Can anyone help?

K

King Gimpicus

Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
63
I recently got a Explora-Kit Survival knife. I am having SUCH a hard time sharpening it! :grumpy: All of my other knives i can put a hair-poppin edge on in no-time flat, but this one is being a big pain. If anyone has one and has some tips for sharpening it, or just any tips in general, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

~ King Gimpicus ~
 
is this your knife?
Survival%20knife.JPG
 
Sorry to break this to you, but any you can be virtually guaranteed that the knife you're buying is a piece of crap if it:

Doesn't even list the type of steel that it uses.
Has a hollow handle and a built in compass.
Has "Saw Teeth" on the back.
Is made in Taiwan.

I'm sorry to say it, but you basically just purchased a piece of garbage. You shouldn't even think of depending on this thing, as it will probably break when you most need it (or at the very least, as you've seen, not function well at all)
 
The thing is, on the front curve i have a really nice edge, and i can whittle to my hearts content and its still sharp as hell. Its the straight(er) part of the blade thats pissing me off. i have a warrenty where if it breaks under any normal contintion (i dont purposely break it) they give me a new one.... so what gives?
 
If all else fails, can anyone else perscribe a tougher-than-nails-i'll-never-dull-the-edge-ever knife at a reasonable price? I dont care how long it takes to sharpen... ill take it
 
While that knife is undoubtedly a piece of junk, you should still be able to get it plenty sharp. From the pictures it looks like where the knife begins to curve towards the tip the edge gets further from the spine? (sort of a recurve) If that is the case sharpening it on a wide flat stone will likely sharpen the tip and heel while leaving the straight section untouched. What are you using to sharpen it? If you have some sandpaper wrap it around some kind of a rod and try that. It ought to work out better for you. As for the built in sharpener...well it might sharpen a round rod, but it probably shouldn't touch your knifes edge (unless you just used your knife to chop through concrete in which case you probably also have a horribly mangled knife).

As for your tougher than nails never dull knife: There is no such thing. Learn to sharpen and you will be able to shave with a fence post. There are many well made knives in your price range. What size, style, and application do you have planned for this knife?
 
Well, im getting pretty close to finishing my "crowbar" knife (ive spent a good 30 hours filing this thing) and i think i can basically shoot it and nothing will happen. Ill see how that thing fares first, but im really looking for a good 5-7 inch uber tough camp/survival knife...
 
Annealing the steal first would cut down filing time significantly and you can get the steel quite a few points softer on an electric stove although not dead soft. I used my stove for all of the heat treating on this knife and it turned out fairly well. let us know what you have going on and I am sure we can help in making it a great knife. Are you actually making it out of a crowbar?

How about some progress pictures of this "crowbar" knife.

Here is a shot of my file knife, stills needs some cleaning up and the scales are too thick.

 
Alrighty, basically its one of these: http://www.afrojet.com/images/wonderbar.jpg. I've filed off the bit where it has the 90 degree turn, an im working with the flat part of the thing to make a blade. Im starting to make the point and edge my cutting diagonally across the flat part. Im still debating if i should keep the end or not (seeing as it may come in useful at some point). Im going to cut out part of the bar part of the way down to make a usable handle. thats about all i have right now though. btw... annealing? I'm completely new to knife making... so i could use a definition.

^_^

~ King Gimpicus ~
 
Um, good luck on the wonderbar knife! I've never tried to grind or cut a crowbar but I can't imagine its very much fun. I think you may have been better served doing pushups and buying a nicholson file to use as a blank. That crowbar wont hold an edge very well and since its an unknown steel heat treating will be a guess and check affair.

Annealing is a process that softens the steal allowing it to be ground and worked more easily. You do it by heating it to nonmagnetic then cooling slowly. If you buy a cheap electric single burner stove put it on high and cover with a pan to concentrate the heat, then leave it there for a while it should reach nonmag. Slowly lower the heat on the stove till it is off and let cool. You now have a file that can be much more easily cut and shaped. When you are done grinding you will have to harden it and temper it but thats easy too and can be done with the same stove and a bucket of water. Thats how I did mine except I used the kitchen stove. A $30 angle grinder will make the shaping process way easier...The knife i posted was made with just a hand file and sandpaper though. I formed the curve by drilling holes and filing through the leftover metal.
 
Yeah. It's already tempered and hardened, so i dont have to worry about that. What makes my going even slower is that about all i have available to me is a hand file and sand paper... I do have a reciprocating saw... and i think i may just use it, but i'll have to go and get some metal cutting bits for it. Im just working on the diagonal cut for now and its going fairly well. im about a centimeter in already (only an hour). the part thats REALLY gonna suck is cutting the handle out. oh well, if it'll get me my crowbar knife, i'll do it.
 
It took me about 6 hours to make my knife with only a file. (excluding annealing and heat treating)

What are you expecting from the wonderbar knife in terms of function and usability?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top