Uses for the cut and picker blade

[clickstop]

I've been carrying a Minichamp for about a month now, and for the life of me I cannot figure out a use for that cut and picker blade! I thought it'd be handy for opening clamshell packaging, but I have not tested that yet. It doesn't even seem to be able to cut Type I paracord. Besides its obvious use for peeling oranges, can anyone tell me what they've used this tool for? A seatbelt cutter, maybe? 

[APS]

I do believe it is supposed to be used to puncture the foil cap on a bottle of pills, and pull out the cotton covering the pills.

[clickstop]

Yea I saw that on SakWiki, but really I never use it for that  Surprisingly enough I did find a use for it just now -- stripping wire. Works incredibly well, even for 12 GA wire

[Donald]

Perhaps for those more practiced the results might differ, but I found it easier to use on a tangerine peel than the orange peeling blade on the Executive. It was less likely to go too far in and damage a section. It might also differ depending on the thickness of the peel.

[Donald]

I meant to ask so how did you find it most useful in stripping wire?

[clickstop]

I meant to ask so how did you find it most useful in stripping wire?

If you've seen the wire stripper on the Leatherman Wingman, it works kind of the same. Just cut the wire insulation with the hook, then use it to slip the insulation out. It took some practice, but it got a lot easier

[Smaug]

The orange peeler on the Minichamp is not really sharp enough to cut clamshell packaging. It has a chisel grind, and it is very coarse and a wide angle. It really needs some attention with a Dremel or jeweler's file to make it as useful as it could be for things other than orange peels.

That one Victorinox video where they show him just zipping through the clamshell packaging is .... dramatized.

I used mine yesterday to break the skin on a Cutie. (little tangerine) It actually cuts too deeply for that, but would work perfectly on oranges and maybe even grapefruits.

[theonew]

Gotta agree with Smaug on this. With some re-profiling and sharpening it works much better

[Smaug]

Gotta agree with Smaug on this. With some re-profiling and sharpening it works much better

That looks great theonew. Did you use a small diameter stone in the Dremel to do that?

[theonew]

Thanks. I did it by hand with this



Took about 20 minutes or so.

[clickstop]

Wow, that looks sweet! How handy is it now that you've sharpened it and all?

[theonew]

It's pretty smurfin' sharp now. It can cut out magazine articles, cut thin cardboard and it sails through clam packs. Not sure if it has made orange peeling worse or not but I've never needed a tool for that task. Definitely a worthwhile endeavor in my opinion.

[kreisler]

Thanks. I did it by hand with this

(Image removed from quote.)

Took about 20 minutes or so.

Can this sharpener also be used to sharpen the butter blade on the Spirit?
i have no idea how one sharpens the butter blade of the Swisstool Spirit. Sorry for the OT (anyone with a link?).

[theonew]

While I'm confident with my sharpening skills on plain edge blades and do quite a bit of it for friends and family, I'm new to sharpening serrated knives. So with that said, I can tell you I have been using the above tool to sharpen serrated blades and they do get sharper, much sharper. I can shave leg hair with the serrated blade of my LM KF4. You do need to be careful and use very short strokes at the matching diameter for each serration.

[kreisler]

thanks! what's the name (or brand or product name) of this item or similar item, and where is a good place to find them? Any local hardware store, or a speSmurfpillst inet webstore? If you cant post links, i'd welcome a PM.

i am totally new to knives, serrated blades, and sharpening. i *must* get into it because i recently ordered the Minichamp and the Spirit. I havent watched youtube vids yet and i dont know if this forum has a guide to sharpening SAK's and SwissTools..

[theonew]

The model above is ceramic and made by DMT but I believe it is discontinued. If I were to replace it I would go with these also from DMT

When I first got into sharpening my friend who is a master woodworker told me to get DMT diamond hones. I didn't listen to him and wasted a lot of time and money buying other products. Now I use DMT hones almost exclusively for initial sharpening. For small blades like on SAKs and MTs a couple of DMT diafolds would do the trick. One coarse/fine and one extra fine/extra extra fine.

As for the best place to buy them, I don't really have a recommendation. But I will say you can do a lot better than the prices shown in the DMT store to which I have linked above

[Smaug]

Search Amazon for 'dmt serrated' and you'll find lots of options.

If you're just looking for gear to sharpen plain edged knives, then the Spyderco Sharpmaker is the way to go. The coarse diamond stones are a worthwhile investment, if you ever have to fix a bad factory bevel or a used knife from some idiot who tried to sharpen it on a bench grinder.

[kreisler]

Thanks!!
Okay, now i at least have a reference (name, manufacturer, search term). Will then have to look into local offerings or national shippers of similar items in order to avoid shipping expenses.

Is DMT one of the best? ebay prices are a bit high .. and on the lower end i find many hits for "Smith's" sharpening products. Hmmh. Will have to do some more research and video watching..