First crack at a round knife

Megabassx7

Megabassx7

Joined
Jan 1, 2016
Messages
354
Hey guys,
Went to my local saddle shop today looking for strop material and ended up taking a round knife of his home to see what I could do for him. He is an elderly man that has tried to resharpen it himself and really did a number on it. I'm not so sure it would cut much of anything right now to be completely honest. The problem is I have never sharpened one of these blades. If my guess is right it's a 1095 or similar steel. So should I take it to the belts and get a new bevel set quick and then hone it in sections with the stones or is there a more prefered method? Also should I put a mirror edge on it or leave it with a rather toothy edge off of the let's say the eze lap fine stone? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
 
Megabassx7 said:
Hey guys,
Went to my local saddle shop today looking for strop material and ended up taking a round knife of his home to see what I could do for him. He is an elderly man that has tried to resharpen it himself and really did a number on it. I'm not so sure it would cut much of anything right now to be completely honest. The problem is I have never sharpened one of these blades. If my guess is right it's a 1095 or similar steel. So should I take it to the belts and get a new bevel set quick and then hone it in sections with the stones or is there a more prefered method? Also should I put a mirror edge on it or leave it with a rather toothy edge off of the let's say the eze lap fine stone? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Click to expand...

Can I see a picture of it?



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If it is what I think it is it is called a "Head Knife".
Yes very light on the belt to get a decent bevel again.
Then you might try sweeping / swinging motion . . . you know . . . like you aren't supposed to do because the scratches follow the edge. Like you are swinging a sickle.

Yes polish it. I like polished knives for cutting leather. This knife is for cutting curves so the polish helps with friction.

I stole this quote :

have worked hard to develop the right edge geometry for these knives; all the head knives have a tapered, convex, or 'apple seed' edge to them. The straight or trim knives are either flat or hollow ground but with a slight convex grind at the edge. All of my experimenting has proved to me that leather yields best to a convex edge.

One can maintain a very sharp edge on these knives for a long time if stropped or buffed with Brownell's 555 black buffing compound (never use the reds or browns as these are not intended for steel!). The time saved from having to hone frequently will be significant over the life of these tools.
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