How to sharpen a very nice knife?

R

ratzinger

Joined
Jun 20, 2006
Messages
5
I just got my Fallkniven MC 1. A very pretty knife indeed!

mine.jpg


I am new at collecting knives, and I don't want to ruin it by not
handling it correctly. I usually use a hand stone with my other knives,
but I don't want to leave any scratches on this knife.

How would you sharpen this knife?
 
if youre not gonna really use the knife for anything because of fear of scratches etc...Why would you need it to be sharpened? Fallkniven knives are pretty keen out of the box. I'd leave it alone if youre not gonna use it.
 
ratzinger said:
I don't want to ruin it by not handling it correctly.
Click to expand...

I feel that a knife is not really mine until I do something stupid with it that leaves a mark.
 
Try a little blue painters tape and tape off everything but a 1/8'' of the edge.
 
Cover everything except the edge with blue painters tape from the hardware store. (Kind of like masking tape but leaves very little residue when removed). Then proceed to carefully sharpen in whatever way you prefer.

Edit - TBAUGH7 beat me to it by one minute:D
 
Thanks all for the advice. I haven't much experience with stainless steel,
all my other knives are carbon steel.

I am already using it, albeit not for it's intended purpose, clearing mines.

A very sharp knife right out of the box. And very well made.
 
ratzinger, welcome to Bladeforums!

Nice first post :) VERY nice knife. Is it a convex edge? If so, stropping is pretty effective for maintenance. You shouldn't need stones unless you really beat on the edge.

Here's some sharpening hints:

Convex Grind FAQ
http://home.nycap.rr.com/sosak/convex.htm

EDC Knives Sharpening FAQ
http://www.edcknives.com/pdf-files/Sharpen_v2.pdf

Knife Maintenance and Sharpening
http://forums.egullet.com/index.php?showtopic=26036

Sharpening Made Easy
http://users.ameritech.net/knives/knives1c.htm
 
I'll second the "blue painters tape" idea.

I keep some of the 3M stuff around just for that purpose.
 
Yes, Esav it has a very nice convex edge.There
isn't really a 'line of demarcation' on this knife.
It's such a fine edge that it's difficult to distinguish
where the edge begins.

Thanks for the information on sharpening.
I definitely will look into stropping to
maintain the edge.

Perhaps this will be the push I need to get a proper
straight razor as well, as long as I am getting a strop.
 
I find that the Sharpmaker, used carefully, is excellent for sharpening without marring the blade finish at all. I sharpen my nicest knives on it with very little fear of scratching the blade. I'd imagine combining this with blue painters tape might be a great solution.
 
Fallkniven usually applies a v-ground final bevel to their knives with a primary convex grind. The edge is just barely able to be seen by eye, it is often under 0.005" thick. They recommend sharpening as you would normally on a benchstone for a typical v-ground edge bevel. If you want to maintain a full convex profile then it is very difficult to not scratch the blade as you basically have to satin finish it each time you sharpen.

-Cliff
 
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