Why is my better knife more difficult to use?

N

Naphtali

Joined
May 20, 2002
Messages
150
I own and use a built-to-order Cowry X damascus knife with 5-inch flat grind clip point blade, also a Dozier Sisu knife 4.25-inch semihollow grind clip point blade having AISI 410 laminated (machine forge welded??) to D-2 center ply bought last year. Both blades are sharpened on the same Gatco diamond-stone fixture to have 19-degree edge [each side]. Cowry X blade is just under .200 inch thick at blade back. Sisu blade is .158 inch thick at blade back.
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For every cutting job - that includes, routine kitchen/meal preparation except slicing bread, field dressing whitetail deer and two elk, jointing, and skinning but not caping - my Sisu is easier to use efficiently. Within very broad limits, Sisu cuts and maneuvers more easily than the Cowry X. Intuitively, this is wrong.

My Cowry X knife is better finished. Cutting edge material is significantly superior - on paper. In terms of blades' overall configuration, the only differences I perceive are flat grind on one, semihollow grind on the other, and Sisu is thinner.

Is my perception that the lesser quality knife [steel] is easier to use really accurate? If it is, why?
 
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^ So true! blade geometry can make a world of difference in the performance of a knife!
 
In a nutshell, thicker stock and flat ground vs thinner stock and hollow ground, the hollow will have significantly less steel behind the edge. Thinner steel behind the edge allows for a finer edge which will equal better slicing performance.

And it's not like d2 is a slouch of a steel either.

CrowryX will undoubtedly resist corrosion better...
 
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ATJ999 said:
^ So true! blade geometry can make a world of difference in the performance of a knife!
Click to expand...

Blade geometry determines the cutting performance of a knife. Nothing else plays any role in how a knife cuts initially. Take two identical blades, one 420J2 and the other Cowry X, and guess what...they cut exactly the same.

Geometry rules. Everything else drools. :D
 
:) Differences in the overall design , e.g. the blade pattern , shape , length etc and the handle conformation come into play . The complex interaction of knife and your individual biophysics can be difficult to fully understand . Sometimes you must just go with what feels and works best for YOU for a given purpose . :cool:
 
DocJD said:
:) Differences in the overall design , e.g. the blade pattern , shape , length etc and the handle conformation come into play . The complex interaction of knife and your individual biophysics can be difficult to fully understand . Sometimes you must just go with what feels and works best for YOU for a given purpose . :cool:
Click to expand...

True! I strongly agree. Ergos really matter for ease/comfort of use...especially for long term use. I think people underestimate its importance.

But our friend did say that "the only differences I perceive are flat grind on one, semihollow grind on the other, and Sisu is thinner."

So I am working on the assumption that the ergos on the knives are comparable and the difference is just geometry.
 
Mostly ya don't slice tomatoes with an axe, thinner is better. Whats your measurement just behind the secondary bevel?
 
Higher quality and better aren't synonymous.

An AMG Mercedes S class is a much higher quality vehicle than my dad's beat up old F-150, but isn't really "better" at getting you from A to B when you consider the truck is a 4x4 and can go everywhere the Merc can and a lot of places it can't.

If you just need your knife to open boxes a sharpened pry bar is fine. If you want it to slice tomatoes and process game a much lower quality knife could perform much better with the right geometry.
 
What are the widths of the edge shoulders? That will play a big role, more so than the spine thickness or the inclusive angle of the edge.
 
marcinek said:
Blade geometry determines the cutting performance of a knife. Nothing else plays any role in how a knife cuts initially. Take two identical blades, one 420J2 and the other Cowry X, and guess what...they cut exactly the same.

Geometry rules. Everything else drools. :D
Click to expand...
Not even the actual quality and refinement of the edge? Or are you meaning if all things are equal including overall sharpness?
 
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