SOG Seal shaves but doesn't cut..

L

Lavan

Joined
Nov 8, 2000
Messages
2,301
Wierd. Just acquired the SOG seal. It shaves like a Schick but I can press down on the sharp edge quite hard and .....nothing. Not even a sensation of sharpness. Also where most knives will shave a callus (yuk) it takes quite a pressure to make it break skin. AND I can run my finger along the edge lengthwise (kiddies don't try this) and it just slides smoothly.
Now, drag a finger SIDEWAYS across the blade and it has a sensation of extreme sharpness. And the point would dig into any surface with the slightest pressure.
I have no doubt it would cut in a fight, but it sure has a different feel than any other edge I own.
Any opinions?
 
Sounds like the edge is polished really well, but has a fairly steep angle. You need to raise your cutting angle to make it bite into things and slice, like shaving a callous off.
Don't know about pushing down on the edge, I don't use that test ;)
 
Lavan :

I can run my finger along the edge lengthwise (kiddies don't try this) and it just slides smoothly.
Click to expand...

As Matt noted, if the edge angle is obtuse, this will act to reduce the pressure on the edge during contacts with materials that deform, as your skin does, as the sides of the edge supports the contact area which you don't want, and thus the edge acts like it is very blunt. For most cutting, you have to raise the blade, as noted, in order to get the very edge to be presented to the material.

Two out of the three SOG knives I have handled have had overbuffed edges as well, which can be either rounded (in which case they won't shave well), or burred (they will shave on one side only), or simply not very aggressive due to too much use of a non-aggresive abrasive which leads to a rounding of the carbides in the edge. The is usually the case of trying to use the buffer to do too much work instead of progressing on a few belts.

The first thing you can try is to just sharpen it, keeping the angle the same as it is now. If you can't make it anymore aggressive (without going to a more coarse finish of course), then it is most likely the angle that is causing the effect you are noting. If you have access to something else with a steep angle, try putting a similar finished edge on it (a cleaver maybe), and see how that compares. A way to measure the edge angle would be nice.

There is also no need to keep it with the current profile, I put a much more acute convex edge on mine and it held up fine to wood working, and was overall a much better cutting tool. Though it would take more damage when cutting harder materials such as metals and such. Chad234 however commented that a SEAL he used would not take a finer edge without too much deformation. QC issues. If this happens you just put back a more obtuse microbevel.

-Cliff
 
This is somewhat at a tangent to your subject, but as people with knowledge using the SOG SEAL knife, is it truly capable of being used for prolonged periods in a saline environment and still do it's job well? I'm only asking because I'm looking for a blade for just such a task and I'm still not sure which to buy.
Any advice would be most welcome.



Much obliged, Rob
 
If you mean can you not oil or rinse it with fresh water and not see any rust, no. It will stand up to such use far better than steels like ATS-34 however. To get a true rust proof knife you will want either Ti or Stellite.

-Cliff
 
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