OK I admit it: I'm a knife junkie...

[Andy]

I wish I understood a few things better about them.

One: how to really sharpen well, it's a skill I still work on...in in vain

Two: knife steels. Wish I knew what the flipping differences were.

I pulled out a cheap EDC knife I thought was pretty neat for the money at the club a few years back. This old fella looks at it, "Yeah, it's cheap because it's yildimium carbonundrum allominumonium and that's shit steel, hard to sharpen, won't hold an edge..." Which was exactly the problem I had. Looked shiny. I'm attracted to shiny objects I guess.

[Double Lab]

I agree Andy, steel can be confusing and it's not that hard to learn to sharpen knives if you have the right steel. I favor older knives before all this super duper carborumdum blah blah steel. I've got a number of older Remington, Case and Barlow style knives to name a few which were made with good old steel that would rust if you didn't take care of them. I can get them to a razor's edge. The Buck 110 from 30 years ago is a frustrating knife which I could never get the edge I wanted. If you can find any Puma knife you could get a decent edge on one of them with little effort.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Daryl Corona

I agree Andy, steel can be confusing and it's not that hard to learn to sharpen knives if you have the right steel. I favor older knives before all this super duper carborumdum blah blah steel. I've got a number of older Remington, Case and Barlow style knives to name a few which were made with good old steel that would rust if you didn't take care of them. I can get them to a razor's edge. The Buck 110 from 30 years ago is a frustrating knife which I could never get the edge I wanted. If you can find any Puma knife you could get a decent edge on one of them with little effort.

Thank you Daryl. My dad used to own a grocery store in the 50's, and he was handed down his dad's cleaver and knives from the turn of the century and his market. I have two of them. One is a knife in name only as it's been sharpened so many times over 60 years of use that it resembles a very long letter opener. My mom gave them to me and said, "You don't have to use these, but you better keep them greasy or they'll rust and your dad will come back from the dead to slap you." I suspect a heavy load of carbon steel there.

[Double Lab]

My parents owned a corner grocery when I was a kid and I have a couple of those knives. My father was a butcher among other things and he taught me how to sharpen and keep an edge on my knives.

[Kevin McCormack]

Originally Posted by Daryl Corona

I agree Andy, steel can be confusing and it's not that hard to learn to sharpen knives if you have the right steel. I favor older knives before all this super duper carborumdum blah blah steel. I've got a number of older Remington, Case and Barlow style knives to name a few which were made with good old steel that would rust if you didn't take care of them. I can get them to a razor's edge. The Buck 110 from 30 years ago is a frustrating knife which I could never get the edge I wanted. If you can find any Puma knife you could get a decent edge on one of them with little effort.

Interesting - I worked in a major sporting goods chain in the 1960s & 70s. We carried both Buck and Puma small to medium sized sheath knives and they were always best sellers with Schrade a close runner up. Over the years we constantly heard how well the Buck knives "handled", but how the Pumas would take and hold a better edge over time. Still have my Buck "Personal" model, but never bought a Puma.