CGFBM - Shaving sharp?

H

hawkinsa21

Joined
Jan 5, 2007
Messages
543
Hey guys, I've been reading loads of threads, and wondered what different folks experiences are on this matter.

How many CGFBM owners had theirs come 'shaving sharp' right out the box??

Anyone need to spend a bit of time altering the edge for razor sharpness??


I've seen some people who have really gone to work on the edge to make it even sharper and used sand paper and a strop etc... will altering the edge affect the performance at all?? Or is INFI 'THAT HARD'?? (I suspect that the later is a YES)


Mine should be with me this week :D and its my first Busse blade, so you probably can guess how I'm feeling right now ;)

:p

Cheers guys,


Alex
 
thinning it out will make the blade cut much better, going to do one of mine today.
 
nice!

I don't have a strop... can I do this just with Sandpaper?? Mind you, mine may be razorsharp, won't know till its out of the box...

Any pointers?? I've read some threads suggesting that doing it by hand is more accurate if you've not used any machinery before... I'd be doing it completely by hand as well

Thanks for your reply xanax :)
 
You couldn't thin the edge out with a strop. It would take a lifetime. I use 100 grit sandpaper to thin it out, then switch to 600 to get it sharp, then 2000 to get it sharper, then a strop with compound to get it sharpest. I was using a mousepad under the sandpaper with poor results, but I tried using the leather from my strop under the sandpaper instead and was easily able to get to shaving sharpness. Granted, this was with a Warden, which would take much less time than a FBM, but the concept is the same.
 
Thanks ETC, nice reply.. I will hunt for some sweet fine grain sandpapers!

I have a mousepad, but if you don't recommend it, then maybe I'll avoid it... although the FBM is MUCH larger.. hmmm, shall ponder on this one :)
 
The issue I had with the mouse pad was that I was applying too much pressure. The mouse pad is soft, so the edge would sink in too far and the sandpaper actually dulled the edge. I used leather, which is a bit firmer, and used less hand pressure and had much better results. Plenty of people use mouse pads successfully though. Of course there are different mouse pads as well. I think the thin, harder ones would work quite well. You can easily find 100 through 600 grit sandpaper at a hardware store. For the 2000, I had to go to an auto parts store as it is used for metal polishing.

The FBM wouldn't be too much more work actually. Much of the blade is a straight edge, which can be sharpened all at once. Then you just have to deal with the curve toward the tip, which I'm terrible with on any size of knife. I always manage to blunt the tip too. Practice makes perfect though.
 
Yeah if your doing it by hand you will need the sandpaper. I've never done it this way though. I just spent five minutes with a 1x30" belt sander and thinned my edge out by about 2 1/2 times the width of which it came to me. The edge looks absloutley perfect. wish I could post a pic.
I got a burr on one side then switched to the other until it got one. When I get home I will use a DMT benchstone to get rid of the burr and lightly stop with a leather loaded compound
 
Chances are very good your CGFBM will not be shaving sharp right from the box. I use the the mousepad/sandpaper technique up to 2000 grit and then a few strops on cardboard. I had it shaving sharp and polished, but decided that wasn't good enough so I monkeyed with it last night and now it's dull again. :mad: So my advice to you is try and not be compulsive about it and know when to quit. And use light pressure. I may cave in and take mine to the gunshow this weekend and let a pro put a nice edge back on.
 
there was a thread last week about tuning up the edge on a CGFBM:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=452017

There is always a lot of discussion about sharpening technique over on the Toolshed forum.

I have ordered the strop from Lee Valley, a supply of 3M paper from an auto parts store, and a DMT D8XX; now I need to dig out some cheap blades to practice my technique.
 
Since I'm so lazy, I would like Jerry to offer shaving sharpness for a small extra fee, maybe $5 - $10. I'd be willing to pay that rather than risk ruining my Infi edge by trying to get it scary sharp myself. I have received other large knives that were flawless in their sharpness but mabe I'm just having some bad luck with new Infi blades. Would anyone else be willing to pay an extra fee for this service? Once I have a sharpened knife I don't seem to have much trouble bring it back with a strop.
 
digdeep said:
Since I'm so lazy, I would like Jerry to offer shaving sharpness for a small extra fee, maybe $5 - $10. I'd be willing to pay that rather than risk ruining my Infi edge. Would anyone else be willing to pay an extra fee for this service? Once I have a sharpened knife I don't seem to have much troulbe bring it back with a strop.
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I think they should all come that way for free. For 400.00 a knife should be scary sharp. After a certain amount of work is done with your knife, you will have to resharpen it on a stone or a belt sander anyway. Or else you will have serious problems with the edge rolling denting or chipping. You have to expose new carbides every several thousand chops or so.
 
just my opinion but if you cant sharpen a knife you shouldnt own it.... practice and you will find it easy, i personally would not like it if jerry sent all the knifes he makes out with thinned edges and 'scary sharp' as i put dif edges on dif knives so each fits its job and my liking. just my 2 cents
 
Agreed VTW. Every new peice of steel that enters my home I learn how to put the edge on it for the type of tasks it will be asked to do. I will no more shave with my CGFBM than I will chop campfire wood or build a shelter with my warden.
 
valleytinworks said:
just my opinion but if you cant sharpen a knife you shouldnt own it.... practice and you will find it easy, i personally would not like it if jerry sent all the knifes he makes out with thinned edges and 'scary sharp' as i put dif edges on dif knives so each fits its job and my liking. just my 2 cents
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I have been pondering the concept of earning your edge myself. I think that it is fitting that you should only carry a knife as sharp as you are able to make. I am not able to put a scary sharp edge on my knives right now, but I can get them sharp enough for my use and that is fine by me. I am also getting them a little bit better each time.
 
three years ago i couldnt sharpen a a knife sharp enough to cut myself even if i wanted to cut myself, now i can sharpen so well i cut myself when i dont wnat too.....lol
 
I love my Busses but they don't come to me with what I term shaving sharp. The best I have seen will cut arm hair with a bit of effort. Considering how thick most of the edges are and their intended use I think that is fairly the norm. To me shaving sharp means that I run the blade lightly over the hair and it surrenders instantly. None of my busse's came that way. Once stropped, my orange user GW now shaves. Haven't used either of my big busses so I haven't sharpened them either. I don't think it would be too tough to get them where they need to be (assuming they don't need to be thinned out).

pete
 
It is also a very good feeling to be able to sharpen your own knife and get it sharp, on the other hand cutting yourself on something that someone else sharpened would have to suck.
 
The edge on mine was really rough and not polished. I liked the basic grind so all I did was hit it with a ceramic stick and then stropped with green cromium compound.
 
Maybe you'll get lucky like me and get one that pops hairs at the slightest touch. :D
 
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