Help me overcome my fear of recurves

mlanghornes

mlanghornes

Joined
Apr 24, 2009
Messages
798
I love to sharpen my knives freehand, just because it's a skill I feel good about, and I think it gives me more flexibility for field use. Because of this, though, I generally shy away from recurve blades. I've had a few in the past but I've always got rid of them after I try to sharpen them on anything except a sharpmaker, and even then it's a pain to try and keep the edge parallel to the stones. Do I just need to keep working on it with the sharpmaker, until I get a feel for it? The knife I'm looking at is the Benchmade 710, I want to take the plunge, but the recurve is holding me back.
 
Recurves are generally easiest to sharpen on rods or something like the edge of a stone. IMO. Which is a great use for those rod type sharpeners. Only problem is the ceramic ones load up kinda fast. Try a diamond or another type of material. Then for stropping I fold a piece of leather with some compound and freehand it. Just my methods I may be wrong though.
 
If you're comfortable with stropping technique (edge-trailing, in other words), you should try your hand at 'stropping' on a piece of wet/dry sandpaper wrapped around a cylinder of some kind. PVC/steel pipe, dowel, broom handle; most anything will work. This is about easiest way to sharpen a recurve, so far as I'm concerned. Depending on how much steel needs to come off, choose your sandpaper grit accordingly. The more firmly-backed the sandpaper is on the cylinder (the harder the cylinder), the cleaner & crisper the edge will be. Using some temporary adhesive to tack the paper to it will take that even further.


David
 
I've been sharpening my 710 using an EdgePro 3-4 times a year for the past 8-10 years (I don't remember when I bought this one... I have several.) It's just not a problem...


Stitchawl
 
stitchawl said:
I've been sharpening my 710 using an EdgePro 3-4 times a year for the past 8-10 years (I don't remember when I bought this one... I have several.) It's just not a problem...


Stitchawl
Click to expand...

Hey stitch, do you use the 1/2'' stones on it?

I've got a few 710's. and I use my SM on it. I get good results with mine.
 
I put a radius on some old 3/4" Gatco stones. I used a dressing stone that was made to dress bench grinder wheels. They work great in my KME stone holder.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone. Do you all worry about keeping the edge of the blade perpendicular to the stone, or do you just sharpen as normal? I'm concerned that if I don't keep the edge perpendicular, it'll change the angle and take longer to resharpen/reprofile, and with a d2 blade, sharpening time is already going to be significant.
 
L2bravo said:
Hey stitch, do you use the 1/2'' stones on it?
I've got a few 710's. and I use my SM on it. I get good results with mine.
Click to expand...

I use stones that I've made myself, having them cut by a local lapidary shop or cemetery stone place from various larger water stones. Nothing special for the 710. I do have some narrow stones I use on severe recurves such as Kris knives and hawkbill karambits. I'd suppose that now my regular EDC has a bit less recurve than when it was new, but I don't sweat the small stuff. The knife still looks good and cuts well.

mlanghornes said:
Thanks for the responses everyone. Do you all worry about keeping the edge of the blade perpendicular to the stone, or do you just sharpen as normal?
Click to expand...

When sharpening on the EdgePro, the secrete to success is to ALWAYS keep the edge as near to perpendicular to the stone as possible. I've seen people swing their stones all the way left and right of the platform, which 'will' still sharpen the blade, but does change the size of the bevel. I feel it's the same when sharpening freehand.


Stitchawl
 
mlanghornes said:
Thanks for the responses everyone. Do you all worry about keeping the edge of the blade perpendicular to the stone, or do you just sharpen as normal? I'm concerned that if I don't keep the edge perpendicular, it'll change the angle and take longer to resharpen/reprofile, and with a d2 blade, sharpening time is already going to be significant.
Click to expand...

I do most of my sharpening with the blade at an angle to my grind path. So even if the edge is perpendicular to the stone, I'm moving the blade laterally as it travels. I imagine on a guided system this might not work well due to the fixed point of origin the stone is traveling on, but on a benchstone it promotes better angle control (at least it does for me). I impart a nice approx 45 degree rake to the "teeth" relative to the cutting edge which aids in draw cutting, even at higher levels of refinement - very noticeable at lower grit values. This is an interesting aspect to play with, if you increase the rake beyond 45 to something approx 80 degree or higher - grind path nearly parallel to the edge - then cutting performance on a draw cut will start to be hampered, but pressure cutting will improve (all else being equal).

As long as the pitch is constant, your angle shouldn't change, though the recurve bevel might get larger if the back bevel wasn't ground thin to begin with - thicker steel + same angle grind at the recurve = wider bevel.
 
The recurve on a 710 is so gradual/shallow that I've had zero problem using a plain old Lanskey. Just keep moving on the edge (rather than staying in one place) and use a light touch. Emerson Commanders are considerably more difficult IMO.
 
Squashfan said:
I need to sharpen my 710. Officer's Match, did you use the diamond stones for your Lansky?
Click to expand...

Nope, plain 'ol Lansky's. With the 710, in the recurve area I maintain contact with the whole stone (which at some point becomes mostly the edges of the stone) for stability but apply the majority of the pressure (light) on the trailing side of the stone as I move rearward across the blade. Also, I am sharpening only away from the spine.
 
I've been able to keep my CS Voyager Vaquero shaving sharp with my
RazorSharp paper wheels. I was apprehensive about buying the recurve too, but
it's my favorite.
 
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