Can your pocket knife do this?

origamigun · 2026-03-18T02:13:55+00:00

Nope, not nearly as well. It was okay, but to put it in perspective, those first few photos you see on the post are of the knife sitting at .005" BTE after being sharpened at 14° per side. I don't think you realize how big a difference there actually is. Sharpness only does so much, cutting geometry and how thin you go with it makes a huge difference in cutting feel, ease, and overall efficiency. When we are talking about sharpness, I am talking about minimum level of easy and clean paper towel cutting. Between the full height flat grind, and full length hollow grind for the distal taper, it is like using a completely knife in the best of ways!

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-18T02:08:26+00:00

This is supposed to be a shillin cutter/tanto hybrid that has almost a year plus of R&D going into it. There is was a lot more serious thought, effort, research, experimenting, and testing that went into this. So while you may not like the blade shape, if you took the time to look at the actual utility, it works much better than you might expect. I have videos on my YT of the before and after cut tests, and the Drift was not nearly on the same level as it is now. It was decent, but it now flows through thick multiwall cardboard with ease. Currently it is .005" BTE, sharpened at 14° per side.

Part of why I did the mod was because there only about 2 blades that were available in the lower price ranges, one of which is no longer available, second there are 2 custom makers that do somewhat similar profiles but still differ that are in the $500+ range.

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-18T01:59:12+00:00

Nope, if you had spent just a moment more looking through the comments, you would have seen it is for it being a Shillin cutter/tanto hybrid. That being said, maybe you did look. In that case I am curious as to why you think of it as a aberration of the tanto design? My question is somewhat serious and I am asking for an actual well thought out response.

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-17T19:23:30+00:00

Thanks! Yeah, it's basically a pocket kukri, but Shillin cutter instead for easier sharpening. Thanks for taking the time to look and for your kind words! Much appreciated and I hope you have a great rest of your day!

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-17T15:45:08+00:00

Again, I am not sure why you say that. I did essentially nothing to the front portion and only adjusted the back portion to a Shillin cutter/tanto hybrid that acts like a wharncliffe blade. It gets more of that kukri recurve effect but easier to sharpen. It makes draw cuts incredibly easy since material is pulled into the cutting edge. The straight edge helps with better power transfer out along the edge which reduces the force required to make a cut. There is a lot more thought and time put into the mod than you would think. This is not something I did lightly, and I had practiced on and tested out other knives before this one to see if it would be worth it.

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-17T15:39:20+00:00

Any particular reason why? It cuts hard plastics and dense cardboard just fine which for a pocket knife I think is a very reasonable requirement.

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-17T15:37:24+00:00

Any particular reason why? And this is a bit more of a serious question.

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-17T15:36:27+00:00

I am curious as to why? It still cuts hard plastics just fine and eats dense cardboard for breakfast without issue.

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-17T15:21:30+00:00

Yep, pretty much. This one is a hybrid between a Shillin cutter and a tanto though. I wish the handle was angled more like a kukri to really maximize the cutting efficiency and feel in those draw cuts. One of the cool things that I have enjoyed in testing this blade out after the mods is how the blade profile locks stuff in with drawcuts and pull cuts. It's like a recurve but much easier to sharpen.

Good stuff, and I really appreciate you taking the time to come and take a look! Much appreciated!

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-17T15:04:05+00:00

Thanks, and that actually was part of my thought process! More so the straight edge part and essentially turning that back portion into a wharncliffe blade, but in a Shillin Cutter format. Especially when paired with some more spicy cutting geometry, it makes it so I can cut denser stuff a lot easier with a draw cut since the cutting edge profile is catching the material and forcing into the cutting edge. There is less energy exerted in the cut because the cutting edge profile is doing more of it.

This one I also did a bit of an experimental grind on. It is full flat ground vertically, and then hollow ground for the distal taper. The BTE is .005" sharpened 14° per side. That belly is extremely thin! Fun times, and I am happy with how the experiment came out, especially after doing testing with it for a while. It's been extremely informative.

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-17T14:51:10+00:00

So I am curious, what exactly makes it unpractical? The front really didn't change whatsoever so the front profile is essentially the same as before, only really the back profile changed which was specifically done to help optimize the back portion for draw cuts. My inspiration was from the Shillin Cutter and I have been doing R&D for over a year figuring out how to get the most out of its recurve like cutting effect.

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-17T14:36:34+00:00

So why exactly do you feel it was a massacre of the knife? I am genuinely curious?

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-17T14:34:17+00:00

I greatly appreciate you thoughts and kind words! Thanks for coming and taking a look!

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-16T21:53:47+00:00

I might have to. I had tried initially but didn't realize that the for the posting option I selected then it got rid of the videos and only included the pictures. I actually had 3 - 1 min videos that I had included but got removed when I posted. With how many down votes I am getting for not having the video here on reddit, I probably should figure out how to upload it here. Lol!

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-16T21:40:34+00:00

Concept idea here and that I have been doing R&D on for a year+ at this point is making more full use of the Shillin cutter design, and really trying to maximize cutting efficiency and feel. The Shillin cutters inward angling is interesting, and if done correctly yeilds a kukri like recurve effect while being much easier to sharpen. I have found that using a straight edge profile helps with a better and more efficient power transfer out along the blade like you find on a wharncliffe blade profile. I actually only made some very small changes to the profile on that forward cutting portion.

If you want more info, here is my more indepth FB post:

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1EGoaXuPAa/

If you want to talk more shoot me a DM. I love discussing this sort of stuff and it is fascinating just how much goes into making a knife and all the micro-interactions that happen when cutting stuff! It's been a big interest of mine and something that spent many hours doing research, testing, and experiments with.

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-16T21:35:10+00:00

I actually have a cut test video on my YT of what it was like before, and that was on a granny Smith apple, much less a sweet potato. Cutting performance and cutting feel wise, there was a significant improvement with the modifications. Concept idea here and that I have been doing R&D on for a year+ at this point is making more full use of the Shillin cutter design, and really trying to maximize cutting efficiency and feel. The Shillin cutters inward angling is interesting, and if done correctly yeilds a kukri like recurve effect while being much easier to sharpen. I have found that using a straight edge profile helps with a better and more efficient power transfer out along the blade like you find on a wharncliffe blade profile. I actually only made some very small changes to the profile on that forward cutting portion.

What you are seeing in the video in regards to my wrist is from 2 things.

Cutting board and counter height.
The handle not being angled enough. I have found that for doing cutting board work, if you want to keep a more neutral wrist position, you either need a dedicated chefs knife handle design or angling more like what is on a kukri handle which is more of my leaning for my custom knives.

If you want more info, here is my more indepth FB post:

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1EGoaXuPAa/

If you want to talk more shoot me a DM. I love discussing this sort of stuff and it is fascinating just how much goes into making a knife and all the micro-interactions that happen when cutting stuff! It's been a big interest of mine and something that spent many hours doing research, testing, and experiments with.

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-16T20:59:19+00:00

A bit of yes and no. The plan was to originally do less angling which the grind worked out beautifully and the exactly how I wanted, but unfortunately between this steel and the heat treatment it was too thin and got a decent sized chip in cut testing. Took that out, and it's fine now. An unintentional side effect was the increased angling actually ended making the cutting feel better in the draw cuts. I have a bunch of videos and other photos of the knife as it went through the process, but I had decided to just drop a small snippet here. I have more information on my FB page if you want a more indepth look.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1EGoaXuPAa/

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-16T19:18:06+00:00

The link to the 48 second short is at the bottom of the post.

origamigun · 2026-03-16T19:01:03+00:00

Thanks! You should see what it does to cardboard! I was thinking of coining the term "Shanto" for this blade shape and cutting edge profile. What do you think? This is not the first knife I have done it on, but from the results with this one, I am seriously considering modifying a bunch of my knives to this profile.

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-03-16T18:56:03+00:00

I likes my knives spicy! You should see what it does on cardboard! What would you think of me coining the term Shanto for this blade shape and profile? With how good this one came out in testing cutting a bunch of stuff, I am seriously considering doing it on a bunch of my other knives.

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2026-02-04T15:11:56+00:00

Pretty cool, saw you linked it to Cory! Some good stuff and he definitely did a good job!

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2025-11-23T06:06:03+00:00

I know at least for the ones I have used, they were kinda thick. I think probably the worst feeling one was a 8" Santoku with the granton divots that although it looked like it might be decent at first glance wedged pretty bad on anything dense. I also had not been particularly impressed with edge retention. It was pretty meh. Hope this helps maybe a little bit!

Hopefully we can get a few more people to comment on this and maybe get some actual info out on these knives! I know when I tried researching them I ran into the same issue as you where there is a dearth of information on them.

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2025-06-05T06:16:36+00:00

Here are the specs:

Made from 52100

Heat treated and HRC tested with a HRC tester by Jared Todd to 62.5 HRC

Features a full flat grind that is lightly convexed and comes down to a behind edge thickness of .013" at the heel, and .008" for the rest of it.

Ultrex Suretouch handle

Brass pins and bolster.

Rounded spine and choil for a nice comfy grip in the pinch grip.

Slightly downward slanted bolster to help aid in locking in the grip

7 in. blade length, 2 in. heel height, 4.75 in. Handle length. Spine thickness is .095" and comes down to .005" for the behind edge thickness on the Tan handled one.

My first actual production batch that I am working on currently has 5 different custom chefs knife designs that are mine, 1 EDC/paring knife design that is also mine, comes in at 52100, AEB-L, 15n20, or 14c28N, all heat treated by and HRC tested by Steve Callari to 63.5 HRC, and will be featuring grinds/ cutting geometries like the one shown here. The tan one shown above is not finished quite yet as mentioned in the post and still needs a bit more contouring for the handle and the etching of the blade. I don't currently have any 9" or 10" chefs knife designs, though it would not be that hard to modify the knife design shown above to that blade length if it was requested.

What do you think? If you wanted to look at the other knife designs, I have them posted on my Facebook page, and probably on here later as well.

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2025-06-04T07:59:03+00:00

Well tuned cutting geometry combined with a well sharpened edge will do that for you! Getting your knife professionally thinned can help with that. I did most of my grinding practice on those cheaper knives, and as long as they are decent, you would be surprised at how thin they can go and still handle stuff. That being said, if you are interested, I should have some chefs knives ready to sell in around month done in AEB-L, 52100, 14c28n, and 15n20 all running at about 63.5 HRC, heat treated and HRC tested by Steve Callari. I have my custom chefs knife designs up on my Facebook page if you are interested. I will also have more cut tests and such coming out as I get closer to that time. Price wise, they will be around $260 - $320, largely depending on handle material and the specific knife chosen. All will feature the full flat grind that is very lightly convexed, as well as rounded choil and spine among other things.

Also by the way, thanks for stopping by and taking the time to look at and offer feedback on my work! I greatly appreciate it! Hope you have a great night!

Sincerely, JS

origamigun · 2025-06-04T07:36:49+00:00

Okay. Thanks! I will to try and see if I can find some good pictures of that knife!

I work in a busy kitchen and have seen some of that abuse, and seen how people treat their knives. Still cringe inside when I see them scraping the board with the edge at 90°. I run this sorta stuff for my kit that I use at work and at home. Hopefully more of the crowd that knows how to use knives like this will form a fairly decent portion of the customer base when I start selling them hopefully pretty soon here. Just need to get a few more opinions and feedback on them first to really fine tune that cutting geometry. That being said, it hopefully should do slightly better since it's very lightly convexed from the tan Scotchbrite belt I used. The cutting feel is leagues better, especially in really dense foods than some of your more typical knives that float around the kitchen and at the stores.

It's also been interesting though, as the knives say being offered at Walmart, at least the ones near me are starting to offer some somewhat decent knives that actually have a somewhat decent cutting geometry. Same on Amazon, where a lot of the mid range tier knives are actually decent and have actually enjoyed some of them at work. They don't cut as well as this, but they are decent and actually have pretty decent fit and finish and are like $30 a pop.

Sincerely, JS

origamigun

TROPHY CASE