A Tale of 2 Nilakka's

[yablanowitz]

The length difference is an optical illusion caused by the curvature of the handle.

But the blade and spine thickness, grind and taper are not. Very interesting thread.

True, they are not grinding them quite as thin as they did at first. Not too surprising considering how that worked out for them. Having to go through and put the secondary bevel on every piece after they arrived in Golden had to have taken a huge bite out of the profits. Leaving them a little thicker and putting on the secondary bevel at the factory is a far more practical solution.

As for other steels, I love S110V, but I seriously doubt it would be suitable for this application. This knife needs something with extreme edge stability more than it needs extreme wear resistance. I'd like to see how 1095 carbon steel would fare.

And as for different definitions of sharpness, yeah there are a lot of them. To me, "shaving sharp" is practically meaningless. The ability to shave hair cleanly and effortlessly indicate a sharp edge, but that doesn't necessarily mean the blade is going to cut well on anything thicker than a hair.

[MacLaren]

What year did the Nilakka come out? My first was made January 2013.
Looks as if I've already just barely bent the tip of mine, ever so slightly. And I have absolutely babied this knife. Now, the new one I got, it wouldn't be so easy to do that. I still love the knife though......

[nirvanero]

I've got 204p,m4,S30V, 10v,and VG10. All very sharp. But the one I handle with extreme care is that **** 10V K2. That knife will bite ya.
I'm not saying its better or worse at edge holding or anything, just its the sharpest I have.

I don't know if this is one of the sharpest Spyderco out of the box I've got but it shaves arm hair like crazy, it feels like a micro-saw edge.

[MacLaren]

I've got 204p,m4,S30V, 10v,and VG10. All very sharp. But the one I handle with extreme care is that **** 10V K2. That knife will bite ya.
I'm not saying its better or worse at edge holding or anything, just its the sharpest I have.

I don't know if this is one of the sharpest Spyderco out of the box I've got but it shaves arm hair like crazy, it feels like a micro-saw edge.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean out of the box. Jim Ankerson sharpened my k2.
And I'm strictly just a beginner fellas. Just my opinions. I'm just here to have fun and learn what I can. - which I got a lot that to do :)

[Cliff Stamp]

And as for different definitions of sharpness, yeah there are a lot of them. To me, "shaving sharp" is practically meaningless. The ability to shave hair cleanly and effortlessly indicate a sharp edge, but that doesn't necessarily mean the blade is going to cut well on anything thicker than a hair.

Yeah, a real problem is that "shaving sharp" covers a lot of ground so it is hard to tell what it means exactly.

If you take a knife and press it very hard against a strop (10+ lbs) and do a number of passes on one side and then another you will generate a burr just like on a cabinet scraper. If you put this burr, hook side down, against your skin it can shave :



But if you flip the knife over it won't shave and if you try to cut where the knife is on a perpendicular to something it won't cut well either and the burr will be squashed into the edge and dull it further.

Murray Carter was one of the first knifemakers to openly advocate you have to check sharpness on both a push and a draw, though he doesn't use those terms. If a knife shaves very easily and doesn't slide on a draw - then it is decently sharp.

He gets a lot of flak for the three finger test from people who are concerned you will slice your fingers open, but it is one way to determine if the apex isn't rounded over.

[yablanowitz]

What year did the Nilakka come out? My first was made January 2013.
Looks as if I've already just barely bent the tip of mine, ever so slightly. And I have absolutely babied this knife. Now, the new one I got, it wouldn't be so easy to do that. I still love the knife though......

My first pictures of mine were saved to my computer October 7, 2012. They were probably shot the day before. I pounced as soon as I saw one for sale.

[nirvanero]

I've got 204p,m4,S30V, 10v,and VG10. All very sharp. But the one I handle with extreme care is that **** 10V K2. That knife will bite ya.
I'm not saying its better or worse at edge holding or anything, just its the sharpest I have.

I don't know if this is one of the sharpest Spyderco out of the box I've got but it shaves arm hair like crazy, it feels like a micro-saw edge.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean out of the box. Jim Ankerson sharpened my k2.
And I'm strictly just a beginner fellas. Just my opinions. I'm just here to have fun and learn what I can. - which I got a lot that to do :)

We all learn no matter how much time we're into knives. If I'd lived in the states maybe I'd also ask Ankerson to sharpen one of my knives out of curiosity... :)

[gbelleh]

I just located my Nilakka's box, and it dates to February of 2013. It has an amazingly thin needle of a point. It's as fine a piece of Taichung craftsmanship as I've seen. I often use it to open letters, and it's excellent for that.

[MacLaren]

I just located my Nilakka's box, and it dates to February of 2013. It has an amazingly thin needle of a point. It's as fine a piece of Taichung craftsmanship as I've seen. I often use it to open letters, and it's excellent for that.

Agreed :) mine is Jan.13

[SpyderNut]

I am so happy to see some love for the Nilakka. :) Good for you for getting a second one for back-up, Mac. I cannot seem to find the date of manufacturing on my Nilakka. Huh. But, I think I received it on Christmas of 2012. Congrats, man!

[MacLaren]

I've got 204p,m4,S30V, 10v,and VG10. All very sharp. But the one I handle with extreme care is that **** 10V K2. That knife will bite ya.
I'm not saying its better or worse at edge holding or anything, just its the sharpest I have.

I don't know if this is one of the sharpest Spyderco out of the box I've got but it shaves arm hair like crazy, it feels like a micro-saw edge.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean out of the box. Jim Ankerson sharpened my k2.
And I'm strictly just a beginner fellas. Just my opinions. I'm just here to have fun and learn what I can. - which I got a lot that to do :)

We all learn no matter how much time we're into knives. If I'd lived in the states maybe I'd also ask Ankerson to sharpen one of my knives out of curiosity... :)

Thank you sir. I've been having some fun with the Sharpmaker. It works great :)

[MacLaren]

I am so happy to see some love for the Nilakka. :) Good for you for getting a second one for back-up, Mac. I cannot seem to find the date of manufacturing on my Nilakka. Huh. But, I think I received it on Christmas of 2012. Congrats, man!

Thanx man :)
I bet the tip on yours is pretty keen... :cool:

[SpyderNut]

I am so happy to see some love for the Nilakka. :) Good for you for getting a second one for back-up, Mac. I cannot seem to find the date of manufacturing on my Nilakka. Huh. But, I think I received it on Christmas of 2012. Congrats, man!

Thanx man :)
I bet the tip on yours is pretty keen... :cool:

Yes sir, it is quite thin. I think I can almost read newsprint though it.

[MacLaren]

I am so happy to see some love for the Nilakka. :) Good for you for getting a second one for back-up, Mac. I cannot seem to find the date of manufacturing on my Nilakka. Huh. But, I think I received it on Christmas of 2012. Congrats, man!

Thanx man :)
I bet the tip on yours is pretty keen... :cool:

Yes sir, it is quite thin. I think I can almost read newsprint though it.

Lol, speaking of newspaper/phone book paper, the Nilakka, after just a little time on the Sharpmaker is just sick.....no resistance at all it seems. Its fun for sure :)

[Pekka]

This is interesting,

Thank You !

Pekka

[MacLaren]

This is interesting,

Thank You !

Pekka

And Thank you sir! The Nilakka is one of a kind :)

[Mallus]

I'd aim for the original, thin grind and a low carbide, high hardness steel. 14C28N would perhaps have marketability over 13C26 / AEB-L, being a corrosion resistant stainless with nitrogen and Nitrobe 77 would be very interesting, were it more readily available. Niolox sounds cool too, I'd be interested if the the splashes of vanadium and niobium contribute compared to AEB-L analogues. Wouldn't mind seeing a carbon steel variant either, that would offer a connection to traditional puukko, even if Nilakka is fundamentally a modern interpretation of the theme.

Nilakka is clearly intended for high cutting ability and going with high carbide steel with the necessary thicker grind would but take away from it.

[Cliff Stamp]

... I'd be interested if the the splashes of vanadium and niobium contribute compared to AEB-L analogues

AEB-L has < 5% chromium carbides. It would be curious how the steel would behave if it was rebalanced with a C/N split to allow a HRC of 67/68 HRC with < 5% niobium carbides and the same Cr% in solution. It would be much harder, with a higher wear resistance and the same corrosion resistance. The apex stability as well as the long term (low sharpness) edge retention on a slice would also be improved.

[farnorthdan]

Well you were right yet again Mac, this one is fantastic, another Taiwan piece I'm 100% impressed with. :D

[MacLaren]

Well you were right yet again Mac, this one is fantastic, another Taiwan piece I'm 100% impressed with. :D

Thank you Dan :)
And, the price you got it for was so sweeeet......
You hit a home run man.