Fallkniven Sharpening Advice needed

[davidbristol]

Pl excuse my newbie preconceptions here.

Just acquired a fallkniven S1 with a VG10 convex ground stainless blade for fishing & general bushcraft purposes. 2 questions -

1- Im keen to maintain the edge and Im looking for advice on sharpening. My father, a fishmonger for most of his life, used an 18" cylindrical steel (groove cut and very heavy) to maintain his knives. He used to keep it hung from his apron string and run the blade along it every 5 minutes or so. Ive inherited one of his steels and wonder if this is the best way to keep an edge? Is there a better way?

2 - Any specific do's / dont's with a S1? It looks pretty idiot proof, but Id hate to damage it

Cheers. D

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Using the grooved cut steels very heavy works well on softer knives because it actually files the edge and leaves them with an aggressive slicing edge. If however you try this on the modern cutlery steels which are hard and high carbide the edge on the knife and the steel gets damaged. You can still use the steel to keep the knife sharp but you go very light as you are trying to just align the edge not actually file it off.

In general though this isn't a great idea, especially for a large chopping knife like the S1 because you are just pushing weakened metal back onto the edge and this will tend to deform/crack with repeated chopping. Even for light cutting it has a downside of very low edge retention which is why people who steel knives do so very frequently.

For general sharpening you basically need two stones, a really coarse one for any shaping and a finer one to give a higher polish as this is of benefit for most wood cutting. A cheap coarse/fine stone you can find in a hardware store for $2 is all you really need. The better waterstones and diamond plates (DMT) will however cut easier and give a more consistent finish.

-Cliff

 

[savagesicslayer]

Hey davidbristol.
I have a Fallkniven F1.I use a ceramic stone to maintain my edge.
listen to Cliff.he knows what he's saying.:thumbup:

 

[Cougar Allen]

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