Busse Help

Welcome to BladeForums and the Busse universe. :thumbup:

There is nothing special about maintaining or sharpening INFI. I think that the Spyderco Sharpmaker is an excellent tool to sharpen and maintain edges, especially for people new to sharpening. Practically foolproof, delivers an excellent edge.

if you want to learn how to convex your edges:

http://www.barkriverknives.com/convex.htm

http://www.knivesshipfree.com/pages/Sharpening-Videos

You can also hang out in the Maintenance forum, lots of good info there.
 
Haole said:
On my NMSFNO I use a smooth steel rod about 1/4 inch thick to maintain the edge.....it simply straightens the small micro serrations that occur after use but does not remove any metal. Razors edge makes a product called Raz-r-steel for 25 bucks but once you learn the proper angle you just need the metal rod from a hobby shop for about 1 dollar. If you 'maintain' your edge consistently you will rarely need to sharpen it.

To strop I use a piece of thick, stiff, cheap, chemical tanned cow hide about 6" x 10" or so with green compound. An expensive razor strop is too skinny for me. Just lay the leather on a flat surface and polish the edge.

with these methods there is no way you can screw up while you learn about more advanced sharpening.....
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info haole
 
I would not want to try sharpening a large knife with a fairly thick edge with a sharpmaker- I don't think you'll even touch the edge on your NMSFNO for many days if that's all you have.

Easiest and cheapest is sandpaper and leather. You can use the sandpaper over the leather and then strop on the leather. This is easiest to learn and will give you a great edge. If you want to progress from there you can go to stones, diamond hones, paper wheels, edgepros, belt grinders...

Or, I have a barely used WartHog I could let you have cheap ; )
 
I saw a guy on youtube sharpening his knife on some 2000 grit sandpaper and a strop. Would that be adequate for my NMSFNO?
 
Whoops, I wrote that last post before reading the one above. I think that's what I'm going to try first. Thanks to everyone posting, I appreciate it.
 
watch those tutorials on how to sharpen convex edges. Very easy to do once you get the hang.

All you need are various grits of sand paper. a cheap computer mouse pad, and some leather and buffing compound. I have used cheap buffing compound from the hard ware store to load my strop (which I made my self).

Warning, however, watch the tutorials several times, and practice on a cheap knife or two first before jumping in on the Infi.

It really is not too hard, and you will find that many many hogs prefer a convexed edge for the simple ease of maintaining it.

Biggest thing is not to press hard at all. A light touch is what is needed.

The sharpening systems are great too. But as you saw from pricing them they are costly. Also, learning to sharpen free hand is a skill that you can use without any system. If you have a basic understanding with free hand sharpening methods, you can toss a crock stick, or some sand paper and piece of loaded leather in your bag for camping etc.

the polishing compound at bark river is a good choice. (but like I said, I use cheap stuff that works ok, just not as fine of a polish

I made a 4 sided strop out of a broken belt, and a piece of wood.
IMG_0587.jpg

IMG_0999.jpg


After a bit of stropping.
IMG_0993.jpg

I actually only use the #6 buffing compound (which is in the red topped container, but the stuff is actually green).

All my infi has convexed edges now. It is not better than a v-edge. A sharp v-edge will cut the same as a convex edge. You can have a dull convex or dull v edge. Thick or thin for either.

either type of edge will either be great or suck (according to your skill). The great thing about a fixed sharpening system, is it takes the guess work out. I used one for the better part of my sharpening career, and have only in the past 4 years or so started moving to a convex edge on all my knives (all my users at least).


The advice about the steel rod was good stuff as well. I use a smooth screw driver whenever I damage my edge. I try to align the edge as much as I can first with the steel, before sharpening it, which will save you from removing any more steel than you have to.

As others have said already, hand out on the maintenance forum and learn what you can there. Watch as many tutorials as you can on the subject.


If all else fails and you mess up your edge, you can always send it in to Busse and they will sharpen it for you.


Good luck.
 
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All you need is a 99 cent ceramic rod from SMKW. A little light stropping will keep your edge fresh and sharp. From the Busse Comat web site:

Sharpening
INFI's high level of chip resistance also makes it the easiest steel to resharpen by hand that we have ever encountered. I personally fall into the category of "hand sharpening challenged". I've heard tales of those who can sharpen ball peen hammers to a razor's edge on an Arkansas stone in less than 5 seconds flat. My experiences have always been to the contrary. The spine of the knife is usually sharper than the edge when I'm finished applying my magic stone sharpening technique. One of the great features of INFI is that simply stropping away from the edge (the way a barber strops a straight edged razor) on a ceramic stick is basically all that is required to resharpen INFI. Since you're not chipping steel off the edge there is no need to grind any steel away. This feature of INFI will, likewise, allow you to keep the same overall profile of the knife for a much greater period of time.
 
Horn Dog said:
All you need is a 99 cent ceramic rod from SMKW. A little light stropping will keep your edge fresh and sharp. From the Busse Comat web site:

Sharpening
INFI's high level of chip resistance also makes it the easiest steel to resharpen by hand that we have ever encountered. I personally fall into the category of "hand sharpening challenged". I've heard tales of those who can sharpen ball peen hammers to a razor's edge on an Arkansas stone in less than 5 seconds flat. My experiences have always been to the contrary. The spine of the knife is usually sharper than the edge when I'm finished applying my magic stone sharpening technique. One of the great features of INFI is that simply stropping away from the edge (the way a barber strops a straight edged razor) on a ceramic stick is basically all that is required to resharpen INFI. Since you're not chipping steel off the edge there is no need to grind any steel away. This feature of INFI will, likewise, allow you to keep the same overall profile of the knife for a much greater period of time.
Click to expand...


That's right, if Jerry can do it then anyone can. :thumbup:
 
How the heck does a knifemaker sell sharp knives when he can't sharpen a knife? What's he send them out to be sharpened by someone else !:eek:
 
d762nato said:
How the heck does a knifemaker sell sharp knives when he can't sharpen a knife? What's he send them out to be sharpened by someone else !:eek:
Click to expand...

It's amazing what can be done on a belt sander with a little Scotch. :D
 
d762nato said:
How the heck does a knifemaker sell sharp knives when he can't sharpen a knife? What's he send them out to be sharpened by someone else !:eek:
Click to expand...

I used to wonder that, too. But the quote said "hand sharpening" and refers to stones, so I assume Jerry is great with a belt sander. :D
 
d762nato said:
How the heck does a knifemaker sell sharp knives when he can't sharpen a knife? What's he send them out to be sharpened by someone else !:eek:
Click to expand...

Oh if only you had been around longer, and saw some of the threads discussing Busse sharpness...

:eek: :eek: :eek: :foot:


Let's just say the INFI I have gotten RECENTLY has been sharp enough :thumbup:
 
So I guess Garth is the main blade sharpener, That's a lot of blades to sharpen. Yeah I had a guy who comes in my local gun shop where I frequent sharpen a knife for me. His card says scary sharp, I was'nt Impressed. I think he used a sander/grinder or something. Some guys are just better at it than others.
 
I had a guy tell me a Busse was crap that he never heard of before and this is an old timer knife maker that is local. I kinda wonder why all his blades were 440C?

Anyway, great thread.
 
While I often fully convex my Busses and use a belt sander to do it, I really do use Jerry's crock stick method to maintain even a convex final edge. I find it faster and easier than the strop. It takes very little pressure and is done just on the final edge itself. I do this on everything from pocket knives to machetes. It really works.
 
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