Advice - why do I need (another) knife?

[kerneldrop]

here's a David Mary Customs slicer.
15N20
It's my sharpest to date
1/8" Behind the edge is ~.0195" thick

 

[Olumin]

You might think 'cause Im a watchmaker Id love making & modifying various things but truth be told its my least favourite part of the job. Although I've always been told im very good at it for what its worth. Never was big into the whole DIY thing. If I can find something I want for sale or a spare part that fits Id honestly rather just buy one then make it myself.

When I was at watchmaking school we worked primarily with a manual lathe & various files as well as a few whetstones. Tolerance for the finished parts was usually 0.01mm. How they where finished was just as important; polished or brushed, how fine the brushing is, the quality of the turned surfaces... was all graded. Maybe that's why Im fed up with it. They say you love something until it's your job

Here's a piece I kept around. The main purpose of this model was setting the correct distance between axles within a movement, in this case a pin pallet escapement. The various styles of attachment between the plates were deliberate.

 

[xxo]

Some good inexpensive thin ground knives: Opinel, Douk Douk and Victorinox paring knives - properly sharpened, these will cut like a knife should cut without being super delicate. If you want a cheap beater that can handle some abuse (not batoning) like wood carving/light prying/scraping etc, the Moras and the like (including the finn Hawk) are good choices, but these have very thick/heavy blades compared to the opinel/douk douk/vic paring knives and won't slice nearly as well.

 

[fulee9999]

Some good inexpensive thin ground knives: Opinel, Douk Douk and Victorinox paring knives - properly sharpened, these will cut like a knife should cut without being super delicate. If you want a cheap beater that can handle some abuse (not batoning) like wood carving/light prying/scraping etc, the Moras and the like (including the finn Hawk) are good choices, but these have very thick/heavy blades compared to the opinel/douk douk/vic paring knives and won't slice nearly as well.

I always forgot to order an Opi to use for food, thanks for reminding me!

 

[vicv]

Especially the stainless opinel. I've had a few of them and they've all been very good. The carbon I had…. Something was wrong with the heat treat. It was closer to cheese than hardened steel. With their reputation, I assume it was a fluke that I got. Or maybe a bad batch. But 12c27 is basically impossible to do a bad treat on with modern equipment. So I like their stainless. And it sharpens nicely.

 

[Olumin]

I used to use my knife a lot more for food prep during my breaks when I worked in an office for a few years. The thin blade of my Wenger did a good job at the time. I believe it was a locking model. I think most modern folders have blades which are far too thick, 2-2,5mm is enough on a folder for me. But you only tend to get that on a few slipjoints or multitools anymore.

 

[xxo]

I always forgot to order an Opi to use for food, thanks for reminding me!

My opinel is in stainless, never had one in carbon. I usually go with stainless for smaller knives.

I have douk douks in both carbon and stainless, though I tend to use the stainless one most.

Some Victorinox paring knives:

BTW, don't be afraid to get the ones with the serrated edges, they cut near a smooth as the plain edges and re-sharpen beautifully on a sharpmaker.

 

[xxo]

I used to use my knife a lot more for food prep during my breaks when I worked in an office for a few years. The thin blade of my Wenger did a good job at the time. I believe it was a locking model. I think most modern folders have blades which are far too thick, 2-2,5mm is enough on a folder for me. But you only tend to get that on a few slipjoints or multitools anymore.

Wenger and Victorinox SAK blades are great for most cutting tasks. Back in the day they were about as thick as most pocket knives, but today they are much thinner than most folders.

 

[ledbetter]

Opinel carbon purchased when following le tour. Always buy something when I arrive empty handed in Europe flying carry on only going and checking stuff on way home. Got plenty of use there not so much lately. Had to try original carbon and it was fun watching it change colors while slicing a tomato. Sharpens easily and good slicer. Used knife to cut the zip ties holding these signs to the street posts!

 

[fulee9999]

guys you scared the sh. out of me with this carbon opinel talk, I never even realized they had a carbon version
thankfully I ordered a normal stainless, so crisis averted!

 

[Limit_hex]

A Mora, a SAK and a Delica, with a Sharpmaker … Don't know why I have all the others (and the multiple versions of those three).

 

[fulee9999]

it arrived!

and ( I didn't know that ) you can even ask for factory engraving on the blade and handle too

 

[vicv]

Where did you order it from?

 

[fulee9999]

Where did you order it from?

directly from the manufacturer: https://www.opinel.com/

 

[vicv]

Cool. Didn't know you could purchase directly from them

 

[Limit_hex]

Hm, this thread makes me think again of getting an Izula-2. And it's not that I need it.

 

[Olumin]

I ordered a TRC South Pole from a German shop a few days back 'cause I wanted to try 'em for a while now & I didn't have anything in Elmax yet. They delivered the wrong finish so it'll get returned. I was quite disappointed to see however that the blade is a whole 0.7mm behind the edge (secondary bevel). Not that I would do cutting tests with it now that its being returned but I cant Imagine that cutting particularly well. A knife of that size doesn't need anything more then .5 to be sturdy enough. I wouldn't mind seeing that kinda grind on the apocalypse but its a bit out of place on the south pole.

I haven't found anyone else talk about this on the forums so I thought I'd post it here so others know what they're getting into. Im perfectly aware most peeps don't actually use these knives but I planned on carrying it occasionally so Its a bit of a damper in terms of usefulness. My 6.5 inch puma bowie is ground much better in comparison at .5mm, which is just right for a knife like that. I wouldn't really care if it was cheap but y'know.

 

[fulee9999]

Im perfectly aware most peeps don't actually use these knives

to be fair most knife people don't use their knives

 

[Olumin]

Here are a couple pics:

 

[Olumin]

to be fair most knife people don't use their knives

There are knives that I buy just for the collection that don't get used, like that bowie I mentioned. Mostly traditionals for me. But of cause many of em are too big to carry legally anyway.