convex hypothetical

[J. Rosa]

I'd sharpen with the skulls of my enemies and strop with their hides.

 

[Liam Ryan]

OF, Convex are easier to sharpen, for me anyway.
As long as you dont let the strop roll over the edge, it has to be kept pretty flat.
I can touch mine up on my jeans in a few seconds.

 

[akennedy73]

Why do some people are obsessed about convex edges?? I'm yet to find a task which a traditional V grind won't successfully fulfill.

convex grinds are superior to traditional V grinds in both strength (more material at the edge) as well as providing the least amount of resistance when cutting (the least amount of material in contact with what's being cut and thus reducing friction)

go check out some animal teeth - you'll find convex edges, not v-grinds. that's billions of years of evolution deciding that it's a superior shape for cutting.

 

[Andy_L]

After a few weeks in the field my pants are usually dirty enough to be an effective strop

you have no idea how much I laughed at this. Then I remembered your not british and pants (may) mean something else

 

[NoFair]

you have no idea how much I laughed at this. Then I remembered your not british and pants (may) mean something else

Not sure I'd try stropping on my boxers after a while in the field

Not saying it wouldn't work though

For the Brits out there: Stropping on dirty trousers is ok, stropping on dirty underpants might not

 

[wasp]

but I watched Jerry Busse sharpen a knife on his hand! As we talked he stropped the knife on his palm and handed to me (this did take a while) and it WAS sharper!

 

[NoFair]

but I watched Jerry Busse sharpen a knife on his hand! As we talked he stropped the knife on his palm and handed to me (this did take a while) and it WAS sharper!

Jerry is a HARD man, at least 62RC

Would have gone faster if he was an abrasive personality

 

[Myal]

I use a hand stone first then the inside of my belt for a strop .
I am still experimenting with glossy magazine pages and cardboard boxes as strops as well
Most of my blades have convex edges , I have never used sandpaper to sharpen a knife since I wrecked a bunch of them trying to as a kid .
I actually couldnt sharpen knives by hand until I sat down and ground out my first blade , then it all just happened .

 

[baldtaco-II]

Why do some people are obsessed about convex edges?? I'm yet to find a task which a traditional V grind won't successfully fulfill.

Flow and baggage. The cutting edge doesn't exist in isolation, and for some cutting tasks what immediately follows it is very important. If the cut material doesn't flow efficiently across the baggage performance can be reduced. On some tasks, smashing bricks or using your knife like a chisel .etc, that isn't going to matter, and you could have a big amount of painted lumpen baggage with awkward grinds and overzealous thickness and suffer little penalty provided the edge is sharp. On the contrary, if you want to cut through something flow and dynamics are going to kick in. A convex edge brings some of those advantages of the convex grind to other grinds, and is easy to maintain.

 

[Grampa]

To me, the "How can I keep my convex edge sharp if the SHTF?" is a non-issue.

I've been sharpening my knives free hand to razor sharpness since my Dad taught me when I was a kid.

It was only a few years ago I got one of controlled sharpening systems that put a "perfect" edge on my knives - and they weren't any sharper than before.

Then I found BRKT knives, and heard Mike talk about how most freehand sharpened edges are actually convex. So I went back and checked some of the edges on my old knives, and he was right.

They were all convexed edges.

Learn to sharpen freehand - and then don't worry!