I thought it was sharp ......

gajinoz

gajinoz

Joined
Sep 2, 2003
Messages
11,650
I generally try to keep my Leatherman blade nice and sharp and it will cut through most things however I got a bit of a surprise today.

I had to unwrap a bandage from a horse's leg and I needed to slice through some bandage. This stuff is a sort of elastic material and sticky on one side, no problem for a knife you might think. Well, I couldn't slice through that stuff without a lot of sawing back and forth. Bloody thing has lost it's edge I thought. Luckily I had my little Spyderco Cricket in my pocket so I opened it up and that cut through it fairly easily.

I checked the Leatherman when I got back inside and it certainly doesn't appear to be dull. It slices through paper and cardboard and even cut the corner off a bit of leather I had. Very strange, why wouldn't it cut a bit of sticky elastic cloth? Maybe the edge is too polished, or not polished enough, don't know. Strange!

I'm going to get the Sharpmaker out and some of the left over bandage and do a bit of experimenting.

How do you spend your Sunday mornings? :)
 
one thing most people miss is that blades hit the inside of handles and it murders the edge...
 
I always have closed my knives as to keep from hitting the inside. I hate to see somone close one fast and hear the 'click'. :grumpy:
 
I've cut that stuff before too, I think it's called Vetwrap. It's not particularly tough but it is tough for the edge to bite into it. I think it might be because of the sticky stuff on the outside of the cloth. The edge doesn't slide through it to the actual material below because it's so sticky. Just a theory of mine.
 
Roadrunner said:
I've cut that stuff before too, I think it's called Vetwrap. It's not particularly tough but it is tough for the edge to bite into it. I think it might be because of the sticky stuff on the outside of the cloth. The edge doesn't slide through it to the actual material below because it's so sticky. Just a theory of mine.
Click to expand...
I know exactly what you mean but this stuff I'm talking about isn't vetwrap. It's a fairly tough, white, elastic cloth material with some sort of sticky stuff on one side. You use it over the top of the vetwrap on feet to keep it all stuck together.
 
the edge may have been too polished. spyderco's factory edge is shaving sharp yet not polished, unlike many others (including customs). that's why they cut so well...
 
masterxx said:
On alot of slipjoint the tang under the choil sticks out so the blade doesnt hit.

Tyler
Click to expand...
Yep, but my Leatherman has a locking blade. Also, when you are working around horses with sharp knives, especally injured horses, the one thing you make very very sure of is that you are extremely careful and know what you're doing. I was cutting with the right part of the blade, just wouldn't go through.

I suspect that I need either a much coarser finish on the edge or a much more polished one or possibly a sharper angle. I'm going to have a look at the Cricket and the Leatherman and see what the difference is.
 
He's right about the polished edge. Spyderco loves serations and even on their plain edge there are micro serations. if you sharpen for a toothier edge it will more readily grab the fabric and slice. A polished edge will preform very well with push cuts.
 
I've had to cut similar stuff on the farm. A toothy edge, and an acute edge angle, make the job easier.

David
 
Some stuff simply kills edges. I can take a D2 Queen capable of cutting over a hundred linear feet of cardboard and try to cut diamond rubber mat with it- the edge dies in about twenty feet. Razor blades die in 4.
 
Sticky stuff really mungs up a knife. Even with plastic box tape, I find that an ordinary house key (or a serrated carbon fiber dagger I got from Lansky) works better than any knife I've used on the stuff.
 
Tralfamadore////....I always wondered what happened to Billy Pilgrim. Now I know.....he's taking care of horses.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top