Well was my new $$ Tina fixed blade worth the price?..........

cavey

5 year old buck +
No..... (Well was my new $$ Tina fixed blade worth the price?)... No...no... no....

I had high hopes that my buy was a good one, and maybe once I grind it down it will be ......... BUT, as a whole my feed back on the Tine is less than stellar. My cheaper - almost free Antonini grafting knives cut better even after I reworked the edge on the Tina. The blade on the Tina is firm and thick. I dont like blade flex so that was fine, the handle is ok but I expected more... its no different than a cheap kitchen steak knife in feel. I wish the handle was thicker. For me overall the blade felt to thick and was not as surgical of a cut as the Antonini. It pulled harder into the wood than I liked. Smaller diameter cuts didnt go as well I wanted. I did about a third of my order of RS - 50 or so trees and then switched back to finish the rest with my old knife. Granted I have it honed down to a razor after years of use. I just wanted to get away from bench grafting with a folder. The Tina just didnt feel or cut like the older one.

So point blank -- buy a grafting knife but you definitely do not need an expensive one. Just thought I would give some feedback.
 

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I agree, while I havent used the expensive models. I think like most things they are likely way over priced. My favorite bench grafting knife is an old cheap, give away folding knife that has a broken tip. It does the job just fine.
 
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I had a much different experience than you. I have the folding version. Although I have nothing to compare it to as this was my first time grafting that thing felt absolutely surgical. I could feel every cut and it felt almost perfect in my hand.
 
I had a much different experience than you. I have the folding version. Although I have nothing to compare it to as this was my first time grafting that thing felt absolutely surgical. I could feel every cut and it felt almost perfect in my hand.

I should have taken a back side to back side (thickness) image of the blade comparison of my knives... I look at your folder and the blade looks nice and thin... I dont know if you can see it in my pic of the fixed blade Tina but its kind of plump, almost fat compared to my other knives. You can kind of see it in the mirroring of the metal on the blade ... more noticeable at the tip. The blade seems to round up in the center full length of the blade and tapers back off on the blade and back sides. Im going to take it to a belt sander and flatten and thin the blade down. Maybe mine was made on a friday in the late afternoon?
I had heard such good things about Tina and like to bench graft so a good fixed blade was worth a try.
It just pulls hard into the wood - I attribute it to the thickness. I dont have a micrometer but its a noticeable difference. When I pulled it from its paper shipping sheath I instantly went "oh that's a thick beefy blade". Where the end of the blade tang meets/butts into the handle there is a 1/16 or better of a gap and I can see through the handle - thought that was a bit sub standard for the price as well.

I should add that its not a sharpness issue... I go to great lengths to hone the blade to beyond a razors edge and it took a super sharp edge.... no issues there.

One knife doesn't make a rule and I like good brand name tools ... maybe I did get a bad one. I will tweak it and Im sure it will be fine once I thin it and re edge it I just shouldnt have too do that and Im not much for sending stuff back.
Glad yours is working good - its nice to have the right tool in your hands right out of the gate and that "surgical" feel is exactly what you want to feel when working the knife.
 
I should have taken a back side to back side (thickness) image of the blade comparison of my knives... I look at your folder and the blade looks nice and thin... I dont know if you can see it in my pic of the fixed blade Tina but its kind of plump, almost fat compared to my other knives. You can kind of see it in the mirroring of the metal on the blade ... more noticeable at the tip. The blade seems to round up in the center full length of the blade and tapers back off on the blade and back sides. Im going to take it to a belt sander and flatten and thin the blade down. Maybe mine was made on a friday in the late afternoon?
I had heard such good things about Tina and like to bench graft so a good fixed blade was worth a try.
It just pulls hard into the wood - I attribute it to the thickness. I dont have a micrometer but its a noticeable difference. When I pulled it from its paper shipping sheath I instantly went "oh that's a thick beefy blade". Where the end of the blade tang meets/butts into the handle there is a 1/16 or better of a gap and I can see through the handle - thought that was a bit sub standard for the price as well.

I should add that its not a sharpness issue... I go to great lengths to hone the blade to beyond a razors edge and it took a super sharp edge.... no issues there.

One knife doesn't make a rule and I like good brand name tools ... maybe I did get a bad one. I will tweak it and Im sure it will be fine once I thin it and re edge it I just shouldnt have too do that and Im not much for sending stuff back.
Glad yours is working good - its nice to have the right tool in your hands right out of the gate and that "surgical" feel is exactly what you want to feel when working the knife.
That’s a bummer. I looked at mine again this morning and the blade is thin. Maybe a difference between the models. Mine was a gift so the price was right.
 
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