how do you get that "scary sharp" edge?

HermanKnives

HermanKnives

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Aug 11, 1999
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what do you consider "scary sharp" and how do you get it?
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Scarey sharp is when you feel something running down your arm and look to see a nice clean cut that you didn't even feel. To get it that sharp, I roll the edge on a 320 grit belt, edge down and belt slack, and then buff it sharp with white rouge on a loose muslin wheel. Naturally taking great care to make sure the edge doesn't get too hot. Michael

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http://www.nebsnow.com/L6steel
 
I use a 220 slack belt, burr the edge, buff with 240 grit rouge to remeve the burr and strop on leather with red rouge. Wicked sharp!!! The hair on my leg ( had to stop using my arm till the hair grows back) runs away when I put a knife to it!

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Chris Hatin

http://www.hatintec.com

"Are you ready for the defendant, Judge?"
"Yup. Bring the guilty bastard in."
 
I guess we all have our own techniques; here's what I use for the final bevel and sharpening. (All this is done on a slack belt - about a 4" gap between the platen and the wheel, so it is not VERY slack at all) I lay in the edge initially with a worn 120 or not so worn 220 to get the bevel angle as accurate as I can. I then smooth that with a 400 belt, keeping that edge burr but it gets pretty fine at 400 grit. For honing and refining, I use dark green rouge on a plain cloth belt.

The green rouge gives the bevels a high polish and makes the edge about as fine as it can be. BTW, that high polished bevel looks great on a damascus blade.

I just started adding this polished bevel lately, and I'm pretty impressed with the results I'm getting in both appearance and cutting. Is it scary? My arm hairs, such as are left, think so.

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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
 
I'm sure everyone is getting tired hearing about my microscopic inspection but that is how I do my final edge QC!!I find this to be if even greater importance with Talonite.
For my normal scarry sharpness, is use a worn 9 micrion 3M belt. Running at a slow speed with a Cool Mist spray, nothing gets hot. I make both sides of the edge even and roll the burr to one side. At this point I look at it under the microscope to make sure the burr is even along the ENTIRE blade. At this point I use one of several strops and compounds depending on the blade material. When I feel the burr is gone I check it again under the microscope. If it looks right, no need to shave hair, IT WILL, EASILY
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Lately some of my Forum member customers have been requesting "TOOTHY" edges. I accomplish this with new belts in accordance with just how "toothy" they would like their edges. I still strop them but what is left is a rather polished "toothy" edge. I am more fond of my standard smooth edge for my own hunters other using knives, but I try to keep my customers happy!!
I still have bare spots in my left arm because It's hard to resist the shave test!! I have also been known to have some bare spots on my legs like Chris mentioned.
Neil

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Blackwood Knives
Talonite knives in stock!!
http://www.geocities.com/Eureka/Meeting/5520/index.html
 
So Tom, a Baseball Bat must be sharp, huh?

Actually, I am very interested in hearing how custom makers put the final edge on the knives they make. I have seen a great range of grits and final polish used on edges by different makers. Most of my knives were purchased in might be considered 'scary sharp' condition, but not all have that polished refined look to the edge that I prefer. So I have touched up the edge on All of my knives, even the ones I am afraid to use.

More Please. How do you guys do it? Do you always use power driven belts? What grits? Do you hand finish on stones? Do you strop the edge?

Paracelsus (Tim, thanks for starting this thread).

[This message has been edited by Paracelsus (edited 04-08-2000).]
 
the first edge on all the knives i make is put on there with the belt grinder, this will be an even easier task when i finish making the new grinder, with a 1.5hp variable speed motor.
when i need to resharpen one of my knives i use a coarse DMT diamond stone, i sharpen one side, keeping the angle correct, until it forms an even burr. then i sharpen the other side until it formes i burr. i keep repeating these steps until all the chips, if any, are taken out. i then go up to fine diamond and use that the same way as i do the coarse, until all the coarse scratches are taken out. then i use an 800grt japanese water stone, 1,000 grt water stone, then a 6000 grt. water stone. make ure you fallow all the directions you recieve, when you buy the stone, on prepairing the stones for use.
you can bring the edge up to razor sharp with a strop and red rouge like chris hatin does to get the final polish on the edge.
make sure you keep a consistant angle on the edge, or it will never be wicked sharp.
 
Start with a 120 go to a 320 then to a J-Flex turned inside out with the cloth side showing use green chromium all slack belt ,that is for satin finish ,mirror finish
I use the 120 ,320 then to a cloth buff makes the hair pop right off

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TbarK Custom Knives
http://vip.hpnc.com/~tbark Therefore I erge you brother's in view of God's Mercy to offer your body's as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship Romans 12-1
 
My grinder isn't real good, so I usually get it to a decent edge wiht the grinder then touch up the bevels with a diamond file. After that I go to a 1000 grit japanese waterstone to flatten out the bevels and take out the deep scratches. As for reading the directions on those stones, good luck. Mine came in japanese which I can't exactly read that well. Next is a soft arkansas stone which I use to take out more scratches and continue evening up the bevels. I just make 3 passes on one side of the blade then 3 on the other and keep doing that over and over. It helps keep the edge centered and even. When the bevels are flat and smooth, I move to a hard arkansas stone to start polishing it down to a sharp edge. Same routine, 3 on one side then the other. When its starting to feel pretty sharp I move to a fine white ceramic stone and polish it out until its pretty much scary sharp. Then I strop it with green compound.It takes awhile, but I don't have to go all the way through it all every time, unless the edge had been damaged.

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We got a five dollar fine for whining
We tell you before you come in
So if it ain't on your mind to have a good time
Y'all come back and see us again.- Chris LeDoux
 
so what...I gotta be serious now?????? the edge depends on the steel....bottom line.. but as a rule...I NEVER do anything by hand. I put my good 10 inch wheel on my machine, put on a dull 320 grit belt..well used but not worn out...and go over both sides with firm equal pressure, raising a nice VISIBLE burr, turn on my buffer, go over the burr 2 or 4 times depending on the steel with a medium felt wheel loaded with green chrome rouge, then to medium sewn buff while loaded with same compound....back and forth a few times.....feel edge...pau...with some steels like talonite I use a 220 grit belt and some like 440C i go to a 600 grit belt after the 320...this is for sharpening only...but all of this is meaningless if your knife is thick at the edge...to get a knife SCARY sharp you have to grind it thin to begin with and sharpen it with long bevels on the edge....thats why a razor blade cuts so good, because its thin as well as sharp, and why a Randall # 1 thats been sharpened 20 or 30 times doesnt...the flat grind leaves no room for that many sharpenings without regrinding the whole blade back down to a thin edge.

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
Tim,
I bought me one of those electric sharpeners that are on the back of a can opener. Works great.

Seriously, I do it almost the same way as Tom does. Works for me.
 
Thanks Guys!

I had been finishing with a DMT or Lansky setup and you can't imagine how many times it has left scratches on the spine. I took all my kitchen knives down to the shop last night and tried your methods out. Not only do they avoid the scratches but they have *never* been this sharp.



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Rob Ridley
Ranger Original Handcrafted Knives
 
the way you get scratches is using a stone to small, when the blade slides off the edge of the stone when your completing your stroke the blade slides across the edge of the stone and sratches it.
the way you fix that is using a stone big enough so that your not likely to slide off the edge.
 
> the way you get scratches is using a stone to small,

Yes, I learned that one early, but the scratches I couldn't avoid were from the clamp. Both the Lansky aluminum and the DMT plastic clamps seem to pick up grit that, though completely invisible, leave about 40 grit scratches behind. Grrrrr...



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Rob Ridley
Ranger Original Handcrafted Knives
 
I was taught by Pual Lebetard the same way that Tom and Kit do it.

I also like to "hand sharpen" a blade before i send it out, just to see how its gonna sharpen for my customer:
I start with spyderco medium, fine, superfine. After this i strop on a supported leather strop impregnated with semichrome.

I alway sharpen the "convex" edge knives by hand.

Matt.

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"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty"
Thomas Jefferson

www.lameyknives.com
 
For us knife makers getting a knife scarry sharp is relatively simple . but that dosn't mean that the knife in question will cut well . If the knife edge is to thick befor the secondary bevels are ground you can still get the knife sharp but the broad wedge will create a lot of friction and impede the cut. What I like to do is grind my knife bevels to approx .020-.o25 with a 400 grit and then slack belt edge up with the same 400grit belt to zero (be careful this is dangerous) run your sander very slow,creating a convex or apple seed effect .I then repeat this process with 600 grit then I go to a spyderco profiler (brown stone )square up my edge a little and then I use a strop I made out of a paint stirring stick ,a piece of sheath leather and Brownells 555 compound . to put the final scarry in the sharp.

I think another question to ask is . How do you put a scarry sharp edge on your knife without the aid of buffers and sanders?for the non knifemakers out there.

For this I still use the Spyderco Profiler (brown ) and my strop with brownells 555 compound or green chrome it just requires a little more elbow grease.

Aloha!!! Ken Onion
 
You guys who strop by hand, do you lay the blade flat on the strop or do you raise it up to the bevel angle?
 
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