Field Sharpening

NDog,
Starting out with a sharp edge is a given.

Any edge can & will wear with sufficient use, and in looking at the khukuri as something of a "survival" tool (much as I hate to interject that over-worked term) I'm exploring contingencies.

Yes, we gots river rocks in my state. :)
But they're usually harder to carry in a pocket than a diamond rod or hone.

The role I see (again emphasizing FOR ME as I've tried to do all the way along here) for a large blade is as a chopper.
Frankly, that'd be centered mostly around fire and emergency shelter chores.
Wood processing.

No skinning, no cooking.

As such, wood can wear an edge, obviously, and in planning for the worst situations I like to include the best equipment that can handle those.

Mike, with his legendary extended khukuri use in the other thread, must have sharpened his blade somewhere along the way in building his various shelters.

I don't EXPECT to need to do much field sharpening, but I do PLAN for it if needed.
Kinda like I don't plan for a flat tire, but do carry a spare. :)
Denis
 
Got a couple of those around here somewhere, that's the type of pocket rod I'd be looking at.
If I can find 'em.... :)
Denis
 
Damn!
You motivated me to look & I actually DID find one.
Thanks!

Use yours mostly on the chopping section of the blade, I'd imagine?
Denis
 
As with many folks here, I generally sharpen my blades at home. I have a few nihonto which I have professionally sharpened, and I watched for a few hours when I had the first one sharpened. Then I got all the tools and learned to sharpen my lesser katanas myself. My biggest concern with the sharpening "Systems" is that as was pointed out by someone above they are designed for very straight lines. Khuks being handmade don't have that type of spine, and the edge being convex means that a system will put a secondary bevel on it instead of sharpening the edge as it was designed. I think any decent rod that you can use freehand would work, but I think the best option for carrying in the field would be a few pieces of sandpaper of various grits (rolled up into a film container is a GREAT idea) would be the absolute most flexible idea. This could be folded over a rock for a larger flatter area or wrapped around a stick to get the inside edge. And even used with leather or something similar behind it to simulate the mousepad style of khuk sharpening.
 
Thanks.

I'm thinking for limited field sharpening I could live with creating a slight secondary bevel as a touch-up.
For something like 2 years of cabin-building, obviously something more involved is indicated. :)
Denis
 
Ok. Can someone explain how do you prevent flattening the belly of the kukri using the mousepad? This is my biggest comcern. And it's the same, using a sanding block.
 
DPris said:
Damn!
You motivated me to look & I actually DID find one.
Thanks!

Use yours mostly on the chopping section of the blade, I'd imagine?
Denis
Click to expand...

So far I haven't sharpened my M-43 yet, but I have used the diamond rod to sharpen other knives with convex edges, but only to hone the blade... NOT to reprofile the edge; as in a resharpening of the blade.
As long as you never let your knife get dull, you can pretty much just hone it back to sharp forever. If you have to resharpen your khuk, the strop method seems to be the best way to go about it.

You could always glue some sand paper of different grits to your belt & just wear that in the field. :D LOL
 
One of the things instilled in my small capacity memory bank from childhood is the way to keep something sharp is to never let it get dull. Seems silly but it's meaningful.

I have a smallish chainsaw, like a 16 or 20" bar. I've cut circles around guys with huge stihls and husqvarna's etc.

Mostly cause when I'm not throwing out big wood chips I stop and touch it up. They run all day, lose the angle and have to do a major resharpening.

Chopping kuk's can chop a heck of a long time without much attention, of course they all vary being hand made and enter variables, like rocks, metal, type of wood etc.

I seldom these days go out for more than day trips and do most of my chopping right at my place so field sharpening is mostly moot. In most cases even on extended trips I don't think field sharpening would be a big concern.
 
Yeah, I need to glue sandpaper close to my groin.
Yeah...... :)

I'm thinking probably just the diamonds (rod & 4-inch flat folder) for pocket or break-down bag.
If I get myself stranded for more than 3 or 4 days, those should keep the edge going as well as it'd need to.

They can also keep the 4-inch belt blade going, too.


Thanks, Dobe.
Denis
 
If anybody's still following this, yesterday I remembered a little pocket sharpener I was given at a SHOT Show four or five years back & dug it out.
It's SOG's Mini-Sharpener.

3 1/4 inches long, about a quarter-inch thick, weighs half an ounce, has a 1 3/4-inch flat diamond hone section & a 1 3/4-inch white ceramic fine rod glued on one side.

Used it to finish the edge on two of the khukuris here as a test.
Works great.

Wouldn't use it as a regular thing on the convex edge, but as a field sharpener to touch up an edge as you go along, just about perfect.
Use the flat diamond section first, hone lightly with the ceramic rod.
Works equally well all along all of the curves on the blade.

Weighs almost nothing, fits almost anywhere, travels easy, infinitely more convenient in the pocket than a river rock. :)
Looks like this'll be the on-body sharpener.

Found it currently on Amazon for $15.
Just FYI.
Denis
 
Edgpal stuff look great
but jeez they don't come cheap. Chef with pivot is ~500.00 USD


Moonw said:
I'm getting one of these, period: http://www.edgepal.com/english/forest-17907916 (to use even at home). Guided convex sharpening using a DC3 stone. Chips or rolls, you can fix them on the spot. I'll add a rounded stone for the recurved area, that can be mounted on the same system if I'm feeling pedantic. May be overkill for some.

Had I had more money, I'd go for the "Chef" version (now that is a beast: http://www.edgepal.com/english/chef/precision-grinding-17910496 , http://www.edgepal.com/english/chef/videos-about-chef-8757991) - but not for field use :). With the smaller one, I will have to improvise on longer blades but I've had it enough with my less-than-successful freehand sharpening, mousepads and all. I want to control the angles with more precision. Second, I can't get very cheap and quality fine-grit sandpaper here.

Thomas is an encyclopedia when it comes to sharpening, and a very, very nice fella. These Swedes are really something when it comes to ingenuity.

I'll better pass on two knives and get a rig that's so well build it's going to last me a lifetime. All handmade, no cheap plastic there or Chinese parts. (Heck, I'm even thinking to buy an AxePal, although I have no axe :). Yet.)

Add a strop to that and you're ready for extended stays in the woods. At least on the "cutting" front :).
Click to expand...
 
snowwolf said:
Edgpal stuff look great
but jeez they don't come cheap. Chef with pivot is ~500.00 USD
Click to expand...

I agree. I can't afford it, at least not now. And to think this guy can build sharpeners for long blades, like swords...I admire his ingenuity. Don't wanna even think about the prices something like that would go up to :). I don' make Swedemoney, haha!

OTOH, I'd rather have less knives and a good sharpening rig. There are plastic sharpeners out there made cheaper, but one of these will outlast any knife.

Going so low at sub-degree level is very impressive.

And, I don' know how cheap the sandpaper is over there, but I'd rather go with a stone on long term; forme personally it will. Be cheaper.
 
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