SACair Forum

I know there are a number of blade guys (looking at you RCas, Dom, and Erin) on the forum and having just purchased my first somewhat "real" knife, I gotta ask a few questions of you guys.

I use mine as EDC, but its primary use is cutting tape and boxes at work. It leaves a thick adhesive residue that makes cutting anything next to impossible since the blade gets hung up all the time.

For sharpening of your knife, i would recommend the automatic type meaning your using a machine because it is better than manual sharpening.

Electric sharpeners are convenient, but it cant beat an edge put on by a manual sharper. They have set angles that are too steep for fine cutting and they often take too much metal of the blade and sharpen on the wrong axis (along the length of the knife as opposed to the width)

Are there any cheaper alternatives to make the knives razor sharp?

a fine grade sharpening stone, some bit and elbow grease

first you need to decide what kind of edge you want. a polished smooth edge you can push cut with, or a slightly toothy edge you can slice with, ala cutting a tomato vs shaving hair.

Erin please post some info about how to make the knives sharp. I really want to learn. I got some cheap stones and it took forever to get my knives sharpened.

[quote="Erin"]first you need to decide what kind of edge you want. a polished smooth edge you can push cut with, or a slightly toothy edge you can slice with, ala cutting a tomato vs shaving hair.

K, give me some time to gather some info together and i'll toss it up.

i use first a coarse whetstone with either oil or water, some whetstones you have to use oil, but some its one or the other; then i finish it off with a more fine diamond coated whetstone. If you want a really razor-thin edge, you can use a leather "strop" to really hone it. Old-style barbers use it for sharpening the old type shaving blades, so its nice if you want that perfect edge but not really necessary for an all around use knife. And like ninja said, a coat of oil on the blade goes a long way.

Erin, I picked up a BHI CQD Mk 1. Yeah, I know, Blackhawk. But it works for me and what I need :)

I have a few wood and high-carbon steel blades - ala Opinel, they are hella sharp, like razors, but the rust at the drop of the hat, so to prevent that......

Do you have an Opinel Blain? I've wanted to take a look at one prior to buying one. I love the simplicity of it.

lol, in Opinel, i have #2, #5, #6, #12

well to sharpen im not confident about that sharpener that was shown up top. Definatly stick with wet stones it may take a while but the edge will be worth the work. As for the strap cutter im not sure if it can be sharpened. Most of the ones ive seen are a hand held tool with 2 razor blades in the form of scissors. What kind of knife or knife kit did you get?

Please do. I want to get my old man some for Father's Day.

I use a Spyderco Sharpmaker and if you do it right with the fine rods, it will pop the hair off of your arms easily!

+1 with the Spyderco Sharpmaker. If you are willing to take some time (about 5-10mins) with your knife, then get it. It will make your knife insanely sharp if done right of course. With the Sharpmaker, you can sharpen chisel grind (the edge is on one side for lack of a better definition) blades too if you happened to buy one in the future. Depending on the grind, there will be directions on how many swipes to do, for each side of the knife. Typically you keep it as straight as possible. Also if you get the Sharpmaker, make sure you don't follow through, or roll off the tip while swiping. It's best to stop and lift the blade and repeat because when you roll it off it rounds off the pointyness.

How does the Chef choice select edge pro compare to Spyderco? Can the Chef choice sharpen pocket knives?

I've never personally used the Chef Choice, but from what I've read and seen about it, it's' obviously very quick and easy. I'm still not sure if you can get a super razor sharp edge with electrics though. It also won't be able to sharpen chisel ground blades. Another problem I see with it is that it's made to sharpen mostly flat edge blades, and today many knife companies are changing the shapes to supposedly provide better chopping and slicing performance.

Nice knife dude :D

Not mine. I wished I owned one but they run in the $200 range. A friend of mine got a factory defect at a gun show for like $50 though and all it was was a tiny spot of off color. So lucky...

1) Maintenance

You know Merlos closed?

really? Shitty. I think they've closed a couple times... I remember them being in a different location then gone then back and now apparently gone again. All the locations or just arden?

hey i dont have the right epuipment for getting a great egde on a knife, i can make it pretty sharp with my whetstone, but nothing that can cut hairs and that is what i want. so would anyone want to sharpen a few of my knifes?

Arden and the Galleria. I don't know of any other location.

Looking for a pocket knife that it is only range to $20-$30 dollars. Any suggestions?

Opinel, CRKT makes some for that price range.