Case, not that sharp

openandshutcase · Post by **openandshutcase** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 9:38 am

Hi everyone,
I purchased my first case knife last week, it's a black bone cheetah and it's a beautiful knife. My one dissapointment was that it wasn't as sharp as i was expecting after everything i've heard about them. It cost 18.95 gbp, around 40 dollars. Compared to a victorinox blade it doesn't seem that sharp, but i find swiss army knives a bit boring and i wanted a nice single blade.
Can anyone tell me if this is a normal thing or if it's just me. Thanks

e3ck · Post by **e3ck** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 11:59 am

I've noticed that about all sorts and brands of knives over the years. It was probly sharpened late on a Fri. evening

Sharpness usually don't concern me ,If I'm not gonna use it I don't worry with it, but if I'm gonna use it, I'm eventually gonna have to sharpen it anyway

openandshutcase · Post by **openandshutcase** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 2:58 pm

Thanks for replying e3ck. Don't get me wrong it's a really nice knife but i was just expecting it to be sharper than it was. I got it intending to use when i'm out and about during country pursuits. Handy for cutting a stick out of a tree for a rod rest or something but now i've seen it, it seems too nice for using out about

. So i expect i'll be looking for another knife now anyway but has anyone else noticed this problem ?

orvet · Post by **orvet** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:44 pm

I am not a Case collector, though I do have a few of the older carbon steel ones. I also have one newer one & the factory edge on it leaves a great deal to be desired. The old carbon steel takes a great edge.

If you want a single blade with a shaving sharp factory edge, I would suggest a Kershaw. They are made in Japan and many are AUS-8A steel, which is one of my favorite stainless steels for a user knife. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Dale

muskrat man · Post by **muskrat man** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 11:52 pm

I got a yellow handle CV copperlock for my B day this year, the blade was terribly thick, I managed to get an edge on it ONCE, after it went dull there was no bringing it back, so I thinned the entire blade and flatground it from the spine to the edge, the way it should have been before it left the factory, and now shes a beast of a little single blade, and strops right back to where she was before it lost it's edge. There is a custom schrade stockman in my right pocket and the copperlock in my left, a great combo

On another note, if you want to use it and are not worried about collectability, and it chisels off like an axe (mine did) I would suggest thinning it very carefully on a sander, then polishing everything back to where you are pleased with it. Just my .02

longbeachbum · Post by **longbeachbum** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:33 am

It's a drag that it wasn't very sharp out of the box, but after a little use it would have gone dull anyway as all knives do. I generally sharpen through the factory edge on a new user knife anyway, to get to the better steel that is behind the edge. My understanding is that most factory edges, Case included are achieved on a bench grinder, which tends to harm the temper of the edge steel, due to overheating.

I'd say, sharpen that puppy up and you'll have a knife with a better than factory edge.

Regards,

Jim

orvet · Post by **orvet** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:57 am

Jim,
When I was in the Kershaw plant (in the 1980's) they were using a belt sander. Of course they weren't making them there (they were all made in Japan in those days), just resharpening.

In the cutlery store I managed in the 1980's, we used a bench grinder (Baldor motor with a 150 grit stone) that we had gotten from the Gerber factory. It was about 1700 RPM so it was slower than a regular cheap bench grinder (most of which are 3600 RPMs). While I will agree that most people will destroy a knife with a bench grinder. But if you learn how to do it right, i.e.; keep it moving fast, keep the angle constant, and work from tip to plunge line, it keeps the steel a lot cooler than a belt and doesn't take a lot of metal off. It takes some time to learn the process and you must have the right stone, and you sharpen into the oncoming wheel, (which can be scary),

but it is a great way to sharpening if the person doing it knows their stuff.

Just my $.02,
Dale

justold52 · Post by **justold52** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:58 am

http://www.skinnyllama.com

Just one place to check out REAL sharp knives.

Helle Knife type this in your search.

I have one Helle Safair HE 35 And It will out cut any Victorinox blade
right out of the factory box. 3 layers steel Check that out.
I for one don't understand why more knives are not made this way!

The way I test a sharp blade is to run it on my left arm and if it cuts my hair like a razer then its sharp. This is kool if you doing things like cleaning fish. But this is not the edge you want on all you knives.

On the top right click on knife definitions then click on Edge Bevel:

Many time I just use a STEEL to bring up the cutting edge again.
My Son-in-law does wood carving. What he does is runs it on a leather wheel.(like the old barbers did on the leather strap to the razers befor shaveing you.) and he never uses a hone or any grinder.

You learn more about the BLADES and what you plan on cutting. A super sharp blade is not what you want for a every day user? If you hit a nail with a fish cleaning edge it will mess up the edge badly. I hope you under stand.

Many of the others here are right too.

openandshutcase · Post by **openandshutcase** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 10:05 am

Thanks, fella's, i've taken all your advice on board and i think i'll go for a another pocket knife. Personally i don't really like knives with synthetic or metal handles i like bone and wood handled knives mostly. Is there any sharp knives that meet that criteria you fella's can recommend. Bearing in mind it's going to be a knock-about knife i don't want anything too expensive. Dang i sound cheap.

orvet · Post by **orvet** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 3:28 pm

Take a look at their web site. They do have some wood handled lock blades currently, as well as a couple slipjoints. http://www.kershawknives.com/large.htm

You can usually find some of the older wood handled lock blades on ebay pretty reasonably. Check some of these auctions on ebay: #260045317233 #320042073652 #280041849851 #290042088089 #320043254043

Dale

smiling-knife · Post by **smiling-knife** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:20 pm

Hey openandshutcase. Nice to see another member from the UK on site

. That makes two of us I believe. Welcome to the forums. looking forward to hearing more from you. Where are you located?:) s-k

openandshutcase · Post by **openandshutcase** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 5:21 pm

Hiya Smiling-Knife nice to speak to you too mate. I'm not really a big knife collector and this was my first half decent knife apart from a few old stockmans and a couple of victorinox swiss army knives.
These case knives are very nice though even though it wasn't that sharp i would like to start collecting them now i've seen how nice looking they are, they're definitely too nice to knock-about. Only trouble is it's starting to get expensive now

.
I'm in Wales by the way mate.

jabberwocky · Post by **jabberwocky** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 11:53 pm

I'm with Orvet (Dale) in regards to the Kershaws. One of my favorites of their pocketknives is the model they call the "double cross" (#4380).
Check it out...a really nice, nicely finished, pocket knife.
And I've always been a fan of, and own and carry their DWO's. Talk
about sharp! Those little guys are just wicked sharp. My friends and I
jokingly refer to them as the "little scalpels".

smiling-knife · Post by **smiling-knife** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 4:24 pm

openandshutcase wrote:Only trouble is it's starting to get expensive now ..

Welcome to the club mate. You are one of us now

s-k