SAK musings: Why replace when one could resharpen?

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ProudGrognard

Joined
Aug 24, 2020
Messages
12
Dear all,

As many others before me, I fell down the rabbit hole of considering reblading my SAK with more premium steel. Now, have very mediocre sharpening skills, but I realized I could easily get any Victorinox SAK very sharp, very quickly, with just my Victorinox pencil sharpener.
So an honest question: Why reblade when one can resharpen? What will the new blade do that the old could not?
 
IMHO, new blade does nothing special unless someone wants a fancy supersteel. I've been carrying my Tinker for about 30 years. It's been sharpened a zillion times and still going strong. I do have a spare waiting in the box with the other 60+ SAKs in my meager collection.
 
ProudGrognard said:
Now, have very mediocre sharpening skills, but I realized I could easily get any Victorinox SAK very sharp, very quickly, with just my Victorinox pencil sharpener.
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Ah, you mean the black and red colored pen shaped Victorinox Dual Knife Sharpener with the blue green ceramic rod inside of it? I love those things. I have 4 or 5 of them stashed in different places.

Be careful not to overuse the V-notch on it. That notch has the same basic design flaw that most V-notch sharpeners have, so the more you use it the worse the problem will get. Also it's designed only for the main blade. The secondary blade is thinner and the V-notch will tend to create a wire burr on it pretty quickly, especially if you push down on it too hard like a lot of people tend to do with V-notch sharpeners.

ProudGrognard said:
So an honest question: Why reblade when one can resharpen? What will the new blade do that the old could not?
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It always amazes me how much money people are willing to throw away instead of just learning how to sharpen a knife.
 
ProudGrognard said:
Dear all,

As many others before me, I fell down the rabbit hole of considering reblading my SAK with more premium steel. Now, have very mediocre sharpening skills, but I realized I could easily get any Victorinox SAK very sharp, very quickly, with just my Victorinox pencil sharpener.
So an honest question: Why reblade when one can resharpen? What will the new blade do that the old could not?
Click to expand...
I had no dea such a rabbit hole exists..

I have that pen sharpener & the diamond one as well, they're both very good.

Enjoy your SAKs
 
I understand those who buy a SAK with a 20CV reblade, heck, I want a Wharncliffe Dfly K390 blade and a VG10 Cricket blade in two of my 91mms. It's either because they really love the SAK and want a more "deluxe" version with more edge retention. I want the aforementioned blades in a SAK personally, because they're two of my favorte small utility blades, fit in a SAK, and would really make them mine. Doesn't mean I want Victorinox to change their steel to K390 or something.

But I also understand the spirit of the SAK and that is to be an everyman, low-maintenance tool. I love sharpening Vic steel, and would keep most of mine the way they are. They're downright a pleasure to get sharp. I just want a couple of special ones.

afishhunter said:
I dunno ... replacing when the blade(s) resemble a toothpick, I can understand. Other than that? Why replace? Makes less than zero sense.
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Those who throw away when a knife gets dull just have no sense. This guy is talking mainly - why reblade your SAK in 20cv when you can just sharpen it more?

And I mostly agree. Other than the few specialized ones mentioned, say, bringing a SAK with a Cricket main blade to destroy a ton of cardboard. Other than that, for casual usage, I usually use my small blade more than the large.
 
Hashishiin said:
Those who throw away when a knife gets dull just have no sense.
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I agree.
The "resemble a toothpick" I referred to in my first post was in reference to knives that are worn out. For example, a clip point or spear point primary blade that has been sharpened down to less than 1/4 inch, edge to spine, with a corresponding loss of blade length, over the years.
Those worn out knives look like they are in a lot of pain, to me. ☹️
 
afishhunter said:
I agree.
The "resemble a toothpick" I referred to in my first post was in reference to knives that are worn out. For example, a clip point or spear point primary blade that has been sharpened down to less than 1/4 inch, edge to spine, with a corresponding loss of blade length, over the years.
Those worn out knives look like they are in a lot of pain, to me. ☹️
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Oh yeah of course, those knives are truly at the end of their life, not just dull, but it is a sign of long and loving use! If I wear a knife down to that point, I think I would probably put it in a personal display case to honor its service. Can't imagine just tossing a knife that had served me so long!
 
I can see both sides. On one hand, as I get older, I have less time left, so what I have is worth more to me. Spending time sharpening a knife that isn't going to stay that way in use for longer than I spent sharpening it doesn't sound like a good investment to me. On the other hand, my Victornox knives stay sharp for years simply because I never use the knife blades, so why do I need one in supersteel? Maybe because I might be tempted to actually use it if it held an edge?

I'll take edge-holding over ease of sharpening any day.
 
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