The bottom line is that it sure doesn't sound like anything that spectacular and it isn't. The thing is though that you are using a large sheet of abrasive and the whole edge is getting honed at the same time. Given that the abrasive is fine you'll be amazed at how fast metal is removed. It's much easier to keep the angle constant when the whole edge is being honed at once. In the field you'll find that a piece of leather and the green compound will keep the rig sharp.
Leather holds the buffing compound well. Just check out the Salvation Army thrift store for old belts, and glue to a board. Using a leather strop without support defeats the purpose of straightening the edge. And to think I used one all those years - but it's never too late to learn! I still think cardboard is better to use at first: belts are too narrow. They work well though once a good edge is established, and you are just stropping the final edge. The chief advantage of a supported leather strop is that leather has more give to it than cardboard and so will form a very slight convex edge on the blade. As the edge is better supported it will stay sharper longer.
If you give this system an honest try as I did - I'm sure you'll see it work for you. You may even want to pick up some carborundum grinding compound and use it before the green buffing compound. This will cut metal very fast! You may also want to get some white or grey polishing compound - like the green only finer - to help put a finer edge on. No great expense, so it's worth trying! If you want to try a neat experiment try the above method on a cheap kitchen knife. I think you'll find that the edge holds longer - which just means that you've sharpened more of it properly rather than magically changed the steel properties. I finally got around to using the above process on my old Gerber Bolt Action. I had to set the bevel with a belt grinder to save time, then followed the normal sharpening. I can't believe the difference in edge holding! Naturally I'd been thinking that the steel was the cause of poor edge holding in the past!
Cheap Knives
Stainless steel has come ahead a long way in my lifetime! From everything I'm hearing it's as good as high carbon steel of the "rust" variety in expensive knives. So far though I haven't found any that's as good as straight carbon steel in cheap knives. I guess it's too much to ask for good heat treatment in a cheaper article. In contrast I think that carbon steel in cheaper knives has improved because of more constant heat treatment and the heat treatment for carbon steel is much simpler than for stainless. So as stainless has improved, so has carbon steel - so the carbon steel has stayed ahead. I may be wrong in this, as after trying some stainless knives I found that they are either too soft for my purposes - but easy to sharpen, or almost sufficiently hard but much harder to sharpen. Maybe manufacturers consider ease of sharpening to be more of a selling factor than edge holding in cheap knives. I'm quite happy with many of my cheap carbon steel knives! For sure though it stands to reason that my cheap knife made from 1095 steel is not going to be the same as an expensive knife made of the same because the latter is almost certain to have better heat treatment. The point is that my cheap knife may meet my needs just fine.
There's a lot of confusing information with regard to cheap knives with some people saying how great some of them are. Fred Perrin reported very favorably on the Schrade Sharpfinger, as have many people on the forums. Mors Kochanski uses a cheap Mora knife and praises it in his book on wilderness survival. Many other people with experience with knives are incredulous, and believe these knives barely capable of whittling for a few minutes without losing their edge. I believe that both sets of people are correct in what they have seen - at this point you are incredulous at what I'm writing, unless you've read AND tried the sharpening stuff above!
I believe that if you go down to your local Walmart to pick up one of these wonders at a good price, you'll find the following. It isn't very sharp initially so you give it a touch up until it is. You then try some whittling or paper cutting and most likely the edge goes pretty quickly. you may get lucky, but I'd figure the odds at 50/50. You then touch up the edge again until it feels sharp, and try some more. The edge goes pretty quickly this time too. At this point most people would give up. My idea is that the knife suffers from two problems that can be cured. Firstly the temper in the edge has been burned out by fast final grinding, and the edge isn't straight so only parts of it are really being sharpened properly. I believe that if you sharpen the edge past where the temper has been burned out, and straighten it, that you'll see a very different result. Heat treatment in cheap blades is pretty constant, so I really believe that if you use the agressive sharpening technique above to get past the surface problems - that you'll see different results. It's easy to prove me wrong, just take one of those old beaters out of a drawer or borrow one and try. Please give it a good effort though - it takes some work!
Cheap knives are by definition cheap! That's pretty obvious. Naturally you get either a sheath that is downright dangerous, or downright ugly. Sometimes you can really strike it lucky and get both in the same sheath. Most of my knives are not in the original sheath - I value my hide too much - as old as it is. I've had a lot of fun molding sheaths and sewing them up and rivetting them. Copper rivets are getting harder to find, but pop rivets are easier if you don't mind the looks. A lot of people aren't into this sort of stuff though, and probably won't want to put a lot of money into a sheath for a cheap knife. That may not be a cheap knife if it hurts you. I've seen more and worse cuts due to knives sticking through sheaths than I have due to accidents in cutting.
I like the handles on the cheap knives that I've kept over the years. I see a knife as a tool, and mine get used harshly, so I'm not too worried about looks. Even I choke with the red handles on the Mora knives though. As much as I like my Schrade fixed blades - I had to work at them with a file and emery cloth to make them comfortable. I'd sure want to sand any varnish off a hiltless handle (like the Mora) to make it safer - but I don't see any real problem with the overall design as long as it's used properly. Certainly if you are going to be in very hot or cold places, you will find the metal on handles to be a major disadvantage.
My Cheap Knives
In the last few months (now years - how time flies..), I've gone into Mora knives in a big way. I now have just about every model of the red wooden handled type. All in all, I'd have to say that the Moras are superior to the knives below - for cutting wood, not for skinning which is best done with a coarse edge on a softer blade. The blades are very hard and tough and hold an edge far better than the Schrades. The handle is more comfortable to use when cutting fuzz sticks out of really hard wood. Certainly the Gerber tool steel knives are as far above the Moras as the Moras are above the Schrades, being made of M2 steel. The problem with the Gerbers is the skinny handle on the trout and bird, and the strange balance of the A425. The tool steel Gerbers are hard to sharpen - better have a whole set of big diamond stones - or a large sheet of glass and abrasive!
I know that the Gerber tool steel knives are not exactly cheap any more - going for $50+ on ebay. You may still get them the way I got mine though, by knowing people who have them in drawers because they could never sharpen them properly.
Everyone should have a big tough survival knife. Here's the one that I've used most...
Gerber Trout and Bird
No it didn't shrink in the wash - but it is the knife that I've used most over the years. It's not that great for moose or dropping large trees, but it sure has done all of the rest. So many years ago when my stepson (then seven) wanted a knife I got him a Western cutlery sheath knife of about the same size. It ended up being the knife we used the most so when he lost it, I had to get a small knife of my own. It's the Gerber with the tool steel blade. About the only thing I don't like about it is the small handle which has become slippery as the armorhide has worn off.
For sure I always had a hatchet for heavier tasks, using that for most jobs a heavy knife would be used for - and I used one of the larger knives below for butchering. There's nothing new with the idea of a tiny fixed blade being the most useful of all - tiny because if we are honest the knife we use most around the kitchen is a paring knife, and you do much the same in the woods: fixed blades are just less bother than folders when used constantly.
More in line with what most people would think of as a real blade is its big brother, the Gerber A425 tool steel. As you can see by the handle this one has had a lot less use over the last quarter of a century. My only real complaints with it are that the balance seems strange, with the handle being too heavy, and the aluminum handle is hard on the hands in cold weather. Every time I pick up this knife I'm amazed by how well it fits my hand: then I whittle with it for a while and find that it gets very uncomfortable. I guess you have to use to learn!
Gerber A425
I've tried to find another Gerber tool steel knife somewhere between the two on ebay - but they're going for way too much money. If you have a hankering for a super steel knife at a good price - just keep looking for someone to have one that they were never able to sharpen properly. That's the way I got mine cheaply! You won't have any problem getting a super edge with the method above - but expect it to take much longer than with other knives. I finally used a belt grinder on mine. The steel is supposed to be M2 and I believe it. Once sharpened properly it holds an edge forever.
Here's a heavy knife - just not such a large blade. I've used this Schrade for many years in all sorts of ways. It hasn't let me down yet - despite stuff like using it with a baton to cut through large branches. It's the model with the thick blade, so it can do all the prying stuff that a bush knife is supposed to do. Strangely I always wish the blade was thinner, and that it didn't have those stupid brass bolsters to add weight.... The only reason it has got a lot of use is the comfort of the handle while being used in many positions - my perfect handle shape!
Schrade 130T
If I had to design a tactical knife, this is what I would come up with. Not needing one I always wish the blade was shorter. I like the thin slicing blade, and it's a good skinner though not nearly as much better than the 130T than the size thiness and bevel would suggest. It works for everything from skinning to peeling potatoes and cutting toenails. While its handle is almost perfect, it isn't quite as comfortable in heavy cutting as it might be.
Schrade Deerslayer
My pocket knife is a Gerber Bolt Action. I got it at a steal of a deal, and I just love the handle and locking design. The blade has stayed tight over many years of rough use. The downside is that the blade just doesn't hold its sharpness very well, and for many jobs the blade could be a lot thinner and narrower.
Such are my rambling observations. Like I said I have enjoyed my cheap knives - and even the work that I've put into them. For me it's been recreation, and generally I have more time than money - though I have little of either. I think I have to be honest and say that if I took the time I put into a cheap knife and worked that time even for low wages, that I'd be as far ahead going for an expensive knife....
Jimbo
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