Alternate Sandpaper Sharpening?

M

Maya_steel

Joined
Jun 28, 2014
Messages
53
Hey guys,

I'm headed home today and will finally get a chance to sharpen up my WWII. I had an idea for a sharpening technique but I wanted to check and see what you guys think:

1. begin with various levels of sandpaper - 600, 800, 1000 grit

2. either using a sanding block or simply folding the sandpaper, run the sandpaper along the edge of the kukri at the proper angle from tip to base.

3. Repeat this, and the same on the other side, until the blade reaches desired sharpness

4. Eliminate burrs with the chakmak

Does anyone see any problems with this method of sharpening as opposed to the mousepad technique?

Thanks and happy holidays!
 
That will work too... You can also wrap a larger 1 or 2 inch dowel with sandpaper and do the same thing. You won't get a strong Apple seed shaped tip unless you have something soft underneath the sandpaper. You will still get a good sharp edge but a rounded, convex appleseed style edge is the strongest.
 
I have used a sanding block in place of a mouse pad with some success. Held the sand paper with rubber bands
 
you really need something behind the sandpaper though for support. If you thinking of using the sandpaper like shoe shine buffing with a rag then you will likely dull the blade before you sharpen it. The paper will come off the edge at too high of an angle and no matter how hard you tension the paper it will be very hard to do. Do the dowel thing like gb says or the block and youll have better results. Mark the edge with a black marker so you can actually see where your sharpening and that will help immensely. Do the Chakma thing first to realign the edge. might find out you dont even need to sharpen. Good luck!
 
Lots of great advice and insight on this forum, but its the small stuff like this that you just do not see anywhere else - for someone newer to large knife maintenance (me), this type of coaching is extremely helpful:

ndoghouse said:
you really need something behind the sandpaper though for support. If you thinking of using the sandpaper like shoe shine buffing with a rag then you will likely dull the blade before you sharpen it. The paper will come off the edge at too high of an angle and no matter how hard you tension the paper it will be very hard to do. Do the dowel thing like gb says or the block and youll have better results. Mark the edge with a black marker so you can actually see where your sharpening and that will help immensely. Do the Chakma thing first to realign the edge. might find out you dont even need to sharpen. Good luck!
Click to expand...
 
Just to chime in, and say "hello", I found using a new phone book that hasn't had the pages turned works about the same as a mouse pad. Once they get used a bit, the phone book gets too soft. Now, I just put the sandpaper directly on top of a leather strop. I found a fellow who makes a round billy club style strop with 3 strips of leather that is perfect for Kuks and recurve blades. With 3 grit options, plus sand paper, you should be able to bring even a damaged edge back, with some patience. The black sharpie trick on the edge is very important, particularly early on in the learning curve. Also, listen carefully, as you will come to recognize the sound the correct angle makes as you strop or hone is different from too high or too low an angle. Knives WANT to be sharp, and there are many indicators to help you if you are doing it correctly, or incorrectly. Patience and a very light touch are the key points. The hardest part is to fight the urge to put pressure down onto the knife to get the grits or compounds to cut faster. That may work with hard surface sharpening like stones, ceramics, or diamond plates, but it works against you with stroping or sand paper. Light is right, lighter is better!
 
mcat: Glad I could help. Been there myself. These are tips I learned from others and have had positive results and experience with.
Before you do anything you can get the approximate angle by lightly running the edge across your fingernail slowly increasing the angle until it bites in. Start just under that angle and look at the black marker to verify your in the right place and go towards the edge from there. Always sand off edge for convex grind. You might be surprised at the high angle most Khuks are sharpened at compared to most knives but theres good reason for that. They are convexed edge chopping and utility tools and need that thick edge for structural support and durability.


TheScoundrel_70 said:
...That may work with hard surface sharpening like stones, ceramics, or diamond plates, but it works against you with stroping or sand paper. Light is right, lighter is better!
Click to expand...
Absolutely right! If you think of the edge as soft more like a rubber windshield wiper blade on your car (extreme analogy but true) then you will begin to understand. When you apply to much pressure your actually removing material behind the edge where it is thick enough to support your pressure. the edge part you think you are sharpening is simply getting folded back and will eventually become a bur and removed when you do the same thing on the other side of the edge. You will end up with a much more obtuse angle than you planned. Yep! Keep it light and keep it sharp.
 
I will be soon trying this method,untill now i used only natural and synthetic sharpening stones....method with sandpaper i never used before,but have allready grits from 120,through 200-360-600-800-1000-2000-3000-5000,but i am not too sure if higher grits will work with such a massive blades,previously i tried to finish edge on few knifes with 8000 grit-natural stone-(Belgian Ardennes Coticule) used mostly on razor-blades,but unfortunatelly i couldnt follow through grits,because i didnt have them available and 8000 grit stone wasnt very effective......
 
Check MrMike's posts here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/827193-How-to-Sharpen-a-Kukri -> sandpaper over an eraser gum. I guess it will work the same as a little flat dowel that has a piece of mouse pad glued to it and on top of it you place the sandpaper. I haven't tried this, but it seems to me much easier to run this concoction along the edge rather than moving a kukri over a mousepad. It also seems to me more fool-proof...but I still have a little doubt thinking that maybe you run the risk of touching right on the edge and dull the blade? Not sure if this makes sense, as I'm wording it...IOW make sure the sandpaper doesn't fold over the very surface where the edge ends.

Now if I only could understand these:
1. how thick the mousepad should be;
2. will stropping make the edge last sharp longer as opposed to progressing through exact the same grits, but foregoing stropping? It is my understanding that removing the burr is essential for having a long lasting edge, and only stropping (even if by using nothing else but an old plain leather belt) will accomplish that.
 
conan11 said:
I have used a sanding block in place of a mouse pad with some success. Held the sand paper with rubber bands
Click to expand...

Why do you say "some" - did you find any drawback to this compared w/ the classic mousepad style? Thanks.
 
No, I meant by "some" that I am brand new to convex sharpening and just saw the sanding block when picking up sandpaper so that is what I used.
 
Sandpaper on mousepad gives maximum surface area vs. dowell or sanding block. Minimum surface area of dowell or block may be fine for touch up. Just something to consider.
 
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