IMHO, it actually depends on the application -- "utility" edge, "razor" edge. The utility edge is not razor sharp, while a razor sharp edge can get blunt quickly. There is no question of getting heart broken if you have a good sharpening system, and skills.tandavbaba wrote:Dear all,
I would like to share my views about sharping a knife,
Well it is good to keep it sharp but not extremely sharp
I have many reasons for that,
First of all if it gets blunt than you will be heart broken for some time and you might not be able to execute your cutting with a less sharp blade because you are habitual to the very sharp edge, and it also takes a lot of time to resharpen it to perfection, ive done it with ordinary oil stone found in hardware stone(use water instead of oil because oil will attract dust and you will end up wasting some more time with the stone), believe me you might spend 2 hrs doing it, hence keep it sharp not very sharp.
While it is a good idea to get a knife locally made, there are many drawbacks - how do you assess the tempering temperature and if it was done right for your job? What if the blade turns out to be brittle? Our blacksmiths require many modern equipment to make this job easy and perfect -- but no one is willing to invest. Knife art is a dying breed in modern India, and it is ironic because we were one of the largest users of sharp weapons!I never use Factory made or imported knives, i get them constructed by a black smith and guide him to do the tempering as per my requirement,
I always use spring steel, its cheap easily available and its easy to construct knives,
i never prefer using stainless steel knives they look pretty but they are good for sailors and they have practically no use for someone who is far away from salty water and humidity, besides you always should remember to keep your knife out of your sheath and cover it with air tight plastic if not using it.
Please never use hollow grind or taper grind knife edges because it is very hard to sharpen them, it would be better for every beginner to use an axe grind or a convex grind.
Stainless steels CAN and DO rust. With an exception of one or two steels, most SS knives can be easily damaged with salt water. There is many a superior quality SS available -- perfected by science that almost guarantees edge retention and strength.
Hollow grind is easy to sharpen in my opinion. Each grind has its own use and purpose, so there is no perfect grind - it depends on the job.
That is interesting -- we need people like you who can actually make good sheaths, please post the photos, and I am sure you'll have a bunch of orders to work on.I make my own knife sheaths too i will soon upload some pics for you, and please do remember that the legal length and breadth of a knife in INDIA is 6 inch blade length and 2 inch in breadth, if you have anything more than that you might end up giving it to the Police walas, i don't know whats your idea about keeping a knife but i never keep a collectors item i usually use a cheap hammer forged knife with a nice sheath and wooden handle that i can use on a regular basis without giving any concern whether some cop will take it from me some day.
Considering the en-masse corruption, a knife of length 0 and width 0 is also illegal if the cops want it to be -- you can be booked for carrying a knife when you don't have one.
A cheap knife is just that -- cheap. It will fail when you want it to, and if you are afraid of the cops taking it away, don't better keep any knife on you. IMHO, one should respect the law, and keep your temper in control, else you end up being a knife-wielding-monkey.Sorry - I differ. My hard earned money goes to the best quality I can purchase in my constraint, be it Indian or not. Yes, if you find one blacksmith who can actually make quality knives, I'll surely purchase it from him.Please be Indian and give some money to the Indian Black smiths, the art of blade-forging is at the verge of extinction and we have to support our local blade-smiths, the grand masters are all dead, hence these black smiths might need a little bit of our supervision to craft a good blade, but in the end you will be much happy with a custom made knife specially made for you, hence avoid buying stuff from ebay, u might never know what you are buying and the worst part is that most of these factory made knives never have a heavy spine so go for a custom knife.
Avoiding stuff from ebay is sane advice as chances of getting ripped off are very high. Plus our knife market is flooded with cheap Chinese knock-offs (and yes, Indian blacksmiths do make better knives than these). I'd say save money till you can afford a known good quality knife. There are many on this forum who are ready to help, both in terms of knowledge, and sourcing a good knife. Use their inputs. Remember, a sharp knife is a safe knife.
-agregards.
Vikas
he he eat your heart out
