I've had my Southard Flipper for probably 6 months or more. The size, blade shape, materials, etc make this close to the perfect knife. But I have one, major frustration with this knife. It doesn't cut well.
The edge is sharpened at 30 degrees on my Sharpmaker. I sharpen it as I sharpen all of my other Spydercos. It'll shave hair. However, this blade snags and tears rather than slices. I can't figure it out. When it comes to the joyful instances in my day that call for me to deploy my pocket knife and cut, this knife simply fails to perform.
[Edited to add] There is no damage to the edge.
Any ideas?
Southard Frustration
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TheSavageRabbit
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Southard Frustration
I strive to be the man my dog thinks I am.
It's probably the hollow grind. If it gets too wide too fast, the thickness of the blade will just pull things apart before the edge gets to them.
From what I read from people who have Southard customs, they say he knows what makes a knife cut well. *shrug*
From what I read from people who have Southard customs, they say he knows what makes a knife cut well. *shrug*
-Brian
A distinguished lurker.
Waiting on a Squeak and Pingo with a Split Spring!
A distinguished lurker.
Waiting on a Squeak and Pingo with a Split Spring!
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senorsquare
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razorsharp
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Try destressing the edge.
Once you sharpen it sharp, cut into the final stone as if cutting a tomato gently and re-apex it on the same grit ( it really wont take long, like, less than a minute to get it apexed again) The steel MAY be weakened and might be dulling fast in spots making it snag.
I do notice that M390 and 204p do form a bit of a stubborn wire edge
Once you sharpen it sharp, cut into the final stone as if cutting a tomato gently and re-apex it on the same grit ( it really wont take long, like, less than a minute to get it apexed again) The steel MAY be weakened and might be dulling fast in spots making it snag.
I do notice that M390 and 204p do form a bit of a stubborn wire edge
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Cliff Stamp
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hunterseeker5
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Oh problems, I love problems. :D
So shaving hair and slicing paper (the latter I've never developed the technique to do for whatever reason) are two very different sharpness tests. Presumably though you know, form your other knives, that you do have the necessary technique to make a good slice in paper.
So here is the thing. Shaving hair tests something more like average apex sharpness. That is to say you're laying a relatively wide part of the edge down on your skin, and the hairs roll and slide under it (they're not stuck in the same exact spot of the blade) and if most of the hairs are cut you'll say "it shaves" even if only, say, 95% of the blade is actually sharp enough to cut the hairs with that given force applied to your skin.
Paper cutting however is the reverse, its point sharpness testing. If you have, even a microscopic, spot on the edge that isn't sufficiently sharp, fibers will catch there and build and result in a snag or tear. Unless you're pulling a slice, every part of your apex must meet the minimum sharpness requirement otherwise it won't work. You'll therefore cut and simply encounter a string of hangups along the edge.
Does what I've described so far seem to match your symptoms?
So shaving hair and slicing paper (the latter I've never developed the technique to do for whatever reason) are two very different sharpness tests. Presumably though you know, form your other knives, that you do have the necessary technique to make a good slice in paper.
So here is the thing. Shaving hair tests something more like average apex sharpness. That is to say you're laying a relatively wide part of the edge down on your skin, and the hairs roll and slide under it (they're not stuck in the same exact spot of the blade) and if most of the hairs are cut you'll say "it shaves" even if only, say, 95% of the blade is actually sharp enough to cut the hairs with that given force applied to your skin.
Paper cutting however is the reverse, its point sharpness testing. If you have, even a microscopic, spot on the edge that isn't sufficiently sharp, fibers will catch there and build and result in a snag or tear. Unless you're pulling a slice, every part of your apex must meet the minimum sharpness requirement otherwise it won't work. You'll therefore cut and simply encounter a string of hangups along the edge.
Does what I've described so far seem to match your symptoms?