glass filled polymer knives

johnnierotten · Post by **johnnierotten** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 4:33 am

Have you guys seen these.They are 100% non magnetic glass filled polymer.Its a assisted opening Blackie Collins design...
I had to get one,Will let you guys know how it is when it arrives...

longbeachbum · Post by **longbeachbum** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 8:18 am

Well you won't lose it, that's for sure.

I bought one of those Cold Steel zytel knives a while back, just out of curiosity. I didn't really see the point unless you wanted to sneak it through a metal detector. It certainly didn't offer any other advantage compared to a steel blade.

I hadn't seen this one. Interesting!

jonet143 · Post by **jonet143** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 9:26 am

johnnierotten, i have one of the cold steel 7" daggers and a lansky 7" dagger. they're not folders though. i would'nt want to get caught in an air port with any of them. would look suspicious no matter what story you told.

might make a good light weight back packer. is it sharp?
i always wanted to handle one of the ceramic knives.

justold52 · Post by **justold52** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 12:24 pm

Divers could use one like this. I think the fixed bladed ones be best for them too.

Salt water ?
If they dropped the knife the color would stand out!

El Lobo · Post by **El Lobo** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 4:02 pm

johnnierotten,

Please do let us know your opinion of the solidity of that setup. If it won't slice most things...??? I know you can thrust and puncture with the fixed blades, but I don't see the same usefulness with a folding knife. However, who knows?

Here is an original Meyerco Speedster SR, one of a couple of knives made in China that I've accumulated. The opening mechanism (a coiled spring) and the wow factor of Blackie Collins' imagination around knives and guns (U.S. Patent #5,815,927), was enough to pull me in on this knife. While it is 1/2 the price of a comparable Ken Onion/Kershaw, IMO, it is a much lesser knife in materials and fit. Still, an interesting design.

Bill

orvet · Post by **orvet** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 4:24 pm

jonet143 wrote:i always wanted to handle one of the ceramic knives.

The first ceramic knife I handled was a Boker, IIRC, 6 inch chef knife. It was very sharp. Unfortunately they are very fragile. The knife I saw was a salesman's sample and the blade was broken at the handle. The salesman said they tend to break and are very difficult to carry around in a sample case, even in a box.

I have also seen a Boker folder that was not broken, but I wasn't interested in buying it because the blades are so fragile, extremely sharp, but very fragile.

Dale

johnnierotten · Post by **johnnierotten** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 5:52 pm

Curiosity was my main motive for buying this knife and Blackie Collins was the second reason. I don't think these will be on the market very long(security reasons) thats another reason why I purchased it.
I don't imagine it will be very sharp but the serration should help.will keep you guys informed should be in my mailbox by Dec. 5th at the lattest.
I've had my eye on some of the ceramic knives ,But have decided against it.I'm way too clumsy and would probably shatter the thing the first day I received it.

Thanks to all

smiling-knife · Post by **smiling-knife** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:14 pm

How would one sharpen a ceramic or polymer knife?

s-k

El Lobo · Post by **El Lobo** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:43 pm

Well S/K...that is a good question...

This is what I've been told by a few folks. The Ceramic (a form of Zirconium, I believe) is right below a Diamond in hardness, so you can use diamond stones, hones, rods. But, it leaves a ragged edge, so those folks say a silicon carbide sandpaper...in increasingly finer grits...seems to work best.
Or, some companies say to return the knife for sharpening...

... because it shouldn't need it very often if you're careful.

I'm with Dale here, too brittle/fragile for my tastes.

Sharpening the polymer...you could use ceramics, but I've tried and it left a brittle and chipped edge. Maybe I'm no good at sharpening, but I see the polymers as piercing or letter openers, not slicers...as always, JMO, someone else's mileage may vary.

Bill

orvet · Post by **orvet** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:45 pm

I don't know about sharpening the polymer knife, but I was told by the Boker Sales Rep that they sharpen the ceramic knives with a belt sander.

Dale

smiling-knife · Post by **smiling-knife** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:52 pm

Thanks guys. I think I am a little too traditional in my tastes to rush out to buy one. I can see the potential hazard in the wrong hands given that they would not show up on a metal detector. It won't be long before these too are banned. my 2p

s-k

jabberwocky · Post by **jabberwocky** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:01 pm

johnnierotten...

A very interesting knife. I guess something similar would be the Nightshade Series from Lynn Thompson's Special Projects (division of Cold Steel). Theirs are made from "Grivory"...fiberglass reinforced plastic.

I've also seen something quite similar in the A.G. Russell catalogs.

I'm not sure of the best sharpening methods, however...?!

I've heard (but don't know from personal observation), that the ceramics can be extremely sharp, but quite brittle/fragile.

cj

johnnierotten · Post by **johnnierotten** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 6:44 pm

Well it finally arrived...not real happy,feels like a toy.
The action is pretty smooth,I guess thats the only positive thing I can say about it...Oh yeah,its sharper than I imagined it would be.but I think it would snap with the least bit of pressure...I didn't really know what to expect,so maybe I shouldn't be so down on it.....Oh well....