Well, I finally managed it ....

gajinoz

gajinoz

Joined
Sep 2, 2003
Messages
11,650
I got away with using the SnG as a screwdriver replacement but, today, the inevitable happened.

I was trying to get the fire going and I was using the knife to slice and chip little pieces off a log to use for kindling. I dug the knife into a crack and tried to pry a bit off and .... >>SNAP<< You guessed it, about a millimetre or so snapped of the point of the SnG blade.

Was I annoyed? You bet!
Was it my own stupid fault? Sure was.

My nice new knife now has a squared off bit instead of a sharp point on the edge of the blade.

[Insert non family friendly words here .......]

OK, what to do about it? I immediately rejected sending it back to Strider, international shipping is too high and I didn't want to risk it going through customs if I didn't have to.

After a bit of thinking I decide on a plan. Out comes the Lansky sharpener. Not a very good system but it does have exactly what I want, small narrow stones attached to a "handle" that I can use like a small file to reshape the point how I want it. I decided that I didn't really have a need for a really sharp point and what I'd prefer is a slightly more rounded profile, less prone to snapping for one thing. After some time I had it in the shape I wanted, the Lansky stones worked perfectly in this respect.

Next came the Edgepro. I used that to get a precise angle. While I was doing this I thought I might as well do the entire blade. I managed to set it very close to the angle the knife came with and started with the 120 grit and worked my way up to the 600 and then finished it off with the 3000 polishing tape. While I don't claim to be any sharpening guru I was pretty pleased with the result, in fact I think I got it better than out of the box from the Strider boys. It's certainly shaving sharp if not better.

A few drops of Tough Glide and a wipe all over with the Tough Cloth and it's like new. (Actually better I think.)

All in all, after a nasty beginning, I think I have a knife that more suits my personal requirements than the original. I'm happy with it anyway!

For anyone who doesn't have one, the Edgepro is a bloody good sharpening system, get one if you can afford it.
 
All's well that ends well.

I've reshaped and resharpened a tip freehand, and it wasn't a fun job.
 
gajinoz said:
...about a millimetre or so snapped of the point of the SnG blade.
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That would be why "hard use tactical" and high carbon stainless steel don't get along. On a tougher steel you would have fixed the overstressed tip trivially. You could also make an arguement for incoherent design considering the thickness of the blade steel and the overall build of the knife leaving a tip that prone to fracture.

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
That would be why "hard use tactical" and high carbon stainless steel don't get along. On a tougher steel you would have fixed the overstressed tip trivially. You could also make an arguement for incoherent design considering the thickness of the blade steel and the overall build of the knife leaving a tip that prone to dracture.

-Cliff
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To be honest with you Cliff, I'm not entirely sure I get your point. (Pun intended). I don't consider my day to day use, (or misuse), of knives to be "tactical". I'm just a poor dumb country boy hacking and slashing away at whatever I find needs hacking and slashing.

If you're saying that high carbon steels ground down to fine points don't make great prying tools then yes, I would agree with you.

Had I been using the tip for what a knife is designed for, cutting, I doubt there would have been a problem. However I jammed it into a crack in a lump of almost iron hard eucalyptus redbox and tried to pry a piece off. I'd say ANY bit of steel capable of fitting into that cracked would have broken, or at least bent.
 
Perhaps you should have left it as was. Then, the next time you needed it as a screwdriver .....

I feel for you, but I also agree not many (if any) knives can take just the tip being put into hard wood and torqued. Even my beloved Rats and Busse's, ya just got to put a 1/2 or 3/4" in to get any real strength.

Glad to see that it worked out in the end though.

Rob
 
On a related topic, how do you guys fix notches in a blade? I put a few notches in my HI khuk when I was chopping and some metal snuck in the blade's path. :eek:

But all I could think of to do was file down the 'smooshed' area and now I have two little saw teeth in the blade. :(

Mark
 
Minjin said:
On a related topic, how do you guys fix notches in a blade?
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A complete fix is to grind the whole blade back, wasteful. I grind it out and make a serration, this removes weakened metal and helps prevent crack propogation.

wetdog1911 said:
... got to put a 1/2 or 3/4" in to get any real strength.
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On lower penetration the tips should just fail to clear the wood and pop out. I usually start with 1/4", as 1/8" can't even hold the wood at all. Depends on the wood of course, prying in some of the ironwoods are akin to using the blade in a vice.

gajinoz said:
...I'm not entirely sure I get your point.
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Those knives are usually advocated for extreme use, and promoted on the strength of several of the very "heavy duty" elements, in this context consider the coherence of a tip which has the above performance.

I'd say ANY bit of steel capable of fitting into that cracked would have broken, or at least bent.
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It isn't simply that it can break but how, the tougher steels would take a very large flex before they set, and even further before they break (which is extreme at that thickness), and thus you are less likely to damage them and they are easier to fix if you do, as you can just twist it back the opposite way.

-Cliff
 
Temper said:
I take it you found the Edgepro easy to use then? How long was the learning curve?
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Very easy to use, once I figured out how to put it together. :)

It didn't take me long at all to get reasonably proficient at it. I tried it out on an old kitchen knife and once I discovered that slow, even strokes with a light touch, (hmmm... this reminds me of something ....), is the way to go, I got the hang of it pretty quickly. It's an EXCELLENT sharpening system and I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone. I think you'd be impressed with the edge I got on my SnG. I think I'll do the Sebbie today. :)
 
I've done that in the past and made the same repair, but ya know what?

It just ate at me, knowing that the tip was a little shorter, the tip just didn't make it to the end of the scales when closed, I tried to keep it EDC but I just knew it wasn't the knife it used to be, kinda like a horse with a lame leg.

It was usable and to most other people it looked fine, but deep down inside I knew it's dirty little secret, it just didn't measure up the way it used to, it wasn't the same knife I fell in love with, I know I was superficial, shallow so to speak, but still it wasn't the same.

Oh well, I bought another one, and buried the broke one in a drawer.
 
T. Erdelyi said:
I've done that in the past and made the same repair, but ya know what?

It just ate at me, knowing that the tip was a little shorter, the tip just didn't make it to the end of the scales when closed, I tried to keep it EDC but I just knew it wasn't the knife it used to be, kinda like a horse with a lame leg.
Click to expand...
I know exactly what you mean. It really isn't that pristine new knife I paid so much money for but, on the other hand, it's now more MY knife, I've altered it a little and put a bit of ME into it's development. It's on it's way to becoming a comfortable tool you like to have with you rather than just another knife.
 
gajinoz said:
I discovered that slow, even strokes with a light touch, (hmmm... this reminds me of something ....), is the way to go.
Click to expand...
I don't get it. Is this a joke? Are you talking about kneading bread or something? :D
 
Just bought a new digital camera nad trying to work it out. Anyway, here is a pic of the modified SnG blade.

You can see that I've left the tip a little square. I'll see how it goes, I MAY decide to round it a little more and sharpen it. Haven't decided yet.

sngtip.jpg
 
Why not just file the spine down at an angle till it meets the edge at a new point?

Mark
 
You generally can't file that class of steel well, but you can retain near the idential shape of the original blade if you just sweep up the point a little. Essentially keep the top of the flat tip as the new point and work a smooth arc down from there. It should only take a couple of minutes on a benchstone to recut the curve and set the edge.

-Cliff
 
Well, as I said in my first post, I didn't really want a sharp point again. I intentionally left it the way it is, (although I may round it off a little more later), to try and avoid the same thing happening again. I rarely need a sharp point but, with this particular knife, I want something robust that I can jab and pry with a little if I need to. I'm not trying to create a prybar, just avoid thin pointy bits that break easily.
 
scratch that... my suggestion was already there :)

id probably end up grinding the spine down to make it a lower point...
 
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