Help needed sharpening a Randall made

[Psyop]

Ok Im new to learning about the right way to sharpen things angles micro bevels and all that. Please keep this pretty basic. My dad used an old knife that he gave me when I was 13 this weekend to help my son clean his first deer. Well I had that knife hair popping sharp it was an old Shrade of some kind. So today he brings me his Randall wanting to know if I can sharpen it up for him. Its a knife he got in 1980 and had been a user since day one and when he brought it over today it was still fairly sharp. Well I have been using a Sharpmaker on my knives. After 20 strokes on each of the 4 settings at 40 deg then 20 on each at 30 then 20 more at 40 it was slightly sharper. Still not razor sharp for sure. Does this knife have a different angle? Or am I doing something wrong? I just cleaned the rods on the sharp maker and will try it again but wanted to make sure Im not missing something. Also if anyone knows what number this model is Id like to know my dad didnt remember. We both like the knife though. Oh it is carbon steel if you cant tell from the pic. I dont know what steel Randall uses. Thanks

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

First thing I'd do is take a very close look at the edge under magnification & bright light. It may be that the Sharpmaker's angle settings aren't perfectly suited to the edge angle on that knife. If the edge angle is wider than the 40 degree setting on the Sharpmaker, even if it's only so in some portions of the blade, the edge in the wider portions won't make contact on the Sharpmaker's rods. Use a black marker (Sharpie) and darken the entire edge to maybe 1/8" up the bevel. Then make a few passes on the Sharpmaker's medium (brown) rods, at the 40 degree setting. You should see some of the black marker come off the edge after this. If the edge itself is still dark with the marker, but areas further up the bevel (at the shoulders) show missing ink, that indicates the edge itself didn't make contact with the rods, because the bevel angle is too wide there (wider than 40 degrees inclusive).

The other possibility is if the edge is just too rough & dull to be appreciably improved on the Sharpmaker. The Sharpmaker works quite well at refreshing relatively good edges, but won't be aggressive enough to do heavier sharpening, if the edge needs it. The optional diamond rods will help with that, if you have them. If not, many have also used wet/dry sandpaper wrapped around the rods & held by binder clips or something similar. Choose a grit that is proportional to the amount of restoration needed on the edge.

 

[Psyop]

Thanks I will try the sharpie wasn't sure if it was just a lot harder steel or whatever than I am used to I'm still new at this.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

If it turns out the edge angle is wider than what the Sharpmaker is able to do, you still have at least one option with the Sharpmaker. You can use it to re-profile the bevel using the diamond/sandpaper at the 30 degree (back bevel) setting, and reserving the 40 degree setting for the edge itself (secondary/micro bevel). Much more work involved there, but once the primary bevel has been matched up to the 30 degree setting, maintaining it on the Sharpmaker will be a LOT easier. I'd recommend trying the wet/dry sandpaper (3M/Norton), over the diamond rods. It's obviously cheaper than the diamond rods, and you have much more choice in grit. The diamond rods for the Sharpmaker are relatively fine in grit, compared to other diamond sharpeners. Decent for some fairly heavy work, but could still take a long time for re-profiling a big, thick blade. Some 220 - 400 grit wet/dry (silicon carbide) sandpaper will do the 'grunt work' of establishing the new bevel much quicker, in this case.