SURVIVOR! Try stick

That's cool OBX. You did that on green oak or dry and hard oak? I understand oak is very hard.
 
pjandyho said:
That's cool OBX. You did that on green oak or dry and hard oak? I understand oak is very hard.
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I used an oak dowel. It's seasoned and very hard. This is why I don't have the cleaner 90'esq degree angles that you see on the other try sticks - not to mention that I probably don't have as much skill (some of those sticks are really nice!). I use oak dowels of different diameters to compare how well the blades how an edge. That dowel with the round cut put 2 small folds in my 5. I tried the same cut with a D2 blade and it cased larger folds and a nick or two. 01 seems to hold up better than D2 but 3v is by far the best. The down side to using this is you have to resharpen vs touch up more often.



This oak dowel is about twice as thick as the one from my last post. It's really hard and it chewed up my 4.1 after a lot of work. My 01 and D2 blades were pretty badly nicked after I made an hour glass cut to the point where I could break the dowel. As much as my 4.1 but in a lot less time.

This is my litmus test for sharpness, cutting ability (I also feather stick these dowels), blade retention, nicks/chipping, micro folds and ultimately how easy or hard is to bring the blade back to insane sharpness aka "Guy sharp" or at least close to it.
 
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That is serious edge use! The dowel must be a good way to measure edge characteristics. It will be interesting to see how the qualities of the new heat treat measure up.
 
For a guy who sits at a desk it's the best way along with batoning seasoned oak, you may have seen pics of this in a few of my posts, is the best way to get a sense of how rugged 3v really is. I am really looking forward to getting the new knives and I have 3 large oak dowels for them to work on. But the wood I like to work on the best is chair rail made from pine. It's got lots of knots, harden sap and grain. It's not as hard to work with but is tough on knives. I've made spoons, back scratches, tent stakes, etc. It's great hard work. This is where I've spent most of my times with my knives. I've never found anything as hard when camping. Sorry....geeking out!
 
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That is some great results OBX. I have an LT Wright in O1 steel and one in A2 and would be curious to see how they hold up doing what you are doing. Ashamedly, I haven't used them yet except to cut newspaper but I will soon when I get myself some sharpening stones for the Scandi grind (using diamond guided system now which sucks for Scandi). So far I have tried doing something with the Esee 3 and has been quite happy with the edge retention of the 1095. I am so looking forward to doing this with my 3V GSO 4.1. I doubt I will want to carve with the 5.1 as it might be a little too big and unwieldy. I think a 3.5 might be better for such a task, no?
 
pjandyho said:
That is some great results OBX. I have an LT Wright in O1 steel and one in A2 and would be curious to see how they hold up doing what you are doing. Ashamedly, I haven't used them yet except to cut newspaper but I will soon when I get myself some sharpening stones for the Scandi grind (using diamond guided system now which sucks for Scandi). So far I have tried doing something with the Esee 3 and has been quite happy with the edge retention of the 1095. I am so looking forward to doing this with my 3V GSO 4.1. I doubt I will want to carve with the 5.1 as it might be a little too big and unwieldy. I think a 3.5 might be better for such a task, no?
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I have a LT Wright GNS in 01 scandi. It's a great knife. It does very well on the oak dowels, it's a bushcraft knife and is a great slicer/carving knife. But 01 isn't as tough as 3v.

I use a 4 sided strop with ENKAY black emery coarse buffing compound as well as green, white and leather. That has brought back my 01 blades 90% of the time. You'll want that diamond system for your 4.1 in 3v. I use the DMT Aligner and start with the black extra coarse diamond stones and work down to either 1000 or 1200 then I finish with the above mentioned strop to get it close to "Guy sharp".

To be honest I haven't taken my GNS out in the field yet but I've put a bunch of hours on it using the above mentioned building materials and batoning wood at home. Get some wood the next time you're at Home Depot or Lowe's and bang on your knives!!!
 
OBX351 said:
I have a LT Wright GNS in 01 scandi. It's a great knife. It does very well on the oak dowels, it's a bushcraft knife and is a great slicer/carving knife. But 01 isn't as tough as 3v.

I use a 4 sided strop with ENKAY black emery coarse buffing compound as well as green, white and leather. That has brought back my 01 blades 90% of the time. You'll want that diamond system for your 4.1 in 3v. I use the DMT Aligner and start with the black extra coarse diamond stones and work down to either 1000 or 1200 then I finish with the above mentioned strop to get it close to "Guy sharp".

To be honest I haven't taken my GNS out in the field yet but I've put a bunch of hours on it using the above mentioned building materials and batoning wood at home. Get some wood the next time you're at Home Depot or Lowe's and bang on your knives!!!
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Thanks for sharing. I am not in the US so there's no Home Depot or Lowe's here but I think I might be able to grab some planks or dowels from some art supplies shop here. Mine is a GNS too and I fully understand the edge retention is nowhere near that of the 3V, I think it is a small trade off to have if it means much greater ease of sharpening? However, if I ever were to need a knife for a 3 or 4 days camping trip I would like a knife with the highest possible edge retention available, and that is where S!K comes in. So looking forward to my first S!K 5.1 because it happens to be in a size in which I would think is my favorite length for general use.
 
pjandyho said:
Mine is a GNS too and I fully understand the edge retention is nowhere near that of the 3V, I think it is a small trade off to have if it means much greater ease of sharpening? However, if I ever were to need a knife for a 3 or 4 days camping trip I would like a knife with the highest possible edge retention available, and that is where S!K comes in. So looking forward to my first S!K 5.1 because it happens to be in a size in which I would think is my favorite length for general use.
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That's an interesting point you make. I can bring back a 3v blade almost as fast as an 01 blade with diamond stones to where the knife can shave hair. However 3v does take longer to finish than 01. It's a trade off. Take a look at the WorkSharp field sharpener. I was able to bring my 4.1 and my 5.1 back to a serviceable edge using one, it took about 20 to 30 minutes. I am still refining my sharpening skills so it would probably take less time if you really know what you're doing. It was faster with my guided DMT Aligner once I figured out the angle.

I am sure you'll enjoy the 5.1. Take a look at the 4.1 or the 4.5 as well, it might become your favorite knife!! Either way let us know what you think!
 
Thanks pal. A GSO 4.1 is already on order a couple of months back. Can't express how much I long to see it in my hands. Talking about Work Sharp, I have been thinking of getting one. The problem with a guided system is getting the angle right and also getting those curves near the tip right. I am using a Gatco Ultimate Diamond and I frequently find myself struggling to get an apex at the curve near the tip. It just wouldn't meet even after hours on the system and it has been a frustrating experience for me at least. The Work Sharp allows a mixture of freehand sharpening and that of a partially guided system and I believe it allows more flexibility? I am also toying with the idea of investing in some DMT flat table top diamond hones to have a go at freehand sharpening. Could use that for my Scandi grind as well.
 
Free hand is the way to go. It takes time to practice and get good, but once you do it is more satisfying and i feel like i have to remove much less steel to get my edges where i want them. I also do lots of little edg maintenance touch ups, with a strop or fine stone depending on the knife. Guided sharpeners like a lansky will hold the stone the same way every pass, but as you start to hit the belly of a knife the angle actually flattens out a bit. It is exaggerated on longer blades and blades with large bellies. You can avoid this free hannd sharpening by raising the pommel a bit as you pass through the belly to the tip
 
That's what I thought too. I guess I had enough frustration dealing with "damaged" knives after running it through the guided system. Sometimes, and in most times, it changes the look of the belly and the tip no matter how careful and patience I go. That's just so frustrating. Thanks for the advice.
 
The 6 is almost as nimble as the 3.5. It's definitely a lot more steel to maneuver though!
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Looks good Std78! That was my first S!K and I was pleasantly surprised about how nimble it was.
 
This is really shameful to admit, I don't know how to sharpen a knife well. Like I can get an ok working edge, not shaving sharp or anything. I should probably watch some videos and get a strop and such.
 
pjandyho said:
That's what I thought too. I guess I had enough frustration dealing with "damaged" knives after running it through the guided system. Sometimes, and in most times, it changes the look of the belly and the tip no matter how careful and patience I go. That's just so frustrating. Thanks for the advice.
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Start with a strop. That's how I learned. The other suggestion is to get a black marker and mark the edge of your knife. While you're using your stone make sure you're only taking off the black. I asked Guy about sharpening and he turned me on to the Fallkniven DC 4 stone and the marker tip. The DC4 comes with instructions on how to use the marker and I am sure there are threads here that discuss sharpening. But a strop is the safest way to learn. I learned on a JRE Industries Strop Bat. Best of luck with it!
 
rxavage said:
This is really shameful to admit, I don't know how to sharpen a knife well. Like I can get an ok working edge, not shaving sharp or anything. I should probably watch some videos and get a strop and such.
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Not a big deal..it took me about 18 months to figure it out with 3v (now that's embarrassing!). It didn't take that long to learn how to strop but it takes forever to strop 3v once it has folds and nicks. I recently tried a worksharp field sharpener and was able to get my 4.1 back to shaving sharp. I am still learning, however I am confident enough to free hand sharpen my GSOs. Guy should see this as good news, he's sharpened some of my knives 3 and 4 times.

Learn to strop to maintain your blades. You only need a few passes and don't press too hard. Just drag the knife on its edge and be mindful not to cut the strop. Yes videos will help but you just need to practice. After a while it'll become second nature. It's zen for me when I am on a painfully long and technical con call.
 
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Thanks for the tips OBX. I am using a large StropMan strop with two compounds. By the way, do you add more compound halfway through stropping or do you just keep on it from the first compound you started on? How long do you need to strop on 3V before you switch over to the polishing compound if any?
 
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