Knife that won't sharpen?

I

ICSK

Joined
Sep 5, 2010
Messages
55
Hi everyone, let me explain my situation. Being a paleontologist, I constantly deal with soft rock and/or dirt. I originally started using my regular blades to scrape and slice through these but the sharpening process for this started to become really annoying. It takes forever to get even a 440A blade back to a sharp edge when I'm done with it! So, I switched to utility blades. I knew that these used a much softer steel than any of my knives so they could be re-sharpened very readily and could be swapped in the field to get a new sharp edge. However, I've hit my first bump. It seems that after several sharpenings the utility blades refuse to stay sharp! Is this because the steel used is horrible or am I missing something?

P.S I use a sharpmaker if that helps anyone. I know the simple solution would be to just throw them away but it's just really bugging me that I can't get the utility blades sharp anymore!
 
I could be wrong but I think some utility blades only have a hardened edge because they are meant to be thrown away. So you might be sharpening through all of the usable steel.
 
You can't sharpen utility knives, you can only buy replacement razor blades. I would get a fixed blade (please include more specific information on what you are using the knife for). If damage to bones etc could be a problem with a fixed blade, it will be a problem with a folder or utility knife. There are a lot of fixed blades out there which should handle the abuse.

First and foremost, you are at least a knife user, probably a knife collector. I am not the best sharpener out there, but I have gotten better by leaps and bounds by trying. Check out Scott Gossmans sharpening videos, he has linked to them on Youtube through his subforum here. Richard J is also a very good sharpener. Whatever you carry, you should know how to sharpen it.

Just not utility blades ;).
 
the utility blades tend to have a toothier edge on them compared to a knife. are you using a real fine grit to finish off the edge?
 
You could try getting a knife with a good steel and thin edge geometry. That way even if it gets dull the thin edge will cut decently.
 
You can definitely sharpen utility blades. I use a sharpmaker to bring the edge back on utility blades all the time, or if you need to do some fine cutting the sharpmaker will make them WAY sharper than factory also.



silenthunterstudios said:
You can't sharpen utility knives, you can only buy replacement razor blades. I would get a fixed blade (please include more specific information on what you are using the knife for). If damage to bones etc could be a problem with a fixed blade, it will be a problem with a folder or utility knife. There are a lot of fixed blades out there which should handle the abuse.

First and foremost, you are at least a knife user, probably a knife collector. I am not the best sharpener out there, but I have gotten better by leaps and bounds by trying. Check out Scott Gossmans sharpening videos, he has linked to them on Youtube through his subforum here. Richard J is also a very good sharpener. Whatever you carry, you should know how to sharpen it.

Just not utility blades ;).
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dtownknifekid said:
I could be wrong but I think some utility blades only have a hardened edge because they are meant to be thrown away. So you might be sharpening through all of the usable steel.
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I suspect this is true, especially considering the fact that the utility blades are some cheap generic ones. I bought some Irwin blues and Lenox Golds so hopefully this isn't the case.

SOLEIL said:
Get yourself a good carbon steel utlity knife.
http://www.ragweedforge.com/HistoricalKnifeCatalog.html#opinel
They hold a good edge and sharpen easily.
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I certainly considered this. However, I naively thought that it would be more cost effective to buy utility blades especially if I sharpened them until they were of no use. I might have to look into the Opinels though if this trend continues with the higher end utility blades (Irwin blues and Lenox Golds).

CrimsonTideShooter said:
You can definitely sharpen utility blades. I use a sharpmaker to bring the edge back on utility blades all the time, or if you need to do some fine cutting the sharpmaker will make them WAY sharper than factory also.
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I do the same! Except I finish off with a cardboard strop to get that utility blade scary sharp.
 
The reason your knives don't stay sharp is probably because you try to cut through rocks and dirt. Scraping your blade against rocks and dirt will make it dull. Stop doing that and you'll find that your knives will stay sharp for much longer.
 
At the risk of being charged with heresy, for this type of work I'd be using a good electric sharpener. Or, bring them to your local supermarket meat department and ask them to sharpen them. Most will do it while you wait for free. That should hold you for a while with touchups on your sharpmaker.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
I'm thinking of the razor carpet knives. Are we on the same knife?
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Yep. Here's a picture of the type of blade I'm using to make it even more clear:

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1066vik said:
have you tried the Irwin bi-metal utility knife blades?
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Bought some and undergoing testing. Hopefully the whole blade is usable after several sharpening unlike these cheap generic ones!

retzius said:
use a shovel to dig

use a knife to cut

problem solved :)
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If only it was that easy! I wish it were like the movies where we could be very aggressive and remove every spot of dirt and find a complete T-Rex haha. The spot I work in requires very delicate removal of dirt. Most of the time I'll be working with brushes and using the blades for simple scraping and very light digging.
 
dont they have specialized tools for this?

still dont see why you need a knife for this? how about a small scraper like a cleoid/discoid or a dental pick

if you must use knife to dig in dirt then how about buy a cheapie and jusr dont sharpen it..
 
Wouldn't it make sense to use a very hard, abrasive resistant steel such as ELMAX, S30V or such - which would tolerate the abrasive dirt and rock for longer, then spend an evening resharpening it, when needed.
It sounds like the work you are doing is fine and controlled, and would do well with this sort of steel.
 
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ICSK said:
Y

If only it was that easy! I wish it were like the movies where we could be very aggressive and remove every spot of dirt and find a complete T-Rex haha. The spot I work in requires very delicate removal of dirt. Most of the time I'll be working with brushes and using the blades for simple scraping and very light digging.
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Simple scraping and digging does not require a sharp knife, you should just get a dedicated knife for this and forget about keeping it sharp. Your other sharp knife, shouldn't be used to dig in dirt and scrape rocks and bone. That way it'll stay sharp.
 
There is a company called 'archtools.eu' that sells an assortment of archealogical digging tools.

Another company is treasuresdownunder.com/digging_tools.aspx, that also sells archealogical digging tools.

There is another company, which I'm not sure of the name, that sells high grade, titanium archealogical digging tools, but I haven't been able to find it.

google it, and you should be able to find something more appropriate than a normal knife.

EarlFH
 
I think you should get a hollow ground carbon steel blade (like 1095).

The hollow grind will give you the thinnest edge compared to other grinds, which means you remove the least metal to get it sharp. The less metal you need to remove, the faster it is to get sharp.

High carbon steel is decently abrasion resistant while relatively easy to sharpen.
 
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