This won't be easy. Need very good steel for cutting Dyneema & kitchen friendly.

B

Bronze Age Man

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Feb 15, 2016
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Specifically joined here to find a better knife for hi tech rope. Cutting Dyneema is very hard on an edge, so much so I resorted to my S30V Bush Knife but even that needs frequent honing. I thought about a folder but all my knives end up in the kitchen when travelling or at camp. Also the longer the blade the longer between sharpening's.
I thought this would be easy but it's not. I prefer the sheep's foot style with a flat grind to get more edge and easier slicing. A little curve is good not totally flat, about 4 inches perhaps. The steels I have gleaned so far: S90V, M390, S110V. The harder steels seem to be in smaller knives.
Most of the knives seem on back order or just crazy expensive. I can see about $200 but would prefer $150.
My hands are Xtra large so the handle has to fit my hand. I have no qualms about sharpening anything and have plenty of stones/diamonds for that.
The choice seems huge but so much is not available for purchase it's just noise in the selection process so any help in the right direction is appreciated.
 
"UHMWPE fibers are used in armor, in particular, personal armor and on occasion as vehicle armor, cut-resistant gloves, "

It is highly cut-resistant; why do you need to cut the stuff, and how much?
Perhaps a knife is the wrong tool, depending on those things.
 
stabman said:
"UHMWPE fibers are used in armor, in particular, personal armor and on occasion as vehicle armor, cut-resistant gloves, "

It is highly cut-resistant; why do you need to cut the stuff, and how much?
Perhaps a knife is the wrong tool, depending on those things.
Click to expand...

This. It sounds like a pair of nippers or something else that offers greater shearing action may be more effective.
 
If the tool has to be a knife, I would suggest the Spyderco Southfork or Sprig. Both are significant fixed blades of great review. They are designed with a thinner edge geometry, lending to kitchen use, though they utilize S90V, which should help with such a highly abrasive task.
 
I'd agree man look into some larger cutters knipex makes some great tools, a little pricy but worth it.
Google Knipex 95-11-165 6.5" Cable Shears - Plastic Grip
 
I make Dyneema loops for sail boats. Each loop has one cut for length and 2 diagonal tapered cuts in the splice. Very good hardened scissors are blunted quickly, everyone uses a knife. I make a few dozen at a time of various thickness, the breaking strains are most impressive 2,400lbs to over 8,0000 lbs.
I will look at the suggested knives. The scissors I have work for carbon fibre mat for a while, then I dismantle them and hone the edges and polish the face to 8000 grit for the next job.
 
Yep, get some shears that they use for Kevlar and carbon fiber weaves.
It is sort of a one trick pony, but it will work well for you and allow you to get more mileage from your knives.
 
I've cut a lot of Dyneema-cored kernmantle rope with a hot wire cutter, but it wouldn't manage the diagonal cuts cleanly. Seems like an industrial laser would be great for this task.

In knives, Phil Wilson's fixed blades (including the two Spyderco collaborations mentioned above, the Sprig and Southfork) came immediately to mind.
 
You might want to look into a set of Swissors: http://www.kyon.ch/current-products/swissors
The cutting edges of the replaceable blades are coated with titanium nitride, which is both very hard & wear resistant, and also very slick.
For your applications you'd want one with micro-serrated blades, as these will cut Dyneema, Kevlar, and Nomex without any problems.
The standard blades tend to slip on those types of fibers.

For certain types of cuts however a knife will be easier, and for those i would recommend a good quality ceramic knife.
The Japan based Forever company makes very good ones (which can also be resharpened fairly easy), and also ceramic scissors (but i haven't tried these yet)
 
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Have you tried ceramic blades?

Also, check out the recommendation on Kevlar shears, I believe they also have ceramic blades
 
How would a Ti knife with a carbide edge go? My understanding is a carbide edge excels at cutting abrasive materials. It might be worth talking with BF member, knifemaker and generally brilliant guy, Dan Fairly (spelling?).
 
I would suggest researching Boye Knives. The use a denderic cobalt blade with very aggressive carbide chosen specifically for cutting high tech rigging on sailboats.

They offer both folders and utility sized fixed blades.
 
Thanks pinnah!
The Basic 3 looks perfect (except the price). I'm checking out the seconds to see if it is closer to my budget.
The folders both have serrations which is weird as it stops you sharpening easily, the Basic 3 does not so their own design is contradictory!
I will ask if they make a folder without serrations (which is in my budget).
 
I suggest talking with them about serrations and sharpening. I have a buddy who has one and my understanding is that the rope cutting performance rests more with the course carbides and less with a "sharp" edge profile. Still... Knives need to sharpened and I'll bet Boye will guide you towards the best method for his knife. It's a unique knife, so be careful of wrongly applying intuition from more traditional designs.

Good luck and let's us know what you find out. I'm curious.
 
Yes there are scissors but the hardened scissors I have that cost a lot do blunt and sharpening is far more time consuming.
Still waiting for a price on seconds from Boye knives.
The basic 3 sharpening seems simple. Wasting the knife by over sharpening seems the biggest hazard.
 
A few years ago when I bought my Boye folder, I asked about getting one without serrations. It was no problem, cost the same, and just might take a little longer to ship if it had to wait until the next batch of blades came out of casting. YMMV. BTW the Basic 3 would probably be better suited to kitchen duty, and will be easier to clean.
 
Well Boye knives have a new version of their Basic 3. They have not yet advertised it anywhere and the first one is headed my way!
Will post a pic and summary when it arrives! Pricing is better!
 
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