Normal or Nuts?

K

kickerb

Joined
Apr 28, 2014
Messages
177
Picked up a new XM-18 3" wharncliffe from an authorized dealer recently.

I'm trying to figure out if I'm just picky or what.

The edge is not 100% straight. If I place the blade on a flat surface, you can see that near the middle of the blade it does not touch the flat surface. Furthermore, light can come through this very slight gap.

Am I nuts? The price for these knives urges me to be picky.

Thanks for your opinions.
 
Last edited:
Does not sound picky or normal to me. I would really like to see how this is handled by CS as I'm on the fence for the same model. Let us know how this plays out and good luck!
 
Really? Are we talking about a few thousands clearance? I just took my production wharnie and held it on a straight edge up to the light. You can see there is clearance towards the tip and the choil as it touches in the middle. I couldn't detect this by eye without holding it on a straight edge.

These knives are sharpened by hand (no fixture, free hand) on a 2" wide abrasive belt and the burr is removed with a cloth buffing wheel. There is a high probability that the straight edge of a wharnie will have a few thousands variation or so somewhere along the cutting edge.

I am curious, does it cut?
 
RDA said:
Really? Are we talking about a few thousands clearance? I just took my production wharnie and held it on a straight edge up to the light. You can see there is clearance towards the tip and the choil as it touches in the middle. I couldn't detect this by eye without holding it on a straight edge.

These knives are sharpened by hand (no fixture, free hand) on a 2" wide abrasive belt and the burr is removed with a cloth buffing wheel. There is a high probability that the straight edge of a wharnie will have a few thousands variation or so somewhere along the cutting edge.

I am curious, does it cut?
Click to expand...
Yes, it cuts. Not super sharp though. I realize it sharpened by hand.

I will try and get some pictures at lunch.
 
The reason i noticed this was because the edge bevel is not even across the blade. Then when I looked closer I found that slight gap.

I'm also curious how this will affect sharpening on a wicked edge. When using a marker and starting on the edge, I would image in the middle of the blade the black marker would not be removed. Hence, not making contact.
 
kickerb said:
The reason i noticed this was because the edge bevel is not even across the blade. Then when I looked closer I found that slight gap.

I'm also curious how this will affect sharpening on a wicked edge. When using a marker and starting on the edge, I would image in the middle of the blade the black marker would not be removed. Hence, not making contact.
Click to expand...
Well with a wicked edge you could make it perfectly flat yourself. I had 2 wharnies, and both had a tiny crown in the middle. I loved it because I knew these were made by hand. Kershaws made by machine are probably laser straight.
 
Bludgeon said:
Does not sound picky or normal to me. I would really like to see how this is handled by CS as I'm on the fence for the same model. Let us know how this plays out and good luck!
Click to expand...

BTW, we are not customer service. This is a discussion forum. Someone would need to get in touch with RHK if they had a problem with their knife.
 
Here is picture, best I could do.

I know I can correct this with the wicked edge, just didn't want to take off steel right away.

Thanks for the input folks.

IMAG2201_zps6751155c.jpg
 
Seriously? Use it. Sharpen it. or send an email to Rob if that is really an issue for you.

Question answered: Yes and Yes .
 
This post is me trying to learn if this is normal for RHK, or not. I guess it is.

Thank you folks.
 
The edge is the first, and in some cases, the only thing that will be modified by the user. In my opinion the tolerances are not as important as the other parts especially on a work knife. I'm sure that not everyone agrees with me.
 
Learning is great, lots of great things to read here.
As for what's normal. Normal RHK is Great customer service and Extremely High Quality semi-custom and hand crafted items that will last a lifetime.
 
Beerman Crawler said:
Mine is the same way, use it and love it.
Click to expand...

Very good advice. It never occurred to me to take a straight edge to my wharnie edge. Curious to me why that would have but it didn't so.....
It is the longest straightest cutting edge I carry in a folding EDC and one of my favorites so I will indeed
"Use it and love it".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top