Sharpened Butter Knives

Vivi

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I was curious how well I could get a butter knife to cut. I grinded out the serrations and put a low angled edge on it. It's a mean push cutter on cardboard and makes wood shavings readily. I think I'm going to do some more work on it this afternoon. Anyone else done this? Anyone interested in me running any tests on it?
 
i am interested in this project as well.i'm always on the lookout for a solid butter knives[or other kitchen knives] to play with like this.
please post pics,and of the cutting tests as well
 
This was a push cut in shipping box cardboard. Pretty clean cut for how roughly and quickly I put the edge on.

20a9w0n.jpg


Here's a shot of the knife edge itself. Just a dirty job on low grits with a bit of steeling to align everything.

20a9w9f.jpg
 
Except that it's probably made of 300 series steel which is soft . So you may be able to get it 'sharp' but it won't stay that way ....What kind of butter do you have in SA ???
 
I'm not sure what you mean by SA.

You're correct in that the steel is VERY soft. Well under what one would expect from a SAK. I think I might go for a walk through some trees in a while and try the butter knife with some light chopping to see how easily the edge will roll. It would be interesting. It stands up to paper, cardboard and whittling based tasks fine. Bone would be another fun material to test.

Regardless, it sharpens up just fine. I have piss poor sharpening skills but I have no doubts that with some more time I could make this shaving sharp. It's kind of funny, the idea of a razor-sharp butter knife. Hahah.

Does anyone know what they normally do in the way of heat treatment to average butter knives?
 
butter knives probably don't have much need for a heat treat.

a maker made a tactical butter knife, but I can't find it in a search
 
hardheart said:
butter knives probably don't have much need for a heat treat.

a maker made a tactical butter knife, but I can't find it in a search

I was just wondering if they normally even get them really. Maybe what RC they generally come in at too.
 
Vivi said:
I think I might go for a walk through some trees in a while and try the butter knife with some light chopping to see how easily the edge will roll. It would be interesting. It stands up to paper, cardboard and whittling based tasks fine. Bone would be another fun material to test.

Even soft steels are extremely hard, much harder than woods. The knife will cut woods readily, you can even use them to baton split woods. The big problem with butter knives for that is the stock is so thin it will turn around knots and you need to be careful not to hit it sideways. If you optomized edge profile / finish then you can even swamp out performance of stronger and higher wear steels. I have seen knives made of mild steel easily out cut both in terms of initial ability and cutting retention, common cutlery steel. I would be interested in any comparisons you would be willing to perform. Note this thread for reference :


http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=413195

-Cliff
 
I made a knife out of an OLD butter knife that had a really wide blade one time. Found it in a yard sale. I fashioned it into a tanto style blade on a small belt grinder. It looked really cool, and was scary sharp. I kept it in the shed and used it to cut all kinds of things like boxes and rope etc. The edge held up very well even though it had soft steel. It was not very attractive, but I thought it was pretty neat. I dont know what happened to it. It was a fun project.:thumbup:
 
I sharpened a butter knife I had almost to the point of shaving sharp. It was a freaking riot.

I ended up throwing it away because I would cut myself grabbing for it in the kitchen drawer. It was counter productive. :D

WeaselBites said:
Once, I made a shiv out of a mattress spring and stabbed my cellmate with it.

That made me spit out my drink. :D

LOL
 
I have a knife made from a Red Devil putty knife. The steel is pretty thin and flexible, crappy almost-stainless-steel. I simply took one side to a disc sander. Sucker actually gets kitchen use. I touch it up with one of those cheap ceramic sharpeners before use. Rounded off the corner opposite the sharp edge so that it's easier to identify the sharp side. My daughter asked me if it was a baby machete.
 
GarageBoy said:
Stabbing doesn't mean anything. I can stab someone with a wood splinter

stabbing means it hurts =.=
and i would love to see you stab someone with a splinter
 
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