Does anyone use a file to sharpen their knives?

[Captain Ron]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwZxPvzNR8U

Interesting way to sharpen your knives.

 

[blanex1]

hell no! with all the new sharpening systems these days,like edge pro and sharpmaker,why go stone-age!:barf:

 

[orezona]

As a complete novice to sharpening, I'd only do more damage than good if I tried that. Might as well use a river rock and hope for the best...

 

[MTURBO]

I use a file to sharpen my Marine Raider Bowie. It's a heavy duty camp knife for chopping firewood and busting up old pallets. It don't have to be razor sharp and a file works just fine.

 

[kindasharp]

I use one on my lawnmower blades, my knives get softly caressed on hard Arkansas, lubed with whale oil. A file? rukdngme?

 

[Jason B.]

Roughing the edge with a file then beating it on a steel then again on a ceramic surely is an interesting way to sharpen.

Might as well be selling you a pull through sharpener...

 

[stitchawl]

Using a file is the normal way farmers in S.E. Asia all sharpen their farm tools; machetes, scythes, axes, sickles, and knives. When they swing a sickle to harvest rice or vegetables, the toothy edge of their curved tools acts like a cross-cut saw and takes them down with very little effort. Their tools are all made of carbon steel, often taken from leaf springs of old cars, a large machete costs them about $4, and a twenty seconds with a file gives them an excellent working edge. They don't have time to sit down for an hour to sharpen on a stone. They have work to do.

Living in northern Thailand, I often see road-side stands set up selling new tools, usually 100-200 different items leaning against bamboo racks. The stands might remain for 3-4 days, then move to a different busy road for the next few days. On the weekends, the vendors set up in the local street markets. These aren't 'Microtecs' or 'Sebenzas,' but for $4-$6 USD, you can buy some good working tools!

 

[HeavyHanded]

If the Rockwell C is in the mid/low 50s or lower it can do a good job. They are not good at removing the burr. Once the RC climbs into the mid/upper 50s the file rapidly drops off as a useful tool.

 

[G. Scott H.]

If the Rockwell C is in the mid/low 50s or lower it can do a good job. They are not good at removing the burr. Once the RC climbs into the mid/upper 50s the file rapidly drops off as a useful tool.

Yep. I use files to set initial bevels on my unsharpened swords (Windlass @ 45-50HRC and Universal Swords @ upper 30s to low 40s HRC). They're great for soft carbon steels like these, but they just skate right off harder stuff, in my experience.

 

[jackknife]

I use a file on my machetes. For most yard work the toothy edge works great. When we did the Costa Rica rain forest trip, all the guides used a small flat file carried in the machete sheath to touch up the small machetes they wore and used for camp chores.

Aroudn the house I just use a coffee mug.

 

[davek14]

I use a file on my machetes. For most yard work the toothy edge works great. When we did the Costa Rica rain forest trip, all the guides used a small flat file carried in the machete sheath to touch up the small machetes they wore and used for camp chores.

Aroudn the house I just use a coffee mug.

I always did use a file on axes, hatchets, machetes, and such. You can progressively go with a lighter touch to leave less file marks, just like with a stone. Then you can finish with a stone if you like.



Also... back in the youthful, dumb days of carrying a Paki Buck110 clone I would sharpen with a file, at least daily. Pot metal responds well to a file as well. ☺

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I think a lot of my interest in sharpening was spurred, a long time ago, in watching my Dad sharpen a yellow-handled fish knife (w/clip blade and scaler/hook remover) he used on our fishing trips. It wasn't anything special, just a Japanese-made 'Sabre' brand in stainless steel (no idea what grade or type). He used a small triangular file to resharpen it after he'd cleaned the fish we caught (rainbow & brown trout, sometimes crappies as well). The file was the only thing he used for that; no additional steeling or stropping or honing needed. That knife was always nicely toothy-sharp after he'd finished with the file, and zipped through those fish with ease.

In the right hands, and with the 'right' steels that can respond to it, it can work pretty well.


David

 

[rpttrsn]

I think a lot of my interest in sharpening was spurred, a long time ago, in watching my Dad sharpen a yellow-handled fish knife (w/clip blade and scaler/hook remover) he used on our fishing trips. It wasn't anything special, just a Japanese-made 'Sabre' brand in stainless steel (no idea what grade or type). He used a small triangular file to resharpen it after he'd cleaned the fish we caught (rainbow & brown trout, sometimes crappies as well). The file was the only thing he used for that; no additional steeling or stropping or honing needed. That knife was always nicely toothy-sharp after he'd finished with the file, and zipped through those fish with ease.

In the right hands, and with the 'right' steels that can respond to it, it can work pretty well.


David

I had the same knife your dad had and was one of my first. I used a norton combo stone w/oil and it cost less then the video tools. I'm sure I had a better edge.