SE Navagator couldn't cut cork.

[kgriggs8]

I was cutting some cork with my Benchmade 921 Switchback and my wife had her SE Navagator. I was making nice slices with little effort but she was complaning that her knife wouldn't cut. I gave it a try and I was surprised at how hard with was to cut with this knife in this material.

Now, I am not slamming the Navagator but I have some observations. I have a feeling that small blades don't work as well with serrrations as larger ones due to the need for a sawing action to get them to work better. A 1" blade doesn't have the length for a sawing motion so if you ever have to push cut with it, you are screwed. Also, the blade is not full flat ground and as thin as it should be. It is a short stubby kind of thick blade. It has worked for most things but it has also fallen short on some tasks. I never minded because I always had a larger knife at hand that would pick up the slack but now I am sort of let down.

For the size and weight, you can have a larger blade that will work better for more tasks. A Calypso Jr would probably out preform it in every way. I think there are about half a dozen knives that I could say the same thing about in the Spyderco lineup. There are probably half a dozen knives like the Navagator as well.

So my question is, what is the point of these short, chunky blades? I have not seen that they have an advantage over the likes of the Delica and Calypso Jr. in any way so why do they exist?

 

[Slatts]

Kevin,

I'm not a small knife fan and have never carried one as small as that, but my guess is that people just like to carry them because they are small, lightweight, discrete, and sheeple-friendly.

 

[yablanowitz]

I've never been very fond of serrated edges. I have carried (and still do) small knives in plain edge. I find it advantageous to have my hand close to the tip when making fine cuts, a feat which is difficult with a four inch blade, unless you want to hold onto the blade itself (and risk becoming an unwilling blood donor). The only serrated blades I carry and use are the ones on my Dyad and Dyad Jr. I don't think I would select serrated of any length for cork or styrofoam. In fact, about the only thing I do select serrated blades for is tree/shrub trimming. Just my two cents.

 

[kgriggs8]

Hello,
I just re-read my post and I think it came off rather negative. I didn't mean for it to. The SE Navagator was a present for my wife. I wouldn't carry a blade that small most of the time but she wouldn't carry much larger than that.

What I was really seeing is, if you a have a short blade, the serrations do not help because there is not enough blade to get the full effect. Push cuts with SE knives are likewise, harder.

I know there are reasons for it but they escape me. A lot of people like the SE Cricket, Dodo and Meerkat so there must be something to short SE blades that I don't get.

One thing about the Navagator is, it feels like pure quality. She has the pewter Almite with the polish clip. it looks like a piece of jewerly almost. It is a great knife but the shape and design lend itself to certain tasks but not others.

 

[yablanowitz]

It is a great knife but the shape and design lend itself to certain tasks but not others.

That is pretty much true of every size and shape of knife I have ever handled. That's why I carry a large assortment of knives, so I can match blade to task.

 

[J85909266]

The serrates weren't sharp enough. I can push cut materials like that with my serrated knives.

 

[puukkoman]

It's all about blade geometry.

Look at the difference in the grinds of the two knives. The Benchmade's grind is nearly as high as the spine, while the navigator's blade is ground about halfway up (that is, assuming it's not the "new & inproved" version). This means that the blade becomes thicker sooner (relative to the motion of the cutting edge going through material). Hence, the blade with the higher grind (Benchmade) will slice better.
Serrations also can cause the same effect, to a degree.
Any time there's a dramatic change in the grind angle, there will be a drastic increase in friction.

 

[J85909266]

I tried my police on a wine cork, pushcut right through with no problem, no sawing at all. It's sharp, serrates need to be sharp, just like a PE.

 

[USSR]

The Dodo, Cricket, and Meerkat have (or in the M-Kat's case, can have) reverse S blades. A serrated reverse S blade will saw through just about anything, and greatly improves cutting abilty overall considering the small size of the blade.

 

[Razzierb]

I tried my police on a wine cork, pushcut right through with no problem, no sawing at all. It's sharp, serrates need to be sharp, just like a PE.

I agree.

After a period of time a SE starts to dull just like a PE, but a slightly duller SE edge works well longer than a slightly dull PE due to the extra edge surface captured by the serrations.

I've been carrying a sharp SE Jester to work and I have no problem making nice clean cuts in most materials. Cleanly sliced my bagel with it yesterday morning ...

Razz