[marvin]

I carry a folder with me pretty much everywhere I go. I use them for everything from wire stripping at work to helping with cooking at other people's places. It's really amazing how many people have expensive sets of blunt knives and no sharpening stone. No self defense use though, as I carry more effective tools for that sort of thing.

I do get funny looks and questions like "Is that thing even legal?" about my EDC blade (Benchmade Presidio Tanto) though.

 

[hYdrociTy]

Osborne? Good choice!! The osborne was on by wtb list....that was until i discovered head-fi

I was literally doing paypal for this and the sog seal pup when I realized that plugging in my 240s really drained my ipod batt, and started looking at cans instead!! Boom.. month later..got a 580, ld2+, and superfi5pro... my knife collecting officially stopped..until apparently now..

When I am at my parents suburban house my edc knife used to be my auto-stryker or afo, but after I almost got bit by a big dog on the street I instead carry a asp 21" exp baton in my messenger bag everywhere I go...Now that im back in the city i just carry a gerber multitool 600...

 

[wax4213]

I nearly always have some form of knife on me, but which one depends on where I'm going. My multi tool of choice is a Gerber... compact 600? I think? It's like the 600, but with fewer tools and needle nose pliers. It's been another great knife for me, but my EDC is usually my Kershaw Blackout.

 

[ooheadsoo]

The Osborne is very nice - but it was much smaller than I expected, and the finish is reportedly easy to damage. You might want to think twice about using it as EDC - I ended up not buying it after handling it in person. Someone let us know about the steel on the new griptilians. My old 440c mini-grip has terrible edge retention, although I might have ground too sharp a profile on it. As a result, I never use it, even though the axis lock is nifty. Spyderco knives still have the most utility in my book.

 

[PerformanceFirst]

154CM (the steel in the new Grips) is supposed to have about 15-20% better edge retention than 440C.

 

[thrice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ooheadsoo The Osborne is very nice - but it was much smaller than I expected, and the finish is reportedly easy to damage. You might want to think twice about using it as EDC - I ended up not buying it after handling it in person. Someone let us know about the steel on the new griptilians. My old 440c mini-grip has terrible edge retention, although I might have ground too sharp a profile on it. As a result, I never use it, even though the axis lock is nifty. Spyderco knives still have the most utility in my book.

Hmm, thanks for the heads-up on that. I'll keep an eye out for that when I get it. I was considering buying both and making a decision when they arrived. I just don't know anyplace in the area that sells these things.

We'll see when it arrives.

 

[meat01]

Quote:

The Osborne is very nice - but it was much smaller than I expected, and the finish is reportedly easy to damage. You might want to think twice about using it as EDC - I ended up not buying it after handling it in person. Someone let us know about the steel on the new griptilians. My old 440c mini-grip has terrible edge retention, although I might have ground too sharp a profile on it. As a result, I never use it, even though the axis lock is nifty. Spyderco knives still have the most utility in my book.

I prefer the smaller knives. It just feels funny pulling out a big o'l knife to poke holes in my microwave meal at work

I have a Mini Griptilian (440C) and I am really happy with it. It is easier to sharpen. I don't think the 440C is that much worse than my 705 with 154CM. I just sold my 710 M2, because I thought it was too big.

I have my eye on the Al Mar Mini SERE 2K or a Benchmade 707. I prefer the Axis lock to a liner lock, but I like the Al Mar knives.

 

[ooheadsoo]

Well, the benchmade 440c is really disappointing next to my vg30 (and lesser) spydercos, which is my point of reference. It's dull after a few swipes through a dozen letters. My beater, a spyderco dragonfly, just goes and goes. I haven't beaten my s30v or m2 knives up enough yet to tell. I have heard people claim that the benchmade 440c was not the same from batch to batch.

 

[PerformanceFirst]

I have a Native (Spyderco) in S30V and it is a serious bear to sharpen if you get it too dull. I'd play it safe and keep it shaving sharp. I'm using a Lansky sharpener and I can't get it to form a burr at all, so I guess the harder it is for a steel to lose its edge, the harder it is to put one back on.

It might be easier if I had diamond stones or something, I'm not sure...

 

[wax4213]

I really love my Lansky sharpening kit, it gets my Blackout and Kabar marine knife way sharper than I need them. In fact, when I was cleaning the oil of of my Kabar after sharpening it, I shaved my thumb. No, I don't have hair on my thumb, I shaved a good few layers of skin off before I knew anything had happened. And it does quite nicely for shaving hair too. I agree though, keep your knives sharp, easier to maintain than to rebuild that edge, and it will serve you better as a tool if it is ready to cut.

 

[Mr.PD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PerformanceFirst 154CM (the steel in the new Grips) is supposed to have about 15-20% better edge retention than 440C.

I have a Benchmade Osbourne made with 154Cm and carbon fiber scales that is an everyday knife. I'm not impressed by edge holding on it. I need to send it in for sharping again and it's only been a year since tthey last did it.

Me and the Lanksy system don't get along well enough to keep this blade sharp.

BTW my knife is marked "pre-production 0266 of 1000"

 

[wax4213]

Depending on the amount of usage, a year is a fantastically long amount of time to have a knife with a useable edge. I know that during the times that I use my knife a good amount (not huge amounts, but consistently), I prefer to sharpen ever couple of weeks, every month at the most. It's really about keeping a good edge for me, not using it until it's bad.

I recently read a little guide on how to use the Lansky system correctly. Basically, you start with your coarser stones, sharpen on one side until there is a burr that you can feel on the other side of the blade. Change sides, and do the same thing. That's it for that stone. Switch to a finer stone, and repeat. Once you get to your finest stone, you want to do the same thing, but using less and less pressure everytime you change sides, until eventually you're barely touching the blade. This way you should get effectively no burrs. You want the burrs early on, but your final edge must be burr free in order to be sharp. After that you may want to strop or polish it with a honing stone to get that extra-sharp edge.

Anyways, that's what's been working for me quite well. YMMV.

 

[Mr.PD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wax4213 Depending on the amount of usage, a year is a fantastically long amount of time to have a knife with a useable edge. I know that during the times that I use my knife a good amount (not huge amounts, but consistently), I prefer to sharpen ever couple of weeks, every month at the most. It's really about keeping a good edge for me, not using it until it's bad. I recently read a little guide on how to use the Lansky system correctly. Basically, you start with your coarser stones, sharpen on one side until there is a burr that you can feel on the other side of the blade. Change sides, and do the same thing. That's it for that stone. Switch to a finer stone, and repeat. Once you get to your finest stone, you want to do the same thing, but using less and less pressure everytime you change sides, until eventually you're barely touching the blade. This way you should get effectively no burrs. You want the burrs early on, but your final edge must be burr free in order to be sharp. After that you may want to strop or polish it with a honing stone to get that extra-sharp edge. Anyways, that's what's been working for me quite well. YMMV.

Thank you.
I have never been good at sharpening knives, I will try what you suggested.

 

[wax4213]

I thought I was decent until I tried this method and discovered what I was really missing. Also make sure that you try to match the original edge angle, an easy way to do this is to take a marker, color the part of the blade that has already been sharpened, and when you sharpen it all of the marker should be worn away. You probably only have to do this once, unless you need to change the angle of your edge or something. I use a 25 degree angle, plenty sharp for me and more durable than some of the shallower angles.

www.bladeforums.com has a ton of info, it's a dauntingly large amount, but they're pretty friendly (not quite as friendly as here, IMHO), and it's a great place to do research.

 

[PerformanceFirst]

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=26036 Here is a great writeup on knife sharpening. It's long, but well worth the read.