Best edge for hunting and butchering game?

SpyderPhreak said:
Polished convex. Just because it's so easy for me to apply with the leather belt and green compound on the power belt sander. Personally, I haven't seen anything a toothy edge could do that a polished edge could do just as well. DPS depends on what size the knife is; smaller blade typically gets lower DPS.
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To clarify a little bit: Since it is so easy for me, I will always start out with the highly polished convex edge that I apply at home when I have all the time necessary. Nothing wrong with that. Once in the field, if I need to re-sharpen, it is then that much easier to do. I carry a small strop, a 2-sided diamond stick (fine/medium), and a 2-sided ceramic (fine/ultra-fine) that I can then use to re-hone the edge as necessary.

The diamond stick is probably unnecessary, as I don't usually need that level of edge work in the field, but I carry it more for the time when a mistake is made and the edge really needs help (hitting a rock by accident, etc.). But it doesn't weigh much, and Murphy will always strike when you're least prepared for him. ;)
 
SpyderPhreak said:
To clarify a little bit: Since it is so easy for me, I will always start out with the highly polished convex edge that I apply at home when I have all the time necessary. Nothing wrong with that. Once in the field, if I need to re-sharpen, it is then that much easier to do. I carry a small strop, a 2-sided diamond stick (fine/medium), and a 2-sided ceramic (fine/ultra-fine) that I can then use to re-hone the edge as necessary.

The diamond stick is probably unnecessary, as I don't usually need that level of edge work in the field, but I carry it more for the time when a mistake is made and the edge really needs help (hitting a rock by accident, etc.). But it doesn't weigh much, and Murphy will always strike when you're least prepared for him. ;)
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Murphy's Law reference in a Knife thread -- I love it!
 
Andy the Aussie said:
...... like leaving your rifle's bolt on top of the safe and drving 5hrs into the bush....yep...I hear that has happened... ;)
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D'oh!!! :foot:

lklemz said:
I eyeballed it, so I would be incorrect on that measurement then :)

Any suggestions on how low to take the Vex if I do?
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I'd say 15-20 DPS depending on your overall goals. If you're not going to be batoning it or other "hard" use, 30 degrees included should work pretty well. That angle has worked well for me on other non-Bussekin knives I have in D2.
 
Thanks!

It was going to be my project etch'n'strip knife that I could use for slicing and skinning, I might have to follow through with those plans now and see how slicey I can get it.
 
The one that is formed correctly via plateau sharpening, which means hand sharpening with stones and water/oil or coolant misted grinding belt. The grit/finish matters not if the apex is overheated via power grinding without coolant (weakened) or over ground leaving a burr (again weakened). There is really no reason why you'd need anything more than a coarse finish for this use either, I could get a good serviceable edge that would last a whole deer at a minimum straight off a 24 grit Nubatama.
 
Best kind of edge? A sharp one, any other kind will be frustrating... which flavor of sharpening is probably not quite so important for hunting tasks as flavor of steel the edge is on. :)
 
Maggot Brain said:
The one that is formed correctly via plateau sharpening, which means hand sharpening with stones and water/oil or coolant misted grinding belt. The grit/finish matters not if the apex is overheated via power grinding without coolant (weakened) or over ground leaving a burr (again weakened). There is really no reason why you'd need anything more than a coarse finish for this use either, I could get a good serviceable edge that would last a whole deer at a minimum straight off a 24 grit Nubatama.
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Per the Bossman himself, INFI will not suffer a loss of strength/temper unless heated to over 900 degrees F. That's not going to happen while sharpening via a belt unless it is done quite improperly. Also, most belt grinders have adjustable speed, and will not heat up an edge appreciably under normal sharpening usage unless the user were to hold it in the same spot for quite some time.

Even without belt speed control, one does not need to have a cooled belt (most are not anyway) to do the job correctly. If your edge apex is getting up to temperatures over 300 degrees F (WAY too hot to handle), you're plain doing it wrong. :rolleyes: You shouldn't be seeing sparks coming off of the blade while sharpening. If you are, then you need to move the edge across the belt faster and/or slow the belt down. ;)
 
SpyderPhreak said:
Per the Bossman himself, INFI will not suffer a loss of strength/temper unless heated to over 900 degrees F. That's not going to happen while sharpening via a belt unless it is done quite improperly. Also, most belt grinders have adjustable speed, and will not heat up an edge appreciably under normal sharpening usage unless the user were to hold it in the same spot for quite some time.

Even without belt speed control, one does not need to have a cooled belt (most are not anyway) to do the job correctly. If your edge apex is getting up to temperatures over 300 degrees F (WAY too hot to handle), you're plain doing it wrong. :rolleyes: You shouldn't be seeing sparks coming off of the blade while sharpening. If you are, then you need to move the edge across the belt faster and/or slow the belt down. ;)
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IMO, this is not sound logic as research has been done on this…. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...Has-anyone-tested-this?highlight=roman+landes

The old 'as long as I can touch the blade' deal doesn't hold true when we are talking about a microscopic edge that can overheat and cool in an instant due to low themal mass and not leave signs of overheating due to corrosion resistance of the steels we have today. Perhaps INFI is more resistant to this sort of thing due to the temperature required as you mention, but we are not just talking about INFI here.
 
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Maggot Brain said:
IMO, this is not sound logic as much research has been done on this…. the old 'as long as I can touch the blade' deal doesn't hold true when we are talking about a microscopic edge that can overheat and cool in an instant due to low themal mass and not leave signs of overheating due to corrosion resistance of the steels we have today. Perhaps INFI is more resistant to this sort of thing due to the temperature required as you mention, but we are not just talking about INFI here.
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A lot of this "research" you mention is purely theorectical conjecture and has not been actually proven. Just because a bunch of internet talking heads say it is true, does not make it so. ;) Having said that, I'm not saying that it can't happen. Yes, the edge apex will heat up faster than the rest of the blade, and you can certainly screw up the temper if you're not careful, but that does NOT mean that it always happens when using a powered means of sharpening.

You CAN sharpen with a belt grinder and keep an edge cool enough not to damage the temper without some kind of cooled belt. Really. You can. :thumbup:

PS - Just to be clear, we're not talking about super-thin Sushi knives here.
 
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OK, you can't prove anything…. nor can I. What I can do however is guarantee my edges will not be overheated, you cannot…. plain and simple.

As a side note here, dull knives work just fine too apparently. My father in law uses one of the dullest knives I've ever seen to process his deer all the way to the freezer, not quite sure how he does it but he makes do. He even takes the time to stop and work the blade every few minutes on the ceramic sticks (which doesn't help at all when it's this dull).
 
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Maggot Brain said:
OK, you can't prove anything…. nor can I. What I can do however is guarantee my edges will not be overheated, you cannot…. plain and simple.
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OK, we've derailed this thread enough. You can't deny that there are many repected individuals on both sides of this arguement. For the purposes we are talking here (Busse Knives), even if you are 100% correct and I'm dead wrong, I submit that it won't matter one bit in actual, real-world usage. Any "overheated" infinitesimal edge apex will be worn away so quickly during use that the user will not see any difference in practice. The only Busse I can think of thin enough where this could even make a difference might be a thin NICK kitchen knife, and even then I have my doubts that it would show up in real-world usage.

Now if we start talking really thin like straight razors, Sushi knives, etc., then it is a whole other story.

BTW, this is my final reply to you here. I have come to these conclusions through experience, having sharpened knives w/o power for many years. Once I started using a belt a few years ago, I have not looked back. Overall, my edges are sharper than they were before, and last just as long (on the same knives).
 
Toothy edge, like a very coarse grit on D2, works great for severing joints. Otherwise, any good steel honed sharp, whether V, convex or Scandi, will work fine separating hide from flesh.
 
The topic here is "what kind of edge". It is NOT "how to best sharpen an edge".

That would be a different thread. You can start that thread and take your discussion there. Thank you.
 
I still like my meat cutting knives, power sharpened or hand sharpened, they're going down to southwestern Minnesota with me this November. :thumbup:
 
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