Wife disappointed by factory sharpening...

tradja

tradja

Joined
Feb 10, 2006
Messages
1,176
My new Rodent Solution arrived today. Without fanfare, I showed it to my wife, noting that it was the color combo that I had asked her to pick out. She tried the edge, frowned slightly, and immediately said "Hmmm...it's not very sharp."

I laughed and told her that this same issue had been Very Serious On The Internet lately. I showed her the sticker on the cardboard sheath that said "Knife Sharpened by: Alan", to which she matter-of-factly opined rather negatively on Alan's sharpening skills. Of course, I told her that she was just spoiled. :D

I thought the whole thing was hilarious. I'm not worried about it at all. These knives don't come with a sheath: you put one on it yourself. Similarly, I don't expect any knife to come with an edge as good as I can do (with rare exceptions). A keen edge is a consumable commodity. When I buy a car, I don't really expect a full tank of gas. When I buy a gun, I don't expect it to come with ammo either.

But I gotta admit, even if I was paid by the hour, if a knife went out with my name on it, I wouldn't let it go until it popped hair.

ETA: I LOVE the RS and am thrilled with it.
 
Yeah my two Rodent solutions and my brothers wouldn't shave arm hair. Same story with pretty much every knife I've gotten from the swamp except for one of the 5 RMD's I've had. But I have paper wheels... :D
 
+1 to this.. 7 rats.. 1 is almost scary sharp. the others are not so sharp.. but I convex the hell out of them and then a little hand finish and presto! sharp as hell :D I think swamp's edges come with a decent working edge, just not shaving sharp like many of us enjoy :D

I also want to add that my Busse's aren't the most sharp either.. though what production knife is? And I consider Busse and Swamp Rat production made knives... My sharpest knives are from custom shops and makers... I think we can all agree there.
 
A knife is a cutting tool and a cutting tool should be sharp. I have shown my new knives to friends and family and while they love the knives, everyone always run's there finger's along the edge as a common practice. A dull blade can be a turn off and is hard to explain why a new expensive knife is not so sharp. I no longer let them see them until I can get them shaving hair sharp. If I can't get them shaving sharp, they do not get shown. I hope to remedy this situation either with paper wheels or a wicked edge system. I have decent sharpening skill's, but have trouble sometimes and can't alway's achieve what I want. What do I want? When they run their finger's across that blade in a haphazard way, I want to see blood. I have a cousin that loves to do this too me and oneday, the joke is going to be on him. :)
 
I hope this doesn't put people off. I know for a fact Eric will make it right if you are unhappy with the factory edge.

Some guys like me don't have the skills or power tools so SR101 is a bear for me to handle.
 
Best of luck with the RS but don't waste the opportunity to purchase more sharpening stuff. I can hear it something like this "You know your right honey, it isn't very sharp and you know this is that new steel thats so hard to sharpen I just may have to buy that new ............."

Just sayin'
 
I was very impressed by how well the RS fit in my hand. I'll have to buy one to keep even though I hardly use fixed blades.
 
Sorry to hear you guys are having issues with the sharpness. If anyone needs us to take care of it just drop me a note and I'll give you instructions to send it in and we'll get it sharp for you



Eric
 
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Eric Isaacson said:
Sorry to hear you guys are having issues with the sharpness. If anyone needs us to take care of it just drop me a note and I'll give you instructions to send it in and we'll get it sharp for you

ratknives@Insightbb.com

Eric
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Thanks Eric. To clarify, I wasn't complaining, just relaying a funny comment from my wife. My other Swamp Rats have responded very well to a few minutes on the mousepad and sandpaper. Knives, used eagerly, will require sharpening soon enough. I end up sharpening my Rats regularly because they are my go-to knives that get frequent heavy use.

ETA: Now that I think about it, please take this as only the best-intentioned constructive criticism from a friend, customer, and fan. There has been a lot of internet hand-wringing about the factory sharpening in recent months, but from my small sample size of 3 factory-new Rats in recent months, there still seems to be a long way to go.

IMHO and IME, SR101, like other quality 52100, is a pleasure to sharpen and seems to take a better edge at coarser grits than most steel, as well as a beautiful convex. Frankly, I like the price points where they are (outstanding quality, materials, strength, and design for half what they're worth). Hair-popping sharpness takes additional labor and labor = additional $$$. But yeah, the "Sharpened by X" stickers on a dull knife make me smile. I would suggest either losing the stickers or significantly step up the sharpening. No shame in either option.
 
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My Ratmandu came razor sharp, but my Swamp Wardens edge came a bit thick, but for most if us we have the stuff to reprofile a knife, and if you don't have the gear, send it out for a couple of bucks.
 
I agree 100%.
Super X said:
A knife is a cutting tool and a cutting tool should be sharp. I have shown my new knives to friends and family and while they love the knives, everyone always run's there finger's along the edge as a common practice. A dull blade can be a turn off and is hard to explain why a new expensive knife is not so sharp. I no longer let them see them until I can get them shaving hair sharp. If I can't get them shaving sharp, they do not get shown. I hope to remedy this situation either with paper wheels or a wicked edge system. I have decent sharpening skill's, but have trouble sometimes and can't alway's achieve what I want. What do I want? When they run their finger's across that blade in a haphazard way, I want to see blood. I have a cousin that loves to do this too me and oneday, the joke is going to be on him. :)
Click to expand...
 
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