What to do with a knife that won't hold an edge?

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stdwdh16

Joined
Sep 17, 2006
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I am unfortunate enough to have a Ka-Bar precision hunter skinner in my collection that won't hold an edge. It will get very sharp on my sharpmaker, but very quickly loses its edge cutting paper. Its poor performance has also shown up on two hogs I have used it on. It seems like a waste to destroy it/throw it away, but what can be done?
 
Have it sharpened by someone who really knows how to sharpen, then see how long it holds the edge.
 
That thought crossed my mind, but I have such great success with this and many other knives on my sharpmaker that I dismissed it. May be worth looking into. Thank for the suggestion. BTW, the knife is 440A.
 
It sounds like you might just be working up a burr or wire edge instead of actually getting the knife properly sharp.
 
Well actually sometimes that happens. Try stropping it on a leather belt. But failing that, gift it to some poor SOB. It'll probably be sharper than they expect any knife to be anyway.

I've had a few blades that just failed to take an edge and hold it. It does happen and I blame the god of heat treat.
 
winbag338 said:
On that note 440a is not going to be a very good edge holder compared with many other steels.
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I have come to find this the hard way. Several other knives have held good edges for me in hunting situations including Bucks in 420HC and S30V, but this one has been just lousy. I have owned the knife for a while, and it was given to me by someone who didn't know knives very well.
 
Stdwdh16, I have a beautiful knife in AUS-8 thats the same way. It gets extremely sharp and loses its edge quickly. Ive retired it, it no longer goes hunting. My hunting blades are now S30V and S90V.
 
shecky said:
Gift it to me...
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But if you send it to me, I'll sharpen it up real nice and send it back with a micro-bevel.

Seriously though, I'd recommend putting a micro-bevel on it and then giving it a light sropping on a belt with a little honing oil.
 
I've had all sorts of knives made from 440A, and the only ones that were worth a damn were the ones by Cold Steel. A few years ago I called CS and talked to one of their reps about the Pro-Lite (a knife I really liked). He said that the company had bought a bunch of 440A at a very good deal and that when it was finished, the knives would either be upgraded to AUS8 or discontinued. Unfortunately, the Pro-Lite was discontinued.

ColdSteelNightForce_4.jpg


I have an old model Recon-1, a Pro-Lite, Night Force and a number of non-Cold Steel knives (one by Boker), and only the Cold Steel knives took and kept decent edges; all the rest ended up in a drawer. I'm convinced that heat treat has a lot to do with how good the steel turns out. In fact, I can't tell a whole lot of difference between my Night Force and my AUS8 Voyager. Both get blisteringly sharp and I routinely keep a Night Force downstairs to cut cardboard. The thing is a vicious cutter and stays very sharp for a long time. The Boker gets dull just by staring at it. Ditto with some Gerbers and other brands. In fact, one of my favorite knives is my old Recon 1.

Say what you want about Cold Steel. They know how to heat treat their steels even if they don't use the premium stuff. I've also bought some of their VG-1 knives, but can't tell much difference between them and the older AUS8 Voyagers.

If CS can make decent 440A, there's no reason Ka-Bar and other makes can't, too. I have no use for knives that I can't get sharp. It does help to strop your blade, and you can use leather, denim, or even cardboard (if nothing else is handy). You've just got to put that final polish on the edge to keep it for any length of time. If you raise a bur, it may seem viciously sharp, but it cuts right off. If you sharpen the blade, then strop it, you should be able to cut a piece of paper into strips like a razor.
 
My Kershaw folders and an older Sog Pentagon (fixed blade) in 440A hold a pretty good edge. Everything else I've come across in 440A rarely holds an edge. 440A can perform well with a proper HT. I don't think they would work well on a hog though, pretty tough stuff. Keep it as a practice sharpener or give to someone who needs a practice knife.
 
If professional sharpening doesn't procure better results, you could make it into a fun project.

Folding saw? :D
 
440A at 55-56 should be quite sufficient for a decent blade. That is a pretty common range for American stainless knives until fairly recently with the demise of companies like Camillus and Schrade. I'm almost willing to bet that unless the blade is lemon, something else is going on.
 
If the steel really is that soft, as mentioned, a steep microbevel is probably the answer. I would try thinning it out to fifteen degrees per side (a coarse utility stone should make quick work of it), then give it a microbevel at twenty five or thirty degrees per side.
I know it sounds drastic, but if the bevel behind the edge is thin enough it should still cut fairly well.
Or you could relegate the knife to throwing practice.
 
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