National Knife Week?

[Totem Polar]

The Lil Matriarch I posted above is essentially a delica. Same handle, same blade length. Perfect EDC size.

[Drang]

I hate working in an NPE. :-(

Would something like a Victorinox locking blade, thumb-opening Swiss Army knife, or a Leatherman Skeletool work? Either would be relatively easier to explain as a tool.

If you don't get caught.

[Francis]

This arrived yesterday due to this thread. I haven't spent money on a pocket knife since I was a kid. Stumbled on this at The Cutlery Shoppe and was intrigued by the thumb hole, price and of course, 'Orange'. It's bigger than I expected so I guess I'm gonna have to shop for something a little smaller.




Looking forward to learning more. Is there a P-F equivalent in the knife world?

ETA: Thus far for National Knife Week - I've Renn-Waxed a stack of knives, Tuf-Glide'd folders, and sharpened a half-dozen more on my Japanese water-stone. Today alone I spent the better part of the evening partaking in knife maintenance. I need to buy a new knife too, but National Knife Week at least reminds me to partake in annual maintenance regimes.

RR, if you have a minute can you give me the Reader's Digest version of Renn-Wax and Tuf-Glide? What's the best way to learn to sharpen? Are the sharpener tools any good or is stone the only way to go?

@blues, do I remember reading somewhere that you moderate a forum?

[mtnbkr]

This arrived yesterday due to this thread. I haven't spent money on a pocket knife since I was a kid. Stumbled on this at The Cutlery Shoppe and was intrigued by the thumb hole, price and of course, 'Orange'. It's bigger than I expected so I guess I'm gonna have to shop for something a little smaller.

Looking forward to learning more. Is there a P-F equivalent in the knife world?

RR, if you have a minute can you give me the Reader's Digest version of Renn-Wax and Tuf-Glide? What's the best way to learn to sharpen? Are the sharpener tools any good or is stone the only way to go?

@blues, do I remember reading somewhere that you moderate a forum?

Nice knife! I'm not directly familiar with the steel, but it seems to review reasonably well.

I haven't been involved in knife-related forums for several years, but I don't recall there being a P-F equivalent (ie populated by industry professionals with serious discussion on tactics and skills). Knives just seem to attract more derp due to there being more youth involved (there's the daily post by some teen asking which knife makes the best weapon for example). Then there are the raging cults of personality around one custom or semi-custom maker or another, internet slap fights over various minutia, silly testing regimes, etc.

Bladeforums.com is probably the largest. That's the one I know Blues is a member/moderator of. It's your best bet, but don't go in expecting P-F.

There are a bunch of other knife forums, but if you're looking for a starting place, BF is the only one to bother with. It has the most diversity and content and a minimum amount of forum-wide cult of personality.

Renn-Wax and Tuf-Glide are protective maintenance products frequently used on knives. I've used Renn-Wax, but not Tuf-Glide. I've had the same can of Renn-Wax for about 15 years now. I seldom use it anymore. It works as advertised, but it's not something I feel a strong need for personally.

ETA: Sharpening... It depends on your goals. If you merely want a sharp knife with minimal effort and time, I like the Worksharp Ken Onion Edition sharpener. I find it will take anything to a razor edge with minimal effort and in minimal time. It will handle a lot of different blades (I've sharpened everything from multiblade traditional slipjoints to large bushcraft knives, and even hatchets). There are a variety of manual tools on the market. Spyderco's Sharpmaker is a worthy mention. I owned one for years and consider it the best of the bunch, but it's a bit tedious if your knife is too dull. I like it for taking a sharp-but-not-razor-sharp knife to hair popping sharp. Once the knife is dull or damaged, you're better off with other tools. I never got the hang of bench stones myself, but some folks enjoy the process or "purity". I just want a sharp knife, which is why I settled on the WorkSharp.

Chris

[blues]

@blues, do I remember reading somewhere that you moderate a forum?

@Francis

I've been a moderator and then super moderator on bladeforums.com for most of the past 20 years.

Renaissance Wax (Ren Wax) is a protectant for various media...knives, guns, paintings, jewelry etc. It's expensive and a little goes a long way. (I've had the same can for 20 years but hardly ever use it. I mostly use pharmaceutical grade mineral oil found in drug stores or big box stores or online.)

Tuf-Glide, which I've also had and used for years, is a "dry film" protectant that is supposed to lubricate and protect without attracting as much dust and debris to the pivot of knives. I've largely moved on from it though I do still occasionally. I mostly use Slip 2000 EWL or Super Lube or any high quality synthetic oil or CLP I happen to have on hand.

Sharpening is a vast topic and depends upon your willingness to learn freehand sharpening or the use of gadgets.

On the gadget front I'd highly recommend the Spyderco Sharpmaker.

I'd also recommend DMT diamond plates for high carbide super steels with Vanadium carbide content of 4% and higher.

If you go to this section on bladeforums.com you can peruse a zillion or so threads on learning to sharpen.

I highly recommend starting out with the Sharpmaker as it will help you keep your knives sharp, will help teach the rudiments of freehand sharpening and will continue to be useful for years even if you just use the triangle rods without the base (jig).

Start in the shallow end of the pool and don't bite off more than you're ready for to avoid confusion and frustration. I'll be happy to help where and if I can.

Hope this helps some.

[Francis]

@mtnbkr, thank you for the info and recommendations. Ken Onion sharpener on my wish list.

Thanks to you too, @blues. Spyderco SharpMaker on the wish list too. Definitely trying to wade into the shallow end. Long term goal is to learn enough to pass along what I learn and an interest to grandkids when they are an appropriate age.

[blues]

@mtnbkr, thank you for the info and recommendations. Ken Onion sharpener on my wish list.

Thanks to you too, @blues. Spyderco SharpMaker on the wish list too. Definitely trying to wade into the shallow end. Long term goal is to learn enough to pass along what I learn and an interest to grandkids when they are an appropriate age.

My pleasure. Let me know if I can help.

[Clusterfrack]

Totally agree about the SharpMaker.

Ren Wax too. I also like a thin film of Froglube paste on non-stainless blades.

I like Weaponshield oil on pivots.

@Francis

I've been a moderator and then super moderator on bladeforums.com for most of the past 20 years.

Renaissance Wax (Ren Wax) is a protectant for various media...knives, guns, paintings, jewelry etc. It's expensive and a little goes a long way. (I've had the same can for 20 years but hardly ever use it. I mostly use pharmaceutical grade mineral oil found in drug stores or big box stores or online.)

Tuf-Glide, which I've also had and used for years, is a "dry film" protectant that is supposed to lubricate and protect without attracting as much dust and debris to the pivot of knives. I've largely moved on from it though I do still occasionally. I mostly use Slip 2000 EWL or Super Lube or any high quality synthetic oil or CLP I happen to have on hand.

Sharpening is a vast topic and depends upon your willingness to learn freehand sharpening or the use of gadgets.

On the gadget front I'd highly recommend the Spyderco Sharpmaker.

I'd also recommend DMT diamond plates for high carbide super steels with Vanadium carbide content of 4% and higher.

If you go to this section on bladeforums.com you can peruse a zillion or so threads on learning to sharpen.

I highly recommend starting out with the Sharpmaker as it will help you keep your knives sharp, will help teach the rudiments of freehand sharpening and will continue to be useful for years even if you just use the triangle rods without the base (jig).

Start in the shallow end of the pool and don't bite off more than you're ready for to avoid confusion and frustration. I'll be happy to help where and if I can.

Hope this helps some.

[BillSWPA]

Had a very sudden and unexpected need for a knife this evening . . .

We had just finished dinner, and the kids were supposed to be getting ready for bed, when we heard them screaming. My 8 year old son had managed to wrap the bow tie of a teddy bear around his left index finger, twisting it up in a way that made easy removal impossible. His finger was very noticeably swelling up, and the ribbon was tightly wrapped around his finger. While my wife called 911, I spent the next few minutes carefully working the tip of my Delica between the ribbon and his finger while his finger continued to visibly swell. After several tries, I finally got it off. The EMT’s arrived several minutes later and confirmed that everything was okay.

His teddy bear no longer has a bow tie so that this does not happen again.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Darth_Uno]

That's like the only time those little tiny scissors on a Swiss Army knife would've come in handy.