Spyderco has teh retard sharp

**meataxe** · Posted On: 8/14/2007 5:11pm

Originally Posted by Kein Haar

It gets things sharp?

Is it because of the adamantium alloy inserts, or is it just chock full of elemental chi? I'm just looking for what feature makes it effective.

Maybe I should try it again. I use the Lansky system right now and find it not too bad once I got better with it and strop the blade after sharpening. (Not so great for the more curved sections of the blade, IMHO.)

**Nid** · Posted On: 8/15/2007 6:51am

See, I bought the spyderco triangle sharpmaker to escape the Lanksy.

Yes, in theory, the Lansky (and that expensive one you mentioned) has objectively precise angle control (which is why I bought it), BUT...

-You're always drawing the stones across the blade to make a pronounced bur. Burs and stropping should be reserved for chisel edges.
--In theory, you can keep the burs in check by repeatedly switching from side to side, but that's cumbersome as hell when you have a lot to do.
-You gotta re-adjust the clamp on very long knives, to keep the pressure and angle consistent along the entire length of the blade
-The stupid little bolts which hold the guide rod to the plastic sheath of the stone always loosen
-30 degrees is the widest edge they have! That's turning out to be kind of retarded, IMO. Once you get into the 20s and teens, that's for honing with a steel, not "sharpening".

Whereas:

-Eye-balling the vertical orientation of the blade with the Spyderco is technically less precise, but's it's more than sufficient.
-It is easy to avoid burring by simply going back and forth, and not having to flip **** around, inserting/reinserting the guide rod
-You can still create a bur if you want, but it's not as much of an inevitability
-It has a method for scissors which has turned out to be easy and effective
-The edge of the triangle stone fits into serrations.

I have a Police Model, which I have abused in the past. I broke the tip, and severely turned some edges. I was under the mistaken inmpression that invidual filing of the grooves would be neccesary, and I had no idea about the lost tip. I've restored the tip with the little channel running the length of the stone, and it turns out one can sharpen serrations no different than a straight edge (with the triangle stones, that is). So that made me happy. It beautifully salvaged a $120 knife.

And **** if I'm not achieving the same feats of sharpness I'm seeing other people accomplish with every other, more relatively labor-intensive method.

I'm not into this for meditative purposes. I want CUTTING POWER NOW :5moped:

**Nid** · Posted On: 8/15/2007 6:54am

Originally Posted by FickleFingerOfFate

I like my Kershaw Titanium, It seems to be pretty sharp, and it has held its edge for quite a while.

The blade is titanium too?

**meataxe** · Posted On: 8/15/2007 3:45pm

One of the things that helped me get a better edge out of the lansky rig was to throw in some circular strokes once I got to medium and almost exclusively circular on fine.

As for the flipping... I hear ya.

**Tonuzaba** · Posted On: 8/15/2007 3:57pm

Kein Haar,
that Spyderco video made me cry quietly... Knife-porn indeed... :confused2

Originally Posted by FickleFingerOfFate

I have several unusual knives either by shape or material/ color. My wife buys me a new knife every year on our aniversary, and she picks the most unique ones she can find.. (long, boring, non-kinky story.)

Say hello to your wife, big respect to her. Mine hates/fears (non kitchen)blades so much, I'm in serious trouble getting new members to my 4-piece collection... :llorar:

**FickleFingerOfFate** · Posted On: 8/15/2007 9:13pm

Originally Posted by Kein Haar

The blade is titanium too?

I dont see any material designation on the blade like I'm used to, However the base grey seems consistant from the handle, so maybe.

I really dont know.

**Don Gwinn** · Posted On: 8/16/2007 12:15am

I don't believe it is, but I couldn't swear to it. Titanium is actually not a great blade material compared to good steel; it's mostly used (other than for coolness factor) in applications where you might need a non-magnetic blade. The Leeks used to have 440A steel, which is pretty good, but I just googled it and found they apparently make 'em with ZDP-189. That's swoopy Japanese fancy-man steel--remember ar549's supposed custom knife? Same stuff.
Pretty neat, actually, 'cause the blade steel is the one thing I never really liked about the Ken Onion/Kershaw collaborations--and I still bought two for me and several as gifts. They're awesome for people like my dad, who loves switchblades but can't own them legally here.

**Permalost** · Posted On: 8/16/2007 12:28am

I used to have a dive knife with a titanium blade. It seemed a little lighter, but I didn't like sharpening it. I think the geometry of the blade was kind of screwy.