A 'How to' guide to sharpening a knife the traditional way.

[Stoogey]

shhhhh secretly get a round file of good quolity and follow the flat of the blade both sides as close as posable and suchi sharp it....

(secret sea baiting tip...but... WATCH YU FINGERS...it is a microscopic saw...)


ohh...some blades actualy get a tiny wafer flake, if you look close you can often see two 'layers' where the blades been folded,some with an insert of harder metal...

this type of sharp is for meat slicing...when you find the motion to go with it it visualy looks like an electric knife that actualy goes straight through..it feels like your not moving the blade...makes meat taist better if its fresh and cooked straight after.(hense the baiting tip for sea fishing..it produces where ever the fish baits been 'shushi' cut,the rest get nothing...gurnards love a long cube done in this fasion.)

[r.j.s.]

Over the years I have made a number of blades from lumps of vanadium-carbon spring steel and also some insanely strong prybars and punches. This involves forging, grinding and most importantly the art of heat treatment. Once the correct hardness is achieved I've found that coarse oil or water stones are the best first stage, a small amount of coarse silicon carbide on the oil stones speed things up a bit. The second stage goes to medium oil stone or medium ceramic water stone. The final stage is a fine ceramic water stone and a light brush with a WELL WORN diamond sharpening steel or a brush with a razor strop, depending on the purpose. The edges are usually RAZOR sharp depending on the quality of the steel. Sharpening angles are compound with hollow grinding done before heat treatment. The latest technology in carbon-chromium steels is producing some amazing blades, Spyderco being a well known make. My kitchen knives are J.A.Henckles stainless steel and hold an edge almost as well as carbon steel. 'ATS' stainless blades are also very good.