Peanut frustration

S

spydutch

Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
978
Hi Folks,

Lately I have been going back and forth between my little moderns and my Peanuts for edc.
Would love to carry my Peanut all the time but for one reason or another I can't seem to put a shaving edge on the little bugger like I can on my Spydies. Especially the pen blade is a disaster.
Tried everything. Sharpmaker doesn't work. Coffee mug even worse. I seem to get the least worse results with my cheap course/fine whet stone which I use dry.
I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. The pen blade of my Yella lost 1/3 of it's width because of the sharpenings and still won't cut paper cleanly.
I hope it's ok I asked this question over here.
I evenmore hope any of you can maybe give me some pointers before I throw both of my legumes back in the drawer permanently LOL.
BTW both of my Peanuts are CV,
Thanks much for reading.
 
OP, you don’t really mention it, so I gotta ask. Do you strop? If so, with or without compound? If not, you could just be pushing that burr back and forth.

Because I have so many in my rotation, and they don’t get the workouts my knives used to get, it’s rare that I have to do any sharpening because I strop every night. Whatever I carried that day, whether used or not, I strop, without compound, before going to bed. See if stropping helps clean up that edge. Good luck.
 
Yup Shankenstein I strop after sharpening on a belt loaded with metal polish. Sometimes the blade gets a little sharper but most of the times even duller. Strange thing is though, this only happens with my Peanut. I can get and keep my other knives shaving sharp with the sharpmaker and strop.
 
I made a similar thread about my peanut in SS that I can't get sharp either. I can get all my other knives hair splitting sharp except for this Case Peanut in SS.

I started with a brand new peanut and now I must have took have its life away by removing so much steel.
 
Probably going at it too heavy? CASE cv is funny stuff mind, I've had a couple of their knives in it that just won't take an edge, others are super. You might try a kitchen knife steel or sharpening rod, diamond, this often fixes small blades very nicely.
 
I'm a free-hander and I alternate directions with each stroke, unless the knife is really dull, when I might do 10 or 20 strokes on one side then the other. I don't know why I think that makes a difference.
Anyway, I don't have a problem sharpening my peanuts but they've both been stainless.
 
As thin as the Peanut's blades are, such blades still tend to have wide(ish) edge angles from the factory. And being such a small-handled knife, it can be difficult to maintain a steady hold and (therefore) consistent angle during sharpening attempts on slow-working tools like the Sharpmaker or other similar devices. So an edge that's already kind of obtuse ends up being obtuse and rounded. I say these things, because it's the path I went down with such small knives, trying to figure out how to sharpen them.

Subsequently, I found that using something like a Fine diamond hone to lower (thin) the edge angle is more reliable. It works MUCH more quickly in resetting the edge, minimizing the fatigue and sloppiness that results when trying to do so on a Sharpmaker. Sometimes just 3 - 5 passes on the diamond hone is enough to create a new flat, crisp bevel, which then makes it easier to stay flush in the finishing of the edge. I suggest using a diamond hone because it works so well & fast with a LIGHT touch on small knives that are otherwise difficult to grind with a full-fisted grip. Most of the control on such a small knife is coming via the fingertips; so, finding something that works fast at a light, fingertip-controlled grip is what has worked for me.

Bottom line, thinning the edge angle to 30° inclusive or lower has fixed most or all cutting performance issues I've seen, on virtually every knife I've sharpened. Finding the fastest, most efficient & comfortable means to do that is what makes a big difference in getting it done.
 
I'd try some 1 micron diamond paste on a piece of basswood, and use light pressure. I tend to use too much pressure on a leather strop and roll rather than remove the wire edge.
 
I find it harder to sharpen the small blade on my peanut. As has been stated, part of the problem is that with such a small handle it is difficult to maintain a consistent angle. And if you use too much pressure when you strop, you will just round the edge instead of sharpening it.
 
When sharpening the small blades like peanuts and SAK classic's, back WAY off on the pressure and use more visual clues instead of feel. Use marker on the edge to see what you are doing. When stropping, make sure the leather is laying on a counter edge of other non flexible support so you don't round off the edge. Don't over strop on both pressure and duration.

Smaller blades are a little harder to sharpen, so go slow and carful. It won't take much, so go lightly.
 
Carl from your posts that give tips and tricks, my favorites for small blades are bottom of coffee mugs and even better the top of the car window. I sharpened my Pioneer blade on the top of my window today and my kids got a big kick out of it. Very light pressure and it was quickly shaving hair. I sharpen my classic using those two techniques as well. Window seems better to me as the surface is more consistent. QUOTE="jackknife, post: 18302818, member: 135745"]When sharpening the small blades like peanuts and SAK classic's, back WAY off on the pressure and use more visual clues instead of feel. Use marker on the edge to see what you are doing. When stropping, make sure the leather is laying on a counter edge of other non flexible support so you don't round off the edge. Don't over strop on both pressure and duration.

Smaller blades are a little harder to sharpen, so go slow and carful. It won't take much, so go lightly.[/QUOTE]
 
The grinds on some of the more recent peanut pen blades is pretty rough. Worth checking out with a loupe to see what is going on with yours, it may be pretty uneven. The tips above are great advice.
 
I second the Lansky crock sticks. They sell a wooden turnbox set that will get pretty much any knife as sharp as you'd need one to be, it travels well, is pretty affordable, and only takes a few minutes to figure out how to use it. I also use a Lansky clamp system to thin down the bevels of all my knives as soon as i get them. That's usually a one time event, and then I use the crock sticks or a Sharpmaker to maintain the edge.
 
jackknife said:
When sharpening the small blades like peanuts and SAK classic's, back WAY off on the pressure and use more visual clues instead of feel. Use marker on the edge to see what you are doing. When stropping, make sure the leather is laying on a counter edge of other non flexible support so you don't round off the edge. Don't over strop on both pressure and duration.

Smaller blades are a little harder to sharpen, so go slow and carful. It won't take much, so go lightly.
Click to expand...

Yes! To Obi Wan, you listen!
 
Some times it was a bad day at the heat treat, I've had some knives just never take or keep an edge while others do fine.

I would think if you sent them back to Case asking them to see if they were heat treated properly, you might get some help. As it seems you do know how to sharpen, but then these are smallish blades and can be tricky.

I just got a nice Peanut the other day, both blades were 'keen' but not razor sharp, they sharpened up well and felt like they were pretty hard when I was sharpening them, the blades on this one are stainless.

G2

edited to add, folks above are correct in saying even though the peanut is a small blade, Case can sometimes leave that primary edge a bit thick, the new one I have I had to soften the shoulders in order to get the blades to sink in when cutting, otherwise they felt a bit obtuse and did not want to go through material as easily as a small knife should, even though they were 'sharp' the didn't cut well until I did that.
 
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There is something wrong with you people. That or Case ran out of steel in the past 4 years since I bought my last one and switched to aluminum.

Just because of this thread, I took out my regular daily carry Case 2014 Peanut (stainless), which was still fairly sharp from the last time I sharpened it, but I had used it for a few things and it could probably use a touch up. I have carried this thing pretty much daily for at least 4 years. I use the pen blade for some things because it is bit stockier than the more elegant clip blade.

I ran the pen blade across a Norton Economy SiC stone, fine side only, dry, about 5 passes on one side which raised a small burr noticeable to the touch, then 5 times on the other side, then maybe 3 sets of alternating passes to deburr. Light pressure, full sweep leading edge strokes for all of them. Then over to the high tech "strip of leather I bought at Tandy and rubbed some $3 green stick buffing compound into, which is lying flat on a bookshelf", and did maybe 5 per side trailing edge strokes on that.

Cuts S-curves in catalog paper - check. Shaves arm hair - check. Cuts through rolled up paper towel on draw cuts - check. It cleanly cut off a corner of a double corrugated cardboard box without sawing. Conclusion - it's sharp.

The clip blade is sharper - a little easier for hair shaving - I think I used an Arkansas stone with it the last time I sharpened it before stropping.

It just isn't hard to sharpen these little knives.
 
spydutch said:
Hi Folks,

Lately I have been going back and forth between my little moderns and my Peanuts for edc.
Would love to carry my Peanut all the time but for one reason or another I can't seem to put a shaving edge on the little bugger like I can on my Spydies. Especially the pen blade is a disaster.
Tried everything. Sharpmaker doesn't work. Coffee mug even worse. I seem to get the least worse results with my cheap course/fine whet stone which I use dry.
I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. The pen blade of my Yella lost 1/3 of it's width because of the sharpenings and still won't cut paper cleanly.
I hope it's ok I asked this question over here.
I evenmore hope any of you can maybe give me some pointers before I throw both of my legumes back in the drawer permanently LOL.
BTW both of my Peanuts are CV,
Thanks much for reading.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the sharpmaker isn’t working likely because the edge angle is wider than 20degrees per side and thus even on the 40 degree setting the sharpmaker in the V jig slots won’t hit the apex.

Flip your sharpmaker box over. You will notice two little slots on the bottom of the sharpmaker. They are designed to lay two sharpmaker rods flat in them. Now you can try freehanding with your sharpmaker.

Honestly coffee mugs are terrible sharpening media.
 
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