ninjarealist.
I read this thread and think it may be hard for you to put all this advice into perspective. I see a problem with the definition of sharp.
It doesn't sound like you specified at all how you wanted the knife sharpened, only that you wanted it sharp. The term sharp is used pretty loosely with knives and it appears folks have varied opinions about what it means even in this thread. Does it mean that the two bevels come together to an edge and the more refined it is the sharper it is regardless of the angles. Or is a thinner blade sharper or the combination of both thinness and refinement? Is a razor sharper then an axe when they both can shave hair? Is how well they shave hair the final determination?
I think generally we are talking about both thin angles being sharper and more refined edges being sharper, but they need to be handled separately when specifying the best edge for the intended use. The dictionary definitions generally add thinness as part of the definition.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Sharp
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sharp
You need to define what sharp is and then know how you want to use the knife and what aspects of sharp work for those applications before you can either get someone else to sharpen it or for you to sharpen it to your satisfaction. That is one reason why folks are recommending you sharpen your own. Also when you sharpen your own knives you can experiment with different angles and refinement and see how well they cut, how they feel, if they shave or not and weather that matters, how they hold up, etc. So you can learn what you want. If you tried 5 or 6 different kinds of edges, from your guy or any shop, that might cost ~$50 or more. When you sharpen yourself you can experiment all the time.
IMO that guy can probably get you what you want for your trip, but after that I would start working on it yourself. You still need to tell him exactly what you want though or he will just try another approach and that may not be what you want. For example, "I want you to keep the angle you have but refine it more till the edges come together (get a burr) and give it a polished finish". For $10 he probably used a belt grinder. See if he has a buffer or some form of strop on the grinder or off.
There have been a lot of blanket statements made here about what sharp is that are true or have some truth to them, but are probably not going to be acceptable to you in all cases or when taken to extremes so these statements need to be qualified.
I like this one, and no offense Karda, as I agree with most of it, but it is a good example of statements needing some qualification for someone just breaking into this to understand.
A common misconception is that you need a scary sharp edge on your knife.
A good working sharp edge is just fine in most cases and plenty sharp for most jobs, a scary sharp blade can be just as dangerous as a semi dull knife. Oversharpened knives can be prone to edge rolling and chipping out (ask nozh). IMHO alot of people tend to oversharpen their blades. Mr. Heimerdinger is correct. Without you specifying how you wanted your blade sharpened,he was correct in his assumption and his explanation was as forthright and honest as can be. He is willing to work with you to see if he can sharpen your blade to your satisfaction. I would suggest that you listen closely and defer to his experience, otherwise you will need to learn the art yourself.
IMO a scary sharp kitchen knife is safer to use then a semi dull one when used for its intended purpose (for instance in cutting food). I would agree it is more dangerous to handle casually and demands more respect. For example, you (or a child) could possibly pick up the dull one by the blade, casually touching the edge, and probably wouldn't want to do that with the scary sharp one. In this case we are talking mostly about edge refinement and somewhat about how thin and how acute the angle of the edge is.
As far as how easily the edge rolls or chips we are talking mostly about the angle. Too thin an angle can roll or chip easily depending on the type of steel and type of use. However, more refinement is a good thing here and if not refined enough some steels are more prone to chipping. A more refined edge last longer but a thinner edge is weaker then a thicker one and may not last as long depending on how it is used.
Usually the more refined the better, but the intended use should be given some consideration. A friend of mine was in the army and while in basic training he spent hours sharpened his Kabar (I think) to a razors edge. The Drill Sargent had everyone cut some thick hemp rope and his knife would hardly but a dent in it. The Sargent took his finely honed knife and drug it across the edge of a concrete curb and said "now try it". It cut right through the rope. This toothy edge is much like a serrated knife (which works well on bread too). I normal prefer highly refined edges, but there are exceptions. A saw cuts through a tree better then a very sharp knife.
Vassili and Roger999 hit the nail on the head. A bush craft knife should be at a more obtuse angle but could still be sharp sharp (refined in this case). Probably in the 20° or more per side range depending on how you are going to use it. Also, a convex edge would be nice on that knife. However, I do have some problems with being able to whittling hair when you go much past 20° per side on the bevels. I think anyone whittling hair at those angles is stretching it a bit (forcing it or working pretty hard) or the knife has a burr on the edge and they are using that.
Well ... what he told you isn't correct, but it is a very common misconception. Everything else being equal, the sharper the edge, the longer it will last.
Still, it sounds as though he's trying to treat you right as a customer, and his fee for sharpening certainly wasn't unreasonable IMO. I'd probably give him another chance.
Here sharp means more refinement not a more acute angle. The more refined the edge is the longer it will last. A thinner blade will not last as long as a thicker steeper angled edge for heavier work like chopping or
batoning in bushcraft and will have more of a tendency to roll the edge with doing the heavier stuff. If you wanted to do something more like skinning with it you could go with a more acute thinner angle and sacrifice some durability. This would take a lot of reprofiling or regrinding like Knifenut says and would still be quite thick behind the edge. You might want to just start with another knife more suited toward that. You could sharpen part of the edge, like the curve toward the tip, to a more acute angle and the straight section more obtuse and get something better for both worlds, but a hunting knife would probably be thinner and work better for that purpose.
I agree, you might want to start sharpening it yourself, but you may need to depend on someone else for this trip, so you need to know what to ask for. It sounds to me like your sharpening job might meet your expectations if it just had a little more refinement.
I have an Aurora bushcraft knife and a Fox River hunting knife both from Bark River. They are both fairly thick with convex edges that terminate quite steeply and both lean toward the bushcraft side of things. Both will cut paper quite nicely. The Aurora even when refined well will sometimes tear news paper, like yours, with a push cut. It is just to thick for that. It always cuts paper nicely with a slice cut slicing the edge of news print. The Fox River will whittle hair barely, but the Aurora is just to thick and obtuse for that. It is hard to measure the angle on a convex edge but they both terminate is something much greater then 20° per side. They both cut flesh, vegetation, and even bread effortlessly and are great for preparing food or skinning, but I would rather use my MAC Chief's knife in the kitchen. I have a Japanese paring knife sharpened at about 12° per side that whittles hair easily and cuts tomatoes like a light saber, but I wouldn't cut wood with it. It chips when my wife uses it, but not for me. The Aurora and the Fox River both work better for batoning and holds up better for that.
What are you going to do in Africa? How will you use your knife? Is it a survival item for backup while taking pictures or are you planning to use it in bushcraft, camping, hunting, etc?
Gary
