Knife porn thread

A wetstone is ok if you want to take a lot of time to learn it and have a very steady hand. But why don't you take a Lansky system and have a perfect result every time? You can even buy seperate stones for it for better results.

I bought one of these which look like the same concept but I'm not really impressed with it. Maybe with better stones it would be better, I'm not sure. Thats why I was keen on a stone and a wedge.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AT81AVG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00

I've seen that system before. Maybe on DX or some other chinese site. I know the Lansky system works perfectly:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lansky-Deluxe-Knife-Sharpening-System/dp/B000B8IEA4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446041878&sr=8-1&keywords=lansky

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lansky-LM009-Sharpeners-Universal-Mount/dp/B000B8L6NG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1446041878&sr=8-5&keywords=lansky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlI5PaXsfOk

One thing to look for with Lansky: They made a new clamp that has two pieces of rubber in it. That clamp is terrible. Make sure you buy one that doesn't have the rubber and use a small piece of electrical tape to protect the blade like in the video above.

the sharp minds of the knife thread

I'm pretty sure that the ancient Persians didn't use a MIG welder for a start! Folding and cold-welding like that is an awesome skill and chucking a MIG weld into the mix seems like tailoring a Savile Row suit and then just doing a big shit on it.

You're right, there are two types of 'damascus'; the real deal is that which was made from fancy 'Wootz' steel, the technique for manufacture of which is lost (although some people think that they've reproduced it). The second is the fakey method of folding and cold-welding layers together. Note that swords were historically made this way in an attempt to reverse engineer the characteristics of true damascus steel - so it's not a modern invention.

That said, a lot of folding and forging could be used to improve low grade iron produced in primitive bloomeries.

So next time someone mentions how Japanese swords were amazing because of the thousands of folds, you can call bullshit on them - it resulted in a brittle sword and was an attempt to reproduce the qualities of swords that had been made from imported Indian steel, using really low grade iron. The Vikings did the same and weirdly, I think the fakes are the ones where the name 'Ulfbehrt' is spelled correctly!

It's my birthday next week so I have one of these on the way. I've been meaning to get a new camping knife for a while and have read nothing but good things about it.

Enzo PK70, nice but pricey

fucks sake i can never make pictures work, I give up

The Enzo is a lovely little knife.

Enzo is lovely indeed.
I would get it in the flat ground version though. So much better for everything except whittling. Scandinavian grind is a very specialized thing...

Thanks, I'm looking forward to it arriving.

Too late regarding the grind, already ordered the scandi. The birch handled one is out of production now so I'm not sure I'd be able to find a flat ground version anyway.

I don't know much about grinds, I'll be doing a mix of whittling, food chopping and miscellaneous camping cutting tasks.

Is the scandi grind really that bad for day to day cutting tasks?

I've got some English walnut sitting in my workshop, might try making some new scales for it as a weekend project.

this image explains the differences.
The scandi grind has a much higher primary angle but no secondary grind, which makes it wonderfully sharp for whittling and general cutting. Chopping food might be a little hard, as when you cut harder food (like an apple) you will probably split the apple rather than cut it. Might be a little annoying, but it isn't to bad.

Then again, I have used my fathers old scandi grind fixed blade as a camping/food knife often enough and it works well. With the caveat of probably splitting harder food, you'll be fine.

Also please look into how to sharpen a scandi grind knife. Since it has no secondary bevel the usual sharpening systems will not work here and will rather make the performance of the knife worse!
This guy might have an idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVOBMmCMw-c

Very pleased with my new Enzo, it's a bit smaller than I thought it was going to be which I'm quite pleased about. I was a bit worried it was going to be offensively big.

Made a spoon from English lime as a test.

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Try... NANIWA wet stone....this is for vegetables

Nice work!!!

I think I may buy myself a new knife... Cheaper than a Swiss watch and also fits in yer pocket...

I'd love to do some whittling, that looks like so much fun... Seen a few friends' efforts on IG and it's all very impressive... How hard can it be?

It's not as hard as I thought it might be, definitely lots still to learn but it's really rewarding. Super interesting to see how different techniques work and you can really see your skill level improving over a short period of time.

I got a Mora 162 crook knife to do the spoon bowls, I used a Stanley knife for my first 3 spoons and the Enzo for the latest one. If you want to do small/intricate stuff I'd probably invest in a small whittling knife, it's quite rewarding doing it with a pocket knife though.

Great skill, how long did it take to complete?

Thanks, there's definitely room for improvement but I'm really happy with that one. It has the best bowl shape of all the ones I've made so far.

I'm not sure exactly how long it took, 2 or 3 hours maybe. I did that one over a few sittings, I've done smaller ones in an evening though.

Sakai Takayuki 270mm Sujihiki. Ebony handle, ginsan stainless core. Bad photos so I included a web shot.

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^nice letter opener ;)

Have you made any with an sak or leatherman?

Just bought a cleaver from Nisbetts for bigger kitchen tasks. Went for a vitorianox a I'd heard there knives are ok value for money and I'd didn't have a big budget. It doesn't feel massively sharp, is that meant to be the case with cleavers in general as they are for rougher stuff?

A balls, looks like I bought the wrong thing I wanted something for cutting squash/ big root veg etc. Looks like I need a Chinese cleaver not the vitorianox...

I got a Chinese cleaver for a tenner at Wing Yip supermarket.
It's the shizzle..

A decent Chef's Knife will do the business rather than a cleaver.