Krein regrind?!

I can see where a regrind may be beneficial to some but why is the blade stamp necessary especially since so many of us have complained about various blade etchings and blade stamps from GEC. Further, I'm wondering how fragile the edge is on his regrinds. Are they suitable for heavy farm or ranch chores or say chores in a lumber yard?

I do know that if I were buying a knife from the Exchange or anywhere else for that matter, I would not pay an inflated price because the knife had a Krein-regrind.
 
I've got a few of Tom's knives, no regrinds though. He does an amazing job with a piece of steel, the ones I own are D2 and CPM-D2. I'd put his blades right up there with the best of them.

His mark is very cool too. I don't mind seeing it on my knives. I don't think I'd mind having it on a regrind either, although I'm not sure I'd ever feel I needed to purchase one.
 
Modoc ED said:
I can see where a regrind may be beneficial to some but why is the blade stamp necessary especially since so many of us have complained about various blade etchings and blade stamps from GEC. Further, I'm wondering how fragile the edge is on his regrinds. Are they suitable for heavy farm or ranch chores or say chores in a lumber yard?

I do know that if I were buying a knife from the Exchange or anywhere else for that matter, I would not pay an inflated price because the knife had a Krein-regrind.
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Mm the bulldog blade stamp is a trademark to show it's a genuine Krein regrind. Personally as a dog lover I quite enjoy the stamp.
As I said before, there is also a certain pride for those who have branched from the modern world to having your knife reground by Tom, akin to buying a knife that was reground by Kerry Hampton.
Custom knife makers who have made knives for slicing know geometry better than the average consumer as many of us are. I've never seen or heard of any thread where someone critiqued a modern or traditional they had ground by Tom.

It costs time and money to have a knifemaker regrind a knife if they're even willing to do so. I'm sure if you asked Kerry Hampton to regrind a knife he wouldn't oblige simply because he's busy and doesn't do them regularly. Such is the same as regrinds. Tom is busy with his modern custom builds and only does this every so often. He's a highly respected and sought after modern knifemaker.

As for the notion of inflated price..there's a knife that's close in price to what it would cost new from a dealer on the exchange at the moment. Regrinds will cost you 60$ on average.
It's all what you are willing to pay..as is the case with any matter of consumerism. YMMV

As for the stability, I too shared that same concern regarding the possibility of chipping etc after a regrind considering how thin it may be.
Again..I leave the geometry to the knifemaker who knows best what that steel can handle.

After cutting double ply cardboard and 'heavy duty' plastic straps alongside carving pine..I've no issue with it with edge roll or chip. He's known for making knives into tried and true slicers. Such is what they excel at.

Then again I don't live on a farm or ranch.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
I've been telling Tom that he needs to make some slipjoints of his own. I made a mistake a long time ago and didn't get a Manix2 reground by him, the pics I see of those GEC and other brands reground by him look good, but I haven't seen one to know the difference in performance. I sold him a few knives that ended up in his collection, and a few went up for regrinds.
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Likewise, he's just too darn busy with his work at the moment to make the venture. I'd love to see him start someday. As Gary said, his work is right up there with the best.

silenthunterstudios said:
That looks amazing!
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Thank you. It's one of my favourites to carry and ended up being the same dimensions as my Dowell zulu spear as well by coincidence.
 
I believe it may be our own Jeff, that has one of Tom's fixed blades with amazing worm jigged bone scales and a great looking blade. Fixed blade. Great looking daily carry piece.

Jeff, could you share a pic of that one?
 
Ed, I think it would depend on just how thin the blades are reground. There needs to be a balance. All of GEC knives aren't the same but in my opinion the #15 boys knives are already right where you'd want them with the factory grinds. On a knife like a Queen Burke Barlow, I think there's a huge amount of room for improvement. The thick stock grind is good only for chopping. A regrind could turn it into a slicer. Of course, you could just buy a TC barlow instead since it is a barlow that is already a good slicer.
 
I tried contacting him for a re-grind on an old Queen that I've got, but I may have been trying old contact info, never heard back : ( The Queen has a primary grind the shape of a baseball bat : ) Plenty of steel to shave off!

~Jim
 
Ya know Jake, people in this thread are discussing a slicer and as you've seen from some of my threads and posts, for most of my uses/chores, I need a cutter and whether people realize it or not there is a big difference between a slicer and a cutter. I don't need a smooth, polished, edge that will shave hair off my arm - I need a toothier, thicker, edge that will cut rope, cut sage brush twigs/small limbs, cut bailing twine, etc..

Anyway, I'd bet Mr. Krein does a heck of a job regrinding some of the blades that some of these guys have shown over time in BF from Queen, GEC, and other manufactures and let's not forget that some people want and have a need for thin, polished edge, slicers.
 
Modoc ED said:
Ya know Jake, people in this thread are discussing a slicer and as you've seen from some of my threads and posts, for most of my uses/chores, I need a cutter and whether people realize it or not there is a big difference between a slicer and a cutter. I don't need a smooth, polished, edge that will shave hair off my arm - I need a toothier, thicker, edge that will cut rope, cut sage brush twigs/small limbs, cut bailing twine, etc..

Anyway, I'd bet Mr. Krein does a heck of a job regrinding some of the blades that some of these guys have shown over time in BF from Queen, GEC, and other manufactures and let's not forget that some people want and have a need for thin, polished edge, slicers.
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There's definitely a difference between a slicer and a cutter or a chopper. I think for example, the Abilene stockman would be a good match for you whereas the Dixie stockman wouldn't. If you need an ax that folds up and fits in a pocket then the Queen Burke barlow is the right tool for the job. ;)
 
All good points Jake. As a matter of fact, I ordered a Case CV 3375 Large Stockman with yellow delrin covers yesterday. It won't be my primary user but I'll most likely carry it as my second knife for awhile.
 
Modoc ED said:
Ya know Jake, people in this thread are discussing a slicer and as you've seen from some of my threads and posts, for most of my uses/chores, I need a cutter and whether people realize it or not there is a big difference between a slicer and a cutter. I don't need a smooth, polished, edge that will shave hair off my arm - I need a toothier, thicker, edge that will cut rope, cut sage brush twigs/small limbs, cut bailing twine, etc..

Anyway, I'd bet Mr. Krein does a heck of a job regrinding some of the blades that some of these guys have shown over time in BF from Queen, GEC, and other manufactures and let's not forget that some people want and have a need for thin, polished edge, slicers.
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supratentorial said:
There's definitely a difference between a slicer and a cutter or a chopper. I think for example, the Abilene stockman would be a good match for you whereas the Dixie stockman wouldn't. If you need an ax that folds up and fits in a pocket then the Queen Burke barlow is the right tool for the job. ;)
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I don't see the difference. We're talking about slipjoints here, not foot long bowies. Slipjoints can't chop and you really shouldn't stab with one. Because of their size and design, the only cut at which they excel is the slice. Unless of course you polish the edge, in which case you can add the push cut to the repertoire.
 
IMO, along with marking the great grinding work that has been done, isn't the marking also a way to let potential future owners know that something was done to the knife after it left the factory? Some collectors otherwise might buy a knife like that thinking it was original.
 
glennbad said:
IMO, along with marking the great grinding work that has been done, isn't the marking also a way to let potential future owners know that something was done to the knife after it left the factory? Some collectors otherwise might buy a knife like that thinking it was original.
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thats one of the thing that sorta turns me off of the whole thing, i like my blades as sterile as can be, unless its the companys logo, or the 1 of xxx that schatt does for example. his logo is ground into the blade or acid etched?
 
kamagong said:
I don't see the difference. We're talking about slipjoints here, not foot long bowies. Slipjoints can't chop and you really shouldn't stab with one. Because of their size and design, the only cut at which they excel is the slice. Unless of course you polish the edge, in which case you can add the push cut to the repertoire.
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I get what you're saying here, but I differ in my opinion. I don't think that a slipjoint really excels at any cut. I think of it more as a jack of all trades. It's a compromise that you make between having the convenience of a knife in your pocket versus going to get the knife that is specially designed for each individual task you perform.

I have some blades that I prefer to be thicker for heavier work. For example, I had to cut through a 3/8" thick sheet of reinforced rubber. I wouldn't want the thinnest possible blade for this job. There are other knives that would have been better suited for the job, but a slipjoint is what I had handy. Luckily, the slipjoint I happened to have handy was a 23 and it has thick, sturdy blades that were able to cut through the rubber with little trouble.
 
Kamagong, The thickness of the blade, not the length will determine whether it is best suited at slicing or chopping. For example, when cutting an apple a GEC #15 would slice right through whereas a Queen Dan Burke barlow is so thick that it would start breaking the apple apart. The edges and grinds are two different things. Both can be made equally sharp with the same angle used. That doesn't change the grind though.
 
With a regrind, my Buck 301 would be unstoppable. Unfortunately Buck choose a thick hollow grind and I choose to leave it at home.
 
I will have to do an apple cut test tonight. I have 2 DB Barlows and they are paper slicing sharp. I am not the original owner of either one, so I can't speak to what they were like from the factory.
 
LastRodeo said:
I will have to do an apple cut test tonight. I have 2 DB Barlows and they are paper slicing sharp. I am not the original owner of either one, so I can't speak to what they were like from the factory.
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Again, sharp is different than thin and thick grinds. From past experience in other threads, this seems to be a common point of confusion. As other examples... you fillet a fish with a thin blade, not a thick blade. Surgeons use thin scalpels not thick blades. And you would want to chop through a big rope with a thick blade not a thin blade. Different blades have different purposes.

I should have also put in my reply to kamagong that length determines what size object a blade is best suited for slicing or chopping. It doesn't determine if the blade is best suited for slicing or chopping. A Victorinox classic is a good slicer but I wouldn't want to slice through a watermelon with it. A Queen Burke barlow may be a good chopper but obviously you wouldn't baton wood with it (When I compared it to an ax, I was joking).
 
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