Pocket knives- idle discussion

In reply to Keith Tanner:

Keith, blade sharpening is a rather serious hobby of mine. In fact, I will be bold enough to say that there is not a cutting tool I can't put a proper edge on, from mower blades to scalpels, loppers to hair shears, machettes to swords, tomahawks to felling axes, and pocket knives to huge Bowies. There are three main things that can make any given blade difficult to hone: The physical qualities of the edge steel (composition and heat treat), the sharpening tools used (are they effective in removing material from the edge in question?), and the precision and included angle of the manufacturer's edge bevel grind. Also, be advised that not all steels respond favorbly to all honing mediums (aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, natural Arkansas stones, diamond).

Three questions for you: Did you step from coarse grit, to medium, to fine? Were you able raise a burr on the edge? Did you use any sort of guided sharpening apparatus?

I'm an amateur sharpener myself - I use high-end Japanese kitchen knives, and I can usually improve on their edge. I used the same Japanese water stones on the stainless 440C Boker that I use on my stainless HAP40 Gihei knives. I did start with some DMT continuous diamond stones. I did not use a guided sharpening apparatus as I usually don't, and yes, I know enough to step up my grades. I can't remember if I went as far as 6000 grit, it was becoming pretty obvious by that point that I wasn't getting anywhere. The single bevel did give me some trouble, I'm not used to those.

It was a $20 piece that was primarily intended to be cheap and small - both attributes were achieved. It wasn't worth hours and hours of my time to make it work, as it had no other distinguishing features. I apologize if this offends brand enthusiasts, but I'm assuming that the $20 value leader is not indicative of the quality of the rest of the line.

Wall-e wrote: I went to a call yesterday for a wheelchair tiedown that would not release. I pulled a knife out of my pocket to cut the strap and people looked stunned like I was waving a machete. We have really gotten soft.

At the Mitty one year, I was walking around with my parents when a kid walked up to me and asked me to cut something - I forget what. I pulled out my knife, did the deed and everyone was happy. My parents were floored by the fact that 1) a Georgia kid would assume that any adult male would be carrying a knife and 2) that he was right.

I picked up a clearance special last night. Sheffield Haze for $4. Take the handle from a leek and give it more conventional drop point blade. That said, it opens nice and has a good edge. Lastly, I'm a sucker for the Titanium rainbow finish.

And then my leek arrived in the mail today.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

Yeah, single bevel grinds can make things interesting, especially removing the burr from the un-ground side. From the photo of yours, it looks like a fairly short and steep grind. I wonder if Boker intended it to be sharpened like Scandi grind (except just on the ground side), or a handed sushi knife grind??? It's also possible that a failed heat treat batch made it past QA.

Because of this thread I bought an orange Kershaw Leek. I haven't carried a knife regularly since sometime in the 90's after having a Swiss Army knife in my pocket for years. I've had it for about a month now and I figured I should revive this thread just to say "Thanks GRM forum."

In reply to BrokenYugo:

I have an Opinel #4 in my pocket right now... on a key chain. The #4 doesn't lock like the larger models but it has stayed closed so far. I've only been carrying it for a few weeks, so time will tell.

T.J. wrote: Because of this thread I bought an orange Kershaw Leek. I haven't carried a knife regularly since sometime in the 90's after having a Swiss Army knife in my pocket for years. I've had it for about a month now and I figured I should revive this thread just to say "Thanks GRM forum."

I never carried one before this thread. I don't know how. Damn thing does everything.

Speaking of Arkansas Stones, I have one. It's about 6' down under my house, or at least under the front porch, and about 8" thick. I know it's there because I tried to drill a hole through it. It ripped up carbide drill bits like butter. I finally managed to bust through it, then sent the 3" coring bit down again. The coring bit came back looking like I turned and polished it on a lathe. If I could get that sucker up, I'd be rich selling knife sharpening stones.

In reply to WildScotsRacing:

Mind if i ask what sort of materials you use? All i have is a smith's portable sharpening stone, and i'm looking to upgrade my kitchen knives soon, so upgrading my sharpener is on my list.

As an aside, keith, that wasn't nice. Ive been trying to convince swmbo to let me have fancy japanese knives for a while. You aren't helping. It might cost me a Dooney to get some.

Again...another thread I can't believe I missed! Huge knife nerd.

Here's my main EDC blade: a Bob Dozier custom he calls the Little Workhorse. His folding knives are usually made of titanium and micarta, but this part of Bob's "Raptor Series." Supposedly, the carbon fiber scales are from the same source as the structural CF on the F-22 Raptor (for whatever that's worth). Like all his knives, it's made of D2 tool steel and tapers to a very fine edge.

Chunky knife, but it cuts like a laser. And I've got huge hands, so it's not too big for me. Here's a size comparison with my Wilson Combat Star-Tac:

No the Star-Tac is not an old Motorola flip-phone. It's just a rebadged Chris Reeve Umnumzaan with the Wilson Combat star-burst pattern milled into the scales. Nice knife. Not sure I love it; might not keep it.

I did have another Chris Reeve knife: a Sebenza 21 Insingo. It's got carbon fiber scale on one side and the regular Ti frame-lock on the other. They were sold through Knife Art for a while:

Something about it left me cold. Sold it and bought the Wilson/Umnumzaan to replace it.

An old favorite is my Microtech L.C.C., which was designed by Greg Lightfoot. I like the titanium bolsters and contoured scales. The blade shape is probably the most practical one I've ever used. Everything about it just feels right.

Here's an old Benchmade 9000 SBT, which is the first-generation "AFO" (armed forces only) knife. It's a button-operated automatic knife. They built them like this for a very short while, before adding a safety and then drilled-and-tapped for a belt clip. This one needs to be carried in a sheath.

Finally, lets get into something really ridiculous: the Extrema Ratio 185* RAO folder. Supposedly, it was designed for some sort of Italian commando unit...but I don't know who would want to carry this thing all day. It's freaking HUGE and weighs something like 11 or 12 ounces.

It actually feels pretty good in my giant mitts, but it's totally out of bounds in terms of size and weight. What's the point of having a folding knife if you can't fit it in a pocket? Might as well carry a fixed blade at that point LOL

Check out how large the blade-stock is compared to a Large Sebenza 21 (which is not a small knife):

It's almost too thick to actually use as a knife. People joke that it's a folding garden spade. I have no idea WTF was going through my head when I bought this. I've never used it.

My wife got tired of me complaining about how much better my kershaw ken onion was then the cheap adc i had. So i have a shiny new kershaw too carry. Might just be my head but the usa made knives seem too hold a better edge.

BrokenYugo wrote:

Kylini wrote: Question: I have good pocket knives but I rarely wear them because I rub the clip on things, like my car's interior (and paint once...). Where do you clip your pocket knives to avoid this? Do you ever remove the clip and if so, what else do you put in that pocket (I know keys are bad).

That's why I mostly carry a carbon steel Opinel #6, locks shut so keys won't open it. Much more durable than it looks.

I have one of those Opinel knives now too and I love it.

I used to carry a Gerber Chameleon, but I flew too much had to stop carrying. If I carry, it's usually a Leatherman or a cheap one from a big box store. Because I clip them on, they are easier to remember not to take when I fly. With smaller pockets, I just dropped then in there with my keys and wallet as a habit. Donated a few to TSA before I wised up.

Huge fan of the Kershaw's. I find them silly cheap on Amazon from time to time and buy them as gifts to others or myself

Personally, I prefer having a good Leatherman on my belt instead of a pocket knife. Way more useful if you're a geeky engineer who spends half his life crawling around telecommunications datacenters.

I found a buck 4" folding pocket knife in a leather sheath on my gravel road one day.  I gave it to my daughter when she went off to college to carry in her purse and even showed her how to flip it open one handed. I carry my car keys with the longest one through my knuckles walking out to my car. Say goodby eye. Under the seat of my car, I have a 24 ounce wood handled hammer that I can reach out farther than any knife and that I can also throw with great accuracy. 

I was at Tractor Supply one day and they had a set of six blades build it yourself knife kit. I always wanted a set of throwing knives. I eventually didn't buy them.

In reply to VolvoHeretic :

Don't put it between your knuckles. Just hold it like you're putting it in a lock. Better grip, easier, more accurate, less likely to hurt you, and you'll be ready to put the key in the lock/ignition to get the hell out of there. 

In reply to mtn :

Ok, sounds like good advise. I'm pretty sure I could poke anyone's eye out with my thumb. Never had to try but have seen it done.

Note: I might have missed the point of this thread. Normally I always carry a Stanley drywall knife-just incase I might need to cut some Sheetrock. I am no more knifesexual as I am not ammosexual.