Blade work

Hezz700

Howdy all,

I was wondering if any of you know a easy way to keep an edge on hunting/skinning blades. i have being using a wet stone for a good couple of years but to be honest never really mastered the art:o or do i just have to keep practicing??

johngalway

This won't be helpful if you've bought a pricey blade and want to make sharpening it into an artform (nothing wrong with that either). What I do, (mostly cos I'm every so slightly lazy) would be to buy a cheap blade like an Opinel and replace it ever so often.

Hezz700

I had a few cheapo's in my time too and they all worked fine. but i have a beautiful little 3.5inch skinner that i just like, and a Fairbairn Sykes that i just love showing off with.

packas

I've got a Cold Steel master hunter 5" (carbon steel blade & not s/steel) knife & a foldable Nieto knife. The Nieto is s/steel (Typically type 420 Martensitic steel is used in cutlery**. It's got 0.35% carbon. Try a magnet on your blade. If it sticks then it's a 400 series steel. A magnet would confirm that). In general carbon steels are easier sharpen than stainless steels. I sharpen both of them with a Lansky sharpening kit. Buy one or something similar that maintains the angle on both sides. Not as good as hollow grinding but not far off it.

**note. Some of you may notice on your knives & forks that it says 18-8 stanless steel. This is Type 302 Austenitic steel used in kitchen utnesils where an edge on the blade is not too critical.


Don't mean to be so anal about all the metallurgy stuff but I'm sure someone out there may have an interest.:o

CJhaughey

I have had many sharpening systems over the years but last year in Hull I found a gun dealer that had the Spyderco Sharpmaker 204, it wasn't cheap but man does it put a nice edge on things, it is super simple to use because you don't need to fit guides or be able to hold a 40 degree angle just hold the knife blade vertical and draw it down the sharpening rods.
It will sharpen anything that has an edge, scissors, fishhooks , axes etc.
I must sound like an ad for the thing but I am really really impressed with it.

Umiq88

i'd imagine a butcher would have the tools to sharpen knives if your friendly enough with him it would be worth a try

Clare gunner

There is a whole science to sharpening.First off define sharpness.Everyone wants "razor sharp",but that lasts a very short time.EG if you use a wet shave disposeable razor,how long before it is dull?Three or more shaves?But you wouldnt want to use your wood axe to shave with either,yet you can split or chop wood with it when it is sharp?
So first off you want to know the angle of the blade which it was sharpned.I find the acuter the angle10/15 degrees the sharper and more difficult it is to sharpen.20/25deg seems the average,and as somone suggested the Lansky kit is good as it has extreme coarse stone down to ultra fine stone.A bit fiddley to use but you get the hang of it.Next the steel itself.Some steel is near enough impossible to sharp properly.Surgical steel,which is close to stainless,is I find impossible to edge properly.Ditto with some really nasty Chinese ripoff copies of our more expensive knives,the steel must be made from pot metal,as it defies every edge holding attempt.
Water stones are fine for precision blades ,like chisels or carpenter plane blades,useless for General use blades.Oil stone or quick sharpners with ceramic inserts are the way to go for field sharpening.
Do a google on knife sharpening for methods of using an oils stone,then experiment to find one that suits you the best.If you can get it to a sharpness that you can cut a piece of paper while holding it loosely in the air with one hand it is good and sharp,or shaving your forearm hair[careful:eek: ]
it is plenty sharp.Anyway,a skinner knife should never br razor sharp,as skinning is more a pulling and cutting away underskin etc from the meat and a razor will cut int o meat or hide before you know it.

de_shadow

www.radionics.ie do a search for knife sharpener,

I have the topp two in the list the gerber safty sharpener is decent enough when you dont want to spend too much time on a quick sharpen or the Diamond backed sharpener gives a very good result if you take your time also does serrated edges
the diamond one is also available in B&Q and i think Atlantic for between €10-15.

maglite

may i sigest buying a frost clipper
exelent edge brilliant steal dirt cheap c.$10

if you get a flat block of wood and glue a say 400 grit wet+ dry to it it will be as good as most waterstones

sounds silly but dont over sharrpen you want it a bit rough, watch a fellow got up through the grits oince to 25,000 (not a typeo),,, it will not cut to well at that end of the scale it just glides over, you want a small roughness

http://www.britishblades.com/forums/

Musashi

I'd second the Spyderco Sharpmaker for an easy way to touch up your edge, provided it matchs the angles preset on the sharpmaker rods. If not it will take a while for you to reprofile your edge to match

Oil stones are good, I prefer these for ease of sharpening different angles. Once you are consistent with the angle you sharpen at, and match it both sides, then just work up the grit grades for as fine an edge as you need. Finishing on slate, leather strops, various grades of paper loaded with stropping compound is optional for hair popping sharp.

Japanese Water Stones are very good, make sure you build up a good slurry on the stones to help with the cutting action.

Butchers knives, and most kitchen knives, are generally a softer Rc (hardness) due to the tempering of the blade. Most butchers and meat processors are constantly touching up their edges on a steel. You can do the same thing of course, generally prior to whacking into the Turkey

I don't have one (yet) but I hear the Apex and Apex Pro. systems are excellent methods for sharpening, but there are consumable abrasive tapes to replenish. An oil or watersone only needs flattening (with glass paper on a granite or plate glass flat surface) every so often.

An axe, hatchet, parang or other chopper, as well as most Bark River Knives, uses a convex edge. This is still sharp but less inclined to roll or chip out than a standard flat or hollow grind. Can be sharpened using a "Hoodoo Hone", basically some rubber mouse mat glued to a wooden backing and using various grits of wet and dry paper to put an edge up.

I'll post some links to sharpening guides I've found useful, and some of the kit I own for maintaining my knives.

Sharpening Guide- http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showpost.php?p=294588&postcount=55

Sharpening tools, including oil stones, waterstones, polishing compounds in various grades, ceramic and diamond stones- http://www.axminster.co.uk/category-Sharpening-and-Grinding-206829.htm

I have the set of two combination waterstones, after those I go to leather stropping and sometimes paper stropping. To reprofile an edge I go with a real coarse oil stone. A new oil stone can be used with water, but a stone that's had oil on it must continue to be oiled!

another sharpening tutorial- http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=11571

I like the Starkie Strop with it's own compound for final polish, and some white paste on the shiny leather side for final final polish! You can use an old belt or (ultimate) score a four sided leather strop from here http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_store.html?ttl=Straight%20Razor%20Strops&srch=eqWWWCAT_1datarq%3Dshave%26eqWWWCAT_2datarq%3Dstropwith four grades of polishing compound either from them http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_store.html?ttl=Straight%20Razor%20Strop%20Paste&srch=eqWWWCAT_1datarq%3Dshave%26eqWWWCAT_2datarq%3Dpasteor Axminster tools.

another good place to buy is https://www.toolshop.de/index.php?language=en

For steeling I use either a Diamond or Ceramic stick from here http://www.heinnie.com/ Just look under Accessories-Fallkniven-Rod Sharpeners

I dropped my Spydie Sharpmaker and broke one of the coarse rods in half, so one piece is in the kitchen for touching up and one goes to work with me for quick and dirty sharpening.

Cheapest Option is the sandpaper and maybe strop on cardboard using Flitz, Autosol or even toothpaste? Step up to a sharpmaker and it will deal with 80% of your needs, it even does scissors! Only drawbacks are reprofiling is a pain and long blades are a bit awkward on it. Great for recurve blades and serrations though!

Top apparently are the Edge Pro Apex and Edge Pro., but you would want to be making money from sharpening to pay for one! http://edgeproinc.com/

Sorry for the long post, but I know how much searching I had to do to find out about this stuff! Good luck, buy a cheap carbon blade (Opinel) and practice mate, your existing kit is good enough, add a few bits as you can.

And for sharpening on paper, Tai Goo says this....

I've been playing around with the strops more lately and I really like these cork composites best. I can't say they get the edge any sharper, but they have a great "feel" and are easy to make,... and use. They tend not to scratch the blades like some of the leather strops. The firmer surface makes a big difference! I basically use the spray adhesive to fix the cork to the wood and then the paper to the 1/8 inch thick cork. For the course strop, which is great for maintaining an edge, I used water color paper and an extra course buffing compound. For the finer strop, which I use for surgical sharpening, I use a good quality drawing paper and the MAAS polish.

The best combo so far is the MAAS or Simi Chrome polish on Arches watercolor paper 90lb/185 GSM, over the 1/8 inch cork.

Clare gunner

Another cheapo way of sharpening your knives is use the bottom rises of old genuine porcellian plates.Or if you can find them the old long porcellian power cable insulators.Works for me.

jaycee

I came across this handy little gadget a few years back.
It never fails to put a good edge on a blade.

It will clip on your keyring , it's cheap and it works.

Blade Tech knife sharpener

Hezz700

Cheers lads

lots of interesting and useful info there.:)

Merci