How sharp is the La Griffes supposed to be?

Daniel L

Daniel L

Gold Member
Joined
Nov 2, 1998
Messages
1,982
Hi all,
I recently purchased a La Griffe - it arrived fairly blunt (i.e. it made tearing cuts in memo cube paper rather than "slicing" cuts.) - I've had some attempts at sharpening but without much success. I do love the design tho!

It looks to be a very thick edge - but maybe this is offset by the the angle provided by the chisel grind.

So how sharp can you get the La Griffe - will it ever be able to make clean slicing cuts thru paper or will it always be a "ripper" (not a bad thing I guess...) - I'm just of the opinion that the CRKT Bear Claw with a flat ground blade is actually the better cutter...

Thanks for the feedback!

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Daniel
 
Mine was also dull out of the box. Not blunt, not butter knife dull, but wasn't anywhere close to shaving or even skin-scraping sharp.

That's a hard little booger to sharpen too... the curvature radius is very tight.

Much long patience on say a Spyderco Edgemaker might have done it, but I went for the Lansky and quite honestly, got a very sharp edge but it isn't as perfectly round/radiused as it used to be. Dammit.

 
Three, razor sharp out of the box.

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"You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol than you are a musician because you own a guitar." ~Jeff Cooper
And the same goes for a knife...
And, I'm a Usual Suspect.
 
Mine was sharp too. I have not tried touching the blade up yet but it sounds like "fun".
wink.gif


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Usual Suspect
http://www.freeyellow.com/members8/arkhamdrifter/index.html
 
Ok - seems that the consenus is that the La Griffe is supposed to be razor-hair shaving sharp. I had another go at it last night and it's sharper now, but does anyone have any tips of bringing our "hair popping" sharpness?

Thanks again!
 
A Spyderco ceramic "V" 204 didn't work for me.

A 1" belt sander carefully, very carefully, got mine back to out of the box shaving sharp. The left side of the belt was used - only the left side.

After finishing the edge on the belt the tip was slightly duller. That was easily sharpened by applying the sander belt to the spine to regain the needle point.

A curved leather strop glued to the top of a rounded piece of wood finished the job.

Take care,
bug
 
just got an EKI la griffe yesterday (marked 2001 on the blade) and mine is dull as well. or at least not shaving (and not even close to hair popping) sharp. i makes awesome tears in cardboard, but requires quite a bit of force to move through. i -think- this may be du to the thick blade chisel grind, great for strength and durability. i am not sure if i will do anything to it as i want to keep it as strong as possible. all in all a fantastic item, maybe i just need to ubnderstand the chisel grind a bit more though ...
 
Have a new La Griffe myself.
Mine is sharp enough for me out of box, but not sharp like my CQC7B, for example. I notice it's sharpened at a steeper angle than the 7B or 7A. I did some very light, simple cutting tests briefly...the La Griffe, though not feeling as sharp as some of my knives, glided through twine and made clean (though not at all straight) paper and thin cardboard cuts.

I'm still trying to understand the chisel grind myself. For instance, my CQC7B is my sharpest Emerson...scarily so, but just looking at the blade shape, one might not get that impression. I'm getting the impression the thicker chisel grind is mostly for cutting tasks not requiring straight-line precision, but requiring a "tougher" edge. But even that somewhat thick edge can be deceptively sharp for certain purposes.
Jim
 
well, after using this knife a bunch over the last few days, my understanding of the chisel ground edge has grown... yes, this thing is VERY sharp, IF used correctly. not the same as a V gound or similar knife. kinda cool, and a bit deceptive, but i am getting used to how it works best. now, if i could find a nice, small clip for the sheath so i can hold it on my belt, i will be alllll ahppy
smile.gif
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by vactor:
... yes, this thing is VERY sharp, IF used correctly. kinda cool, and a bit deceptive, but i am getting used to how it works best. </font>
Click to expand...

I don't understand what mean when you say it is sharp, but only if used correctly. Could you elaborate?
 
well, the edge is at a very shallow angle then the knife is held normal to the ground. as such, the cutting edge does not present the highest angle to the material (if it is parallel t the gound). therefore the edge will not present in the most advantageous way. noe can then cut either by applying lot more downward pressure, or by tilting the blade to the 'right' and presenting a better angle between the edge of the blade and the material to be cut. if done in the second manner, the knife cust very easily, if done in the first manner, it 'rips' more than cuts. both are fine for slashing, but i need to be aware of wwhat type of cutting i am doing with the la griffe to get best results. the chisel gound blade does this, especially on such ashallow angle as on the la griffe. but, this makes the knife and the edge extremely durable, as there is very little material removed prior to the edge.
 
Hey guys,

Not to sound arrogant, ignorant or condescending, but don't break out the Geometry Books on this knife. It is designed to be used as a Defensive Tool.

Instead of sitting and scratching your head and figuring out how and why it cuts a certain way, "The Riddle of Chisel..."

Simply take a piece of furniture-grade foam, like you would find in a couch cushion, and anchor it safely at face level, and do some quick slashes on it, you will see instantly what the knife is good for...you can use meat if you're not a cheap bastid like me. Although I have used it on meat in the same way and it performed very well indeed.

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"You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol than you are a musician because you own a guitar." ~Jeff Cooper
And the same goes for a knife...
And, I'm a Usual Suspect.
Some of my Knives and other neat things
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Don Rearic:
Not to sound arrogant, ignorant or condescending, but don't break out the Geometry Books on this knife. It is designed to be used as a Defensive Tool.

Instead of sitting and scratching your head and figuring out how and why it cuts a certain way, "The Riddle of Chisel..."
</font>
Click to expand...

Not to worry, Don.
Thanks for your concern.
 
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