For the MOST polished edge

L

Lavan

Joined
Nov 8, 2000
Messages
2,301
For the ABSOLUTE finest smoothest most polishedest edge, you must learn to use an........AIR STONE..........

Yes, this ancient technique has been passed down to only the very select few and I am about to divulge it here PUBLICLY.

Get a box of air. The air should preferably be very pure air and as clean as possible. Put the box in the fridge. This will make it denser.

After a day in the fridge, take the air out of the box and set it perfectly level on the working surface. Then using quick strokes (and trying not to disturb the dense air which will try to mix with regular "room" air stroke the blade at a measured 18.03 degree angle in both directions.

You should try for a minimum of 20-30,000 strokes over several days.

If the polish is still not to your satisfaction, go one step further and put another box of air in the FREEZER and repeat.

NOTHING will give a finer edge.

;) :D :rolleyes:
 
To get the most out of your box of air, it must be stored within a pyramid shaped enclosure. Those mystical pyramid geometric angle rays are what really makes and keeps things sharp.
 
Holy new age weirdo stuff! I didnt expect it this forum. Are you guy for real?, or drinking?
 
Roodog said:
Holy new age weirdo stuff! I didnt expect it this forum. Are you guy for real?, or drinking?
Click to expand...
Are you doubting the power of air boxes? I call upon the mighty pyramid rays to smite you where you stand.
 
I heard that there was a little known firm in the Chilean Andes which boxes and ships pure air for a reasonable cost. If you capture your own air, especially around large metropolitan areas, it will be too gritty.

Here in the Southeast in the summertime, we have a special water air, but if you put it in the freezer you will lose the polishing effect.
 
My air hone doesn't seem to work.

I've tried altering the blade-to-hone angles.

I've tried blowing dust into the air hone to see if I could modify the grit.

I've tried hard air pressure and light air pressure. I've heard that air hones work better when standing, but that doesn't seem to work either.

What really pisses me off is that I seem to have misplaced it. Really strange. The damned thing couldn't have just floated off on its own.
 
If you were using less than polite language because it would not work for you, it may have heated up in which case it may have floated away
 
20-30,000 strokes on a manual air hone is slow and laborious. I recommend using a power air hone. This is made rather simply using a compressor, air tank, air filters, hosing, and an air gun valve. By simply directing a high pressure stream across the edge at the appropriate angle (I prefer 12.5 degrees) you can achieve an edge bevel with a glass-like finish. For rough reprofiling you can simply use a sand blasting gun loaded with silicon carbide grit. Note that when you use a power air hone you must orient your blade in an edge-trailing manner.
 
Actually, this is an old trick. Marty and I developed a similar procedure years ago. We found that dead air worked the best. Dead air is best described as air without any life. It justs lies there, like a whore with her last John after a bad night (not that I would know). It accumlates and gets denser and denser, and as we all know the denser the better for knife sharpening purposes. Eventually, Marty discovered that the deadest air always seemed to be around after I said something. Using a liquid nitrogen contraption he built in the garage, he had me recite the Lord of the Rings Trilogy into a hose. Since I had already commited the books to memory, this was no problem, and we soon had the best brick of air sharping material ever assembled. Never satisfied though, Marty figured if the air coming out of my mouth was dense, the other end of me offered uncharted territory in air sharpening technology. He was right too, although the device we ended up marketing went nowhere. It seems folks didn't care that much about how sharp their knife could get when they couldn't stand the smell long enough to get it that sharp in the first place. Maybe this is why Marty and I always have the sharpest knives in the drawer. Afterall, he and I don't think our **** stinks. :confused:
 
If any of you are having difficulty with the process, I can ship you some triangular air STICKS and a base to mount them for only ten bucks.

It is IMPERATIVE that you use the safety rods.
 
Lavan,

Thanks for the tip!!! I am wondering if I use an angle of 18.02 instead of your relatively beefy 18.03 will I notice an improvement in slicing ability? How big a hit will I take in edge retention?

Thanks for this thread. I look for these out of the ordinary posts. :D

G.
 
Gary, you can go for the 18.02 but it will take several thousand more strokes and the edge will be more fragile.
 
dangit.....I was usin' butter before - no wonder I couldn't get that snappy edge!
 
Here's why you shouldn't mess with the mighty pyramid sharpening rays:
conehead-profile.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top