Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

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PineyBoy
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#81

Post by PineyBoy »

I really enjoyed this post and found it very educational, as well as informative.
I’m still not ready to take the plunge to this from premium steel I’m familiar with,but thank you for one of the best reviews.
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#82

Post by The Meat man »

PineyBoy wrote:
Mon May 03, 2021 2:53 pm
I really enjoyed this post and found it very educational, as well as informative.
I’m still not ready to take the plunge to this from premium steel I’m familiar with,but thank you for one of the best reviews.
Thanks! Glad you find it interesting. It's been fun so far. :)
- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#83

Post by The Meat man »

This evening we did some planting in the garden and I got to use the Torino pretty heavily. First step was laying the landscaping fabric over the area to prevent weeds, which involved cutting and trimming the fabric to size. Some of it is thin, but there were a few pieces left over from last year's garden that were pretty thick and dirty.

After the fabric was down we began planting - tomatoes and peppers. Before planting each one I had to slice an X through the fabric, which meant I was literally cutting into the dirt over and over in addition to the tough fabric. At least 4 or 5 cuts per plant, times 30-odd plants.

The edge remains servicable for EDC but no longer shaves, obviously. It still raggedly slices paper. I'm going to see if I can strop back the edge using diamond and CBN strops.

Picture from early into the proceedings:
Image
- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#84

Post by JRinFL »

That kind of work is usually left to my H1 Salt. The sandy soil here kills the edge very quickly. Also, that is a LOT of tomato & pepper plants. Two of each and my wife and I are overloaded with produce.
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#85

Post by RustyIron »

The Meat man wrote:
Mon May 03, 2021 4:34 pm

Thanks! Glad you find it interesting. It's been fun so far. :)
"Fun" is enough reason to do anything. I liked your gardening experience. It's only been recently that I've started using a knife for gardening. It's not always the best tool for the job, but sometimes it's the most FUN. I'm really curious how the carbide will work out over the long term. My only experience with carbide is for metalworking. High speed steel is great--it's easy to sharpen, it's tough, it leaves a good finish. Carbide is great for cutting metals that create a lot of wear, and it lasts a long time--until you do something dumb. And for what I do, it requires a very blunt edge. I would expect that the alloy of your knife is different, it's got to be. Looking forward to your next evaluation.
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#86

Post by The Meat man »

JRinFL wrote:
Thu May 06, 2021 9:01 am
That kind of work is usually left to my H1 Salt. The sandy soil here kills the edge very quickly. Also, that is a LOT of tomato & pepper plants. Two of each and my wife and I are overloaded with produce.
Yeah it was getting dark and I was in a hurry, so I wasn't being extra careful about hitting the dirt. Besides I thought it would be a good real life test. :)
We planted 6 tomatoes and 28 pepper plants of various kinds. The peppers are my project, for making hot sauce and salsa. This year I've got jalapeños, cayenne, habanero, ghost peppers, and Carolina Reapers.
My wife does a lot of canning, so we try to grow enough to last us throughout the year.
- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#87

Post by The Meat man »

RustyIron wrote:
Thu May 06, 2021 11:57 am
The Meat man wrote:
Mon May 03, 2021 4:34 pm

Thanks! Glad you find it interesting. It's been fun so far. :)
"Fun" is enough reason to do anything. I liked your gardening experience. It's only been recently that I've started using a knife for gardening. It's not always the best tool for the job, but sometimes it's the most FUN. I'm really curious how the carbide will work out over the long term. My only experience with carbide is for metalworking. High speed steel is great--it's easy to sharpen, it's tough, it leaves a good finish. Carbide is great for cutting metals that create a lot of wear, and it lasts a long time--until you do something dumb. And for what I do, it requires a very blunt edge. I would expect that the alloy of your knife is different, it's got to be. Looking forward to your next evaluation.
Bingo! I think of this sometimes whenever I hear the hardcore, "right tool for the job" folks. Sometimes it just is more fun to use your pocket knife for food prep or whatever. After all that's what this hobby (any hobby) is all about.
- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#88

Post by The Meat man »

Found some time today to work on the Torino. After the gardening session, it had dulled to the point that slicing regular copy paper was pretty ragged.

Some of you wanted to see how it would respond to stropping. So, I spent 5 minutes with my coarsest diamond strop - 14 micron on basswood - and checked. Very, very slight improvement. I stropped 5 minutes more. Slightly better, and a noticeable improvement in slicing copy paper, but still very far from the original sharpness.

Not surprisingly, it seemed pretty slow to respond on the strops. I think a coarser strop would have helped a lot, since when I use lapping film I start at 30 micron which really eats away the carbide.

So my takeaway is, not impossible to maintain with a strop, but probably coarser is better, and even then be prepared to spend some time working on it.
- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#89

Post by The Meat man »

Did you all hear of Sandrin's new flexible glass blades? :p :D

Image
- Connor

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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#90

Post by TkoK83Spy »

Look at that shine!! I love all the different variables you've thrown at this knife. Been a great thread to follow since day one!
15 :bug-red 's in 10 different steels
1 - Bradford Guardian 3 / Vanadis 4E Wharnie
1 - Monterey Bay Knives Slayback Flipper / ZDP 189
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31/Macassar Ebony Inlays
1 - CRK Large Inkosi Insingo/ Black Micarta Inlays
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31 Insingo/Magnacut

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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#91

Post by JRinFL »

The Meat man wrote:
Sun Jun 06, 2021 8:03 pm
Did you all hear of Sandrin's new flexible glass blades? :p :D

Image
That is an awesome picture! Well done on the polish.
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#92

Post by marty_bill_ »

Thank you for putting these on my radar! I'm really interested in the 4" pairing knife they make. Would love to get one eventually.
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#93

Post by The Meat man »

The other day, I tried stropping the Torino again.

It wasn't really dull, but it would no longer shave arm hair, and paper-slicing was getting a little rough. This time, I tried using my Wicked Edge strops (which I hadn't owned when I last tried stropping.)

Wow! After a mere dozen or so passes per side on the 4 micron diamond strop, the edge was biting and catching hair on contact, gliding through paper. It is not back to 100%, but close. And I spent only a few minutes total on it!

I have been extremely impressed with the quality and speed of cutting of the Wicked Edge diamond emulsion sprays, and this only reinforces my high regard for them. They cut way faster than any other stropping compound I have ever used.

Summary: Sandrin's TC responded very well to stropping, bringing back a very sharp, shaving edge in a matter of minutes. The stropping compound used was WE diamond emulsion spray, 4 and 1 micron on leather.
- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#94

Post by SpydieFlicker »

Have you guys seen the new torino? It has cf scales, and looks awesome.
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#95

Post by The Meat man »

SpydieFlicker wrote:
Mon Dec 06, 2021 11:33 am
Have you guys seen the new torino? It has cf scales, and looks awesome.
Yep I saw it. It's a nice variation, although personally I like the "utility" look of the red G-10. What I'd rather see is a longer blade!
- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#96

Post by TkoK83Spy »

The Meat man wrote:
Mon Dec 06, 2021 12:12 pm
SpydieFlicker wrote:
Mon Dec 06, 2021 11:33 am
Have you guys seen the new torino? It has cf scales, and looks awesome.
Yep I saw it. It's a nice variation, although personally I like the "utility" look of the red G-10. What I'd rather see is a longer blade!
I just reread back through this thread. Such great work you did here. I haven't done these kinds of reviews in a while now, but man it sure makes me remember how much work it actually is!

Do you still carry this one very often?
15 :bug-red 's in 10 different steels
1 - Bradford Guardian 3 / Vanadis 4E Wharnie
1 - Monterey Bay Knives Slayback Flipper / ZDP 189
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31/Macassar Ebony Inlays
1 - CRK Large Inkosi Insingo/ Black Micarta Inlays
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31 Insingo/Magnacut

-Rick
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#97

Post by The Meat man »

TkoK83Spy wrote:
Mon Dec 06, 2021 12:27 pm
The Meat man wrote:
Mon Dec 06, 2021 12:12 pm
SpydieFlicker wrote:
Mon Dec 06, 2021 11:33 am
Have you guys seen the new torino? It has cf scales, and looks awesome.
Yep I saw it. It's a nice variation, although personally I like the "utility" look of the red G-10. What I'd rather see is a longer blade!
I just reread back through this thread. Such great work you did here. I haven't done these kinds of reviews in a while now, but man it sure makes me remember how much work it actually is!

Do you still carry this one very often?
I haven't for a little while, but I still carry and use it. It's a fun knife!
- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#98

Post by Manixguy@1994 »

This is absolutely one of my favorite posts , hands down . Regards MG2
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#99

Post by Wartstein »

Just went through the whole thread, but not too thoroughly, so this might have been asked already.

Really cool knife, Connor!! I do like the unique looks and style!

But how do you feel about that sharpening notch and where it is positioned on the blade?
This is actually the one thing I don´t like too much when looking at the Torino.
I personally don´t like sharpening notches generally, but having said that I guess I´d want this one to be further back on the blade, so starting right where the downward curve of the choil ends (which would make it not an actual notch any more, but with the blade shape of the Torino would offer the same advantage as an actual sharpening notch, offer more usable cutting edge and would most likely be less prone to snag on matter that gets cut)
Or, even better imo, the actual cutting edge would extend almost right to where the fingerchoil ends.
Top three going by pocket-time (update March 24):
- EDC: Endura thin red line ffg combo edge (VG10); Wayne Goddard PE (4V), Endela SE (VG10)
-Mountains/outdoors: Pac.Salt 1 SE (H1), Salt 2 SE (LC200N), and also Wayne Goddard PE (4V)
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Re: Sandrin Torino On-going EDC review (pic heavy)

#100

Post by The Meat man »

Glad you all find it interesting! It's a fun thread and I've enjoyed messing with this knife.

Wartstein, I'm with you on the sharpening notch. It's almost comically large and I have had snagging issues every now and then when cutting stuff like cardboard. I wish that they had just done away with it altogether, or as you said, move it back farther and make it smaller.

For me it's not a big issue though, just a minor complaint.
- Connor

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
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