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

[1988rapid7]

good thread, will give this a try on my buck alpha hunter as its getting a little bit dull and was paranoid about messing the edge up when sharpening, but sounds pretty straight forward, fingers crossed.

[protarget177]

great read very informative

[rapidresponse1]

very good

[Dallas1964]

Very informative thanks , looks like I've been doing it wrong for years. Tried your way and now I have a very sharp knife.
Thanks H

[PSBurton]

Great advice. I have some water stones and an old Arkansas stone for polishing. For a long time I could get the blade sharp and very bright, but to my frustration it was never shaving sharp. The step I was skipping was the strop - for me that last few passes on an old belt is what has made the difference between a knife or axe that looks good and one that will pop the hair off your arm

[NickJ]

Best bet is to get a diamond sharpener made by dmt. £30ish, will get you the diafold, which is a double sided jobbie, will sharpen 10 times quicker than an oil stone, and cleaner to. couple of strokes on these , is enough to get razor results. and folds small enough to carry in your shooting jacket. blue is course , red is medium, and green is fine, have found the blue / red combo is best.

This sounds like a good solution for easy knife sharpening.

The edge may not last as long but if it's that quick to do then longevity isn't such an issue...

[IainMAD]

Good article

Will a diamond stone give sharper results that oilstone ot just do it faster?

Many thanks

[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.

[Cliffe]

thanks you for info on how to sharpen the knifes
going to get a stone soon

[Hellequin]

Cheers Pete, a brilliant guide this. Not only for the technique but also for the pointers towards the right kit too.

I got a couple of Japanese water stones for my birthday this year and I've now had a bit of practice with them, using my Helle Wind. The knife gets some good use in the field but a short session with the waterstones has it scary sharp again; good enough that it will take the hairs off my arm!

ATB
Paul

[clanger]

Thanks Pete, i have been struggling for years to get a decent edge, i tried your way and it works!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kev

[snock]

Glad it helped, Clangy, old thing.

[ffs1942]

I use an Ecko kitchen sharpener for most of my sharpening on knives, arrowheads and even machetes and axes.

It consists of 8 interlocking discs of tool steel. Maybe not the best way, but the fastest and easiest. Used it for 40 yrs and bought a second at a yard sale. I cut the handle off the first one. The new one retains the handle for axes, machetes, entrenching tools and other large blades.

I use the old fashioned if things get really dull.

If you have a steel table, like in the restaurant biz or in a machine or wood shop, you can use it like stone as long as the table is not knicked.

Brian
Des Moines

[2240phil]

ive made a few knives in the past based on the woodlore blade, and i hand sharpen on 4 grades of diamond stone then use a leather strop and paste to a razor edge, angled approx to 30 degrees

pics are of an olive wood knife and firesteel i did for a mate