Hi everyone, I had a thread going but it got too long and I have a new question. I bought a smiths combination sharpener (https://www.smithsproducts.com/diamond-combination-sharpener) just to try to get some learning time. I used it to sharpen an worn out schrade old timer knife my kid found in an abandoned building and I also used it on an ontario sp8 survival machete that I have that needed some TLC.
I was able to put reasonable edges back on each. The machete was tough to do because it was hard for me to keep the angle constant as I ran down the blade (and I'm not sure how perfect it was to begin with). I put the machete in a vise and used the sharpener on it. The schrade had no bevel on certain parts of the blade as it was worn out. So I built the bevel back up and was able to get a pretty good bevel on both sides and now it will cut receipt paper. I put the sharpener in the vise for this work and stroked the blade on the stone.
The biggest issue for me is starting with the correct angle. If the blade is relatively short I can keep the angle during the stroke fairly well but it's the starting angle that is tough for me to figure out with consistency. I used some hobby magnifying glasses to help me see what I was doing and that did help. Obviously the longer machete was difficult because keeping the angle constant over the long distance was tough.
I like the idea of the freehand and getting better at it and wondered if the freehand kits that have a 'guide' like the worksharp are good (https://www.worksharptools.com/product/guided-sharpening-system/)? Are there others similar to this that are better?
Or does anyone sell plastic 'wedges' that you can use on a bench stone to help you gauge the angle that you start with?
Thanks in advance.
I was able to put reasonable edges back on each. The machete was tough to do because it was hard for me to keep the angle constant as I ran down the blade (and I'm not sure how perfect it was to begin with). I put the machete in a vise and used the sharpener on it. The schrade had no bevel on certain parts of the blade as it was worn out. So I built the bevel back up and was able to get a pretty good bevel on both sides and now it will cut receipt paper. I put the sharpener in the vise for this work and stroked the blade on the stone.
The biggest issue for me is starting with the correct angle. If the blade is relatively short I can keep the angle during the stroke fairly well but it's the starting angle that is tough for me to figure out with consistency. I used some hobby magnifying glasses to help me see what I was doing and that did help. Obviously the longer machete was difficult because keeping the angle constant over the long distance was tough.
I like the idea of the freehand and getting better at it and wondered if the freehand kits that have a 'guide' like the worksharp are good (https://www.worksharptools.com/product/guided-sharpening-system/)? Are there others similar to this that are better?
Or does anyone sell plastic 'wedges' that you can use on a bench stone to help you gauge the angle that you start with?
Thanks in advance.
