Buying a new knife

[revnate]

I am going to a buy a new carving knife. I have a couple of flexcuts. I do like them, but they seem hard to keep sharp.

What's your favorite brand out there? I need something that will stay sharp. I am not the greatest at sharpening. Thanks

[Claude]

No offense intended, Nate, but if you're having trouble keeping the Flexcut knives sharp, you'll probably have trouble with other knives as well. I have several Flexcut knives. I have to strop them every 15 to 30 minutes while I'm carving, but the stropping only takes a minute. I don't consider this "sharpening", though, just stropping to keep the edge sharp. I haven't had to touch any of my knives to a stone or sandpaper for months - just routine stropping. My Bütz detail knife is more difficult to strop than the Flexcuts, as the blade is long, thin, and quite flexible, which gives it a tendency to have the tip lie flat on the strop and not polish the edge, if I'm not careful with how I do it.

If you are getting your knives really sharp, then stropping should be enough. One way to tell if they're really sharp is put your head near a lamp. Hold the knife horizontally below the lamp and angle it so the light from the bulb is reflected into your eyes by the flat of the blade. Now, slowly rotate the blade until the edge is aimed at the light bulb. At this point, if you see any reflected light at all, your edge is not sharp. A single little reflection at a point on the edge will mean you have a small nick in the blade, and will probably need to use a fine stone to get rid of it. Many of these small nicks are impossible to see with the unaided eye, but the reflected light from a bright bulb will let you see them. As a test, take a kitchen knife and try this reflection process. You'll be amazed at how much light you can see reflected from the edge of a supposedly sharp knife.

Hope this helps.

Claude

<edit> If you still want to buy more knives, please don't let me talk you out of it. One can never have too many knives! </edit>

[revnate]

Thanks. I do call stropping "sharpening".
ARe you familiar with WElls or Denny knives?

[Dan S]

I'm happy with Cape Forge.

Dan

[Robby]

I like the Denny knives, have lots of them. But I use my flexcut one's just as much as the Denny's.

[hwallen48]

Originally Posted by revnate

I am going to a buy a new carving knife. I have a couple of flexcuts. I do like them, but they seem hard to keep sharp.

What's your favorite brand out there? I need something that will stay sharp. I am not the greatest at sharpening. Thanks

Drake knives would be a good place to start. Go to my blog theres a link to them.

[markken5889]

Hi Nate,

I'm with Dan on this point: Cape Forge is the best knife for the money, in my opinion. They have a good "how-to" on sharpening on their web site as well.

Mark

[Mitchell]

Congratulations on your decision to buy a new knife! You're on your way....

There are PLENTY of threads on knives - and you'll get MANY recommendations. It's a matter of preference.

Search through some of the threads, make a list of possibilities and then start narrowing down. Get your hands on some if possible.

Where do you buy your carving knives?

Carving knife brands...Best? your oppinion..

[Paul_Guraedy]

I have quite a few knives with most of them coming from different manufacturers. I have more than one knife (two in each case) from only two people (Bill Essex and Ron Wells-actually one from Ron and one from Mike Shipley). I bought the Essex knives because he is a friend that makes beautiful knives. I bought Ron's knife because they were recommended by another carver and I had met Ron. I bought the Shipley because I was impressed with the Well's knife and they it my criteria for a new knife.

I have three criteria for a new knife: 1. I will only purchase from a source recommended for producing a good knife. 2. The handle must be comfortable. 3. The blade must be of a shape that complements the knives I have in my tool kit.

Maybe it has been luck; but I have yet to purchase a knife of poor quality. I have never had a problem honing (I agree with Claude and do not consider this to be sharpening, that's done with a stone). I have purchased a couple of knives with special shaped blades that I thought were needed and found that I really did not like to use them much. But, that was my fault and not the knife maker's. In my opinion none of these knives are superior to the others......just different.

My recommendation would be to go with any of the sources that you see mentioned here on WCI. But, pay special attention to the blade/handle relationship that you think will best suit your carving style.

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

Denny
Drake
Lyons
Allen Goodman
Ralph Long
Helvie
Deepwoods
Pinewood Forge
Some of my Favorites.

Dave