How do you sharpen a recurve blade? What's the best and easiest way?

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sir_mike

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Jul 5, 2011
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Hi all,

First of all, I apologize if this has been beaten to death but I didnt find specific discussions on it.

I have a Kershaw Shallot 1840 that has a recurve blade, which needs a sharpening but also I want to get a ZT 350KW from knifeworks that has the satin blade but that too has a recurve blade. I am afraid to get the ZT and thinking about getting rid of the Shallot so I can stay away from recurves but I would really rather learn what is needed to keep them sharp.

What do all of you use to sharpen these types of blades? It must be done as there are alot of ZT's out there! :D

Oh, yeah, forgot to mention that I am very new to sharpening and will eventually try my luck at freehand as I have a Japanese waterstone on its way that is 400/1200 grits.

Thanks!
 
Any firm cylindrical backing, with wet/dry sandpaper is my preference for recurves. Pick a cylinder that best 'fits' the blade's profile. Might be a dowel, broomstick, section of PVC pipe, bed post, etc. I'd more likely use an edge-trailing (stropping) stroke, but one can use edge-leading strokes too, if done carefully.
 
Thanks for the tips so far.

I dont own a belt sander so cant go that route!

I will look into the wet/dry sandpaper and dowels. Any certain grits I should look at?

Does anyone have a ZT 0350 that they sharpen? If so, what do you use?
 
You can just do it on your waterstone. The long outside edge of the stone will get rounded over a bit and the recurve portions of the edge will make good contact (sharpening recurves is what made me get into waterstones to begin with). You could also take another stone and put a radius on the waterstone ahead of time to eliminate any undue wear on the blade, but even if you just go right at, unless the waterstone is very tough, it will wear down just fine on its own.
You can also lap a radiused edge on any whetstone and it will work well.
 
sir_mike said:
Thanks for the tips so far.

I dont own a belt sander so cant go that route!

I will look into the wet/dry sandpaper and dowels. Any certain grits I should look at?

Does anyone have a ZT 0350 that they sharpen? If so, what do you use?
Click to expand...

For sandpaper, any grit around 400 or higher should work well. 400-800 grit will leave varying degrees of satin finish, and higher grits (1000+) will produce some polish. To 'test' which works best for you, try something in the middle of that range, maybe 600-800 grit. By itself, either of those will produce an excellent working edge.

Another option for quick touch-ups on S30V would be a diamond rod, used very lightly. No heavy pressure should be used with diamond.
 
Sharpmaker is what I have heard about the most. I am planning on using mine soon on a recurve
 
I used the sharpmaker and got the knife alittle sharper but it is taking awhile as it is either alot duller than I thought or because I am new to the sharpmaker! :D

Working but the process is kinda slow!
 
i love the sharpmaker. 2 things i would add to the set up is a sharpie for the sharpie trick, and also a jewelers loupe not sure on spelling.
 
You could buy EDM round stone (boride or congress tool), they are cheap and you can choose many different grits up to 1200.
The sharpmaker i think should be in trouble because of the narrow angle, you will take ages on dull knife and narrow angle increase the contact pressure generating a bad burr or microburr.
 
I am going to try the flat side on the sharpmaker stones as they are only 1/2 inch it might work and the recurve isnt huge or anything. If that dont work, I might just try to find a half round stone as suggested.

Thx. for the suggestions and feel free to post more!
 
An EdgePro Apex or Professional model sharpener will work. They make skinny stones to get inside recurve edges. My EdgePro works very, very well.
 
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