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

[snock]

Diamond stones are very harsh on the blade steel. If you want to preserve your blade for maximum life, whilst keeping it at it's sharpest, then I really would use something more traditional.

Diamond stones are fine for plane irons and such, as they don't lose their flatness due to wear.

[crash_test0]

been using diamond stones for years, never had a problem with them wearing blades out, used on my leatherman , which i use for work daily , and no probs at all , have also got some fancy knives for shooting, and as long as your sensible , gives a longlasting keen edge.

[Peter Dunkley]

Thank you Snock for a very informative post. Can I just add that instead of having a leather strop stretched tight to wipe the blade on I use a stropping board. This is a piece of leather glued to a length of wood, mine is about 2" square and 8" long with the leather glued on one face. I hold the knife and wipe the strop along the edge. Same result as a pukka strop but I find it easier with this tool if the blade is a bit long.
Thanks again.

Just got back from Spain and bought myself a little darling of a knife there. A Muelay Colibri. Fixed 2 3/4" blade with a 3 1/4" Bone handle. with brass bolsters. It's worth going on their website and having a look at it.

[christy]

An old cobbler showed me a way to sharpen knives a long time ago. Simply buy some wet n dry paper P600 grade. Glue onto a piece of wood about 7-8 inches long 2inches wide. Use spray adhesive to stick it on.wet the sharpener and use as oil stone. Works a treat, my knives are extreemly sharp. Obviously you need to learn the knack. If your knife is new or been sharpened using another method then it will take time for this method to kick in. Keep everything almost flat. But not that flat it marks the blade above an eighth of an inch from the edge. At first you may give it a jolly good rubbing. That should last for a few sessions. Then you will notice something extreemly sharp emerging. Next it's little and often. Rather like a new willy.

Ah! the most important bit, you must learn about the different concoctions of steel and other things used to make a blade. Some hold an edge-some do not.

[Guest]

I use a spyderco, Tri-angle Sharpmaker - simply superb.

Comes with a video of how to use it, excellent bit of kit.

Dave

[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.

[daveuk]

Thank you Snock for a very informative post. Can I just add that instead of having a leather strop stretched tight to wipe the blade on I use a stropping board. This is a piece of leather glued to a length of wood, mine is about 2" square and 8" long with the leather glued on one face. I hold the knife and wipe the strop along the edge. Same result as a pukka strop but I find it easier with this tool if the blade is a bit long.
Thanks again.

Just got back from Spain and bought myself a little darling of a knife there. A Muelay Colibri. Fixed 2 3/4" blade with a 3 1/4" Bone handle. with brass bolsters. It's worth going on their website and having a look at it.

i've just had a mooch online at those knives. lovely looking things arent they.
Seems like you got a nice knife there.

[digitaldwarf]

just anyone is unsure about how to strop a knife here is a video for you

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=liKYctpdjC4

[Big Mafoota]

Here's how ray mears does it http://youtube.com/watch?v=bQN4jcXDjbE

[Cam.]

I have recently learnt how to put a convex edge on my Fallkniven. I then use the fine stones on my Spyderco to finish. The edge is sharp enough to shave with, and can slice through tissue that is held between finger and thum.

Cam

[peakecentral]

A while back, my Dad asked for a Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpener for his birthday. It's initially a bit daunting as it looks quite unconventional, but the performance is awesome. It puts a magnificent edge on a decent blade. My Leatherman is good, but I also have a Benchmade which is now seriously sharp.

So good I just had to get one for myself...

[Guest]

Pete well done for adding the video link to this thread!

Dave

[snock]

Thanks Dave.

It takes a while to develop the skill, but it's with you for life after that.

Pete.

[Jackel]

Heres a great PDF file on sharpening Thanks to Swat for the host