and all 3 blades have great snap! Really make sme wish I had paid more attention while Schrade was still going. :o

I recently had to return 2 new knives made by another U.S. manufacturer for various defects. So this was a pleasant surprise.

This will be a user.

I have a "48 hour" rule for all new knives -- first 48 hour I inspect only, NO sharpening! But I plan on thinning the blades to 30 degrees inclusive and then finishing with a 40 degree inclusive microbevel. Any thoughts on whether Schrade 1095 will support this edge? Please give me your thoughts.
 
I personally think you would be more pleased with a simple 20 degree edge, but you know what they say about opinions. The 1095HC is good steel, if that is what yours is. If it is 440, it is still a good steel, just different charactoristics.

Codger
 
Keith,
Welcome to the club. Everyone needs an 8OT. Next you'll want a 34OT just cause its a little smaller. Then you want a 897UH cause the handle is a little dressier.. Its an addiction... Get me more!
TTYL
Larry
P.S. 20-30 degree bevel is a lot easier to manage.
 
I'm with the Codger on the small angle. That 1095 is a wonderful thing at small angles. Just be careful and watch for blood...
 
Welcome to the club, such as we are. Don't forget to strop after sharpening, you can't really appreciate good 1095 unless you strop it.
 
Very true OTguy. You see, you leave a very ragged edge when you sharpen a blade. You can even leave a "leaf" of steel that folds over and flops. No, you can't see it. We are talking on a micro level here, where cutting actually takes place. Stropping polishes and smoothes that edge scary sharp (if the steel is good and your sharpening has been accurate).

Codger

PS- The 8OT is my "avoidence" knife. As long as I don't have one, I can truthfully say I have avoided buying one!
 
I just read the last few posts and I have a question. Are knives supposed to be sharp??? El Lobo told me I wasn't allowed to play with sharp things.

Paul
 
You take advice from a guy who hunts scorpions? With a pocket knife? While seated on the porcelin throne?

Codger :D
 
Are knives supposed to be sharp???
Click to expand...
You'll know you've got it right when you see blood after the fact, but still don't feel where it's coming from. Don't ask my how I know. :o
 
Hey, Hey.....

Wait just a minute there...I wasn't seated, I was just wandering into the room, mindin' my own bizness...anyway, scorpions are a mite tougher to work with than muskrats, rabbits and such. Ya'll can boast about your success rate with those, and skinnin' and all...but they don't hit back like those little yellow dudes.

Besides, scorpions taste like crap. Even when mixed with rattlesnake.

Bill
P.S.
OK, I WAS sitting down on the job....but I didn't want all the new folks to think I wasn't a "Man of Action"....but, the truth is the truth.
I feel better now. :rolleyes: :o
 
Welcome to the club, Keith. You've discovered what tens of thousands of people across several generations already knew: Schrade made a fine knife.
Phil
 
Thank you for all of your kind words and advice. I plan to get another 8OT ASAP to hold back as a "spare" -- sound familiar? ;)

I also got 3 33OT knives for Father's Day earlier this year. I opened only 1 of them, and I did sharpen it at 15 degrees per side. BUT, I use it ONLY to whittle soft wood (mainly basswood), so that's not much of a test in my mind. So your sharpening advice is appreciated. By the way, I find that the narrow pen blade on the 33OT is very useful for whittling.
 
I've found that touching my Old Timers (and most non HARD use blades) up on the back of a Legal pad, keeps the edge up quite well, and I don't really have to sharpen them more than once a year.
YMMV.

Bill
 
Thanks El Lobo. I've read about the use of the backs legal pads. I have a steady supply of those so I'll have to try it. 2 questions:

1. Do you use any sort of polishing or stropping compound on the cardboard; and

2. Do you hold the blade at the same angle as the edge bevel?
 
Keith, once you become a Sharp-o-holic, you'll need to visit HandAmericanMade.com. They sell the best leather hone and CrO2 paste available.

http://www.handamerican.com/products.html

Keep light pressure, 3-5 strokes on each side, keep the approximate same angle as used when sharpening. You'll need some newspaper handy to test whether you're loosing or gaining ground until you get it figured out.
 
Interesting Ted! The "final sharpness test" has as many variations as there are knife knuts, I suppose. I use wood dowels and shave thin slivers. If the sliver breaks out early, fails to curl, or just looks ragged, I know I have more work to do. I recently read about a toilet paper push test that made some sense. It takes a very sharp and smoothly honed edge to slice the T.P. sheet while being pushed, and the tissue not bunch or tear. I usually just give my EDC the thumb nail test, running my thumbnail the length of the edge to find rough spots. One member here I recall uses the body hair test, and another is rumored to slice flies on the wing.

Codger

PS- In my opinion (here we go again!), a knife can be too sharp for it's intended use. And prefered bevels are very dependent upon the particular knife pattern and grind.
 
Keith,

My purpose in mentioning that method was its simplicity. It is one of a TON of methods people use. But, it is so simple and I find it works well for me.

No compound or anything like that is necessary. I use the height of three pennies stacked, as my angle for most of my pocket or folding knives. If you have a burr, you'll feel it...hear it...and it might even "fuzz" the cardboard a little, while leaving dust on the opposite side of the blade. This also works pretty well for finishing the serrated side of most knives, (like an inexpensive steak knife, or a cheese knife), I keep a small backside (of cardboard, that is :) ) next to my kitchen steel.

Lead with the spine, edge trailing... from the middle of the cardboard (lengthwise) to the bottom of the tablet... about 30 strokes per side, or, concentrate on the side that has the burr until you're satisfied there is no longer a burr. 60 strokes in 60 seconds, (Gone in 60 seconds? :D ), a one minute touch up that has worked well for me for a long time.

This method doesn't SHARPEN a knife, it helps remove the burr in a very clean and simple manner. That's all it does. It works on MOST steels...except for the very hardest Rockwell numbers...and gives you a nice working edge to a knife that is kept in good shape at all times.

There are numerous other methods to get a "Shaving sharp, surgical, rope cutting contest edge" on your knife...that's not what I'm espousing here.

Good stropping.

Bill
 
I have a 15 degree per side edge on an old Schrade 1095 stockman, finished on an extra fine ceramic hone and stropped, great for whittling.

My brother used to have a house along the highway to Cuernavaca, there were lots of scorpions around, they could be seen walking on the ceiling and found inside empty shoes, you could killed them with a fly swatter, I guess they're probably smaller than those in Arizona.

Luis
 
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