Dilemma

T

The_Dave

Joined
Dec 5, 2008
Messages
181
I picked up a BOSS Jack at BLADE this year... My funds are quite limited, so I'm considering picking up a sheath and carrying this one as sort of an EDC/Camp knife rather than getting a smaller EDC blade. The problem is that I can't sharpen the thing!

The angles are wrong for my SharpMaker, and I'm not good enough with sandpaper/mousepad to even keep the thing sharp, nevermind to get it from a v grind to a convex grind...

So I guess the real issue is, should I save up some cash and pick up the Scrapper 5 I've wanted for a while instead of worrying about the Jack? And, while we're at it, is SR101 sufficient on the CG Scrapper for EDC work/light camping work, or should I spend significantly more for an LE?
 
buy a couple of cheap/throw-away knives and practice with the sandpaper.

it's not rocket surgery, it just takes non-INFI practice...
 
You have a great knife. There are several youtube videos and tons of threads on sharpening. :thumbup: YOU CAN DO IT! :D
 
plus one to both of those posts.

however, SR101 is oustanding steel, even better IMHO when it is convexed.
 
1. Cavemen sharpened things.

2. You can't hurt INFI on a good set of stones and a strop.

3. You need to learn.

4. You can do it!
 
Bit confused with why the angle of any knife could be wrong for sharpening with any system???

If using a sharpening system with two rods, and the angle of your knife does not match, turn the knife a bit until you start hitting the edge.


I do have to say, that for ease of maintenance, you cannot find an easier system than a convex edge with a strop. Sandpaper mousepad for fixing damage.

It really is not hard to learn.

I did one folder before switching to my infi, and have done 4 Busse's by hand now, including a FBMLE.

Watch some tutorials and read up, then practice on a few cheaper knives.
 
Last edited:
Bigfattyt said:
Bit confused with why the angle of any knife could be wrong for sharpening with any system???
Click to expand...

The angle on my edgepro apex, hitting the cutting edge itself, was somewhere in the 30-35 degree per side range. the sharpmaker may not have an angle setting that obtuse so it ends up just hitting the corner of where the edge transitions into the main grind. If you want to go to 24 per side, you have to remove a chunk because of how thick the boss jack is at the edge. I'm not sure if the sharpmaker is good at doing heavy rebevels.

This is kind of extreme, I knocked off a big shoulder worth of metal by doing a large 18 degree relief with a 24 degree main edge:

zzP1020699-1.jpg


I feel kinda bad doing it, but I simply don't want to use a knife for edc tasks like breaking down boxes and food prep with the kind of edge it came with. I've owned several busse's that had similar amounts of metal behind the edge, they just tended to be smaller ones like the sus scrofa and active duty. I'm not going to be cutting up any car doors with this, but I know that it has as much metal as other knives that jerry felt okay with putting the warranty on.

anyways, it can be done. you just might have to modify your technique on the sharp maker to match the factory angle, or you might have to remove some metal to get it to an angle the sharp maker can handle.

If you want a good knife to practice sharpening with I would suggest the cold steel gi tanto. It's cheap and thick, you can take a belt sander to it to move the grind back a bit and it's got a ton of metal to make mistakes on.
 
Last Visible Canary said:
The angle on my edgepro apex, hitting the cutting edge itself, was somewhere in the 30-35 degree per side range. the sharpmaker may not have an angle setting that obtuse so it ends up just hitting the corner of where the edge transitions into the main grind. If you want to go to 24 per side, you have to remove a chunk because of how thick the boss jack is at the edge. I'm not sure if the sharpmaker is good at doing heavy rebevels.

This is kind of extreme, I knocked off a big shoulder worth of metal by doing a large 18 degree relief with a 24 degree main edge:

zzP1020699-1.jpg


I feel kinda bad doing it, but I simply don't want to use a knife for edc tasks like breaking down boxes and food prep with the kind of edge it came with. I've owned several busse's that had similar amounts of metal behind the edge, they just tended to be smaller ones like the sus scrofa and active duty. I'm not going to be cutting up any car doors with this, but I know that it has as much metal as other knives that jerry felt okay with putting the warranty on.

anyways, it can be done. you just might have to modify your technique on the sharp maker to match the factory angle, or you might have to remove some metal to get it to an angle the sharp maker can handle.

If you want a good knife to practice sharpening with I would suggest the cold steel gi tanto. It's cheap and thick, you can take a belt sander to it to move the grind back a bit and it's got a ton of metal to make mistakes on.
Click to expand...

That is an awesome job dude, with an excellent photo showing the bevels - wowser! :D :thumbup:
 
LVC is right, the edge is way too obtuse for the SharpMaker. I also don't think it'd be a good idea to try to hold it at a different angle to accommodate it on the SharpMaker, because the angle changes up near the tip.

I'm graduating today, so maybe some faraway relatives will send me some money and I'll get an S5 or something :D
 
The Boss Jack was a very cool knife with two real problems from a user standpoint.

The knife although having a sharpened edge was more obtuse than any Busse I've ever owned. When using the knife to cut anything it would simply start to hang up after starting the slice because of how much metal was behind it.

The knife also had a very off centered tip. I fixed both problems with my belt grinder.

boss3-2.jpg


4667085036_cf006ef8c1_b.jpg


If the Boss Jack is the knife you WANT then its worth putting the effort into making it how you like.
 
Another option would be go to someone to have it done. There's an old guy in my parent's neighborhood that has several different tools for sharpening about anything including planer blades, chansaws, axes, lawn mower blades, you name it. He'll do a knife expertly for 2 or 3 bucks.
 
If the Boss Jack is the knife you WANT then its worth putting the effort into making it how you like.
Click to expand...

What an awesome looking job 230grains. That's a sick looking edge dude! :thumbup:
 
Dilemma solved... Got some cash from graduation today so I'll be in the market for some relatively more EDC-friendly INFI soon... :D
 
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