Sharpening Myths

[Zeasor]

EdgePal,

As one Scandinavian word-playing polyglot to another, smileys really help when communicating with native anglophones on the internet

My English is not perfect but with the help of smileys I can usually avoid unnecessary fights ...

You think you can get away with a post like this without a FIGHT

: (only 10 images are allowed)

 

[EdgePal]

Smileys, why did I not think about them!:grumpy:

:foot: Thomas

 

[db]

Thomas, I do think they care about the edge and its angle. Most knife companies put the same edge on a small folder as they do a fixed blade. The best edge for a company to put on all their knives isn't really the best edge for a singular knife. I really believe knife factories try to put on a sharp edge that will last the abuse of the mainstream public and that isn't really the best edge for the knife in my opinion. The best edge depends on how you cut what you cut and yes the design of the blade and what it is made from also affects what edge to use. Different edges for different people on the same knife are easily what can be best. Now I may be a little bias against factory edges as I've reground every knife I've gotten to an edge I like and have only been happy with maybe 1 or 2 factory edges I've had.

 

[EdgePal]

Do you like compromises? (about knife design)

A belt knife- as perfect as possible…

To cut bread, the blade must be at least 10 cm, probably around 15 cm to be functional
The blade shall not be longer then 10 cm, if longer, the blade feels to big for small type of work…
A knife for woodwork shall not have longer blade then about 5-6 cm
An engraving knife works best if the blade is about 1 cm…
A knife who is used to cut branches works best if the blade is about 20 cm long..or longer...

The blade must be thin when you slice onions or depart and skin small games
The blade must have a big belly to be able to put butter on the bread and to skin big games.
The blade must have a small belly and a sharp point to butcher fish during fishing…

The knife must be light weighted so it is easy to carry long distances
But big an off to chop small branches for the campfire…
And heavy an off to chop small trees when you need to build a shelter in bad weather

The handle
The handle shall be thin so the knife is nice and comfortable to carry in the belt
The handle must be big and wide to be functional and secure to handle in cold and wet weather…

The edge shall always be razor sharp
Except when you depart fish, the edge shall slide along the ribs - and not hook up in the ribs…

The steel shall be hard so that the edge holds for a long time
But not so hard that it brakes or is difficult to sharpen…

The edge shall not collapse when the knife is used to open cans
But be soft an off to sharpen outdoors without hours of sharpening

It must be soft in the neck and have a hard edge
But then I can’t use a hammer on the neck when I split wood…
But I can hammer wire against a stone to cut off the wire…

Thomas

 

[Fluffster]

You think you can get away with a post like this without a FIGHT

(only 10 images are allowed)

 

[SR_matt]

Srmatt, to write and speak in a languish you is not your own languish is a problem for most people. Words is missing and you need to “write around” things and must try to make descriptions in strange ways. There is also a problem with value of words, for example: myth (myt in Swedish). Then there is a problem with changing meanings in words. For me a myth is a myth and in my languish a myt can beat least 2 different things. I do not know if myth in English have 2 or 3 different meanings, my English is not good an off to understand that.

I do not know if an English reader of what I have written, “feel” in my way of write that I am a good guy - or a asshole. Perhaps a reader get an impression that I am a “vice guy” and then he do not like what I write because he do not like me. I do not know those things, just because my English is not good an off.

So, misunderstandings is normal I think. I misunderstand what I read and some of you misunderstand what I write.

I like to “play with words” in my own languish, it is a part of my humor – but I cannot do that in English (nice for you guys). I feel handicapped and limited because I cannot describe everything I like to describe in a proper way. Sometimes I like to give my point of wiew – but I do not because of lack of words.

But, you can always learn Swedish? Then we can talk…

Thomas

well then i will put swedish on my list of languages to learn eventually. ya i do understand the language barrier, ive traveled in europe and my very limited french and about 10 words of italian didnt do very well for me, i got by but if i was totally on my own i would have had issues. i also dated an exchange student from the czech republic so i got used to making sense of the round about explanations.

i assume the playing on words you do are the "puns" (not sure if you are familiar with that word though) my dad has instilled in my family


you have really pointed out though how many different things need to be thought about in a knife, its things that are totally logical but unless you try to think about them they dont notice them.

-matt

 

[dantzk8]

Point #3 is certainly controversial, but to me, it means the edge either wasn't thin enough to do the type of cutting and/or the wrong material for whatever reason (heat treat, steel type, day of the week) to take that thin-enough edge...

Thin-enough edge, all is there. No matters the finish grit to get a sharpened edge, 300, 600, 1200 or finer to go from slicing ability to pushcutting ability. A sharpened edge is a thin edge.

dantzk.

 

[bladefan]

You said... "Most factory knives, whether it's a swiss army knife or 100$ Spyderco, have thick edges to compensate for the type of use the "average joe" will put them through."

I wouldn't include spyderco in this one... they are one of the only factory edges that I found to be excellent right out of the box... all mine came extremely sharp and usable!!!

 

[EdgePal]

SR matt, if I only look from the point of view that I am familiar with, for example just my type of knife, and I in the same point of view think that this is the only type of knife there is, then I try to make decisions from a point based on less then 1% of the knifes there is in the world. That’s means that I do not understand 99% of the knifes in the world. That is a very small platform to stand on if I like to tell the world my opinion about knifes…

My point is that knifes are just practical tools. Depending on where they are used, and to what, the design and function is different. If I do not understand that – and perhaps even do not understand how the three different parts of a knife is constructed and how they are balanced to each other – how can I then say that this or that is a true – or not true?

I talk to a lot of people every year about knifes. When I explain for them that the tip on the knife and the belly on the knife work together in that way that if the belly is big = the tip will not be pointy. If the belly is small = the tip will be pointy. Most people do not know this simple fact - and this fact is the base in all type of blade design.

There is people who do not know so much about edges and knifes, and they always say that an edge always is an edge – and that an edge always, no matter what, must be as sharp as possible – well, that tells at least me that this person have very limited knowledge about the practical function of knifes and edges. He se edges from a very small point of view, perhaps just his own knifes – and there is million of knifes in the world – and they are all different – and they work different – and they have different edges, sizes, thickness, blade shapes and so on.

In the same time, the same person, use special knifes to put butter on bread, he use special knifes in the kitchen, different knifes perhaps for meat and vegetables, he use big knifes and small knifes in the kitchen depending on what he need to do, he slice bread with a knife for just this, he have a razor knife to shave, he eat every day with a special knife (and fork) – and so on = he should by this (at least in my mind) understand that knifes is designed to do different things – all over the world. And the world is very big.

If you like to learn Swedish, just tell me so I have time to hide…

Thomas