Recommendations for someone to modify knife

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

sunndog

Full Member
May 23, 2014
3,561
477
derbyshire
How much is it worth to sell?

There must be a thousand knives to replace it with and probably leave a chunk of change in your pocket
 

KnifeEater

Member
Feb 4, 2017
20
0
Gloucestershire
What is the steel?
https://www.kornalski.com.pl/

states he either uses M390 or Vanadis 4 Extra. Frankly, if it is anything other than plain carbon steel, or O-1 tool steel (okay or 1095) I would not even attempt to have it worked on. Sell it to someone who fancies it, and buy a knife that will suit your purpose better. Those steels would be pretty nasty to have to grind, and to turn it into a full height grind, that would be a lot of metal to remove, and it would not be fun to re-finish. It looks like the handles can be removed, which would help, but doing that sort of modification on an otherwise mint knife in super premium steel is kind of crazy. Anything less than a perfect re-finish would destroy the re-sale value, beyond the level of where it would be as simply a used example of the original design, and you could not sell it as an example of the maker's work.

10mm is thick for any knife, irrespective of grind height or blade depth. About the only working knives in that range are khukris, and not even all of those are that thick. I really like the look of a lot of Adam Kornalski's work, some really great tools there, but I wouldn't count that as one of them. A very impressive blade, but I would not want to carry it, or swing it, in the real world.

I would say that this was designed by the seller who commissioned it. The workmanship is top notch and the design and functionality shouldn't reflect on kornalski knives.

It's k600 so an awful lot of very tough material to get rid of. To be honest it's already apparent that I bought the knife with my eyes closed and it wasn't what I was expecting.
 

KnifeEater

Member
Feb 4, 2017
20
0
Gloucestershire
Knife eater, not wishing to sound condescending or nasty, but are you using the correct technique?
Your technique, does it work well with another similar knife?
(pardon me for asking, please take no offence!)

Default
I could well be. My only experience with big knives have been, dare I say it, gerber cheapy crap and a fiskars XA3 brush hook that while cheap chopped like a champ. For a tool, admittedly a very different tool, that cost 10x as much as the XA3 I was expecting comparable choppiness for lack of a better term.
No offence taken. What would be the correct technique for using a giant bowie?
 

hughtrimble

Full Member
Jan 23, 2012
458
78
UK/France
This actually looks like exactly what I thought I was buying. I'll wait for the restock and give it a try. Thanks for the recommendation.

I've two as they're absolutely phenomenal bits of kit. Truly, truly awesome cutting power at any price, let alone the pittance they're asking for it. Super comfy handle too.

Get yourself a British milsurp machete sheath for a few quid and you've got a very capable and portable tool.
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
If I use a knife to chop branches thicker than I can cut, I held the knife loosely with a couple of fingers close to the end of the handle, and swing it to chop. Sounds weird and crazy, but it works for a few branches. I seldom have the need though to cut thick brsnches though.

Default
I could well be. My only experience with big knives have been, dare I say it, gerber cheapy crap and a fiskars XA3 brush hook that while cheap chopped like a champ. For a tool, admittedly a very different tool, that cost 10x as much as the XA3 I was expecting comparable choppiness for lack of a better term.
No offence taken. What would be the correct technique for using a giant bowie?
 

KnifeEater

Member
Feb 4, 2017
20
0
Gloucestershire
If I use a knife to chop branches thicker than I can cut, I held the knife loosely with a couple of fingers close to the end of the handle, and swing it to chop. Sounds weird and crazy, but it works for a few branches. I seldom have the need though to cut thick brsnches though.

I understand the technique you're describing, unfortunately with the sheer heft of this thing holding it anything but firmly is a big no no.
 

KnifeEater

Member
Feb 4, 2017
20
0
Gloucestershire
I've two as they're absolutely phenomenal bits of kit. Truly, truly awesome cutting power at any price, let alone the pittance they're asking for it. Super comfy handle too.

Get yourself a British milsurp machete sheath for a few quid and you've got a very capable and portable tool.

Is the leather sheaf option not worth it then?
 

KnifeEater

Member
Feb 4, 2017
20
0
Gloucestershire
Clean up the bevelled edge. Do 30 - 35 degrees, total included bevel. Do nothing else. Try that.
10mm thick should split wood like a froe. Sharp, it must be a good chopper.

I wouldn't even know where to begin with your recommendation, plus I think that finding someone to do the work would cost so much that it wouldn't be worth it.
 

Samon

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 24, 2011
3,970
44
Britannia!
I wouldn't even know where to begin with your recommendation, plus I think that finding someone to do the work would cost so much that it wouldn't be worth it.

Lol ignore people who go on about bevel degrees and all that crap. If it's sharp it'll cut, the rest is geometry.

I also think you're expecting too much from a knife. That thing should cut like a beast, but still no where near as a good as an axe.
 

KnifeEater

Member
Feb 4, 2017
20
0
Gloucestershire
Lol ignore people who go on about bevel degrees and all that crap. If it's sharp it'll cut, the rest is geometry.

I also think you're expecting too much from a knife. That thing should cut like a beast, but still no where near as a good as an axe.

You may well be right. I'm going to take it out this weekend and beat the tar out of it and see how it does.
 

hughtrimble

Full Member
Jan 23, 2012
458
78
UK/France
Is the leather sheaf option not worth it then?

It's such an 'agricultural' tool that to me, the leather sheath wasn't worth it, but I've no idea on the sheath's quality. I'd prefer to send off for kydex personally, as the weight is substantial anyway, but the factory blade cover and military sheath work well for my uses. Far from perfect, but functional and very cheap.
 

KenThis

Full Member
Jun 14, 2016
825
121
Cardiff
It's such an 'agricultural' tool that to me, the leather sheath wasn't worth it, but I've no idea on the sheath's quality. I'd prefer to send off for kydex personally, as the weight is substantial anyway, but the factory blade cover and military sheath work well for my uses. Far from perfect, but functional and very cheap.

I opted for the leather sheath, purely aesthetic as I also bought their small matching bushcraft knife.
It's the plastic insert with a leather outer and a nice belt dangler. Considering how cheap the knife is I've no complaints, I think it finishes it off nicely, and maybe some day I'll belt wear it. If it was going to be a no nonsense worker though, I'm not sure I'd bother. As Hugh points out it's more functional than show piece, screams to be used, in fact I wish I had more opportunity to use mine.
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,354
2,364
Bedfordshire
Geometry is important.

Sharp merely means that the two sides of the blade meet each other smoothly, that there are no flat spots, burrs, rolls, or dinks in the edge. A well known US knife company called Cold Steel made (may still make) knives which are claimed to be both razor sharp, and immensely tough. They did it by having very well sharpened edges that were very steep, 45 degrees or more. They did what they said, but they wouldn't really cut wood worth a darn.

Found this illustration, which shows what RobsonV is talking about. If you are going to maintain your tools, this is a concept worth getting your head around. Not difficult. Most of us do not actually measure angles, we have just worked out what it feels and looks like when we sharpen an edge that cuts how we want. If you don't yet have that feel for what works, some means of measuring the angle can offer you a guide. It is always easier to steepen a bevel than it is to make it thinner, so I would recommend sharpening it finer than you think it needs, take it out, test, and if it rolls or chips, just steepen the very edge of it.

angles2.gif
 

Nice65

Brilliant!
Apr 16, 2009
6,438
2,859
W.Sussex
Default
I could well be. My only experience with big knives have been, dare I say it, gerber cheapy crap and a fiskars XA3 brush hook that while cheap chopped like a champ. For a tool, admittedly a very different tool, that cost 10x as much as the XA3 I was expecting comparable choppiness for lack of a better term.
No offence taken. What would be the correct technique for using a giant bowie?

Fiskars, weight forward, very short tang and thinnish stock. I used mine every day for 3 months cutting Chestnut for walking sticks. I contemplated taking the hook off it to get between the coppice stools, but knew I'd lose part of the tools weight and therefore function.

Average billhook, stick tang, weight forward. Not a patch on the Fiskars IMO, but better for splitting down.

Skrama, hidden tang. All these choppers are very weight forward. I think your 10mm full tang is too thick and not balanced for your intended use. Also, a longer handle would give you a better swing, that short handle and full tang won't lend themselves to chopping.
 

hughtrimble

Full Member
Jan 23, 2012
458
78
UK/France
I too am in the camp of flogging what you've purchased rather than modifying it. The maker is desirable and at least it's currently as the maker intended it.
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE