Talonite Sharpness

E

ErikD

Joined
Dec 5, 2000
Messages
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I have a Mayo Large TNT that I have been using as my EDC for a while, I guess about a year now. It is a great knife, and I really love it and would hate to have to part with it. One thing though seems to get to me with this knife though. It just doesn't seem to ever get as sharp as any of my steel knives.

It can't be my sharpening skills, as I can take a butter knife dull blade and make it shaving sharp. I also don't mean to say that it is dull by any means, just that it never seems to get as sharp as my other knives. As an example it won't really shave hair as well as say my Sebenza. I can get a decent hair shaving edge, but then if I jut open one box it no longer shaves well.

Now I seem to remember reading that talonite has relitively large and hard carbides. This is what makes it capable of cutting forever without needing sharpening. I can live with this, as even after it has lost a shaving sharp edge it will zip through boxes, string, or any food that I need to cut no problem. I am just a bit obsessive compolsive about these things, and would like some other opinions on this. Is this just the nature of the beast (talonite), that it just doesn't really work best with a shaving sharp edge? As that is what I seem to recall for some reason, and my experience would tend to be in line with that.

If not, any tips on how to get it to a truly hair popping edge, and keeping it like that even when used, and not stropping after cutting one box?

Thanks.
 
I did have a Talonite knive one time. It did exactly the way you describe as far as having a shaving edge, use it one time one some small peice of cardboard or paper and it wouldn't shave as well, but would cut for a looong time after that without having to be sharpened. It never would get the type edge that S30V, BG42, or D2 would. It is different, that's why I don't have it anymore.
 
Send it back to Tom, he'll get it razor sharp I'm sure.

If you don't want to, send it to me! :D
 
Steven,
It is sharp, just that at times it doesn't feel as sharp as it might be. For example after I do a few light strokes on the edge with the Sharpmaker fine stones it will actually be hair popping sharp. BUT, it won't feel that way when compared to other knives of different steels.

The other part is that after cutting up a box, it will still actually be very sharp, still able to shave, but will feel even less sharp than before. I am thinking that this is due to the large carbides, it just isn't a knife that should be given a really highly polished razor edge. Either way in terms of use it doesn't really make a big difference to me, as it works very well for what I use it for(cutting boxes and food mostly). I am just a tad obsessed about sharpness, and would just like to know if this is a characteristic of talonite.
 
I noticed the same thing with my Blackwood Miami Ninja, it never "feels" sharp but it cuts and shaves just fine. It needed a few passes on my lansky dogbone when I got it second hand, never had to touch it up since.
 
It has nothing to do with the carbides, carbides are very tiny like a micron, that is one thousand'th of a millimeter. You can't feel carbides no do they effect edge sharpness (except in fairly extreme situations).

The reason that Talonite goes blunt quickly after cutting cardboard is because it is *much* softer than steels and thus the edge just bends over. Yes it will still cut cardboard and such well, because sharpness is only a small part of cutting ability on such materials, geometry plays a significant role

If the blade is ground really thin like an Opinel for example, it can continue to cut well even if fairly blunt. This of course isn't a property of Talonite, all steels (and blade materials) have the same property. The rate of blunting isn't linear, they blunt quickly at first and then it slows *way* down.

-Cliff
 
It is possible to get a really good shaving edge with Talonite -- I have a small folder with a Talonite blade that will take the finest hairs clean off with no effort. I also have a large TNT that I keep just barely shaving sharp.

The difference between the two is primarily the thickness of the edge. Talonite (and Stellite 6k) really aren't hard enough to maintain the very thin edge that's necessary for hair-popping sharpness. I've done my best to keep the convex edge that Tom put on the TNT in the first place, doing most of my edge maintenance by stropping on leather charged with green buffing compound (largely on the advice of Jerry Hossom). Occasionally, I'll give the edge a couple of strokes on the fine or ultra-fine Sharpmaker stones.

The small folder, which has a much thinner blade than the TNT to start with, has been sharpened on fine diamond, followed by fine ceramic, and then stropped with green buffing compound; "v" edge rather than an convex one. Like I said above, it's got that kind of shaving edge you're looking for -- I just doubt that the edge would stay that way if I used it for any serious cutting.
 
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