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Any knife makers here?

1K views 14 replies 7 participants last post by  John Smith_inFL 
#1 ·
I've begun splicing ropes for my boat and have been using a high tech line called Dyneema. It dulls cutting blades really fast. I had been using scissors to cut it, but it dulls the blades so quickly that I think I'd be getter off to switch to a knife that I can sharpen as needed.

I'd like to find a place to buy a blade and make my own scales for something unique. I'd also love to get some advice on what material is best. I've been reading about ceramic, but I'm a knife newb, so I don't know what I don't know. Any advice to be had?
 
#3 ·
I've been summoned

Personally, I'm not sold on the utility of ceramic knives. Don't get me wrong, they're sharp, possibly moreso than steel, but they're also incredibly brittle. The slightest bit of sideloading can chip the edge, and if you drop it it's gone. Plus, no matter what the manufacturer claims, the edge WILL go dull. It might take a lot longer, but when it happens sharpening that edge is an absolute bear. Personally, I wouldn't bother, steel is the way to go as far as I'm concerned

For going through your tough rope, you've got 2 options, you can either get a knife made with a steel that's easy to sharpen as needed but might not hold the edge as long, or you can go with something incredibly tough and will hold an edge longer, but is much more of a PITA to sharpen. Personally, I prefer the former, I like being able to touch up an edge without much fuss. To that end, I'd recommend something like 1095 steel or AEB-l steel. The former is a plain carbon steel. Pretty much the archetype for knife making steels. Easy to sharpen, takes a wicked edge, good edge retention and all around toughness, it's just good stuff. The latter is a stainless steel that actually preforms nearly identical to 1095, it's one of my favorite steels in a knife. It was originally developed to make scalpel blades and other surgical implements, so that should give you an idea of it's performance. If you wanted super-tough instead, D2 or s30v are both good options, but be prepared to pay for it,both in terms of cost and sharpening time. Both of those steels are incredibly abrasion resistant

And as Shoot Summ mentioned, I do custom work, and if you were interested I could make a complete knife, or just a ground and heat treated blade blank you could add your own scales to. If you'd rather have something off the shelf though, check out USA knife maker, they're one of my preferred suppliers. Bit more limited in the types of blade blanks you can get, as well as the steel varieties, but it's worth looking at. If you'd rather go custom though, feel free to shoot me a PM, my prices are reasonable
 
#4 ·
I do not know how big of a diameter rope you are cutting. If reasonable large (3/4" or larger) I would use something like PVC cutters. Or maybe even small bolt cutters. For small rope, long handles diagonal pliers would be good. Also for small rope box cutters work well. You just replace blade when dull.

George
 
#7 ·
Just out of curiosity why are you finding the need to cut individual strands of rope to find the need to find some special knife to cut it that way? Do they not make the size rope you need in the first place? Maybe it's just me, but it seems sailing and boats in general have been around long enough to have solved rope problems.
 
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#8 ·
When splicing eyes into the ends of braided rope, the end of the rope that gets “buried” inside the core of the rope is tapered to make a smooth transition. That taper is made by selectively cutting individual strands. As you said, this method has been around for a long time. What is new is that high tech ropes are now made of materials that are very difficult to cut and dull blades incredibly quickly.
 
#11 ·
You got it. The stuff is amazing. Almost no stretch and stronger than steel cable. The individual fibers are as thin as hair, but it’s really hard to cut. It’s completely unfazed by normal scissors or normal knives. I was using a pair of surgical scissors that seemed to work great at first, but only made 3-4 cuts before dulling.
 
#12 ·
I don't suppose you can heat it up the same way you might fix a frayed shoestring and just stretch it? No way..sounds too easy to actually work..
 
#15 ·
you should be looking in the fishing tackle department - not the ladies sewing room.
the braided fishing line scissors run less than 5 bucks a pop.
I buy my wife a new pair every year. (but, she uses hers in salt water).
for home applications, they should last a lot longer.
also, there are some serious and very sharp "nippers" in the tackle dept.
 
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