TITLE: Knife wear and tear
DATE: 2018-06-20
AUTHOR: John L. Godlee
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I've had a Victorinox Swiss army knife since I was about 12, when I
was given one as a present by some relatives who live near Grenoble
in France. It's a fairly basic model, with a big blade, small
blade, tin opener, bottle opener, awl, and corkscrew. It used to
have a toothpick and a set of tweezers but they are long gone.
I use the knife for nearly everything, it lives in my pocket
everyday, except when I go somewhere where it wouldnt' be a good
idea to be found with a knife, like an airport. I use it for
chopping food, carving wood, general tasks that require something
sharp. It's been with me to 4 continents and survived a cumulative
total of 10 months of fieldwork.
The knife has evolved a lot over the time I've had it. I was
comparing it to a friend's knife today and noticed that the
repeated sharpening of the blade on my knife has completely changed
its profile. Instead of having a deep belly, it's been ground
almost flat, which I find much better for carving wood. I've also
added a more distinct point to the end of the blade by grinding off
some of the top of the tip, this makes it more effective for
etching designs and kolrossing. The profile of the blade has also
changed, going from a normal compound bevel to a flat scandi edge,
which is better for carving and much easier to keep sharp.
[kolrossing]:
https://pinewoodforge.com/basics-of-kolrosing/
A couple of years back, while in Brazil, the glue on one of the
scales of the knife came loose and fell off. For a long time I left
it like that, as the knife was more compact. But as I started to do
more carving I found it was quite uncomfortable. I shaped a new
scale out of a piece of scrap hazel which I had been using for a
different project. I used a power drill to make little indents
where the rivets fit into the scale and clamped it overnight with
come wood glue. I later engraved it using a friend's soldering iron
with a herringbone pattern and my initials. It's much more
comfortable to carve with now.
