Why is my TGLB so dull?

E

emt1581

Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Messages
910
I gotta be honest, I am really not impressed with the Busse's ability to hold an edge at this point.

First off, I asked for my CGBJ to come razor sharp...it was spoon dull right out of the box. Garth took care of me and sharpened it up. Now I haven't checked that one recently a it's been in my vault since I received my CF TGLB.

As for the TGLB, I asked for that to come razor sharp as well. It came wrapped in a SSSS supposedly verifying it was sharp. I used the same knife on the same sheet of paper and got a few cuts they weren't overly smooth (indicating ripping rather than slicing/cutting). But it did cut.

Today I took the TGLB out of it's sheath and inspected the blade. I was actually looking to see if it had any rust. This was out of concern due to a previous thread where un-removed decarb was said to create some really superficial surface rust. It was still beautiful. However, the edge was really dull. Shaving was out the window. Plus, running my fingers down the blade, not so much as a line was left. I know it's not the...sharpest idea...to see if a knife will cut flesh to judge it's sharpness. However, I was pretty confident beforehand that it wouldn't do anything and it didn't even when I put some pressure on it.

I'm pretty frustrated at this point. Especially since these are NOT users. Both have pretty much just been kept in their sheaths and only handled a few times. Maybe I should stick to carbon blades. But from what yall have been raving about Busse's it makes me think either I'm doing something wrong or something else is going on.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks

-Emt1581
 
They got dull in the safe? :eek:


That is just bizarre...




My advice to you is to drink heavily. It won't fix the problem, but it won't hurt.


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kdstrick said:
They got dull in the safe? :eek:


That is just bizarre...




My advice to you is to drink heavily. It won't fix the problem, but it won't hurt.


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Click to expand...

To be fair, I can't say my CGBJ is dull but the next time I'm in there I'll check it out.

But does anything happen to these blades that if they sit for a few weeks to a few months they lose their sharpness? I should add that my vault is kept at around 40% humidity and 68-72 degrees.

Thanks

-Emt1581
 
Not bizarre and not uncommon with any steel. Unless you store it somewhere entirely devoid of moisture or dry+coat it with something, the edge can get eaten away by the moisture. There are quite a few threads on this around the forum going all the way back to 1999, for instance:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/130767-VG-10-Vs-Carbon-V?p=1028009#post1028009

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/823463-Knife-getting-dull-from-sitting-in-pocket


You could put chapstick on the edge if nothing else. Just make sure it's dry when you do.
 
kreole said:
Not bizarre and not uncommon with any steel. Unless you store it somewhere entirely devoid of moisture or dry+coat it with something, the edge can get eaten away by the moisture. There are quite a few threads on this around the forum for 13+ years now :p, for instance:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/130767-VG-10-Vs-Carbon-V?p=1028009#post1028009

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/823463-Knife-getting-dull-from-sitting-in-pocket
Click to expand...

Please see my previous post...not sure if that is considered moist or not for knives. I have it tuned for guns as to not permit rust but not dry out some of the older stocks either.

Thanks

-Emt1581
 
A few things
-Check your sheath for grit and whether the edge contacts it or not. If the edge contacts a surface of the sheath (or crevice) that has sand or grit in it it will continually dull the edge every time you resheath it.
-Check the type of edge on it and how thick it is right behind the edge. If it's a heavy convex bevel that has .050" of metal right behind the edge then it's gonna get dull really fast, because the very second it loses shaving sharpness it's going to feel dull as a rock. Where if you have a nearly flat convex (or entirely flat) bevel with .030" behind the edge or less it will still feel somewhat sharp once it no longer shaves.
-the CGBJ needs a very heavy releif grind if you want it to feel sharp. It's a brutal design from the factory, but with some grinding it's an excellent design for what it is (a hip carry-able knife that can chop).

Example, this is a BJ (proto, thinner than the CG by a little bit) next to a B10LE. :
P1140009.jpg
 
kreole said:
Not bizarre and not uncommon with any steel. Unless you store it somewhere entirely devoid of moisture or dry+coat it with something, the edge can get eaten away by the moisture. There are quite a few threads on this around the forum going all the way back to 1999, for instance:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/130767-VG-10-Vs-Carbon-V?p=1028009#post1028009

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/823463-Knife-getting-dull-from-sitting-in-pocket


You could put chapstick on the edge if nothing else. Just make sure it's dry when you do.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info! Good stuff. I bought a new in box Camillus Becker back many years ago. When I opened it, it was brand new, but the edge was dull and degraded due to rust that was not visible to the naked eye. Under 10x magnification, it was clearly the problem. But infi is very corrosion resistant, much more so than D2. I use mine in saltwater without issue. For this reason I find it difficult to believe that the moisture would affect the edge at 40% humidity. But hey, you may be right. Thanks again for the links... good food for thought.


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emt1581 said:
To be fair, I can't say my CGBJ is dull but the next time I'm in there I'll check it out.

But does anything happen to these blades that if they sit for a few weeks to a few months they lose their sharpness? I should add that my vault is kept at around 40% humidity and 68-72 degrees.

Thanks

-Emt1581
Click to expand...


No, mine is shaving sharp and it's been in my sheath on my hip for well over a year, having gotten used now and then for random straps, strings and 'I need a knife now and can't fish in my pockets tasks'. The only time knives lose their sharpness is when they are very non-stainless and rust away at the fine edge.
 
Last Visible Canary said:
A few things
-Check your sheath for grit and whether the edge contacts it or not. If the edge contacts a surface of the sheath (or crevice) that has sand or grit in it it will continually dull the edge every time you resheath it.
-Check the type of edge on it and how thick it is right behind the edge. If it's a heavy convex bevel that has .050" of metal right behind the edge then it's gonna get dull really fast, because the very second it loses shaving sharpness it's going to feel dull as a rock. Where if you have a nearly flat convex (or entirely flat) bevel with .030" behind the edge or less it will still feel somewhat sharp once it no longer shaves.
-the CGBJ needs a very heavy releif grind if you want it to feel sharp. It's a brutal design from the factory, but with some grinding it's an excellent design for what it is (a hip carry-able knife that can chop).

Example, this is a BJ (proto, thinner than the CG by a little bit) next to a B10LE. :
P1140009.jpg
Click to expand...


I agree about the CGBJ's factory edge...horrible. But again, Garth took the edge up and it made a dramatic difference.

No grit in my sheaths though.

I hate to make such a comparison but I have to be honest here... in the same vault my unused Cold Steel blades are also kept. They are all razor sharp even though some have been there a few years.

Thanks

-Emt1581
 
The majority of the Busses I've owned have come dull--Boss Jack being the worst by far; I just put my own edge on the users. It does make me wonder what their using for the paper tests lol, because the BJ Proto I received couldn't cut a thing. THAT SAID, their heat treat is superb, and both Busse and Swamp Rat hold edges insanely long, so the fact that it doesn't always come sharp doesn't really bug me. You've gotta weigh the good with the bad...
 
In my experience, Carbon steel blades take more of a 'biting' or 'toothy' edge, while stainless blades take more of a 'slick' or smooth-feeling edge. For that reason, carbon steel blades always seem sharper to me than my infi blades. I suppose this is due to the grain structure. LVC could probably explain it.

When freehand sharpening, I can feel the difference in steels by the way the steel 'grabs' the stone.

I'm not sure this info helps, but is it possible that they cut paper or cardboard well but do not 'grab' hair well enough to make it feel sharp?


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It does sound strange. I have received many Busse that are years old and even after use they still shave.
When they start to feel dull, one light pass on the ceramic rod brings them right back. Either way after cleaning,
before I put them away, I run the edge over a rubber wine cork. You should see all the crap and grit that takes off them.
If you dont have a cork try running the edge across a piece of wood a few times, it doesn't sound like it can get any worse.
 
Sounds like they aren't sharp. The edge isn't going to degrade that fast. My 1095 knives sitting in the open humid summer air don't degrade that fast
 
MyTGLB was not the sharpest knife I have ever picked up but about 10mins on the strop and it scary sharp. Can say I have noticed any degredation of the edge just sitting around either.
 
I'm not going to sit here and tell anyone that Busse's are always sharp... Most of mine have been, but I have received the occasional "close but no cigar" over the years. However, even with Busse's that I have had sitting here since 2006, used or not, I have not noticed any that have noticeably dulled just from storage in or out of a sheath. The most I've ever had to do on one that I wondered if it had lost a little was to hit it with a few swipes on each side with a cardboard roll or a ceramic steel. When I mean "few", I mean less than 10 per side. Other than inside in a typical climate controlled house, I don't have them stored anywhere with controlled humidity. Some have even spent months at a time in my truck, and when it isn't running, there's no climate control at all.

Someone more knowledgeable than me could probably poke holes in my thought, but I have noticed that silver that sits touching other metals, like certain types of steel seems to oxidize quicker than if not...at least with some of my old jewelry type stuff that may possibly not be the highest quality silver and just sits around these days in a drawer with other stuff. I wonder if any metals like steel stored within close proximity to other steel types share similar traits which may affect the edge...?
 
that is how cathodic protection works. In your example, the silver is a "sacrificial anode" This effect is used industrially to protect underground chemical/petroleum storage tanks from corrosion, usually using aluminum or magnesium for steel tanks. They have to have cunductive contact for it to work.

There is a chart of conductor "half potentials" that will tell you which one will sacrifice and which will be protected. If I end up stuck in the house Monday, I might be able to find it, but I'm sure its online

eta: this is not really laymans terms and not specific to metals but does have usable data

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard%20electrode%20potential
 
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that is really cool Jaxx. I never thought about using it on a blade before. This could entertain me for weeks, and I have 12 skellies I could handle.

I could degrease a few scrapivore LEs, clamp some aluminum to one, and leave them in thr garage to see if it makes much difference.

If it did make a significant difference with SR101, I'd be tempted to try some aluminum liners.
 
I would have received a few new knives that were not what I call sharp. I am not a collector but user so I sharpen them to my liking anyway. If your knife will cut/rip through paper them I am sure a few passes on a strop or sharpmaker will resolve your problem. An "edge" at least is fixable. Not everybody has the same idea of what is sharp. If it was shipped to sharp some might complain that the edge is to thin. As a knife owner/user I am glad I have the basic skills to care for my blades myself. Note: last week while in a sporting goods store a clerk was trying to sell me a razor blade /skapel type knife with replaceable blades for a filleting knife because they are so sharp. I replied that would be good for someone who does not know how to sharpen a knife. He just looked at me with a blank stare as I walked out.
 
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