How should I sharpen a huntsman knife?

Hickory n steel said:
I wasn't trying to discourage or anything, just doing a poor job of saying that the knife might not be able to take a good edge and he shouldn't be discouraged about knife sharpening if it doesn't work out.
I've had many flea market type knives such as this, and in my experience I just could not sharpen those that didn't already come plenty sharp.
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420j will take an edge as long as HTed properly.. Buck knives uses it for several of their line!! Is it the latest “Super Steel” no, but so the F what??? It will Cut! & It Will Killll!:)
 
Hickory n steel said:
I don't really understand what your saying , do you think this knife is not a generic flea market knife ?

I'm not trying to tell the OP that this knife is completely worthless or anything, I was just trying to let him know that this particular knife may not be able to take a very good edge. Consistency with such knives can be very hit or miss.
He should not be discouraged if he has trouble sharpening this knife, if but not when as it may actually take an edge just fine.
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I'm mostly talking about your initial statement at the start of the thread. If you'd showed why you had the opinion you did, this discussion would not be happening. I think it is a "flea market knife" but that was not the question. Your initial statements, without your further clarifications do suggest that his knife is worthless. That is what lead to my comment about showing your work. Instead of just a blanket statement you could have lead with a lot of the detail that has since been posted. Or you could have given sharpening advice with the caveat that due to the display nature of the knife, it may not hold much of an edge, if in fact it is a display knife. Either would have been helpful to the OP. But instead all the useful info comes out in dribs and drabs, as you backtrack and correct yourself. Its possible to be not wrong, and still not be right.
 
Rhinoknives1 said:
420j will take an edge as long as HTed properly.. Buck knives uses it for several of their line!! Is it the latest “Super Steel” no, but so the F what??? It will Cut! & It Will Killll!:)
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I've heard the few chinese Bucks may be 420j , but most of their knives are 420hc.

Now of course 420j and 440a can be usable steels when treated properly, but he'll have to try and sharpen it and see how it goes.

With a knife where the steel and treatment of it is unknown like this, if it came with a good edge you at least know it can be sharpened otherwise it's anybody's guess.

I'm not trying to put the knife down as he seems to really like it, this is just how it is with these knives from an unknown manufacturer.
 
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gadgetgeek said:
I'm mostly talking about your initial statement at the start of the thread. If you'd showed why you had the opinion you did, this discussion would not be happening. I think it is a "flea market knife" but that was not the question. Your initial statements, without your further clarifications do suggest that his knife is worthless. That is what lead to my comment about showing your work. Instead of just a blanket statement you could have lead with a lot of the detail that has since been posted. Or you could have given sharpening advice with the caveat that due to the display nature of the knife, it may not hold much of an edge, if in fact it is a display knife. Either would have been helpful to the OP. But instead all the useful info comes out in dribs and drabs, as you backtrack and correct yourself. Its possible to be not wrong, and still not be right.
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Yes I did a very poor job at saying what I was trying to say.
I should have known he peprobab wouldnt see in the knife what I was seeing.
 
Its a little different when you are talking to someone who has been around for a while, but its worth looking at join date and post count. When its someone's first post, its worth taking the time to explain things. Even when they are not, if you leave room for assumptions because of your blanket statements, it just ends up with arguments which seem a lot more antagonistic than needed. Either way, I think this one is done.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I wasn't trying to discourage or anything, just doing a poor job of saying that the knife might not be able to take a good edge and he shouldn't be discouraged about knife sharpening if it doesn't work out.
I've had many flea market type knives such as this, and in my experience I just could not sharpen those that didn't already come plenty sharp.
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All good sir!
 
Hickory n steel said:
I've heard the few chinese Bucks may be 420j , but most of their knives are 420hc.

Now of course 420j and 440a can be usable steels when treated properly, but he'll have to try and sharpen it and see how it goes.

With a knife where the steel and treatment of it is unknown like this, if it came with a good edge you at least know it can be sharpened otherwise it's anybody's guess.

I'm not trying to put the knife down as he seems to really like it, this is just how it is with these knives from an unknown manufacturer.
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You are incorrect!!The Steel has little to nothing to do with how well it will sharpen up and take an edge!——//// Any steel, including 300 series non hardenable Stainless Steels will take a edge! What the difference is, how long it will hold an edge.
 
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Hickory n steel said:
I've heard the few chinese Bucks may be 420j , but most of their knives are 420hc.

Now of course 420j and 440a can be usable steels when treated properly, but he'll have to try and sharpen it and see how it goes.

With a knife where the steel and treatment of it is unknown like this, if it came with a good edge you at least know it can be sharpened otherwise it's anybody's guess.

I'm not trying to put the knife down as he seems to really like it, this is just how it is with these knives from an unknown manufacturer.
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I doubt seriously you could tell the diff between 420j & 420 Hc ...
 
Rhinoknives1 said:
I doubt seriously you could tell the diff between 420j & 420 Hc ...
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They both suck.
I mean, compared to 440c, 154cm, 12c27, 5160, infi, s7, but I guess bad HT could mess these up to where they are just as bad as 420.
If I need a knife to hold an edge, not even spyderco’s vg-10 really does it for me. I like s30v or cruwear. But I’m no maker, and I mean no disrespect to Paul bos(his s30v is probably the best) and if that knife were 440A I don’t think it would be half bad for an import. If it’s 420, it will work for throwing and whatnot.
 
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Rhinoknives1 said:
I doubt seriously you could tell the diff between 420j & 420 Hc ...
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Then you don't know Bucks excellent Boss treated 420hc.
It's known to be the best of any 420 in the business for good reason, it's not only the best 420hc but a damn good steel for the price.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Then you don't know Bucks excellent Boss treated 420hc.
It's known to be the best of any 420 in the business for good reason, it's not only the best 420hc but a damn good steel for the price.
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LOL, I’ve been having PAUL Bos HT at Buck heat treat all of my blades for over 20 years! I’m saying if you had two identical blades, one of each Steel HTed by Buck to the same RC, that I doubt you could tell the diff!————————————————//—- By the way, how many knives have you made and had HTed by PAUL Boss HT???
 
.25% increase in total carbon is like 50% more carbides. But 50% better than crap isn’t a whole lot. I’m sure I couldn’t tell the difference at same harness. I can hardly tell the difference between s30v and cts-204p except when sharpening, I can “feel” the difference which may be the result of one being harder than the other.
 
Get the stone. I believe you should pick up a cheap knife that isn't as complicated to sharpen. Get a feel for what you're doing than try this more complicated knife. Try just a regular plain edge knife. YouTube is really helpful to learn from. Also look into getting a strop.
Welcome to BF brother!
 
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