Hey 5knives... Knife question. Or anyone.

[5knives]

Actually, I mentioned above using a strip of 600 grit wet-or-dry as a field expedient sharpener.

This would be for use on a knife with a razor (or close to it edge).
Those edges tend to dull rather quickly. Though they last longer with a slightly convex final edge.

A good make shift sharpener is a strip of 320 grit wet-or-dry, used the same way a couple of passes leave a good kitchen knife/hunting knife edge, toothy because of the micro serration's, that edge 'bites' very well on meat, vegetables (like tomatoes) and other things, like rope or other cordage.

Steel it to restore the edge, it's not necessary to re-sharpen very often.

Steeling just aligns the micro edge, and if you don't have a good smooth steel you can use the back (spine) of a knife blade or any other steel edge of similar or greater hardness.

More good knives are destroyed by too frequent , unnecessary and poor sharpening technique than by any other cause.

Regards,
...

[4thIDvet]

My buddy stopped by was a meat cutter for a spell..
Said exactly what you said..
I was putting to much pressure on the knife too stone..
He said slow down, easy, not so much pressure..
Damn he got my knives sharp..
Angle seems to be the key here for proper sharpning.
Good info thank yall.

[Blammer]

Put a fine emory grit belt on it and broke it in on the gardin tools,
When I got it worn some, I could put edges on everything = ever try to put "shaving sharp" on a buck folder?= That is HARD blade steel!

[Moon]

Originally Posted by Blammer

ever try to put "shaving sharp" on a buck folder?= That is HARD blade steel!

The Buck 119 is a hard one to sharpen too. I like to drove myself crazy trying to sharpen that thing. I got to thinking that I was dulling the knife, and thereby doing something wrong. As it turns out, I simply wasn't sharpening it.

[5knives]

The old Bucks were extremely difficult to sharpen the first time with a flat stone, hard steel was a big part of it, but the main thing was their final edge swelled out then in to the edge. A cross section of the blade and good magnification showed it tapering and then swelling out , almost apple shape before tapering to the cutting edge.

They were shipped extremely sharp for a knife of that time, and they held that edge a LONG time, but once dulled and you tried to sharpen, all you were working on was that apple swell. took a long time to remove enough steel to get to that edge. That's why sending a knife in to the factory to be re-sharpened was a good idea ... and free.

They put a more common slightly convex edge on their products today and get good edge holding but the knife can be re-sharpened with normal tools.

Still hard steel because the Buck people seem to know about about hardening 420HC than anyone else.

Regards,
...

[Gus]

I use and old wet stone with a fine an course side about 2" wide X 1" thick and 12" long.

Patients an holding the correct angle with light pressure is all it takes.

BTW I never sharpen a hunting knife where you can shave with it, IMO that's the wrong cutting edge for animal field dressing. FWIW

[Thaddius Bickerton]

I have any number of tools to sharpen my blades.

I find that some require me to break out some files and do some serious but careful metal removal to set up for my other uses.

Typically I use a coarse / fine diamond hone to bring bad edges into line for more typical sharpening efforts.

(Note, some of the commercial blades were machine sharpened, and the heat from that messed up the edge temper a bit. For this you have to move the edge back a small bit. Usually less than a MM, but I have had to pull back a bit further on a few cheaper ones to get to good temper.)

The final goal is to get the edge (I don't like or do serrations, so this is simple straight edges.) perfectly straight and with no dips or high spots along its entire length. I find holding it up and letting bright lights and even magnifying glass helps me to check this.

Next is that any abrasive will smooth out and straighten the edges, leaving microscopic serrations that need to be as small and even as you can get them.

OK,

So the edge is set up and smoothed straight and ready to just be sharpened.

I get a wet stone in the coarse and fine grit.

There are two schools of thought on sharpening a blade, do you pull the edge or push the edge?

I have used both and both give similar results.

I will often begin with the coarse stone and pull the blade edge toward me holding it at about a 15% angle. (bit more or less depending on blade thickness and final goal)

Make 10 passes over the water wet stone to build up a nice slurry on top. (keep the stone wet). I use my thumb as a guide to hold the angle, but some people end up grinding the meat on their thumb, thus some prefer the clamp on blade guides to help with this. After years I just know how to do it.

after 10 or so passes on one side I flip the blade and make an equal number of passes on the opposite side. Periodically wipe off the edge and make sure you are forming up both sides equally on the edge part.

Once both edges are evened up and fairly sharp I decide if they are going to working sharp or razor sharp edge. (sometimes a razor edge will actually be weaker than a just sharp enough to cut what needs cutting edge, also stopping after the coarse stone and just stropping the blade assuming the edge is perfectly straight will leave a bit more aggressive micro teeth on the blade. Micro teeth are pretty invisible without a magnifier, not full n serrations.)

Assuming my typical sharpening I now move to a fine / very fine stone and wet / slurry it up. Then I push or pull sharpen the edge on the first side slowly. Then flip to the other side, often one stroke per side then flip, but sometimes more.

What you are working for it to get where you have a almost invisible wire edge building up on the very edge of the blade. As you move the blade over the stone each flip will move the wire to the opposite side of the edge. This wire edge gets finer and finer until it breaks off (will be thinner than a fine hair at this point). It should go the full length of the blade assuming your edge is perfectly straight, which is the goal.

When a single pass pushes up the wire and then a single pass pushes up the wire on the other side of the edge you are almost done. Reduce pressure and get the edge as fine as possible.

Now put some stropping compound on your strop. (a leather belt, glued to a board or just tied to a door knob if you are seeking a more convex edge will work as a strop.) For stropping compound I usually use some "clover compound" from the car store that I bought a large can of 30 or so years ago. Also you can find other compounds to use such as some valve polishing compounds or even certain car wax /polishing compounds to work into the leather and leave very fine abrasive and i mean very very very fine. Looking for something like 4000 grit or better or a super fine water or oil stone or Arkansas stone is similar option.

Now alternate sides of the blade on the strop, watching until the wire breaks off clean and does not form back up on the flip.

Wipe blade clean, oil if necessary (carbon steel), if carbon steel, you can patina it with mustard or vinegar to give it both an aged appearance, and also to put the protective oxide on it that limits rust, some actually rust brown it. Be sure to oil the carbon blades after this. (I tend to use olive oil or mineral oil since it won't hurt my food.)

After you sharpen the blade up like this, unless you truly abuse it, a simple stroke or two on a hone, steel, or ceramic rod will straighten the edge and smooth it right back to sharp.

Be careful, after you get it perfect the blade almost wants to cut in a way a dull one never can. It will take some mental adjustment to using a properly sharpened blade.

Remember sometimes having more than one blade with different edges on it makes sense. I use an old case XX with two blades, one a bit coarser for cutting some things, and one razor sharp for cleaning animals and other approprate uses. I just flip out the blade I want for those. Otherwise I carry at least two fixed blades to cover my bases.

Well usually I carry a SAK, a neck / skinner like the BK 11, and a larger blade like a becker bk9. But those are just my choices.

It is pretty hard to describe sharpening a blade but that is how I usually do it.

I know some knife makers who use either a slack belt on a sander / grinder to get a nice convex edge on their blades or put the stropping / honing compound on a cloth wheel and pull the blade lightly across that on the grinder to put the final polish edge.

The key to mechanical / electrical sharpening is to have a jig to guide the edge angle, and to use proper pressure. Oh, and keep water or something near and keep the blade cool so you do not draw temper out of the edge.

Hope this at least points you in a useful direction.

One last option would be to pay a pro to sharpen your blade the first time so you only have to master the final stropping / honing efforts so long as you protect the edge from damage, but I prefer being able to depend only on myself for the most important tool IMHO which is a good knife.

[4thIDvet]

Someone mentioned using a ceramic coffee cup for an emergency sharpening.
In the kitchen working with the guys and we all forgot a sharpener.
Flipped a coffee cup over and tried it..
Be dag blasted if it did not put a nice sharp edge on all our knives..
Not a professional tool sharpener, but good enough for what we needed.
Pretty dang sharp..
My Bro was a butcher, like boon is.. He said to not use to much pressure whenever sharpening a knife.. Go lite and easy..
Ceramic coffee cup, it really works..
Just do not let the wife see yah..