Well, I typically dont like to cut thick metal but like I said earlier in this thread I did cut the same type of twist tie with a very thin all hard M2 blade that I had made. Alvin J uses very thin and hard blades to cut metal so some do use thin hard knives for that. I think there are probably many more people who even use cheap razor blades for the same type of things, but that is my guess. All wire cutters really are is 2 knives with thick edges and hinged together. So really for Joe Blow knife user that guy behind the knife counter is probably correct with his advice. Even a non newbe like yourself used a knife that you admit wasnt an optimal use for a knife and better done with a clippers. Non-knife nuts and even some of us knife nuts do all kinds of crazy things, like testing edges. I just thought since you seemed to be testing how other knives would handle the twist tie maybe the thin hard one would have also been interesting. Sorry for suggesting it.
Note #1, this thread was started about a Manix that I (my wife, but the money comes from the same place) bought with my hard earned money, it wasn't donated to me with no strings attached to test. I make a decent living, but my wife stays home with my daughter and we live in a high cost of living area. We are able to get by fine, but I don't have a huge amount of disposable income and a sponsorship for my knife hobby. As such, I set out to post some testing results and impressions of my new knife. Chips and scratches and some wear and tear on the knife don't bother me, but I am not going to be doing a lot of the more interesting things you will see in some of Cliff's reviews, or espescially NOSS's reviews. In the toolshed section, I started a thread when I thinned out my Jess Horn, and in the title it says "inspired by Cliff". I was confident that my Jess Horn's performance would improve and the knife would work, as I had seen Cliff's work. That emboldened me to go radical with my thinning of that blade, and I am now starting to get similarly brave with many of my other blades. However, I am new to the knife game, and not as brave and adventurous a soul as most of you yet when it comes to hardcore using and modifying of my knives.
Next, the U2 isn't even my knife. There is a big difference between testing your own tools and equipment that you paid for and doing it to someone else's, especially if it isn't within the scope of work I pictured it for. Cliff didn't ship it off and say "the U2 is great for cutting through metal that chips much thicker and larger knives, you should really try that out with it". Maybe I should start batonning and chopping with it, too. Remind me never to lend you a knife, db! I think we can all agree that a custom knife run all hard by Alvin in a more optimal steel is a lot different than this U2. Also, db, since you are much more experienced than me you should know that on a knife with a very thin and high hollow grind like the U2 a chip like my Manix's tip got would put a large serration into the blade, way up into the primary grind. Your last sentence, comparing testing out my Endura with a thicker grind than the Manix and my AUS 6A CRKT with a way thicker grind than the Endura as references on the chipping (much cheaper knives to start with, and I was almost positive that the chipping level would be easily sharpened out over time, especially if you are going to reprofile, anyway, if the chips were to be like the chips were on the Manix) to using the Jess Horn and U2 as chipping benchmarks, with thier much thinner blades and grinds is pretty apples and oranges. If you want to sponsor me, I have no problem doing the tests, but as I said the U2 isn't mine, and the whole money thing with how much I spent on my Jess Horn make me hesitant to do it.
Of course there are many more people that use a disposable, $.25c razor blade for that type of work as their extremely cheap price leads people beat the piss out of them without thought to damaging them. Again, that whole cheap and disposable thing. A guy I work with who cuts copper locating wire when he installs plastic gas services uses his folding razor blade for those uses, not his Spyderco Military that is in his waistband. Could the price be a factor? As he said "Why chip out my $120 knife when I can just destroy the company's razor blades to do the job?". The razor blades chip like hell (I mean BIG chips) and aren't ideal for the job, but at such a cheap cost who cares? OK, now, using WIRE CUTTERS to cut metal WIRE seems like the same thing as using someone else's extremely thin precision knife to cut metal wire, also, doesn't it? And yes, it is basically 2 knives that work together to cut, but their name pretty much defines their use, WIRE CUTTERS. As for my cutting the wire in the first place, if I knew the wire in the twist tie was .032" thick I would have used a little more care, and probably used my wire cutters. As is obvious with my finger cuts, sometimes I do things you shouldn't do with a knife. If you want your knives at 30 per side because you want to constantly cut thick metal, knock yourself out. I will try to focus more on proper technique and scope of work with my knives and their more cutting focused geometries, as I find that a better, more logical way to go about my business than go with 30 degree per side edges. Again, I am new to the knife hobby, so I may not be making much sense, here. I say do what ever the hell you want with your own knives. I am not a rich man, so I wasn't intentionally looking to chip out the knife and I am not doing a destruction test, but I did find a limit to what that knife at that geometry can handle before significant chipping occurs (and how a few other, cheaper, and thicker blades in my collection chipped with a similar task). That type of damage will sharpen out eventually, especially since I planned on reprofiling it anyway. Maybe NOSS can buy a Manix and do a destruction test on it to make you happy, I know I would enjoy watching it! He also seems to have the money to buy the piece and destroy it. I actually quite enjoy that testing and see that you can learn from it, I just can't afford to do it.
Either way, when I get my sharpening back in order maybe I will test my Jess Horn on the wire. I didn't thin it out with the thought of cutting thick metal, as I fancy it a precision cutter the holds a very good edge for light EDC duty, but maybe I will try it. I paid my hard earned money for it, so to do this on basically a taunt might be stupid, but what the hell, maybe I'll live a little! I guess worst case I will have a new serration, as the chip would be DEEP. If I do it, I will lay the wire flat on a cutting board and try to cut straight through it, with no lateral motion on the edge.
I paid for it, and it wasn't lent to me, and it is harder than the U2, and the edge is a lot thicker, so maybe I can get it sharp enough and the technique right and not massively chip it. I probably won't get optimal results, but I may surprise myself. We'll see how I feel about after I get my stiches out this evening.
