How come friends and family seem to have knife with frustating characteristics?

J

J Thomas

Joined
Feb 26, 2003
Messages
67
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A bit of a vent.

The word is getting out that I'll sharpen folks knives ... I'm getting pocket knives, hunting knives and kitchen knives that have FRUSTRATINGLY bad elements that hinder sharpening ease.

Thumb studs that get in the way of laying the blade flat, grind lines that look like something out of Death Valley, blades with plunge lines at 45 degrees instead of 90, handle grips that get in the way.

Perfect world of sharpening would only be these two designs: Japanese style kitchen knife and a "Kephart style" outdoor knife. =)

It's like anything, sales are driven by newer, "cooler" designs that seem to take a backseat to practicality when it comes to sharpening.

Someone just gave me a hunting knife that was newer and all ready had 9 micro chips in the blade edge, he had no idea why. The cutting edge /apex was a short aggressive V grind and a 3/4" hollow grind above it that I'd have to rent a belt sander and two belts to try to thin back the blade to make the geometry right (not sure if I described this right, but using a brass rod the edge deflects way too easy - no meat above the apex). No way to hand grind the difference and to boot throw a huge gut hook in the mix with a thumb stud that sits an inch into the blade ... who thinks this stuff up?

I'm realizing most sharpening videos are with knives that have no crazy elements to them, someone needs to start a sharpening series on YouTube on how to hand sharpen all the "what were they thinking" knife designs out there.

All right, back to sharpening ... Thanks for the vent, my wife won't have to hear about it tonight now. =)

All the best.

.
 
Don't forget about warps, multiple warps, bent tips, folded serrations, bread knives that have been used to cut shoe molding, mystery steel, loose pivots, loose lockbars, rocker locks, pocket clips.

As for the thumb studs is one of the reasons I sharpen at a 45° angle, puts the studs out of the way.

Almost 100% off the time these jobs start with a very coarse stone and mind the plunge line!

If its really hammered I won't grind out all the dings or sweat the warps. I'll make an honest attempt to straighten it all out but lacking explicit instructions am not going to correct every thing that isn't right. It'll be sharp and cleaned up.
 
J Thomas said:
Someone just gave me a hunting knife that was newer and all ready had 9 micro chips in the blade edge, he had no idea why. The cutting edge /apex was a short aggressive V grind and a 3/4" hollow grind above it that I'd have to rent a belt sander and two belts to try to thin back the blade to make the geometry right (not sure if I described this right, but using a brass rod the edge deflects way too easy - no meat above the apex). No way to hand grind the difference and to boot throw a huge gut hook in the mix with a thumb stud that sits an inch into the blade ... who thinks this stuff up?
Click to expand...
I need to see pics of this one!
 
J Thomas said:
It's something else all right. I'm not sure if I'm describing the edge correctly, however, when you pinch the blade and pull your finger to the edge the blade grind reduces greatly till about a 1/16" or 2 mm from the edge and then you feel your fingers bulge out a bit, then, you get this V grind that you can deform easily with a brass rod.

I'm not sure the rules of posting a link to a company's website ... don't want to disparage or get in trouble ... but, to me, it looks like a knife designed by committee or someone who tried to make a "tacticool hunter". I went on a few sights and read some of the reviews folks left and it left me scratching my head ... makes you wonder who actually writes and posts some of the reviews online.
Click to expand...
Just post a picture of the knife you sharpened. Is it a scandi grind gone bad?
 
I guess I'm used to it . You'd think my wife hated knives ,seriously I'll give her a kitchen knife with a fresh polished edge only to hear it smack a plate or get thrown in a sink .

We converted a spyderco street beat to her favorite paring knife in the kitchen , that poor poor knife . Broken tip and who knew they came in a combo edge? They dont you say , oh that's just chips !

As far as thumbstuds go I could start my own thread on knives with thumbstuds especially the thumbstuds that are press fit and you can only sharpen half of the blade ...As I sit there with knife of the stone turning it every angle possible to try and see if I can get it on the stone I constantly ask myself what were they thinking !

I've got to where now if a friend or family member asks me to sharpen a knife I don't just ouright say yes anymore . I say it depends on the knife . As in the steel it's made from. Condition of the knife and all that .

If it's some cheapie Chinese special that won't take a good edge in dont even try anymore I tell them that even if it does get sharp it won't hold it and it's not worth my time or my waste of good stone .

I have a belt sander but I've ran into the same thing cheap kitchen knives that the burr feels like aluminum foil and forms after each pass and is near impossible to take off .

Basically it's knife by knife basis now .I tell people if you want a good edge you haft to have a good knife to start with .
 
Spartan,

Feel your pain.

Lucky me, I'm glad that my wife appreciate good cutting now & will use it and care for it.
Am a happy man :D
 
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Why do people bring you so many weirdo knives to sharpen with all of these problems? Because there are a lot of bad knives in the world and almost no one you know is "a knife guy". So they buy bad knives that are some combination of:

1. Cheap
2. Cool looking
3. What they were given or told to buy

1 and 2 are the big culprits.

Brian.
 
bgentry said:
Why do people bring you so many weirdo knives to sharpen with all of these problems? Because there are a lot of bad knives in the world and almost no one you know is "a knife guy". So they buy bad knives that are some combination of:

1. Cheap
2. Cool looking
3. What they were given or told to buy

1 and 2 are the big culprits.

Brian.
Click to expand...

4. They have no idea how to care for the knife even when it is sharp.

The OP should start charging money- say 10bux a blade or 3 for 20. That's what I do and tell them that doesn't include radical repair work or training them how to correctly use and maintain their knife.
Also when you tell them that it will need sharpening at least once a month if they use it a lot they will not be so keen to bring their problems .
I sharpened kitchen knives for a local restauranteur. He'd had a guy with a motorbike powered sharpening wheel(whatever thaty is) tell him they wouldn't need doing again for 6months! yeah if I don't use them.
 
I'm often asked sharpen other people's knives.

Repeat after me.

"I can't sharpen that"

Repeat as often as needed.
 
.

To everyone who posted with feedback, "Thanks for the help and advice." I've quickly learned to say "I can't sharpen that", and if pressed why ... then, I start showing the offending features.

However, it's a lot harder to say the mantra when it's family. =)

All the best, and again I appreciate the help.

.
 
J Thomas said:
Someone just gave me a hunting knife that was newer and all ready had 9 micro chips in the blade edge, he had no idea why. The cutting edge /apex was a short aggressive V grind and a 3/4" hollow grind above it that I'd have to rent a belt sander and two belts to try to thin back the blade to make the geometry right (not sure if I described this right, but using a brass rod the edge deflects way too easy - no meat above the apex).
Click to expand...

Maybe I'm not reading this right, but if the knife is already too thin, which is what it sounds like from the issues, why would you have to thin it back more? From your description... sounds like a simple microbevel would have fixed it? Maybe I'm missing something in the description... :confused:
 
cbwx34 - The cutting edge was thin, the shoulder behind the cutting edge was very obtuse (hope I explained that correctly).

The normal, "can it catch on my thumb nail" was not possible because the blade angle was so wide ... I touched up the cutting edge, but know that as soon as that edge is gone someone is going to have a bear of a time thinning out the blade behind the cutting edge.

It helped me understand you can have a crowbar on top and a brittle scalpel on the bottom.
 
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