Fix it or kill it (A Becker sharpening guide for the challenged)

Liveitloud

Liveitloud

Joined
Jul 1, 2006
Messages
2,901
Although the subject of this thread is not a Becker, it is a practice session so that I don't completely ruin a Becker. First off, I can't sharpen worth a damn. Something missing in a chromosome or something. Can't quite explain it. Probably due to the fact that I have rarely tried.

I have a few stones, a sharp maker, just got a work sharp and have a belt sander. Just so happens that I also have a junk machete that came as dull as a butter knife with a smashed tip. Which brings me to my test subject. Figured it couldn't be in much worse shape so what did I have to lose.

Went out in the garage and threw it on the belt sander and ground away like I knew what I was doing. After some time I noticed a burr on one side so I went to the other side. Back and forth until I had no burr on either side and it actually has a bit of an edge. Cuts paper but it's still a little rough.

Didn't want to drag out the work sharp (which is still unused) to wear out a bunch of belts on a 15.00 knife so here we are. Thought I would post up a shot of before and a few after. Probably not done yet but it's almost beer:30 and I hate to play with power tools and drink.

I would appreciate any sharpening advice you might have as I am starting to lose my pristine edge on my BK2 and do not want anyone to see a post titled "how do I fix this crap"

:eek::eek::eek:

Before:

CrapChopper.jpg



Cringe.........................................

After:

CS3.jpg


CS2.jpg


CS1.jpg


CS4.jpg
 
sharpening is all about angles. in reality the bk2 is WAY easy to sharpen once you get the basics. would you like advice about the belt sander, the stones, the worksharp? I dunno much if anything at all about the worksharp but i do put a fine edge with the stone or the belt sander
 
Anything you got I'm up for. :) It was a little tricky trying to keep the blade in line with the belt with all the angles that the blade has. I went and chopped away at a few chunks of hardwood and it doesn't look like I thinned anything out too much but honestly, I don't know much about sharpening. I can keep a sharp blade sharp but if it reaches the tipping point...well...
 
Liveitloud said:
Anything you got I'm up for. :) It was a little tricky trying to keep the blade in line with the belt with all the angles that the blade has. I went and chopped away at a few chunks of hardwood and it doesn't look like I thinned anything out too much but honestly, I don't know much about sharpening. I can keep a sharp blade sharp but if it reaches the tipping point...well...
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Well the recurve is difficult to do especially for a beginner. gimme a few minutes im putting together a video that i hope helps. Im gonna use what i learned from the fisk videos but at a lower angle so you can see how to move the edge along the stone. then just transfer that same technique to the belt sander with the exception of pressure.
 
k man im uploading to youtube now so i can embed it. Its a real quick vid, with no real concentration on the production value but the bk2 was a bit dull from batoning stuff in my garage collecting tinder and pitchwood, and after the vid (which i cant believe i didnt record) it does shave hair off my arm. Hope that helps. I can do it again or differently if needed. Im home alone and bored :D
 
There ya go. There are plenty of other methods and im sure some others will come along and say what im doing wrong and which other things work better but mine are sharp and thats all that matters right? :D anyways hope it helps and my monotone voice doesnt put you to sleep


http://youtu.be/7y4C_7dDz6s
 
I learned on a stone and I think everyone should... if you have a scandi try your hand at that first, the bevel will help you guide it so you get the feel for it... then after patting yourself on the back for making is sharp, lift it up just a hair and apply a little pressure until you have raised a burr,flip it over, now ever so lightly run the blade across the stone at the same angle, just a few times..

take a leather strop and some green rouge and pass it lightly away from the cutting edge around a dozen or so times to completely remove the burr..

now you have a microbevel.. after that you can pretty much follow the same guidelines on any edge.. scandi is just easier to learn on..

belt sanders eat way to much metal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
tradewater said:
Clich, that is very good technique with the stone. :thumbup:
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Thanks trade.

and its also worth noting that if you keep up with the edge as it dulls, you wont need to do much at all to keep it sharp. if you let it get all beat up, theres alot more work to be done and that can get frustrating.
 
cool vid.. can you tell me how long that took to upload?? I've tried in the past and it was a nightmare, what camera are you using??

also, NEVER sharpen a knife without showing the results like shaving hair or pushcutting paper.. :D especially on a video, I'm appalled :)
 
I used my droid x2, supposed to shoot in HD but it dont look like it to me. Uploading was terrible but thats why a 3 minute video took me 20 minutes to post :D
 
clich said:
Truth. They are quick and easy but if your not careful you can lose ALOT of steel
Click to expand...

The trick is, don't go wild with the belt grinder. Don't try to get the finished edge with it, that's where the stone comes in. Use a 220 belt to knock the shoulders off the factory grind then gently rock it until you turn a tiny burr. That's enough belt work. Stone time.
 
clich, I'm as they say "sharpening challenged" I would make a sharp knife dull, so I just used a sharp maker, but after watching your video i decided I'm going to give it a try on a bench stone sharpening my BK-2
 
Lonewolf01 said:
clich, I'm as they say "sharpening challenged" I would make a sharp knife dull, so I just used a sharp maker, but after watching your video i decided I'm going to give it a try on a bench stone sharpening my BK-2
Click to expand...

good stuff man check out this video as well, this is where i learned and really perfected it. All props go to Jerry Fisk and moose for posting this video

[youtube]aFpc20xXkPQ[/youtube]
 
Clich and Battle Creek thanks for jumping in on this. I do have a scandi from Mark Wholwend that I might try before I go to the Becker. Clich thanks so much for the video. It is always (for me anyway) easier when I have a visual. I would also like you to PM me the info on the waterstone in the video. I have a few stones but have never really used them because they are basically not quality stones. That looks like a nice one. So when you put it on the stone was it already pretty sharp? Doesn't look like you put much work into it. Just curious. I got the work sharp because I have read that it's idiot proof which fits since I could use all the help I can get.

This is so cool. You would think that someone who had collected knives for 10 years would be proficient at sharpening. :) My grandpa used to spit on his stone and then work in a circular pattern. :) So much for technical expertise. Most of my knives are touched up before they ever get a chance to dull because I know when it gets there, it's over. I just move on to the next knife. Time to make a change I guess.

Time for another beer. Now where is that BK11. :)
 
for a deep recurve, and round 'stone' or steel (diamond hone?) is ideal. But you'll want to clamp the knife and move the stone.

If you think sharpening a dull knife is frustrating, try putting a edge on a knife without one at all! That will teach you TONS. But know that IT CAN BE DONE. Turn a butter knife into a scalpel and you'll have learned something along the way. Probably that you simply weren't patient and consistent enough. It takes a certain amount of peace of mind.

Channel Yoda: Use the Force.

-Daizee
 
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