I am currently gathering the materials to make the convex edge sharpening system setup with the mouse pad. Today I went to Home Depot and Wal-Mart and got:
-2 thin mousepads
-400 grit, and 600 grit sandpaper
-a 2x6
-2 clamps.
-Leather stropping compound
So here's the fun part:
I go to this place in the mall called "The Knife Shop" because I had exhausted 4 different stores looking for a strip of leather, and 800 grit sandpaper. So I see this guy at the shop whom I talked to way before I came to this site. I didn't want to talk to this guy because he told me this the last time I went there to ask him about a knife:
"If you are looking for a really high-end knife and are willing to drop the bucks, I suggest you try Cold Steel products. I've had one of their knives for a year and still haven't had to sharpen it. They use the highest end steel on their blades, and actually don't even reveal what kind of steel is in there because they don't want other companies to know."
Now, after browising through this site, and other knife merchant's websites I have since learned Cold Steel is definitely not the best knife company out there. In addition, they don't have any mystery steel, and it ranges from AUS8, 420HC, Carbon V, and the San Mai III. But enough of that. I also didn't want this guy because last time I went to look at a knife he tried selling it to me for a ridiculous price. So I go in there today and wanted to ask him where I could get a nice pieve of leather that I could make into a leather strop. He points me in the direction of his 50$ strops, and I'm not going to pay that much for a strop unless I consult BladeForums. So I change the subject and ask where to find 800 grit sandpaper. So he asks what I'll be using it on, and I tell him it's for sharpening a convex edge. So he whips out his CRKT M16 as if it were a million dollar bill and says "like this?" And I'm thinking to myself "I thought CRKT was either chisel, hollow, or flat ground, but not convex. So I say, "uh, I think so..." and I tell him it's for a Fallkniven. And the conversation goes as follows:
"Oh, well what do you need the sandpaper for?"
"For sharpening the convex. Have you heard of the mousepad-sandpaper method?"
"No..."
I proceed to explain it to him.
"Why don't you just use a flat stone for that?"
"Because I heard the mousepad conforms to the edge of the convex."
"Do you draw away from the blade or towards it in this method?"
"Away from the blade"
"No, you never do that." He remarks in a know-it-all attitude. And if I'm wrong, tell me but I was under the impression sharpening a convex invloves drawing away. He proceeds to give me an explanation as to how a knife edge works like a tiny tiny saw, which I already know, but I decide to respect my elders and argue no further. But I do say,
"well, for convex blades I was under the impression that you draw away. That's at least what the websites I hvae consulted for this message have said"
Now he gets an attitude:
"Look, Buddy, I've been sharpening knives for 5 years, and you never draw away from the blade, you develop a burr."
Once again, I remind myself what the great BladeForums has told me about wanting to learn how to develop the burr, but yet I hold my tongue.
So after about 10 minutes of hearing this guy go on and on about why I'm wrong, I decide to just purchase the stropping compound I had been holding on to the whole time. He finishes by telling me he's never heard of the mousepad method, blah blah blah. I decide to trust this site more than a guy that doesn't know what steel he has in his own knife.
In addition, I was confused as to why he showed me his CRKT M16. It seemed like a cheaper knife for a knife store owner, but my question was, if he really had a convex edge on there, then he must have put it on himself. So how has he not heard of the mousepad method if he has put his own convex edges on his crappy knives??? Even if he doesn't use it, I'm sure he's heard of it!!!
Oh well. What I need to know now is something I should ask intelligient people (you guys).
Where do I find a nice strip of leather I can use for a strop? Is it 100% necessary to invest in a strop? What grits are good to use to touch up the blade on my Fallkniven S1? Should I go higher or lower than 400 and 600?
Thanks guys!!!! I stood up for you!
-2 thin mousepads
-400 grit, and 600 grit sandpaper
-a 2x6
-2 clamps.
-Leather stropping compound
So here's the fun part:
I go to this place in the mall called "The Knife Shop" because I had exhausted 4 different stores looking for a strip of leather, and 800 grit sandpaper. So I see this guy at the shop whom I talked to way before I came to this site. I didn't want to talk to this guy because he told me this the last time I went there to ask him about a knife:
"If you are looking for a really high-end knife and are willing to drop the bucks, I suggest you try Cold Steel products. I've had one of their knives for a year and still haven't had to sharpen it. They use the highest end steel on their blades, and actually don't even reveal what kind of steel is in there because they don't want other companies to know."
Now, after browising through this site, and other knife merchant's websites I have since learned Cold Steel is definitely not the best knife company out there. In addition, they don't have any mystery steel, and it ranges from AUS8, 420HC, Carbon V, and the San Mai III. But enough of that. I also didn't want this guy because last time I went to look at a knife he tried selling it to me for a ridiculous price. So I go in there today and wanted to ask him where I could get a nice pieve of leather that I could make into a leather strop. He points me in the direction of his 50$ strops, and I'm not going to pay that much for a strop unless I consult BladeForums. So I change the subject and ask where to find 800 grit sandpaper. So he asks what I'll be using it on, and I tell him it's for sharpening a convex edge. So he whips out his CRKT M16 as if it were a million dollar bill and says "like this?" And I'm thinking to myself "I thought CRKT was either chisel, hollow, or flat ground, but not convex. So I say, "uh, I think so..." and I tell him it's for a Fallkniven. And the conversation goes as follows:
"Oh, well what do you need the sandpaper for?"
"For sharpening the convex. Have you heard of the mousepad-sandpaper method?"
"No..."
I proceed to explain it to him.
"Why don't you just use a flat stone for that?"
"Because I heard the mousepad conforms to the edge of the convex."
"Do you draw away from the blade or towards it in this method?"
"Away from the blade"
"No, you never do that." He remarks in a know-it-all attitude. And if I'm wrong, tell me but I was under the impression sharpening a convex invloves drawing away. He proceeds to give me an explanation as to how a knife edge works like a tiny tiny saw, which I already know, but I decide to respect my elders and argue no further. But I do say,
"well, for convex blades I was under the impression that you draw away. That's at least what the websites I hvae consulted for this message have said"
Now he gets an attitude:
"Look, Buddy, I've been sharpening knives for 5 years, and you never draw away from the blade, you develop a burr."
Once again, I remind myself what the great BladeForums has told me about wanting to learn how to develop the burr, but yet I hold my tongue.
So after about 10 minutes of hearing this guy go on and on about why I'm wrong, I decide to just purchase the stropping compound I had been holding on to the whole time. He finishes by telling me he's never heard of the mousepad method, blah blah blah. I decide to trust this site more than a guy that doesn't know what steel he has in his own knife.
In addition, I was confused as to why he showed me his CRKT M16. It seemed like a cheaper knife for a knife store owner, but my question was, if he really had a convex edge on there, then he must have put it on himself. So how has he not heard of the mousepad method if he has put his own convex edges on his crappy knives??? Even if he doesn't use it, I'm sure he's heard of it!!!
Oh well. What I need to know now is something I should ask intelligient people (you guys).
Where do I find a nice strip of leather I can use for a strop? Is it 100% necessary to invest in a strop? What grits are good to use to touch up the blade on my Fallkniven S1? Should I go higher or lower than 400 and 600?
Thanks guys!!!! I stood up for you!