u/lanternaddict

I had previously posted about a bolstered knife, I managed to remove a decent chunk of the annoying bolster using a file and a coarse diamond plate.

But now I am stuck getting it sharp, I think my technique is decent, I have a matching 8” Wusthof chefs knife that I have got and kept sharp enough to cut newspaper against the grain. However, this pairing knife I simply cannot get it sharp.

I’ve got a large burr using a 320 grit diamond stone, using roughly a 14-17 degree angle, flipped the knife and got the same on the other side. At that coarseness, it’s incredibly easy to feel for the burr. Then progressed onto a 1000 grit Naniwa, carefully polished with four strokes on each side, to upgrade the scratch pattern. Now I spend a long time to remove the burr. I use a flashlight between each single pass, switch sides each time, doing edge leading tip to heel passes. An eternity later, the burr was completely removed. Then a few passes on a 1-micron infused leather strop.

After all of this, the knife simply isn’t anywhere near as sharp as one would expect, not even close to it’s larger 8” cousin. It can barely start to cut through cheap A4 printer paper, it’s hopeless to even attempt to test it against some newspaper, and not a chance in hell it would ever cut against the grain.

So, I tried again, using only the 1000 grit stone, created a burr down the edge, flipped and repeated, again the painfully slow burr removal, tested it and it’s still what I, and the rest of you, could consider blunt.

Can anyone point me in the right direction. Are my angles all messed up, is the knife beyond repair – given how much material has been removed from the original edge, or am I missing something else obvious?

Attached to this post is a photo of my Wüsthof Classic Paring Knife 9 cm. As you can see it has been abused, but I’m keeping it workably sharp with a combination of a coarse diamond stone, a Naniwa 1000, and finished with a diamond infused leather strop.

However, it’s taking on a whole new shape, the bolster is killing me. My other knives are joyous to sharpen, including another bolstered Wüsthof chef’s knife. But this paring knife is a nightmare.

Basically, it is sharp from the tip to where the edge starts to deviate, maybe 1cm from the tail/bolster. Trying to sharpen it is always an issue, I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong, but I often have to spend three times as much time on this single knife as the others combined. I’ve taken to just ignoring this final 1cm, treating it as it were the handle and not bothering to grind it on the whetstones

What are my options to try to fix it? I have a metal file and a diamond file, but in the past the effort involved to try to straighten out the edge was massive. Am I missing some other equipment, do I cut my loses and get a nice (VG-10?) unblostered paring knife?

https://preview.redd.it/wtiuwqw7c62h1.jpg?width=2648&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0da7e06e59dc397e8e842c54e7848f574de96875

I am asking this question on behalf of a family member - I have read the flowchart but didn't think much applied in this situation.

They are in their 70’s, have zero debt, own a home (obviously no mortgage), receives a low monthly pension – pushing them just above the annual tax-free limit - but yet still their income exceeds their outgoings.

They have approximately £20,000 in savings, just sat in a bog standard, low interest bank account.

They are soon to receive, approximately, a £120,000 inheritance, and are overwhelmed by what options to take.

They are fiscally conservative, risk averse, and may require assistance with living in 10 years. As such, I thought that the entire inheritance should be kept for this purpose, in a low, or basically zero, risk setting.

My suggestions would be £20,000 in a cash ISA, £50,000 in premium bonds, and the rest in a fixed term savings account, so that the cash ISA can be bumped up with another £20,000 in a years’ time.

Does this plan make sense.

Should they also go to speak to a financial advisor, what they offer substantially different advice?

I’ve got a 10-year-old Wüsthof Classic Paring Knife 9 cm, it gets a fair bit of abuse.

I’m sharpening it with a 220 grift diamond plate, a 1000 grit Naniwa GoukenARATA, and then finished on a 0.2 micron strop. I'm able to get a pretty decent edge, not checked for hair whittling, but a very good baseline.

I’ve clearly not been paying attention to the shape/geometry, and now the edge is straight from heel to tip.

This result in the tip constantly bending one way or the other, as seen in the attached photos.

What is the best way to fix this? I was thinking of holding the knife vertically to the lower grit stones, and pulling it towards me in a curve like motion, to try to establish the original tip shape – does this make sense?

Any and all input is much appreciated.

https://preview.redd.it/izyb0vc3mszg1.jpg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6246940957543dd8b76b18931910357c0bd07f2d

https://preview.redd.it/p17pg1rzlszg1.jpg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f1641751d204d8805e8683e7b6624492cb1882b3

https://preview.redd.it/cpn93cn0mszg1.jpg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4e1987c5e6b26a8359a38693846e27aa0204d4d5

https://preview.redd.it/8tdbbbu5mszg1.jpg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=56c602b95e681037ccaa5e1bc2be4475364f7ccd

I’ve come to the realisation that carry a SAK around would make sense, only today I was out and a pair of scissors or blade would have come up incredibly handy at removing some hanging thread.

However, herein lies the issue. I’d want a small SAK, to attach to an already overburden keychain without adding too much weight. So a thin (as in depth) item is much preferable, it needs to fit in my pocket with my keys without causing any issues.

I am lost at which model to buy. My main issues are;

1. A toothpick and tweezer sound like a great idea, so that discounts all the alox models. But how useful is the tweezers that come with the SAK’s? Is it worth discounting alox for it

2. Scissors or no scissors?

3. A nail file would be nice; a corkscrew is pointless for me.

4. A big blade is preferable, the small blade doesn’t really look that useful to me, especially if I don’t get any scissors. How practical is the small blade compared to the large blade?

5. I’m located in the UK, so must deal with our knife laws, although every model I have been looking at is safely within the limits

I’ve settled on the Sportsman - big blade, nail file, toothpicks etc.

Then I decided the Alox Cadet was the best fit – small size, big blade, nail file, looks cool.

After which I thought the Classic SD Mini was ideal – small size, toothpicks, nail file and scissors. But is the small blade usable?

How about the Classic Alox, again looks cool and small, but then the Classic SD Mini has it beat on most features.

So, what do you suggest? As you can tell I am indecisive and would like some input from the experts

I’m after a key chain EDC light. So far I have whittled down my shortlist to three;

1. ACEBEAM Keychain Flashlight Keylite 500

2. Nitecore Tiki 300

3. RovyVon A3 G4

I'm probably edging towards to RovyVon A3. It seems to most well designed and feature full, although the lumen drop to 80 after a short spell of time does seem annoying.

Can anybody suggest which of the three they’d pick, or if I am missing another product? Essential features are USB-C charging, and as small as possible

I’ve settled on getting a nakiri – I cook mostly vegetarian, so it seemed to make sense.

Originally, I was convinced that a Tojiro Classic VG-10 Nakiri was the way to go, but reading up on it whilst it is seen as a great entry level knife, it’s thicker than it potentially needs to be, and there are other, better, steels available.

So now I am torn between either a Yashima Nogu Kogyo, made with Shirogami #1, or a Otsuki Hamono, made with Aogami #2.

The knife would get used, at a minimum, for one meal a day, probably two, as I’m cooking more lunches at the moment. But I do cook, from scratch, for an average of 27 days out of 28. I use a wood fiber cutting board (this came up in a discussion I had about knives with somebody recently, so thought it was relevant here)

I enjoy sharpening my knives, using Naniwa whetstones, as well as a homemade diamond compound coated leather strop, and have no issue in getting a wicked edge on my current collection of lower quality knives.

Which of these two (three if including the Tojiro) would you recommend? Or, are there any others in that price bracket that would be more suitable?