# How to prepare a "using knife."



## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Most of the folders I showcase on forums are polished to a high degree. I figure about 2/3s of these are in my collection, the rest are made for clients.

_*But what does a polisher do to make a knife for actual use*_? What is the knife he tucks in his blue jeans? Below is my choice.

For many years, I bought cheaper items to "sacrifice." What I got stuck with was an edge that failed or the panicky realization that in truth I had disarmed myself.

I suggest these parameters, and I adhere to them myself. First off, secure a knife that under all other conditions you would place in your collection. To that I made the best choice, a Boker Kalashnikov 74 in Bowie style. I bought two of them, I just put the "pretty one" away.

Like most Boker 74s, the area next to the ricasso is one big mess. I took a 140 Atoma and made the best out of a bad situation. The left side wasn't too bad, but the right had had a wavy spot and thinning towards the tip. You go "slow and light" on these edges. The most decorated Japanese togishi I know once said during an interview that "perfection comes from subtraction." In other words, you might be good at removing steel, but gluing it back on is really difficult.

Once shaped, I removed +50% of the toothy area with a 600 white Schwartz stone. The idea was to remove the coarse issues, but leave some of the bite.

From there I got lucky. I chose a 4K stone to begin a light polish, but I got a gleam after flipping it just two times. The edge is toasty, devoid of flat spots, bites every 1/8th inch and does not need a 6K for further refinement.

This is not a stand-alone defensive tool. _*This is a jackknife*_. It has been altered to cut whatever the day brings. If you hooked a trophy muskie and you asked for something sharp, this is the knife I would hand you. It functions, and it washes in the sink.

Edit: Loooking to your right you will see a king's ransom in Schwartz stones. Ken was kind enough to make me specialized stones which fit in an Edge Pro for polishing expensive folded Japanese steel chef knives. He never charges me much, but you can guess what's laying there--probably a Sportster. There are also 5 "jnats" there, meaning 'Japanese Naturals,' usually quarried in old togishi pits.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

I usually carry a buck or schrade folder. 

No matter how sharp I get them to start, I do things with them that will make them dull, so I carry a couple of small folding diamond impregnated stones to dress them with. The stones are a little bigger than a bic lighter. 

I'm sure they will not get close to your level of "sharp", but they will finish up the deer in the woods, or get them usable if I've had to: strip/cut wires, carve things of wood, poke a hole in sheet metal,.......


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## 1skrewsloose (Jun 3, 2013)

I was waiting but didn't want to ask. Thanks for sharing your expertise.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

I also believe that you should have to set some parameters when preparing such a knife. For example, a scalpel might be 15 degrees and an axe +25 degrees. The knife you carry "for everything" might be better served with a an 18 degree edge. In fact, I often carry a smaller second knife with a polished edge for trimming and slicing.

The one thing I am noticing as I grow older is that I cut less and less. Some papers are perforated. Cardboard boxes are 'single use' and disposable. And frankly, with CCW just about everywhere in the civilized portion of the USA, a knife is not even 'defensive' anymore.

Still, as I'm ready to leave my home and I pat down on an empty pocket, I go look for my knife...


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Story about my "using" knife"

Was at public library, using their computers. 

They have "golf" pencils and scrap paper available to use for taking notes. My pencil was dull so I took out my folder and sharpened the pencil.

Well, this caused a minor uproar, that I had a "weapon" out...........


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Mad Trapper said:


> Well, this caused a minor uproar, that I had a "weapon" out...........


My wife and I get the same 'evil eye' if one of us uses a knife at the coffee bar. And one of my wife's knives is a Swiss Army.


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## MI.oldguy (Apr 18, 2013)

An "assisted"knife like I carry gets a lot of looks in public when I have to use it for cutting shipping straps etc.A Gerber FAST draw serrated is what I have in my pocket for years now.I like the direction that the pocket clip is in.
not an expensive knife but it serves me well.


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## Steve40th (Aug 17, 2016)

I carry the spyderco you sharpened etc for me. I have used it on cardboard, cloth, copper wire, small twigs on tree etc etc. Fantastic work, and still holding edge very well


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## Ragnarök (Aug 4, 2014)

I carry a prodigy.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

One of the things I have had to fight is the desire to make the edge even prettier. It is toothy for a reason, and as such it will show some whisker marks. To refine it for simple looks might make the edge good for only some types of slicing. The idea that it is even and uniform should be enough, but the perfectionist in me just wants to to tinker with it "a little bit."


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## Steve40th (Aug 17, 2016)

A few months ago, an anonymous parent sent a letter warning something might occur, about some drug culture at the school or something, bullying, and it is making for a situation to repeat Columbine.

The school district filed a lawsuit against the anonymous parent for defamation, lol.
If this pans out to be true, the agenda driven media is done... Someone should have followed up via LEO


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Steve40th said:


> A few months ago, an anonymous parent sent a letter warning something might occur


Stuff like this troubles me. For one thing, how do you know if the threat is real or just some guy blowing off smoke?

I've been rather ill over the last few weeks, and my wife and decided to go to the mall yesterday and have some coffee and quiet time. The entire day was gloomy, and the eastern sky looked like it was about to rain. As I have often stated, the mall is the most dangerous place I go, but where else can I buy knife magazines?

The manager of this B&N allows my wife and I to CCW, but consider that overall concept. To buy a cup of coffee, my wife and I have to gird up and pack just to relax. And honestly, if I see several squad cars with their right side wheels up on the curb by a mall entrance, my wife and I decide if a magazine is worth the trouble.

This situation effects my wife more than myself. She's a teacher, and the scenario you provided is not just a concept, but the sad truth about modern education.


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

I prefer a "burr" edge on my fillet knives, hunting knives also.

I want shaving hair sharp on my wood chisels.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

As I set up this Boker I didn't know what I would cut. I left the bevel on a "factory setting," and just made it toothy. I found I had too many irregular areas for my taste and I polished it enough to make it uniform. There is no burr.

I was going to cut a choil, but after looking at that area in front of the ricasso I decided it was straight enough now to just let future polishings ease out that spot.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

After carrying my "using Boker" for several days, the 'cosmetics' of the edge began to bother me. I left the bevel at the factory setting and simply refined the edge. It still whacks anything I feed it, but now it's pretty. It could have gotten worse, I almost cut a choil despite the fact the edge is fairly uniform.


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