Coarse Stone for Sharpening A Kukri

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me2

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Oct 11, 2003
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I am rebeveling my OLD Cold Steel Kukri Machete, effectively adding a primary edge at about 8 degrees per side. I’m leaving a tiny sliver of the original edge bevel to sharpen at roughly 15 degrees. However the recurve shape has always confounded me. What is a good option for a fast cutting coarse stone for edge shaping that will fit the recurve of the Kukri?
 
For fast material removal, you could consider a file as it being a machete, it's likely soft. I know even the better kukri's are soft enough for a good file to work on, but almost any cheapo file is still hard enough for most machetes out there.

Half round file would be about right.
 
I added the primary bevel with a half round file. It seems too coarse for adding an edge but it might work. Maybe a chainsaw file or similar would be smooth enough to go straight to my ceramic rod?
 
me2 said:
I added the primary bevel with a half round file. It seems too coarse for adding an edge but it might work. Maybe a chainsaw file or similar would be smooth enough to go straight to my ceramic rod?
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Ah, I misread that a little. You can still use the file as a "extra extra coarse" sharpening tool, to reset the edge. From there, I often use a diamond rod or sandpaper on a dowel or something like that. For general resharpening, I use the buck edgetek rod, which I think is the same thing and jewelstik 3-sided sharpening rod. I do find the "coarse" diamond rods slower than my coarse synthetic stones like those from baryonyx. The scythe stones can work pretty well turning corners.

I have the manticore "file" which is rounded and hogs off material nearly as fast as a file. Creates a rough edge but not too bad to clean up afterwards. I only really use it for working out chips or resetting the edge bevel, particularly on new "hard use knives" like those coming from Esee or OKC's spec plus line.
 
A big brick japanese waterstone. I like the Naniwa Professional DX Gouken 220. Its a harder pink brick that is very aggressive and slower wearing. My go-to when I need to remove a lot of metal.

Slope one side of the stone and it makes hitting the recurve easy.
 
How i do it:

K

How To Post in thread 'Optimizing 3 Cold Steel Kukri Machetes'

About twice a week we like to take a hike in the forests surrounding our home town, and each time we walk between 7 and 10 kilometers. (about 4 to 6 miles)
During that time i use any of my choppers to keep the walking trails clear from overgrowth, ranging from small green branches up to small trees, most of them green, some dried.
The last few weeks i've been using the modified Kukri Machete for this job, and i've been trying out different edge finishes to get a better idea of how this influences both the performance as well as the edge retention of the 1055 steel.

The first edge on this...
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FortyTwoBlades FortyTwoBlades sells lots of good options through his store: https://byxco.com/collections/byxco

His "American Mutt" bench stones are the best coarse stones I have ever used to hog-off material without risking damage to the edge. To me it feels like a medium grit stone but it cuts like an extra coarse stone. IDK if he has a rounded file version, but the rounded Manticore, Bull Thistle, and Arctic Fox stones should cover all your needs for a khukuri.
 
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