convex grind & a leather hone

V

Virg

Joined
Jul 26, 2000
Messages
47
So I've got my Fallkniven S1, a leather hone from HandAmerican and I'm ready to touch up my edge. I've read the FAQs, etc. and I think I know what I'm doing – but still have a few questions. what sort of motion is it? Just like stropping? Should I do one side only and 'raise a burr' first like I would on a std edge?

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V.
 
If you have a leather hone, I assume that it is just like a strop. And if you are at the point where only stropping is needed, yes to a stropping motion, and make sure you alternate sides. I already feel sorry for the hairs on your arms...

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"Come What May..."
 
Well, Crayola, the hone is glued to a wooden base, so there's less 'give' than a strop. I guess what I'm concerned about is that there's not enough 'give' and I will begin to flatten the curvature of the convex edge . . . but I also have a strop, so might just use that. The knife is still cutting well, but will no longer shave hair . . .

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V.
 
If you are using a hanging strop you can pretty much just press and have the leather deform exactly around the edge. With a leather hone like you describe you can't get the same kind of give and so you have to be more careful positioning the blade.

However the leather will still give a little so you don't need near the level of precision required for regular bench stones. The thicker the leather the less precise you need to be.

To make sure you are hitting the edge the correct way just mark a section of the edge and after a couple of passes check to insure that you are working all along the edge.

If you load the leather with a polishing compound you can actually sharpen the knife. Cutlery steels are very hard and abrasion resistant so get one that is used to polish stainless steels.

You can raise a burr and switch, however removing the burr will take some time because of the small amount of material being removed. It is far simpler to just alternate strokes and check the edge after every 10 passes or so (depends on how worn the edge is and how hard it is to polish).

-Cliff

[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 04-10-2001).]
 
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