Sog Sharpness

A

ALAMEDA

Joined
Nov 26, 2005
Messages
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Again: I'm new to knives.

When my Topo Contour arrived NIB:

Is it as sharp as it could be?

Can the blade be sharpend even more than it is when brand new?

How sharp should a Sog knife be when brand new?

Can it be too sharp?

You get my point.

Thanks,

Dan
 
Will it shave ?

Will it slice paper easy ?

If it does these two things, then I would consider it as sharp as most factory knives.

Yes it can be sharpened more, but I would not do this unless it won't shave or slice paper easy, and then I would only use a ceramic rod careful not to scratch blade finish since it is new.

Just in case you are not familiar with ceramic rods, they are used to "fine tune" a knife edge without having to resort to heavy abrasives like a diamond stone or regular sharpening stone.

They will bring a fairly dull edge back to shaving sharp if used right. Once the knife edge is really degraded then it is wise to use a stone of some type, then a ceramic rod to get rid of the wire edge. (if there is one)

Most SOG knives I have seen are shaving sharp, a few needed a slight "tune" up.

I don't think any knife can be too sharp.......:eek:

Robbie Roberson;)
 
Robbie

Thank you.

Here is my thought on "too sharp" when it comes to knives:

And of course this is coming from a person who does not know knives!

Sharp is sharp, and then to go even sharper would be to go even "thinner"....I would think.

Now just how thin can the edge of a knife blade go? That is the question.

Razor thin I would say is "sharp". But let's go even sharper than "razor thin", just for the sake of discussion.

At what point is the blade, "too sharp"?

If sharp means "thin" , and Robbie, ( it may not mean that at all: I don't know) then too sharp would mean even thinner than that to a point where it is subject to being chipped/broken/ruined, by even the slighest contact with any object.

Or maybe, no.

Dan
 
Dan,

I wouldn't worry about "too sharp"..... in my opinion, make it as sharp as you'd like it to be.
For myself, when I can dry-shave my forearm: that's sharp enough for me (hair-popping sharp is a common expression).

You needn't worry about "thinning" the blade by sharpening. The Topo blade isn't designed like a straight razor, with a constantly thinning blade from top edge down to sharp edge. There is plenty of "meat" in the Topo blade.
So I'm thinking you can never get a knife "too sharp."

Cheers,

Carl
 
Carl

Much appreciated!

My next knife will be the Sog Trident (TF-1) from EBAY at $64.00 plus shipping.

Without starting a new thread I would like to know why Sog did not make an all black (Tini) smooth blade Trident (without serrations)?

I would skip the serrations on the Trident (in black only) if I could.

Can anyone comment on the Trident, (pro and especially con) as I do not see any discussion on this knife here?

If I should have (probably) started a new thread.....sorry, Guys.

Dan
 
I have also just ordered a SOG Trident [TF-3] for my
everyday folding knife, after much consideration on all levels.
[Quality - Looks - Features - Price]

I will add my thoughts on the it when it arrives in a
couple days. I found lots of useful info around the web,
and the review by Tactical Knives which you might've seen.
Those features really got me for the price asked. But back on topic..
 
I think that the sharpness of a knife is a lot like the accuracy of a rifle…you may have more than you need; but can you really have a rifle that is too accurate or a knife that’s too sharp?


...SOG seems to do a good job of sharpening at the factory, so I don’t think that you will be disappointed. To keep the edge as sharp as or sharper than the factory, I would recommend getting a Spyderco SharpMaker.





- Frank
 
Frank

You (and everyone else here) have been very helpful.....to a new knife guy.

I was about to ask the forum how I should go about sharpening my knives (Sogs or otherwise): a bit embarrasing for a beginner.

Your response made me Goggle all that I need to know about the Spyderco Sharpmaker....except having the talent to use it.

Thanks, Frank

P.S.

I am a bit apprehensive about my first attempt at sharpening any blade.

Dan
 
Dan,

The SharpMaker is pretty close to fool proof...just follow the instructions on the video and booklet that come with the Sharpmaker and practice on a cheap kitchen knife and you'll be good to go in no time.


- Frank
 
I've got a tried & true sharpening method.... I mentioned it in a SOG Forum thread a while back but the "search" function is broken at this time and I can't find it.
-- maybe it will work for you.....

I used The Method a couple of days ago on my pal's Kabar.... worked perfect and it's now nice and razory.

Cheers,

Carl
 
Carl

Read the thread you linked to me! Thanks!

First off, it's like reading something in Spanish, Carl. And I don't speak Spanish.

What I need to do is get a video and a detailed book with pictures to really "see" what sharpening is all about.

You use a "strop", you say....... OK?

Do you mean that a knife cannot be sharpened without a strop?

I thought that maybe the Spyderco sharp kit (that I am going to order) with the ceramic stones (whatever) are all that are needed. I thought that maybe you just "slide" the blade along the correct triangle "thingy".... and that's it.

But now I see the word "strop", and that makes me think of when I was a kid in the barber chair and (you ain't old enough for this, Carl: believe me) he had this two foot long slab of leather hanging from the chair, and he would whip the razor back and forth on this thing.

But I did not think that you still had to "strop" a folder knife (Sog) in addition to the Spydie Kit with the stones.

I need to SEE this process done. Start to finish!

Otherwise I'm goin' nowhere with knives.

Thanks for your input!

Dan
 
You don't have to strop, but it does help to make your knives super sharp. Use an old leather belt, simple and easy, or make one by glueing a part of the belt onto a board, (same width as belt).


Here is a page with tons of sharpening tips/ideas/links,

Hope this helps.

http://users.ameritech.net/knives/

Robbie Roberson;)
 
Sal shows how a leather strop is used in the video that comes with SharpMaker, although stropping is not really necessary unless you have a straight razor that you shave with.
 
Alameda,

hmm, written in Spanish ?? Well, living/existing here in SoCal does provide a necessity to be bilingual, and Spanish is almost a necessity sometimes.....

Anyway, I'll look around for the complete writeup I did about The Method.

In the meantime, young feller, not only am I old enough to know about barber chairs and leather strops, I have my grandfather's leather strop that he bought way back about 1918 or so !! :eek: :eek:
Yessir, an oldie and still a goodie.... both me and that leather strop.

The Spyderco kit does things different and is very effective and efficient at putting sharp on steel.
And as Robbie says, stropping isn't necessary to get a razory edge if you're using a sharpening setup that will provide a razory edge.

Stropping just makes it sharper..... maybe/sorta/I couldn't say for certain. But with The Method, stropping smooths out the rough, but very sharp, edge created by the Smith's plastic thingie. My pal Tim calls me "obsessive" .....

Cheers,

Carl
 
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