Other knifes

[Steve Gappa]

Post by lynxcat:

They DO look good...BUT I'll stick with these...

The top one is slim.VERY neat looking and holds a great edge...the bottom one is a damaskus blade...NOTHING compares...but at over $400...IF I was to buy a new knife...I'd DEFINETLY look at the ones you've pictured...the main advantage of the damaskus is it will OUTCUT a regular blade by an extreme margin....but the price...
later
lynx

[Steve Gappa]

post by JLDakota:

lynx, the Damascus knife builders are indeed artists in an art nearly lost. They are beautiful and functional to say the least and surely pieces to be proud of. Often 20 hours or more go into the manufacture of each. I'm told near the same number of hours go into each of these knives. Very few shortcuts to take when one's dealing with the steel and processes involved so thats why these knives would be a "steal" IMO at twice the price they are being offered for.

[Steve Gappa]

Post by trappingcoyotes35:
Great lookings knifes, but I own a Dunn bought it in 1991 in Dubuque,Ia FTA convention from Mr Dunn, sure is a pretty knife, but I don't use it at all anymore! I thought after buying it my skinning would be slicker than before, but I found out fast, that 1st all claims are just that claims! No one can say your going to get x amount of skinning done before you need to lay a stone or wheel to a blade, each person using said knife will use it differently.2nd these really hard steel knifes are a pain to sharpen if let go to far! I'm a stone man born and raised, I have worked in a packing house and cut on 300-350 hog shoulders a night, that is a true work out for any knife! I like to be able to lay a steel to a blade and keep it working well until it needs sharpening. With these real hard steel knives a regular steel just won't cut it, you need a diamond steel and cost on them is high. Then regular stones won't do a thing to these blades you need a wheel or again diamond stones.
I am used to sharpening on a tri hone set up and having a good steel to keep an edge on things between coyotes etc. With a 20.00 dollar knife I can skin 10-15 coyotes before I feel the edge going away where I need to stone it! Less than 5 minutes I'm back in business with 2 razor sharp knives. I like razor sharp at all times and no less, the problem with this harder alloy is you let it go away to far and I myself have found it a pain to get it back! Also at 5 degrees I wouldn't contact to much bone with it either. I like a 15 degree for over all use.
When I worked at a packing house I rasied neck bones and like I said could go through 300-350 hogs a night with 2 carbon steel knives, by the end of the night the one was pretty much used up and needed a stone the other would still shave the hair off your arm! Steeling the blade every other shoulder.
Not knocking any of these types of knives but just know what your gewtting before you purchase a knife of this type High quality yes, nice looking yes, but a pain to keep sharp for this guy!
I like chicago cutlery and buck knives for skinning everything from coyotes to deer. They last! cost is right and most importantly they hold a fast easy edge!

[Steve Gappa]

not to sound TOO stupid..but is that scalloped type blade the same principle that made the volcanic glass knifes so sharp in prehistoric (and later?) times.

[mmwb (Andrew Parker)]

Not that I'm an expert on it Steve, but I believe that what makes the obsidian edges so sharp is that fact that they will flake to within a few molecule's thickness at the edge. Good flint knappers actually find a market with some surgeons as they find the knapped "blades" are far superior to the steel ones. I expect that is what inspired the development of the ceramic blades.

[JLDakota]

TC35,
I respect your opinion as it relates to knives of soft steel. Your right to it is based upon experiences including those you gleaned in a packing house with a knife in your hand all day every day. Hands on experience has always carried good weight. Some, such as yourself who have that much time behind a working blade I expect learned the importance and necessity of habitual and frequent touching up the sharp edge of the blade with a light stroke, at a constant angle, on a smooth steel, on both sides to maintain the sharp edge necessary to meet the cutting requirements and time allotments of the job. Those who didn't pick up on the attributes of sharp knives, couldn't keep them that way and who as a result fought with dull knives and frustration, I expect found other means of employment early in the game.

Agree totally with statement that certain number of animals before sharpening etc. is pure BS for the factors and variables you mentioned. Each fur shed and the operator behind the blade determine with their individual techniques, expertise and experience how often the blade either soft or hard will have to be sharpened. The best equipment in the hands of one of little experience, improper techniques etc. will be a butter knife in short order.

I feel that for many who grew up using soft steels and learned to sharpen them to varying degrees using any number of methods, who don't like change, feel buying cheap knives is a good investment, and who are totally comfortable staying with what they know, should continue doing what works for them. For those that never quite got the hang of sharpening or were not satisfied with their results or the shortcomings of soft steel, want to try something different and are open to new ideas and new technologies, knives of hard steel and differnet methods of sharpening are waiting.

It is this group that I am targeting for the using of the knives I have. The fact that these knives won't appeal to everyone is not an issue because the build volume was never intended to be nor will it ever be large. The people who purchase the knives should be willing to learn a new sharpening method that works well for both hard and soft steel. This method of sharpening involves the use of a grinder w/half inch arbors, a couple buffing wheels and some buffing compoud. The method IMO, has a very short learning curve and once mastered, will, I feel be the sharpening method of choice for as long as that person wants sharp knives.

As to the 5 degree edge, it was developed for use on large animals and has never been found lacking thus far. The owners and users understand it is a cutting tool and that is what they use it for. Ribs and cartilage pose minor resistance on big game. Heavy bones are considered just that and not knowingly "frontally assaulted" either in the field or in my fur shed. lol ;D Common sense tells me that due to the thinness and hardness of the blade, if a bone was cut into at an angle with enough force to become anchored in the bone and the blade was then twisted that a small chip from the narrow width of the blade could and probably would result. Were something like this to happen, the knife would be repaired or replaced. In my shed, I have junk knives I have always used for ringing and heading stuff out. I still do and always will use them for that. Bottom line to me is if there are 1600 plus big game knives with 5 degree angles out there being used each year on thousands of animals and the only return for any reason other then sharpening thus far was for a blade snapped off at the handle because its owner put it in a vice and wanted to check to see how much flexibility it had, I ain't worried about how they'll hold up to our trapping applications if we use them for what they are intended for. BTW, when the guy brought the snapped blade back to Dave, his only question to the "mentally challenged one" was what color handles would you prefer on its replacement.

Last thing, as all who have bought one or more of these knives from me can attest, I don't put these knives in the hands of anyone before I am convinced they are aware of what they are getting from both a sharpness, sharpening and safety standpoint. I want knowledgeable, satisfied customers and no surprises. If you decide for any reason you don't like it and want your money back, no problem. You pay for return shipping and I'll send you a check. Past my bedtime, good night. JL

[trappnman]

Good post Jim.


A word on packing houses- you hit it roight o nthe head. I have many friends and relatives that work at the pack, and they all have that "knife knowhow" in keeping an edge.

My dad could sharpen a knife in a sec or 2- and his knifes were always razor sharp.

I envy those like my dad that take a knife and a feather and in .05 secs have it back better than new.....

I, on the other hand, take the honor of wrecking more knifes by improper sharpening over the years...to show you how poor at it I am, Lori has been sharpening my knifes over the past few years- and even then, its frustration after frustration- I HATE A DULL KNIFE.

I actually like the cheap Chicago knifes- use and abuse for a whilre- too em'...a least a sharp blade. I KNOW that without all the screwing around with dull knifes, all aspects of them- my skinning time would be reduced by 1/4 or more.

I'm looking forward to using a knife that keeps its edge......

[JLDakota]

On a somewhat humorous but interesting side. John Juranitch, the guy with the Razor Edge Sharpening system from Ely, MN that you often see lathered up shaving himself with an axe, referenced in his book that he has often been contracted to go into packing houses around the country to teach packers how to steel their knives properly and to set up central sharpening systems. He said that when he enters a packing house, "between 2 and 5 % of people can be considered outstanding with a steel, a handful are just so-so and the rest are just struggling through their 8 hrs a day, fighting their knife." He referenced that with proper steeling instruction/techniques, sharp knives that normally became dull after 15 minutes could still be sharp and still cutting well after 4 hours. Therefore, it would seem that learning to steel properly a sharp knife is the solution to most dull knives. JL

[BK]

I see they are making the Mora knife with the laminated
blade again. I used one of these in the past on beaver and liked it.

[JLDakota]

BK, I don't know if I've ever seen one and if I did obviously didn't know what it was. Do you still have one? JL

[BK]

JL I'll PM you.