Cutlery lust

[rogerzilla]

/old joke

The Swiss Army must have been pretty confident of victory, since they included a corkscrew in their knife.

[Jakob W]

But only for officers!

[clarion]

Titanium for a blade?

Just to revisit this while I have time.  Titanium may be trendy and a bit blingy, but there is no way you can keep a decent edge on a Ti axe head.  Just not gonna happen.  But, sure, you can brag about your swag in the bar.

It won't corrode.  It's stronger than steel.  It won't become magnetised.  But it will still be a shit axe.

Unless there's a Tungsten carbide edge bonded to it, which, to an extent, negates some of the benefits.

[Chris N]

Oh, and something I've been meaning to ask - anyone got experience of the Lansky sharpening system? I gather it's a lot better than the pull-through types, but easier to use than a trad whetstone.

I've got the 3 stone standard kit. It's good but a little fiddly for small blades like those on a Swiss army knife. Easy to get a consistent edge and works very well on deeper blades. Most of the time I use a Lansky Turnbox - as long as you can keep the blade vertical it's good enough for most blades.

[Jakob W]

Thanks - was thinking of getting one mainly for my kitchen knives, but it'd be nice if I could sharpen pocket blades as well. Does it handle serrated edges?

[Chris N]

Not unless you buy the universal or professional versions. For serrations I use a Victorinox pocket sharpener, which has an elliptical stone.

[P Walsh]

I've sharpened lots of tools, including axes and billhooks, and I keep it simple by using a file (carefully) then finishing with emery paper over a block of wood. For a knife I would miss out the file and just use the emery paper. The finer grades give a polish, allowing you to go as sharp as you want. I tend to hold the knife still and draw the emery block over it slowly, keeping the chosen angle.

[Ham]

I've got a Lansky system with the triangular blades for serrated knives, coz I likes gadgets. In fact, the reason I bought it was for one of these http://www.nisbets.co.uk/Victorinox-Slicer-30.5cm/C631/ProductDetail.raction which was losing its edge through being sharpened on a stone. It works very well, needs a bit of intelligent application to get consistent results but I'm please with mine.

[Chris N]

Picked up an Enzo Elver D2 flat grind kit.  Includes a finished blade, machined (but oversize) scales with liners already glued in place, bolts for attaching the scales and a rather nice leather sheath.  I chose green linen micarta for the handles.


Keyed the tang and the inside of the liners for gluing.  I also sanded the blade end of the handle scales as they're hard to get to once the handles are bonded on.


Only had 5 minute epoxy and it was rather cold in the shed so no pics of the gluing.  Here's the knife clamped up for the glue to set.


Next step is to trim the bolts down nearly flush with the scales, then sand the edges of the handle back to the tang and finish with oil, varnish or similar.

[Chris N]

Finished the Elver the other night.



Decided just to sand the handle and leave it un-waxed/oiled.  Went to 800 grit wet and dry and it's lovely and smooth in the hand.  Great shape to the handles and the blade's not too big.  Lovely sheath too.

[mrcharly-YHT]

How do those bolts work out? Do you screw them up tight then cut/file the heads down until they are flush with the scales?

[Chris N]

Yep.  I made sure there was plenty of glue in the threads and around the bolt heads so they don't some undone, tightened them up then hacksawed the ends off before sanding flush.

[Charlotte]

That is just lovely, Chris.  I normally much prefer a Scandi grind, but that looks so... *right*...

[mrcharly-YHT]

Ah, but scandi grinds aren't any good for chopping carrots.

[woollypigs]

Chris that is very nice indeed. That clamp, you got on the knife over the blue paper/cardboard. I made one just like it back in the day

[Chris N]

Thanks Charlotte.   They (www.brisa.fi - take a look, you'll like it ) make a bunch of different kits, including a slightly larger scandi knife called the Trapper which might be just right for you.

Ah, but scandi grinds aren't any good for chopping carrots.

Exactly.  This isn't a bushcraft knife, it's just a knife.  I've got a scandi Mora for hacking at bits of wood, but for general cutting duties a flat grind suits me better.

Chris that is very nice indeed. That clamp, you got on the knife over the blue paper/cardboard. I made one just like it back in the day

Thanks woolly.   I think I made one of those clamps too, years ago at school.  No idea where it is now though - I bought that one.

[redshift]

I didn't make it, but I have a D2 flat grind Elver, which I find lovely.  The Trapper is lovely too, but I have ickle hands and the Elver is a tiny bit smaller.  Of course, for real choice, one should have both... 

Dennis makes some nice knives.

[Chris N]

My hands aren't that small but the Elver fits nicely.  I do like smaller knives though - my favourite pocket knife (other than SAKs) is my Spyderco Pingo.

Dennis makes some nice knives.

Yep.  The finish on my PK70 is outstanding.

[Cudzoziemiec]

That Elver knife looks lovely.

I normally much prefer a Scandi grind,

What does Scandi grind mean? Come to that, what does Elver mean, if anything – I'd assumed it was just a name? I presume it's not actually made specifically for chopping up, deboning or catching eels!

[mrcharly-YHT]

scandi grind describes how the blade narrows to the edge.

With a scandi grind there is a single bevel from about 2/3rds of the way down the blade width, extending to the edge. Most 'grinds' have a general blade shape then a secondary bevel, just a mm or two wide, at the edge. Scandi grinds don't have a secondary bevel.

This produces a very narrow but strong edge, suitable for wood carving. It does rely on a fairly thick blade to start with.

The blade that chris has worked on is a 'full grind', where the blade narrows continuously to the edge, then there is a secondary bevel (which is visible in the pictures).  This shape is good for general work, especially processing meat and slicing things - most kitchen knives have this grind for a good reason. To get a rigid blade with this grind you need quite a deep blade.

[Chris N]

This image shows some basic grinds:

Scandi[navian] grinds have a fairly shallow grind angle (10-15 degrees/side, IIRC) that can be fragile in super hard steels.  They're easy to sharpen (as long as the steel isn't too hard) as you just need to lay the bevel flat on your sharpening stone and work from there - but you do have to remove the material from the entire bevel to sharpen.

The majority of knives have a full flat grind which is very shallow, and a secondary bevel right at the cutting edge which is steeper - 20-25 degrees/side.  This is a bit more robust than a scandi but harder to get the angle right while sharpening.  If you do it imprecisely you'll end up with a convex edge - in itself not a problem.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Thanks.

And there was I thinking Scandi grind meant dancing to Swedish grunge. 

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

I've one Opinel that I use for building work - very handy for cutting sheets,  insulating material or trimming plasterboard - and a pretty ordinary Victorinox that I found in the mud, it'd been covered in snow for weeks and was full of mud so must have have been there a long time but it cleaned up almost as new.

I've 2 hand axes, one Estwing(takes a lovely edge), t'other B&Q, a felling axe for cutting trees down and a very effective splitting axe I bought from Aldi for £10 for cutting trees up.


I also have a razor sharp adze (German) and know how to use it.   

[Charlotte]

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner:

https://www.amazon.com/Ka-Bar-9909-Tactical-Spork-Tool/dp/B01FYJ6ICK

(HT BoingBoing)

[Jakob W]

A fine example of the word 'tactical' being used in its alternate* meaning of 'for waltish twats' there. I suppose we don't have an 'cutlery immediate passion-killer' thread.

*Though in terms of applicability it's probably the primary meaning...