Lessons of the Swiss army knife

ShaiHulud said:
Also I'll add, the importance of stropping
Which should be done every few uses, the less time you actually sharpen a knife the better, and no it doesn't need to be razor laser screaming sharp, that pursuit is silly
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And yet another thng I wished I had learned at an earlier age!!!!

I think I probably put more wear on my knives in my younger years by sharpening too much, and obsessively pursuing that magical razor edge that would cut a falling leaf in mid air. Silly nonsense!

I don't know what grit the bottom of a coffee mug is, but it puts a nice edge on my SAK's with a quick stropping. I have a favorite mug, it's from the Texas Ranger museum in Waco, and the grit on the bottom ring is just about what my old "Carborundum" stone from my boy scout days is. Puts a nice toothy edge that bites right into the jute twine I use for a million things around the house, workshop, and garden. Still opens mail like a breeze, and cuts right through all the plastic packaging on stuff. All my fancier stones and homies are gone now, all I kept was a few of the medium grit diamond hones and my old gray carborundum stone. I have lots of coffee mugs in the cabinet.
 
jackknife said:
And yet another thng I wished I had learned at an earlier age!!!!

I think I probably put more wear on my knives in my younger years by sharpening too much, and obsessively pursuing that magical razor edge that would cut a falling leaf in mid air. Silly nonsense!

I don't know what grit the bottom of a coffee mug is, but it puts a nice edge on my SAK's with a quick stropping. I have a favorite mug, it's from the Texas Ranger museum in Waco, and the grit on the bottom ring is just about what my old "Carborundum" stone from my boy scout days is. Puts a nice toothy edge that bites right into the jute twine I use for a million things around the house, workshop, and garden. Still opens mail like a breeze, and cuts right through all the plastic packaging on stuff. All my fancier stones and homies are gone now, all I kept was a few of the medium grit diamond hones and my old gray carborundum stone. I have lots of coffee mugs in the cabinet.
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The wonderful unintentional uses for coffee mug butts --- I heard a few things about stopping on the bottom of a coffee mug, but I also know it obliterates an edge and sometimes people will saw their knives to completely ruin the edge and make it carrot dull before resharpening it, usually when the edge has nicks or something, I'll have to look into actually sharpening a knife on the bottom of a mug, especially since besides a 14 dollar strop from dlt I don't have a sharpening stone at the moment
 
ShaiHulud said:
The wonderful unintentional uses for coffee mug butts --- I heard a few things about stopping on the bottom of a coffee mug, but I also know it obliterates an edge and sometimes people will saw their knives to completely ruin the edge and make it carrot dull before resharpening it, usually when the edge has nicks or something, I'll have to look into actually sharpening a knife on the bottom of a mug, especially since besides a 14 dollar strop from dlt I don't have a sharpening stone at the moment
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I don't know if a coffee mug will sharpen a totally dull knife, but if its at that point where its not cutting like it was yesterday, then a stropping on the unglazed ring on the bottom of the mug will sharpen it up to a nice toothy edge. I don't know about the mug obliterating an edge, but I know my knife cuts well after a mug honing.

Years ago, I did a video about instinctive knife sharpening, and I think it's still on YouTube. A blade forums member that lived in Maryland not far from me, did it, and I just did what I usually do in front of his camera. Also did a video on using a piece of broken pottery I found in the gravel parking lot to sharpen. The guy who shot the video of me is named Zach Rohe. I'm the old guy in the gray flat cap.
 
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jackknife said:
I don't know if a coffee mug will sharpen a totally dull knife, but if its at that point where its not cutting like it was yesterday, then a stropping on the unglazed ring on the bottom of the mug will sharpen it up to a nice toothy edge. I don't know about the mug obliterating an edge, but I know my knife cuts well after a mug honing.

Years ago, I did a video about instinctive knife sharpening, and I think it's still on YouTube. A blade forums member that lived in Maryland not far from me, did it, and I just did what I usually do in front of his camera. Also did a video on using a piece of broken pottery I found in the gravel parking lot to sharpen. The guy who shot the video of me is named Zach Rohe. I'm the old guy in the gray flat cap.
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A fella on YouTube demonstrated how to sharpen a knife and he began by taking a sharp spyderco and sawed the bottom of a coffee mug til the edge wasn't worth a darn, then commenced the teaching
I only recently heard about mug stropping before then I was using my dad's old hanks belt, I also used the old leather sofa
That worked too, hard to find a flat leather surface, because not all leather is suitable
 
You can use the top edge of your car's window to sharpen you SAK, at least well enough to get your cutting job done. I would recommend having your window only about 1/4 inch above the window sill, so it is well supported. First time I saw a coffee mug being used was by my Okinawa Mother-In-Law some 50 years ago. John
 
jackknife said:
...Years ago, I did a video about instinctive knife sharpening, and I think it's still on YouTube. A blade forums member that lived in Maryland not far from me, did it, and I just did what I usually do in front of his camera. Also did a video on using a piece of broken pottery I found in the gravel parking lot to sharpen. The guy who shot the video of me is named Zach Rohe. I'm the old guy in the gray flat cap.
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Still there:


 
Great videos. And that’s the beauty of Swiss Army knives and Opinels. You can quickly sharpen/strop them up with minimal effort and frustration. In my work bag, I have a very small Opinel sharpening stone. Works just fine.

I have a Wicked Edge guided sharpener that I’ve probably had for over seven years. I used to use it in the peak days of my knife obsession. And then the last few years I’ve actually preferred the worksharp guided field sharpener. That one is fantastic. It includes a strop which is really nice and usually all I need.

My other favorite is the folding DMT sharpener with the green and red sides.

If you don’t use a super steel, you don’t need those fancy guided sharpeners. It’s almost like the super steels created the fancy sharpener market…… OK

An Opinel or a SAK. Sharp, thin steel that can be sharpened with a coffee mug or smooth rock. Perfect.

I remember when I bought my first Opinel #8. Probably six months prior I had purchased my first Sebenza. It was early on in the YouTube knife video craze and I expected that Sebenza to be a light saber after the hype from all the videos. I didn’t understand knife geometry at the time. So when I got the
Opinel and was cutting a cardboard box I was so surprised how much nicer it sliced compared to my Sebenza. Kind of mad too. Oh well. It was a fun ride
 
shopdoc said:
Great videos. And that’s the beauty of Swiss Army knives and Opinels. You can quickly sharpen/strop them up with minimal effort and frustration. In my work bag, I have a very small Opinel sharpening stone. Works just fine.

I have a Wicked Edge guided sharpener that I’ve probably had for over seven years. I used to use it in the peak days of my knife obsession. And then the last few years I’ve actually preferred the worksharp guided field sharpener. That one is fantastic. It includes a strop which is really nice and usually all I need.

My other favorite is the folding DMT sharpener with the green and red sides.

If you don’t use a super steel, you don’t need those fancy guided sharpeners. It’s almost like the super steels created the fancy sharpener market…… OK

An Opinel or a SAK. Sharp, thin steel that can be sharpened with a coffee mug or smooth rock. Perfect.

I remember when I bought my first Opinel #8. Probably six months prior I had purchased my first Sebenza. It was early on in the YouTube knife video craze and I expected that Sebenza to be a light saber after the hype from all the videos. I didn’t understand knife geometry at the time. So when I got the
Opinel and was cutting a cardboard box I was so surprised how much nicer it sliced compared to my Sebenza. Kind of mad too. Oh well. It was a fun ride
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SAKJ's, Opinel's, Doug-Douk's, Mercators K55, all the old pocketknives by camillus, Imperial, PAL, Schrade, all had one thing in common; they all had fairly thin blade stock, and were all ground almost a flat grind to the edge. The Opinel had a slight convex ground, but the Mercator and SAK's just had great blade geometry all the way down from spine to edge.

They were not designed for fantasy tasks of taking out enemy sentries, prying open a tank hatch, or any other video game fantasy. They were made for cutting. That was it. They were a tool for the everyday life of a time when all men carried a pocket knife because packages came wrapped in heavy brown paper secured with that brown packing tape, butchers used waxed white paper and cotton tine to secure those pork chops you just bought for supper, sharpening that pencil people carried before the revolution in ball point pen technology that made them easy to carry on a daily basis. There were a hundred uses for a nice little pen knife on a daily basis for folks when I was growing up, and they all involved cutting something, even it was kite string.

All that, plus they were not made of some miracle steel that would field dress three Brontosaurus's before needing to be re-sharpened, made for a pocket knife that got you through the day, yet in a pinch could be touched up on the bottom of a coffee mug, stropped on a belt, cardboard back of a legal pad, or any smooth stone out of a stream.

They were useful everyday tools, not objects of fantasy and cult worship,
 
jackknife said:
SAKJ's, Opinel's, Doug-Douk's, Mercators K55, all the old pocketknives by camillus, Imperial, PAL, Schrade, all had one thing in common; they all had fairly thin blade stock, and were all ground almost a flat grind to the edge. The Opinel had a slight convex ground, but the Mercator and SAK's just had great blade geometry all the way down from spine to edge.

They were not designed for fantasy tasks of taking out enemy sentries, prying open a tank hatch, or any other video game fantasy. They were made for cutting. That was it. They were a tool for the everyday life of a time when all men carried a pocket knife because packages came wrapped in heavy brown paper secured with that brown packing tape, butchers used waxed white paper and cotton tine to secure those pork chops you just bought for supper, sharpening that pencil people carried before the revolution in ball point pen technology that made them easy to carry on a daily basis. There were a hundred uses for a nice little pen knife on a daily basis for folks when I was growing up, and they all involved cutting something, even it was kite string.

All that, plus they were not made of some miracle steel that would field dress three Brontosaurus's before needing to be re-sharpened, made for a pocket knife that got you through the day, yet in a pinch could be touched up on the bottom of a coffee mug, stropped on a belt, cardboard back of a legal pad, or any smooth stone out of a stream.

They were useful everyday tools, not objects of fantasy and cult worship,
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The thin blade stock is one of the bigger reasons i gave up on the knife industry Its a problem with associated lifestyles, for instance, some people will buy gigantic F1F0 Ford trucks to be associated with the work ethic that needs them, I see people drive around big trucks with tool boxes and everything is super clean and polished, they never once drove onto a work site, and you can tell if they did no matter how hard they tried to clean it off, the reality is work type people don't really bother to clean off the dust and construction stuff of their truck because it's for work and it gets reapplied so often there's no point. Same thing with the knife industry " you may never be a member of the black ops or special forces, but you can own a big black cat tacticool folder like they do" "this is the kind of knife they use to take down enemies during an infiltration mission " (not really) it had truly flooded the market everywhere.
I really doubt the majority of special forces will buy a 400 dollar folding knife for their loadout. Added to that they may only once in their career perform a take down with a knife but I doubt it happens all to often at all like in the movies. Companies may say "designed for the navy seals" or any other phrase similar and who knows maybe they did ask the company for a specific knife, but the grand majority of the people who actually buy them don't live that life, the majority of people who buy those knives are collectors who think the knife is cool or "bad*ss"
 
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Thin knives simply work,cut better,are easy to sharpen and hold edge better,regardless of steel that they were made from....and for my uses,simple proven steels just are better,tougher and easier to sharpen,with right heat treat and geometry...whats not to like.Traditional knives were designed in times when people actually used their knives everyday,nowadays most people dont even use it ,but boast of performance and newest steels.
 
lonestar1979 said:
Thin knives simply work,cut better,are easy to sharpen and hold edge better,regardless of steel that they were made from....and for my uses,simple proven steels just are better,tougher and easier to sharpen,with right heat treat and geometry...whats not to like.Traditional knives were designed in times when people actually used their knives everyday,nowadays most people dont even use it ,but boast of performance and newest steels.
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Newer steels are "just because we can"
Too many super steels are too close to other steels. I gravitate to swiss army knives and traditional pocket knives not because I'm a "traditional enthusiast" or an afficionado for what some call novelty. But because a 3 inch pocket knife with 0.12 thickness, compared to the thin semi flexible work knife of lesser modern times is a ridiculous clown car. It doesn't cut worth a darn without some serious additional sharpening. Modern knives cut trenches into objects, traditionals and slipjoints make slits
 
ShaiHulud said:
Newer steels are "just because we can"
Too many super steels are too close to other steels. I gravitate to swiss army knives and traditional pocket knives not because I'm a "traditional enthusiast" or an afficionado for what some call novelty. But because a 3 inch pocket knife with 0.12 thickness, compared to the thin semi flexible work knife of lesser modern times is a ridiculous clown car. It doesn't cut worth a darn without some serious additional sharpening. Modern knives cut trenches into objects, traditionals and slipjoints make slits
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You are right many modern knives cut huge trenches into objects which I can't understand why that is desirable. Thinner cuts like the kind my Recruit make are a big reason why I carry a SAK or Traditional knife. If I just needed to hack at something I would use a modern knife but I would probably use a fixed blade before a folder if I could in that case.
 
As far as super steels are concerned, I’ve got my tenacious with 8cr13mov, which most steel snobs would turn their nose up at, but I literally just stropped a fresh edge on it using a dewalt drill box at work. (Home Depot) Guarantee you can’t do that with some of these crazy steels. And yes I know the tenacious isn’t a traditional, but this post was meant to show that some steels are overkill.
 
I’ve loved reading everyone’s stories about their SAKs. I’m a young guy, and have been in the knife nut stage for a few years now, buying everything I can, modern and traditional. This year I am really slowing down, and appreciating what I already have. The only new knife I have gotten this year is a SAK Cadet and I plan to keep it that way for awhile. Part of it is that I’ve got the budget of a grad student who is planning a wedding, but I also just realized I really was not getting much joy chasing the flavor of the month. I have a modern folder and my SAK Compact in my pocket every day and am quite enjoying the combo.
 
ShaiHulud said:
Newer steels are "just because we can"
Too many super steels are too close to other steels. I gravitate to swiss army knives and traditional pocket knives not because I'm a "traditional enthusiast" or an afficionado for what some call novelty. But because a 3 inch pocket knife with 0.12 thickness, compared to the thin semi flexible work knife of lesser modern times is a ridiculous clown car. It doesn't cut worth a darn without some serious additional sharpening. Modern knives cut trenches into objects, traditionals and slipjoints make slits
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There was a saying when I was growing up, and I found it to be true so many times. "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."
 
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