Knife making/modding/maintenance mistakes you'll never make again

[bflying]

My dumbest of the dumb things I've done was trying to polish a sharpened blade on the bench buffer. Betcha can't guess what happened.

Yup, caught an edge. Luckily, missed my leg, missed my foot, and only ended up with a bent and broken tip as it plowed into concrete at a very high speed. I had so much adrenaline (and relief) hit my system, felt like I just went skydiving for the first time. Stupid, stupid, stupid.....

 

[Sonnydaze]

Trying to straighten a bent tip with needlenose pliers. *snap* Instant shorter knife.

Yeah, I tried to rejuvenate an old Kershaw tanto that my gd-daughter found on the trail in Colorado. I sharpened it, cleaned it up nice and tried to straighten a slightly bent blade so that it would center when closed. Of course, I snapped the blade. The grand-daughter got a brand new one.

 

[Helleri]

attempt to change the usual satin finish to mirror-like effect. just not worth the effort. you remove whatever etching there is on the blade, not to mention sanding off expensive metal to no good purpose.

It's worth it if you are really set up to do it well and quickly already. Goto have them sisal wheels, loose, leather etc. and several of them. Can't mix compounds (like starting with one color/oxide then reapplying to the same wheel with another). Goto have a motor driven buff wheel. By crank or by hand can take hours (at least). You have to know what kind of steel it is, and what compounds and wheels to use for that type of steel and the right order. I think people that have not done much polishing may be under the impression that it's a natural extension of sharpening. It really isn't. It's entirely unto itself as a skill. And requires almost a completely different set of tools and materials to do well.

But if you are setup to create brilliant mirror finishes (and not all steels accept or retain it well). It really is worth it. Simple because it creates a much lower friction surface. Water beads off like it's hydrophobic. Wipes clean a lot easier. Things that would gouge or dent tend to glance more often. And with a consistent/unchanging lighting setup, the play of light off the blade gives you strong visual cues for helping to improve consistency with ideal angles in sharpening. It will also pas through material slightly but noticeably better. It's like giving your blade a +1 enchantment, lol. Slightly better (like 3%-7% if I had to guess on it) in a many tiny ways. That just add up to a marked improvement in maintenance and performance.

 

[onojoe]

Biggest mistake I made when I got started was not having the right tools for the job. If you are going to take knives apart get yourself several Wiha Torx sets. Best in the business hands down and you want strip screws like it is your 2nd job.

Yes using cheap Torx drivers, I have since upgrades to Wiha torx and have yet to strip a head.

 

[sabre cat]

Great question!! I like to buy “project” knives that need a little love and attention to be brought back to life. I was working on a slipjoint once, using a Q-tip and flitz to clean and shine the inside of the knife. Hand slipped and my thumb dragged over the blade. Bad cut!! Lesson learned: ALWAYS cover the blade with several layers of tape, no matter how dull you think it is.

Giddyup!

Cosmo

LOL.Your not the only person to do this.

 

[Dr Heelhook]

Rushing too much and forgetting to stop and think regularly.

 

[yamsi12]

Biggest mistake I made when I got started was not having the right tools for the job. If you are going to take knives apart get yourself several Wiha Torx sets. Best in the business hands down and you want strip screws like it is your 2nd job.

Most recent mistake: We bought a laser. I set it way to high on a ZT0630. It cut so far in to the cut out that the lock no longer functions properly. Oops!

what he said. Ive messed up torx screws with cheap torx bits. Never again. Use Wiha and Wera bits now.

 

[brandoak]

what he said. Ive messed up torx screws with cheap torx bits. Never again. Use Wiha and Wera bits now.

Good bits and a plastic shopping bag trick works great. Cut a 1"x1" square out of a plastic shopping bag and put it over the screw before you insert the bit. It not only guards the knife and screw from being potentially scratched, it provides a nice tight fit that aides in not stripping it. (pic taken from youtube vid.)