Knives you overestimated

When I was about 19 I bought a cheap copy of a Buck 110. I knew nothing about knives, but recognised the style. It was hopeless. It wouldn't sharpen up and the lock wouldn't hold. Years later I got the genuine article and love it.
 
Buck Vantage Pro small in S30V. Opened the box, took the knife out, flipped it open few times, put it back in box. Been sitting on a shelf since. Really poor flipping action and an uncomfortable handle make it a pain to open. Probably should've handled it at the store before buying...
 
MaximIsayev said:
Buck Vantage Pro small in S30V. Opened the box, took the knife out, flipped it open few times, put it back in box. Been sitting on a shelf since. Really poor flipping action and an uncomfortable handle make it a pain to open. Probably should've handled it at the store before buying...
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Was there no chance to send it back? It's a pity to see knives gather dust on shelves.
 
User17 said:
Was there no chance to send it back? It's a pity to see knives gather dust on shelves.
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It wasn't too expensive so I didn't bother sending it back. Right now the plan is to sell it or (more likely) gift it to someone with smaller hands.
 
User17 said:
Have you tried to open and close the knife many times? it made the detent weaker by about 30%. The difference is really noticeable. First my finger really started to hurt, because I had to push the flipper so hard, when I got the knife out of the box.
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I oiled it with nano oil on the pivot ant detent ball and hole on the knife and played with it for 2 days. It's action was smoother but getting out of the gate didn't wasn't any better. I spoke to a knife guy and he said that they need bend the lockbar a little because because it is pushing too hard against the detent hole. He said it is a very simple fix but I don't want to be the one to do it. Hopefully the will fix it or exchange the knife, if not do you want to buy a knife ? LOL
 
Had two PM2s.... sold both. Just not for me I guess. Weird blade to handle ratio, the handle hump is weird, and they're not very comfortable in my hand, also a little small.

Had a Sebenza 21 Micarta and sold it.... but shouldn't have. I just needed money at the time. Man that thing was perfect, and I must've had a really good specimen, because I've had people who own other CRK's tell me how nice it was in comparison. Man that thing was great.

Strider- had an SnG for a short while but the lock stick was really bad, however I heard this got better and I liked the knife so I won't condemn them from one example years ago

Also, Emersons. I want to like them. But I've had three and the F&F just isn't there and the chisel edge is a bit strange. Shame, because they're so cool. I know it's weird considering they're my profile pic. I'll probably end up buying another at some point because I love the designs and perhaps they've tightened up their fit and finish? Who knows. Also, Ernie is a cool guy.
 
Lapedog said:
how is it that you can at the same time say "not all 440c knives are bad, you can't say that because some of them are very good." Therefore the poor quality of some 440c knives does not speak for all.

But at the same time say "I have tried a few knives in s30v and CPM154 and they were poor quality, and thus they are all poor quality" therefore the quality of some CPM steel knives speaks for them all, including extrapolation to all powder steels?
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All the CPM steel knives that I tried were well over $500 customs (Gerber Mark II 70th Anniversary excepted, that was "only" about $300), one was an $1800 RJ Martin Vanguard series Raven (or Blackbird, whichever of the two is the bigger one): How you can call these "low quality" is beyond me...

In total we are talking over $3000 in knives that had to be sold, and were so bad they were not functional as knives.

At least in 440, the bad ones are the minority... And not one bad apple in the half dozen I have seen made of Aus-6/8s...

I have a 75 year old stainless French Sabatier Jeune boy scout knife, a vicious looking 7" fighter-like thing that used to be issued to ten year old Boy Scouts, this in a primitive no-name stainless steel of the 1940s... Cutting cardboard or chopping wood at one quarter the edge thickness and 2/3 the edge angle (10 degrees per side on 0.010" vs 17 dps and 0.040") and yet despite the thinness it made S30V's weak folding prone edge look like an utter embarrassment... Just how much time and money is someone supposed to invest to finally find a good CPM steel?

I found a cheap GSO-10 in CPM-3V, so I will give CPMs steels yet another chance in a few months... Let's just say I am not holding my breath...

From what I have seen so far from $3000 of that stuff, CPMs are not even useable as knife steels anywhere below 20 per side... I you don't rub the edge with your nail to check for micro-rolling, or go below 20 DPS, maybe you won't know the difference...: Perhaps the apex still cuts even rolled over like a drunken sailor, but when I see huge chunks of my nails shaved off on one side after one chop in Maple or one slice in cardboard, I know that $1800 apex is a basket case, no matter how well it still cuts or how abrasion resistant it theoretically is...

Gaston
 
Gaston, my guess is that it's not powder steels giving you problems but high carbide stainless steels which happen to be powder processed. Those are too high carbide/high carbon for use in large choppers. The French knife and the Aus 8 steels are around .6-.7% carbon which makes them a little more suitable but still not as good for that purpose as 1080 or 5160 or L6. 420j would be better than Aus8 for a large chopper but as a stainless that is relative. Those ( 1080/1084/1075/5160) are the steels you should be using for big honking choppers. The 3V should be better than S30V but possibly still not ideal . Let us know how that one works out. Don't blame the powder processing used though. Yes I have read other posts from you on corrosion issues but that still isn't going to make stainless steels better for 10 inch knives. There is a reason 1045 through 1060 steels are used for axes and hammers intended for commercial use. They are much more suitable which means tougher and less expensive than alloys like S7 and 3V
 
Just cause you bought a few expensive customs that didn't perform well doesn't mean squat. There are 3000$ custom knives with terrible heat treats and lockslip, every problem under the sun.

Then there seems to be the problem you don't understand that the CPM steels you tried to force into a chopper role are abrasion resistant steels not intended to be used for a chopper.

Don't get me wrong I hate s30v personally too and have had many chipping problems with it. Then again I've owned atleast 20 knives in s30v alone and even though I usually don't like the steel I have a few knives in that steel that perform very well.
 
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Benchmade 710 m390. Just too heavy and unwieldy for use as anything other than a showpiece for me. Hell of a showpiece, though :)
 
I would have to say the Spyderco pm2. I love my Manix 2 and Military, but can't stand the pm2. I don't get the hype. I didn't like the Positron either.
 
Gaston444 said:
All the CPM steel knives that I tried were well over $500 customs (Gerber Mark II 70th Anniversary excepted, that was "only" about $300), one was an $1800 RJ Martin Vanguard series Raven (or Blackbird, whichever of the two is the bigger one): How you can call these "low quality" is beyond me...

In total we are talking over $3000 in knives that had to be sold, and were so bad they were not functional as knives.

At least in 440, the bad ones are the minority... And not one bad apple in the half dozen I have seen made of Aus-6/8s...

I have a 75 year old stainless French Sabatier Jeune boy scout knife, a vicious looking 7" fighter-like thing that used to be issued to ten year old Boy Scouts, this in a primitive no-name stainless steel of the 1940s... Cutting cardboard or chopping wood at one quarter the edge thickness and 2/3 the edge angle (10 degrees per side on 0.010" vs 17 dps and 0.040") and yet despite the thinness it made S30V's weak folding prone edge look like an utter embarrassment... Just how much time and money is someone supposed to invest to finally find a good CPM steel?

I found a cheap GSO-10 in CPM-3V, so I will give CPMs steels yet another chance in a few months... Let's just say I am not holding my breath...

From what I have seen so far from $3000 of that stuff, CPMs are not even useable as knife steels anywhere below 20 per side... I you don't rub the edge with your nail to check for micro-rolling, or go below 20 DPS, maybe you won't know the difference...: Perhaps the apex still cuts even rolled over like a drunken sailor, but when I see huge chunks of my nails shaved off on one side after one chop in Maple or one slice in cardboard, I know that $1800 apex is a basket case, no matter how well it still cuts or how abrasion resistant it theoretically is...

Gaston
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Since chopping seems to be the main element of knife performance to you, perhaps you should be looking into the materials and construction used in competition choppers. They are the formula one cars of chopping blades.

Just a heads up, they often use the sorts of yucky powder steel you find unusable in a knife blade and not 440 stainless.
 
hexenjager said:
Since chopping seems to be the main element of knife performance to you, perhaps you should be looking into the materials and construction used in competition choppers. They are the formula one cars of chopping blades.

Just a heads up, they often use the sorts of yucky powder steel you find unusable in a knife blade and not 440 stainless.
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I like them to both slice and chop, which is why 15 per side is the maximum angle for me.

You get to 20 per side, and you are trying to cut with a 40 degree wedge: Good enough for choppers, but exponentially worse for slicing... Any steel will probably hold up well a 40 degree wedge...

What I observed is that very few blades will hold up the micro-apex straight at <15 per side angles (so far, steels I saw that did this chopping were D-2, 440B/C, and Aus-6/8). Thin angles also relieve the deceleration on the hand when chopping, which could be more important gloveless in the field than in competitions with gloves...

Lots of competition choppers apparently use Carbon steels, so they clearly don't care much about maximum edge-holding, even in circumstances when sharpening ease is not a factor...

Gaston
 
Griptillan... and the Imperial Gentleman's knife.
Too much money for what I have.
I posted the Grip. in another thread. Low value/dollar.

Just MHO!
 
Gaston444 said:
I like them to both slice and chop, which is why 15 per side is the maximum angle for me.

You get to 20 per side, and you are trying to cut with a 40 degree wedge: Good enough for choppers, but exponentially worse for slicing... Any steel will probably hold up well a 40 degree wedge...

What I observed is that very few blades will hold up the micro-apex straight at <15 per side angles (so far, steels I saw that did this chopping were D-2, 440B/C, and Aus-6/8). Thin angles also relieve the deceleration on the hand when chopping, which could be more important gloveless in the field than in competitions with gloves...

Lots of competition choppers apparently use Carbon steels, so they clearly don't care much about maximum edge-holding, even in circumstances when sharpening ease is not a factor...

Gaston
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A Wetterlings and a Mora. Solved. You'll probably need to buy a small ankle sock for the Mora though.
 
Gaston444 said:
You get to 20 per side, and you are trying to cut with a 40 degree wedge: Good enough for choppers, but exponentially worse for slicing... Any steel will probably hold up well a 40 degree wedge...

Gaston
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Both of these knives were stock 20 dps and they worked great and sliced with no issue.
View attachment 759100 View attachment 759101

If you insist on thinning the edge, 18 dps should be your stopping point on a CPM-3v chopper.
 
ZT 0452cf. Beautiful blade, but I read the reviews, believed the hype, and didn't like the one I got. Detent made the blade too difficult to open with the flipper. Also thought the overall design wasn't that safe, for reasons I noted in another thread. Back she went.
 
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