# question regarding cork lined knife guards



## panda (Oct 4, 2018)

one of the two that i have has lost its clasping shape, meaning it is opened up a little bit so that it no longer holds the blade with friction as the slot is too wide now. can this be bent back by sticking it in the oven for a minute? what would have caused it?


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## mille162 (Oct 4, 2018)

Whats the outside material?


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## panda (Oct 4, 2018)

Abs plastic?


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## mille162 (Oct 4, 2018)

Abs’s melting point is 212 deg F. So boil water and submerge for a moment to come close to that temp (boiling water temp is 212 Deg). Pull out and bend into shape and hold while it cools in a bowl of icewater.

You could also try hitting just the spine with a heat gun and bending it tighter


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## Dendrobatez (Oct 5, 2018)

I think youre on the right track with heat, I would try putting it in the oven with a weight on the two sides that are meant to grasp the knife and let it cool down that way. 
I'm not sure if you leave your box in your car like a do every once in awhile but the heat in the trunk will cause then to want to stay in the open position.


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## DitmasPork (Sep 10, 2020)

panda said:


> one of the two that i have has lost its clasping shape, meaning it is opened up a little bit so that it no longer holds the blade with friction as the slot is too wide now. can this be bent back by sticking it in the oven for a minute? what would have caused it?



@panda I have a cork lined guard that opened up and became way too loose.

I finally fixed it by wrapping it in a paper towel, then ironing it for about 15 seconds on a wooden cutting board, them immediately pressing another cutting board down on top of it. The flat, surface of the cutting board is important, since the shape goes wonky with heat.


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## M1k3 (Sep 10, 2020)

I can send mine back to you if you want.


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## ian (Sep 10, 2020)

Poor panda, lost in time. Have his edge guards improved in the past two years? Who can say.


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## Kippington (Sep 10, 2020)

Maybe the cork lining got thinner? That would have the same effect, right?


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## DitmasPork (Sep 11, 2020)

Kippington said:


> Maybe the cork lining got thinner? That would have the same effect, right?


Possibly, but the cork is quite thin. Mine the kydex definitely opened up enough to just fall off the blade. The hot ironing worked for me.


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## Kippington (Sep 11, 2020)

DitmasPork said:


> Possibly, but the cork is quite thin. Mine the kydex definitely opened up enough to just fall off the blade. The hot ironing worked for me.


Oh yea Kydex is awesome stuff.


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## juice (Sep 11, 2020)

Kippington said:


> Oh yea Kydex is awesome stuff.


Ah, I've seen a few people using that for sheaths, I think. Looks pretty cool to work with.


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## panda (Sep 13, 2020)

i lost interest in these, just stick with felt lined dexter ones.


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## parbaked (Sep 13, 2020)

Wood ones won't bend like Kydex....






Good thing about the Kydex ones is that you can use heat to reshape them to fit thinner or fatter blades.


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## DitmasPork (Sep 13, 2020)

parbaked said:


> Wood ones won't bend like Kydex....
> View attachment 94453
> 
> 
> Good thing about the Kydex ones is that you can use heat to reshape them to fit thinner or fatter blades.


Where do you get wooden ones like that?


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## parbaked (Sep 13, 2020)

DitmasPork said:


> Where do you get wooden ones like that?


Sheehan made it when he re-handled that Yoshi...I sold the knife but kept the guard.





I'm pretty sure he includes one in burnt ash with his stainless clad knives:








Stainless Clad Gyuto Knives — shi.han fine knives


Stainless Clad Gyuto Knives with 52100 carbon steel blades forged from scratch. The handles and edge guards are Shou Sugiban style burnt white Ash.




www.shihanfineknives.com


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## daveb (Sep 13, 2020)

panda said:


> i lost interest in these, just stick with felt lined dexter ones.



Have you no shame???

The Korin felt lined look good and are probably cheaper. And you're not carrying around a bunch of Dexters.


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## panda (Sep 13, 2020)

daveb said:


> Have you no shame???
> 
> The Korin felt lined look good and are probably cheaper. And you're not carrying around a bunch of Dexters.


those are exactly same product


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## ian (Sep 13, 2020)

I use these. Basically the same as the Shi.han ones (only different materials, build, and aesthetic) but they’re $2.50 each.


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## daveb (Sep 13, 2020)

panda said:


> those are exactly same product



Korin is classy. Dexter is so Walmart.


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## parbaked (Sep 13, 2020)

ian said:


> I use these. Basically the same as the Shi.han ones (only different materials, build, and aesthetic) but they’re $2.50 each.


Noble > Dexter? 

The material does make a difference.
Shihan uses Kydex which is moldable, but not springy. The blade is held by wedging into supple, natural cork. Comfy.
Your very Noble guards are ABS, which is springy but not moldable. The springiness creates the clamping force that holds the blade. Works great but can scratch SS cladding, which is why some prefer the felt lined ones. 

i like the Shihan guards more than plastic or sayas but cardboard and tape work best...


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## ian (Sep 13, 2020)

parbaked said:


> Noble > Dexter?
> 
> The material does make a difference.
> Shihan uses Kydex which is moldable, but not springy. The blade is held by wedging into supple, natural cork. Comfy.
> ...



Sorry, the comparison to Shi.han was a joke. The one you showed a pic of looks awesome, and I was trying to cover up my insecurities and self loathing by making some fun.

That said, I only use edge guards when storing a knife in my knife bag under the counter, so the aesthetics don’t really matter to me. Haven’t noticed any scratching, but all my knives are scratched up anyway so maybe I just haven’t noticed.

+1 to cardboard and tape


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## DitmasPork (Sep 18, 2020)

daveb said:


> Have you no shame???
> 
> The Korin felt lined look good and are probably cheaper. And you're not carrying around a bunch of Dexters.


I have a bunch if the Korin guards—used to work not far from Korin—but found them problematic with some of my carbons, the felt got embedded with rust on the knives when I used them in a humid location. I'm a fan of the cork lined guards.


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## Benuser (Sep 18, 2020)

panda said:


> i lost interest in these, just stick with felt lined dexter ones.


Really? With carbons as well?


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## panda (Sep 18, 2020)

Benuser said:


> Really? With carbons as well?


 yes, ALL of my knives are carbon


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## ModRQC (Oct 20, 2020)

I bought the Chef Sac brand, similar to Noble Chef. For a reason unknown to me - and I'm not saying yours are the same @ian - these are ****** for carbon knives. I have multiple of them, but only use a couple in the end - that's as much stainless knives as I have. Most of my collection are in their original box. Nothing ever happens to them there. So I've been wary about trying to replace the Chef Sac with a "better option". I also had magnetic Victorinox sheaths that will make any steel rust.

I'll also give a vote to cardboard and tape.


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## Benuser (Oct 20, 2020)

panda said:


> yes, ALL of my knives are carbon


A most respected member sent me once a carbon knife with a felt lined Dexter. Caused rust at the end of the lining. Must have to do with the temperature changes in my backpack during winter time. Since, I only use cardboard.


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## DitmasPork (Oct 20, 2020)

Benuser said:


> A most respected member sent me once a carbon knife with a felt lined Dexter. Caused rust at the end of the lining. Must have to do with the temperature changes in my backpack during winter time. Since, I only use cardboard.


I really hate felt lined guards, learned my lesson when I traveled with them on my carbons.


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## Matus (Oct 20, 2020)

For longer hauls the liners is a humidity trap. But just to drive one day to a location of your vacation has not been an issue for me (flying may turn more challenging as there is more pressure change happening that will affect the condensation). But for those cases one may still use a VCI paper in between to make sure nothing bad happens.


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## DitmasPork (Oct 20, 2020)

Matus said:


> For longer hauls the liners is a humidity trap. But just to drive one day to a location of your vacation has not been an issue for me (flying may turn more challenging as there is more pressure change happening that will affect the condensation). But for those cases one may still use a VCI paper in between to make sure nothing bad happens.


I gotta get some of that paper. TBH, the cork lined guards are my favorites, but they do occasionally lose their tightness.


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## DitmasPork (Oct 20, 2020)

Mostly I use custom sayas made from reclaimed cardboard, each a unique work of fine craftsmanship.


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## 4wa1l (Oct 20, 2020)

It's interesting to read about the felt guards. I thought I must have been doing something wrong because my knives were getting small rust spots using them. Switched to the upcycled hand-taped sayas as seen in @DitmasPork post and have had no issues since.


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## Barmoley (Oct 20, 2020)

I've run into this problem with felt lined edge guards and even cork lined.


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