Spyderco Forums

In the "Post your Blue Spydercos" thread Darby asked me how my knives develop so much character and it got me thinking what causes it. From my experience, most of my wear (I think) comes from cutting cardboard, styrofoam, sod, and just from being in my pocket and getting dropped and such. Have you noticed anything that causes a lot of wear to your knives?

Definitely the diamond rods.

tvenuto wrote:Definitely the diamond rods.

Hahaha!! :D

The biggest problem I've experienced is nicking "hard stuff" that is hiding in the material I'm cutting - e.g., rocks in sod, wire in drywall, tacks in carpet...

TedP

phillipsted wrote:The biggest problem I've experienced is nicking "hard stuff" that is hiding in the material I'm cutting - e.g., rocks in sod, wire in drywall, tacks in carpet...

TedP

Or even staples in paper. Ugh. That tends to put nicks on the edge very quickly.

Cardboard. If knives are angels, cardboard is demons. I swear cardboard will dull an edge faster than almost anything and if you're really 'lucky", you'll get tape residue all over your blade......... One day I decided to (although not the best idea) "test" my endure 4's durability. by stabbing through sheet metal. I thought, if CS can do it, I have no doubt in my mind that Spyderco can too. There was zero damage to the edge after about 10 stabs besides a fair amount of dulling. None of the coating even came off. I was also very very bored that day. :D

Occasionally I have to cut sandpaper to size, but for that I use a cheap beater blade.

Ceramic plates, granite tops and glass cutting boards - I try to avoid them like the plague, they just destroy any sharp edge instantly, irrespective of steel.

I eat a lot of fruit, and have to be careful when cutting around peach/ plum pits etc. They will nick an edge quickly.

Dirt and sod are the great equalizers of edge retention. :cool:

For me it's probably just bad sharpening technique. I don't exactly hog my knives out on coarse stones but certainly could go slower and be more patient. Steels like Superblue though do make me feel like a hero; you almost can't mess up with them :).

Blerv wrote:For me it's probably just bad sharpening technique. I don't exactly hog my knives out on coarse stones but certainly could go slower and be more patient. Steels like Superblue though do make me feel like a hero; you almost can't mess up with them :).

I 100% agree with your SuperBlue comment! Hardest steel to not get sharp :D

This is a great topic. Dinner plates at restaurants do a number on my edges.

zipties

I discovered this thread after posting mine. What a strange coincidence ! :D

Cutting open cans (like baked beans) is an effective method to remove that shaving edge quickly. :)

I mostly cut cardboard and plastic banding with my Salt 1, and cardboard makes the blade look like I loaned it to Spencer . Cardboard is a wear monster, but I must say, H1 is better than most people say. I like it a lot, and I don't baby it at all. I push hard on some thick boxes. It stays sharp long. Sorry, I strayed from the topic.

Anything with fiberglass; e.g., insulation or reinforced strapping tape.

Definantly zip ties

One look at the first picture Holland posted will tell you, cardboard. Look at all the scratches on those blades and that pile of cardboard. My Super Blue Endura has the same scratches, I use it almost daily to reduce shipping boxes for the recycling bag our city uses. It cuts cardboard like butter. :D

Jazz wrote:I mostly cut cardboard and plastic banding with my Salt 1, and cardboard makes the blade look like I loaned it to Spencer . Cardboard is a wear monster, but I must say, H1 is better than most people say. I like it a lot, and I don't baby it at all. I push hard on some thick boxes. It stays sharp long. Sorry, I strayed from the topic.

:D

Have you ever had thoughts of getting a salt reground to FFG?

Dropping the poor thing from about waist height onto concrete or brick flooring tends to do the trick for me.