Baffled

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kayemarr

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So I have this great dagger that I bought a few years ago. It's actually carbon steel and fairly high quality. It was handmade by someone who knew what they were doing, which is why I got it. That, and I was interested in a functional yet decorative blade. It's been plated in silver, including the blade. I'm not entirely sure why, probably because he wanted it to have a certain appearance (which is one of the reasons I bought it). I would like to sharpen it, but since the blade is plated, I've been trying to figure out the best way to sharpen it without damaging the plating. I've been a little too nervous to try anything yet. Does anyone know of a good sharpening tool that won't take off more silver than it needs to sharpen the blade? I usually use a 3-stone sharpening system, but I'm thinking maybe one of those scissos sharpeners. Thanks.
 
kayemarr said:
So I have this great dagger that I bought a few years ago. It's actually carbon steel and fairly high quality. It was handmade by someone who knew what they were doing, which is why I got it. That, and I was interested in a functional yet decorative blade. It's been plated in silver, including the blade. I'm not entirely sure why, probably because he wanted it to have a certain appearance (which is one of the reasons I bought it). I would like to sharpen it, but since the blade is plated, I've been trying to figure out the best way to sharpen it without damaging the plating. I've been a little too nervous to try anything yet. Does anyone know of a good sharpening tool that won't take off more silver than it needs to sharpen the blade? I usually use a 3-stone sharpening system, but I'm thinking maybe one of those scissos sharpeners. Thanks.
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Is the entire blade plated in silver, including the edge? It may not be sharpenable.

If you do want to sharpen it, I would suggest taping over the blade, all except the edge. Then sharpen normally. Sharpening will remove metal, so be mentally prepared for that. :)
 
Yeah, even the edge was plated, but that's worn off. It's not very good plating, just light electroplating, but I'd like it to stay nice. I figured the edge would be stripped, but I'm traying to avoid taking too much off, as I have a tendency to make wide swaths when I sharpen. I was thinking maybe one of those ceramic scissors sharpeners or the Smith's yellow sharpener.
 
My question exactly. If it was made to be a decorative knife, and the entire blade is silver plated, why would you want to use it? :confused:
 
It was a custom built practical knife for me, but at the time, I was a bit...Wiccan and I wanted something I could use as a ceremonial knife. But I wanted it to be sharp so when I was wandering in the woods communing with nature or whatever, I could use it to cut branches or herbs to make Wiccany things. And if I needed it for defense, I could use it.

I only really wanted the handle plated, not the blade. But since the blade is plated, I'd rather not scratch it more than I need to for sharpening. Like I said, when I sharpen, I usually use a three-stone sharpening system, but I'm really bad at it and tend to hold my knives at too sharp an angle. I just haven't used any other type of sharpening system and am wondering what the best one for this would be.

I'm not sure if I'll ever use the knife again, since I've long abandoned my Wiccany ways, but I would like to sharpen it once more. Dull knives in the house bother me.
 
Since you are not intending it to be used or heavily if so, just apply a micro-bevel on top of the existing edge. Any cheap v-rod will do this, just tilt it so it is on 25-30 degrees and it will sharpen the edge fine and not touch the plating.

-Cliff
 
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