Knife longevity

MikeC

MikeC

Joined
Sep 16, 2005
Messages
1,364
Question, how long should a well made quality knife, beit a folder of fixed blade model that is used often, heavily and sharpened often last. What is its economic life?

Also, how long in terms of time can a knife be used and sharpened and still maintain its orginal blade shape and dimensins, my mom has knives in her kitchen that are atlest 40 years old, used daily and sharpened often, these knives are not the quality of todays knives and they still look good and perfrom well. The blade shape and dimensions seem to be the same as I remember them from long ago.

Last but not least do you let a knife go completely dull before you sharpen or do you sharpen as you go, for example when cleaning a deer or something similar and the knife about down toward teh end is stil sharp but not as sharp as when you started do you touc it up or let it go dull and then sharpen? What is the best approach for blade longevity?

Lots of questions, sorry about that, but looking for lots of anwsers.

Thanks

Mike C
 
I think a knife can last a person a few generations or more if properly taken care of. As far as sharpening to the point of the blade being re-profiled, I wouldn;t know. A long time I would think.

I sharpen mine as soon as they start to lose their crisp edge. I try not to let them get dull, although that wasn't always the case.
 
If you sharpen just after the steel stops bringing the edge back you will remove much less metal thus longer life .For kitchen knives leave the back 1" alone ,stops from getting a recurve .Some of my working knives are over 20 y\o and still going strong.
 
I think a fixed blade will last longer than a folder. Less parts to wear out.

Aside from that, all I can give you for duration is opinion. Because of the changes in knife technology that have happened over the last 50 years, most of us carry knives that are far less than 50 years old. So I have no proof of how long a knife will last. Even for kitchen knives I have no proof. By the time my parents died my wife and I already had a set of kitchen knives. Mine were better so theirs went to Goodwill. They were still quite usable, so I imagine they are still being used.

I have some kitchen knives that I have used for ~25 years (wedding gift). They still function well. They look the same as they did. But I'll bet if you measured them the actual dimensions have changed compared to what they were.

So, my guess is that a nice fixed blade knife will last 60-70 years. I think a a folder will last 15-20. Like I said, this is a WAG. Got no hard data. I'd be quite willing to be argued out of the estimate.

I do not wait for a knife to dull out before sharpening. As soon as I notice a decrease in cutting ability, I sharpen it.
 
I have a butchering set from my great grandparents weeding given as a gift 60 years ago and are still in vary good condition so it probably depends on quality of steel & on how they are sharpened that makes the most difference on the life expetency on the knives.
 
Thanks for the response so far, very informative. For a quality reference lets say Sebenza quality folders and busse quality fixed blades or the like. Folders lets say consider frame locks only to cut down on the moving parts and gizmos like springs or what not to wear out.

Thanks

Mike C
 
i think a lockback would probably last longer than a frame lock. Despite the lack of moving parts, the liner or frame is moer likely to wear than other parts. I think the axis lock is going to wear faster as well, just because of the little springs. Same thing with speedsafe, SAT, etc. For a good lockback or sllipjoint, with normal use, i think the moving parts will last for years and years. Some people still have working buck 110's from way back when. I also can't imagine much blade wear from touching the blade to the sharpmaker's white stones, for example, on a pretty regular basis. For maximum blade longevity, i would go with a steel whenever possible, then a strop, and then finally a very fine stone when absolutely necessary.
 
My Benchmade Leopard Cub is my most used, carried, and sharpened knife. It is still one of my edc knives, and it is only 15 years old. It's edge has been reground more than a few times, and there is alot of life left in it. I forsee it going another 15 years with no problem.
 
A knife should last a lifetime. Especially if you take good care of it and pay over 50 dollars for it.
 
one point that is being touched on but not quite zeroed on is the "footprint" of the blade
gently stab the knife into a pice of paper,,the taller and thinner kictchen knives will have a longer life, short of snapping it in half and needing to through it away.
and i think the sharpening Steel that cheffs use stand the edge straight again more then sharpening,,,
some one correct me if i missed it,,
Skip
 
I've used a Craftsman (Schrade) stockman 3.25" in stainless for more than 30 years. Worked on building several new homes, truck repair, hunting, fishing, splinter picking, mundane cutting, everything (for roofing, carpet, gaskets, insulation, drywall, etc. I use a $4 Stanley utility I bought in the 70's). It's never been used in place of a chisel or pry bar. I didn't resharpen after every use, only when needed to continue cutting well. The main blade has a little wobble but the blades are still full with the original tips. I used it yesterday for a plumbing job under the sink. I'll use it again today. I don't recall ever lubricating it because it's been covered with motor oil countless times and only wiped off so it wouldn't stain my pocket. Ultra tough lockers and super steels are nice, but not mandatory to last a lifetime. The user determines how long a good knife can last.:) Regards, ss.
 
One key element to the useful life of your knives depends on what you use them for.

I don't do lots of cutting in the kitchen but I'm guessing kitchen knives generally see lots of light-duty use, cutting into soft media. In such use, I could imagine that a light honing or even stropping is all that's needed to bring the edge back when it starts to lose its bite.

You (MikeC) also mentioned fixed blades like Busses, which IMO are designed as heavy-use blades. These knives, when used in their element, may suffer more edge damage than a kitchen knife and thus have a shorter life. Or if you're like a lot of collectors and never use it, it will last several lifetimes at least. It ultimately depends on how you use it, what for, and how bad you let the edge get before resharpening. A Busse is like any other knife in terms of when to resharpen it, as far as I know. The best bet is to bring the edge back as soon as the initial bite is gone. This is the easiest and least invasive method (i.e. removing least metal) of keeping your knife sharp. If you really are using your Busse heavily you may find the edge rolling in spots and you may need to steel it, or if you compress the edge you could want to re-profile to get the edge straight again. There are too many variables to give you a straight-up answer; sorry.

Another thing to keep in mind is the geometry of the edge. See this article for reference:
http://home.nycap.rr.com/sosak/convex.htm
 
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