Mired in minutae? Vindication was granted

[thombrogan]

A lot of us here sure like to find optiminal balances in materials and properties for something as simple as "cutting stuff with sharpened metal" and we get into heated threats about the 'best' way to use a strop or ZDP-189 or AEB-L. It may be off-putting, but as one of the obsessed, I feel compulsion to enter into these arguments and try these tests. Many of you do, too (Gunmike1, Cliff Stamp, Sodak, Noss4 all coming clearly to mind).

Many of youse guys know I'm as obsessed about laisez-faire capitalism as I am about knives. That's not important right now except that I was reading a mini-booklet from Ludwig von Mises wherein Mises was demolishing yet another socialist falsehood (he's like the brothers in Supernatural - how they're almost always burning the remains or destroying the artifact of a destructive ghost or demon - and, were he alive today, he'd probably be tooling around the continental USA in a classic muscle car and blasting hard rock, but I digress...) and I saw this quote:

The common man may look with indifference and even contempt upon the dealings of better people. But he is delighted to enjoy all the benefits which the endeavors of the innovators put at his disposal. He has no comprehension of what in his eyes is merely inane hair-splitting. But as soon as these thoughts and theories are utilized by enterprising businessmen for satisfying some of his latent wishes, he hurries to acquire the new products.

I'm not better than 'the' or any 'common' man while some of the obsessives certainly possess nobler qualities, but the thrust of the quote is that our petty squabblings here and elsewhere are helping both fellow knifeknuts and our friends who may need/want/like knives, but not share our addiction.

Giggity. That is all.

 

[Dog of War]

Weird you should make this post, Thom....

Over the weekend I found myself reprofiling a blade that didn't need even the slightest little bit of sharpening. The point of this purposely pointless project was to first, roughly measure the finish and average tooth size left on an edge by a medium aluminum oxide stone.* Then, second, I wanted to study under magnification what happens when we use the little expedient trick discussed here of making a few light passes on fine ceramic at a very elevated angle of like 40 deg/side to remove any trace of a wire edge.**

I was going to start a thread to post my findings, then thought, "Naw, that's the kind of tedious stuff only a few guys like Thom, Cliff, Sodak and gunmike are into. That's not me, manly man that I am, plus it's a beautiful day outside ... and besides who cares that much about cutting stuff with sharpened metal anyway? Only somebody with serious knife OCD, that's who!"

Today I'm buying more gold bullion, bullets, and of course knives, like I bet Mr. von Moises would if he were alive today, figuring the dollar and all paper currencies are sure to collapse any day soon. Gotta look at the big picture here, Thom, no time for splitting hairs or counting angels on the edge of a Sebenza, no sir!

OK, carry on now....



* the average "tooth" is about .0005"

** 3 passes per side is close to optimal, and IMO removes only enough metal to establish a smooth edge without creating any additional work during the final sharpening step(s)

 

[thombrogan]

If the Sebenza's blade was rehardened and its primary grind was thinned out so that even an edge of 12 degrees per side would be a nearly invisible microbevel, it wouldn't be irrelevant.

Sorry for not mentioning you in the usual list of suspects. :foot:

Fiat currency is certainly inferior to commodity currency, but I won't assume it's on a precarious perch. From some of Ken Cox's writing in the BFC political subforum, our paper may be tied to a commodity derived from dinosaur fat.

When you say beautiful day; are you saying you're not beleagured by wet, heavy snow?

 

[the possum]

Originally Posted by Mises :
The common man may look with indifference and even contempt upon the dealings of better people. But he is delighted to enjoy all the benefits which the endeavors of the innovators put at his disposal. He has no comprehension of what in his eyes is merely inane hair-splitting. But as soon as these thoughts and theories are utilized by enterprising businessmen for satisfying some of his latent wishes, he hurries to acquire the new products.

The first relevant example that springs to mind is when Buck announced their new "Edge 2000" with much fanfare. This miracle edge cut much easier! It stayed sharp longer, and was easier to sharpen at the same time! Holy cow! It was nothing more than sharpened at a slimmer angle. Duh. Now thousands of average joes benefit from a thinner, sharper edge because someone spent time "splitting hairs" with their Catra machine or whatever. (They could have just asked me, when I was in the third grade, & I would have told them the obvious.)

 

[Dog of War]

If the Sebenza's blade was rehardened and its primary grind was thinned out so that even an edge of 12 degrees per side would be a nearly invisible microbevel, it wouldn't be irrelevant.

Sorry for not mentioning you in the usual list of suspects. :foot:

Well everbody knows that at 62.5HRC that would be 11,235,813 angels. But I've got a lot of catching up to do if I ever hope to rival you guys who are really into this stuff.

Fiat currency is certainly inferior to commodity currency, but I won't assume it's on a precarious perch. From some of Ken Cox's writing in the BFC political subforum, our paper may be tied to a commodity derived from dinosaur fat.

"Fiat currency" .... that's the term I was trying to think of. Sometimes I wish I had the energy to be part of a conspiracy theory, but I'm afraid I don't. Just give me a song, a beer, and a girl who isn't too selective, and I'm good!

When you say beautiful day; are you saying you're not beleagured by wet, heavy snow?

Being stuck in Wyoming today and tomorrow, some wet, heavy snow doesn't sound that bad.

 

[msiley]

well I'm glad I'm making the world a better place with my
addiction. Now I don't feel so crazy when I'm buying
5 knives at a time.

 

[hardheart]

I wish we were on an oil standard, then the futures market wouldn't be costing me at the pump

and, uh, I like thin edges