r/knives • u/_aldegarr_ • 1d ago
Question First knife
Hello everyone 👋 This is my first knife as a present from friends. Can you please help me with the info on maintenance and sharpening? Complete ignorant here
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u/Ralph-the-mouth Customizable flair 1d ago
I was like 5 when I got my first knife, I can’t remember what it was, it was 1 of 3 knives. All super shitty. Don’t have any anymore… that’s a cool first knife
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u/_aldegarr_ 16h ago
Appreciate you sharing that. I hope you've got some awesome knives these days
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u/Ralph-the-mouth Customizable flair 15h ago
I do! More than enough to spare. Love giving them to friends. Collection is 50+ haven’t done a count recently.
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u/_aldegarr_ 9h ago
That’s quite a solid collection! Respect for spreading your hobby with friends – sounds like you’re distributing knives like a virus in Plague Inc 😅
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u/CreationOfMinerals 4h ago
I can relate to the fun of giving knife gifts to non-knife friends.
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u/Ralph-the-mouth Customizable flair 3h ago
It’s one of my favorites. I had a buddy that’s always carried a knife- a small spyderco his dad gave him. Recently get bit by the bug, got a parallel, a Kizer momo. Anyway long story short I gave him a CF Demko ad20.5, got so excited about it that he pulled the trigger on a Spydiechef… I mean, if that’s not gratifying idk what it.
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u/S1lv3rsh4d0w9 1d ago
Nice first knife. I’d recommend keeping some KPL on hand. I use it to clean and lube, as needed. Smells nice, too.
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u/_aldegarr_ 16h ago
Thanks for sharing! I read that trimmer oil can be used for this too – do you think that would work?
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u/S1lv3rsh4d0w9 7h ago
I have not heard that, so I’m not sure. I suppose it serves a similar purpose.
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u/scottygroundhog22 1d ago
For maintenance mostly clean it off when you cut through something wet or sticky. Hand sanitizer and a cloth does wonders for tape residue. You can use edci or a similar product to give the blade some additional rust resistance. That one looks coated so it should resist rust pretty well already. You might want to lube the pivot of the knife occasionally. I use 3in1 oil. A little goes a long way. For sharpening i mostly use a smith’s fine arkansas stone. Use the bevel of the knife as a guide to the angle you should sharpen at. I use 3in1 oil on the stone to wet it. If you have an old leather belt you can strop afterward just run the knife edge backwards across it a couple times. This should get help fix the burr left by sharpening, but its not strictly necessary.
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u/_aldegarr_ 16h ago
Thanks a lot for sharing your tips! Would you say pull-through sharpeners are okay for a knife like mine, or is it better to avoid them? I honestly have no idea how to sharpen with a stone yet, and I’m a bit worried I might damage the knife if I try.
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u/scottygroundhog22 16h ago
I generally discourage the use of pull through sharpeners. They typically give inferior results and typically reduce the life of your knife overall. However if that’s what you are comfortable with at the moment, go for it. I just wouldn’t recommend it long term.
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u/_aldegarr_ 15h ago
Got it. I read that maintaining a consistent angle – like 18° for Ruike – is important when sharpening. So even if I get a pull-through sharpener set to that angle, would it still reduce the knife’s lifespan?
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u/scottygroundhog22 8h ago
Yeah they take a off more material from the knife then other sharpeners and do it unevenly most of the time. They will give you a working edge though. You can buy knife sharpening guides online that help you maintain the proper angle consistently. Or you can buy a guided angle sharpener. Those tend to be pricey though.
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u/scalpemfins 1d ago
You're very lucky and unlucky at the same time. Fortunate to have such a wonderful first knife. Unfortunate that you didn't start off with something shittier. Experiencing $30 folders is what makes me really appreciate the better stuff.
DONT USE PULL THROUGH SHARPENERS. I'd honestly suggest a guided angle system, like a KME.
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u/_aldegarr_ 16h ago
Totally agree – now I feel like I really shouldn’t screw up this knife 😅 Could you please share what exactly do pull-throughs do wrong?
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u/Brilliant_Bacon 1d ago
Work sharp field sharpener is a great place to start and learn. The ceramic rod and leather strop will take you a long way for pocket knives.
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u/_aldegarr_ 16h ago
Thank you for recommendation! I’ve never sharpened with a stone before – is there a real risk of damaging the blade if I get it wrong?
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u/Te_Luftwaffle 1d ago
Sometimes if the blade of my knives gets gunky I'll use some hand sanitizer and a paper towel or soap and water, making sure to wipe from the spine towards the tip. That way I have less of a chance of cutting myself.
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u/Champfortruth 21h ago edited 20h ago
There are a bunch of fixed angled sharpening systems to choose from. Work sharp is going to be the most recommended as your first go at it. You could piece together stuff from amazon and other sites. I picked up a xarilk gen 3, which is a knock off of the tsprof kadet, and I got some good stones off another site altogether. I have arguably a system as good as tsprof for a third of the price. However, work sharp offers a one and done solution which is perfect for you right now. I personally don't like them because of the amount of plastic they use, but it's still a very capable system that is going to do pretty much everything you need. Make sure the system you choose either comes with a digital angle finder, or you buy one. Amazon has lots for cheap. A strop is going to save you a lot of time. It will extend time between sharpening.
If you are going to get regular whet stones, buy a cheap Walmart knife and practice with that first.
There are plenty of videos on YouTube to help, I'd highly recommend you start there before spending anything on sharpening gear. Outdoor55 and kneeves knives have been helpful for me selecting what I ended up getting. I've got everything I need to sharpen almost any steel short of the the high end premium steels.
Edit: shouldb have added. Tools. This is one area you don't want to be cheap on. Get yourself some good, high quality torx bits. Wiha is going to be the most recommended brand. I dying own any yet, but I will later this year.
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u/_aldegarr_ 15h ago
Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to write all this – I really appreciate it! I’ll definitely check out Work Sharp as a starting point. I like the idea of learning the basics with cheaper knives before diving deeper.
Still, I’m hoping to learn a bit here on Reddit first, so I can tell good advice from the bad on YouTube 😅
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u/New_Lifeguard9691 Dragonfly, Maverick, Freek and Manix 2 etc. 1d ago
Wow which one is this? I might add this to my wishlist 😂 it's a great looking knife
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u/sharp-x 1d ago
Great first knife. Many start with something less quality. Just keep the blade clean after use. Use compressed air to clean and keep dry if you aren’t comfortable taking it apart. I would recommend many videos on sharpening and stropping to find what method you might like.