Relying on o'l reliable

[chipslinger]

I can see at least one of the reasons why Lynn calls his knife o'l reliable.
I was carving a cowboy face and doing the "plunge" cut for the eye when the tip of my denny knife snapped (about 1/8" piece). That is the 2nd tip that has broken off. The other was a simple cut( not turning or twisting) and the tip of my wells knife broke off. (Not on the same carving). It's a lot cheaper to put a blade in O'l Reliable than to send these in to be fixed or replaced. Thanks Lynn for the Idea on o'l Reliable. I t will be my "go to " knife from now on.

[Just Carving]

I think it'll be a lot harder to break a blade on Ol' Reliable. The blades will take a beating.

Bob L

[Tom Ellis]

Chip, Just grind down the backbone of the blade, and bring it back down to the tip, then you should be good to go. A pretty easy repair.

Tom

[chipslinger]

Tom, all i have is a delta bench grinder, what or how is the best way to do that?

[Robby]

Lightly touch it to the grinder with water (in a container) ready, dipping the knife in to keep cool. If the steel turns color, you've gone too far in heating the steel ruining the temper. So, grind, dip, grind, dip,.....make quick touches to the grinder and dip. If your worried about ruining your knife, practice with a nail or something small, that way you can feel the heat develop thru the steel, on a knife you won't be able to feel the heat since most have a wooden handle. I've broken a few tips myself, mostly from abusing the knife, using it pry chips out. Old reliable is good for lots of cutting, but a detail knife can handle lots of stuff the old reliable can't do.

[chipslinger]

Thanks Robby, I'll try that... slow and steady.
Thanks again.

[Tom Ellis]

Chip, You are also better off using the course wheel, as the fine wheel heats the metal very fast. Then you can go to either a stone, or different grits of sandpaper to finish up the job. Then strop good to polish the metal.

Tom

[chipslinger]

Thanks Tom, I'll give it a shot.