I have the dullest SJTAC in the universe....Help!

jokrswylde

jokrswylde

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Jun 4, 2004
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I consider myself a pretty fair hand at sharpening...good with a sharpmaker, pretty good freehand, and pretty good with a strop. I was stropping my SJ tonight just to "clean" the edge. It came hair popping sharp, and I have maintained that edge nicely, until tonight. Same leather strop, same technique, but after a couple of passes, the edge was DULL. It wouldn't even come close to shaving hair, in fact, I can grab the blade and squeeze and only leave an imprint in the skin, I had to saw through a thin piece of cardboard.....this thing is a butter knife.

Any ideas what i could have done and how to fix it? I even tried the good ol' stropping on cardboard...nothing. I do not want to create a micro-bevel with the sharpmaker, but is this the only way I can get it sharp? HELP!

please.

:confused: :confused: :confused:
 
Put it down and give it a go later when you aren't so frustrated. :) Sounds silly but I often have to do this when I dull one up like that.
 
so, skunk, you recommend putting a bevel on the convex grind? if so, what is the advantage of the convex grind? more steel behind the edge? just wondering. Thanks for the help guys, i have slept on it, had nightmares, and i am ready to give it another shot....we'll see.
 
Strop it on a round ceramic stick, the same direction (away from the edge) as you are doing on your strop. Are you using an "Air Bleeder" strop or something else?

Jerry
 
jokrswylde said:
so, skunk, you recommend putting a bevel on the convex grind? if so, what is the advantage of the convex grind? more steel behind the edge? just wondering. Thanks for the help guys, i have slept on it, had nightmares, and i am ready to give it another shot....we'll see.
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no, i don't recommend that, that's just what i would do.
i have all kinds of edges and i really don't have time or pay attention to the kind of edge as long as it's sharp.

i personally have never had an edge fail regardless of the type.
i have a drawer full of sharpening devices and if one fails to do the job i just move on to one that works the fastest.

also i sharpen the knife i carry every time i put it on whether it was used or not.
plus i live in a pyramid so most everything around me stays sharp.:rolleyes:
 
Jerry Busse said:
Strop it on a round ceramic stick, the same direction (away from the edge) as you are doing on your strop. Are you using an "Air Bleeder" strop or something else?Jerry
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i agree, give this a try, and if you don't have a round stick then use the white one off your sharpmaker, the extra fine ceramic one.
 
When I was a Busse Representative
I have had Busse knives come to me from the Factory unsharpened(Spelling?) on purpose, as a knife for people to handle with out as much chance of hurting themselves.

I used one of these to demostrate how to use a crock stick to re-sharpen the asymetrical edge.

Over time the edge got plenty sharp and had to be dulled to keep it safe for
handling.

You raise a burr by stropping with the Crock stick, then you strop the burr with the Air Bleeder, you will prolly be happy
 
All are great comments. Especially PG's. More times than I can count I get myself all wound up about sharpening a blade and make the situation worse.

I think you may have been putting too much pressure on the leather, causing it to roll around the blade. Lighten up, and if your using the air bleeder strop, you might try tightening it up some. If your able to get the edge back, I would purchase a smooth steel and maintain the edge with that. An edge usually dulls due to the edge rolling. The smooth steel will realign the edge back to true. This can also be done with a fine ceramic, as mentioned by Jerry and Scott.

Hope this helps.
 
Solstice said:
I think you may have been putting too much pressure on the leather, causing it to roll around the blade. Lighten up, and if your using the air bleeder strop, you might try tightening it up some.
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very right about this, i make this mistake a lot. i run my strop so tight i'm afraid of what might happen if it were to break, i wear a football helmet, knee pads and a cup when i strop!!
 
idahoskunk said:
very right about this, i make this mistake a lot. i run my strop so tight i'm afraid of what might happen if it were to break, i were a football helmet, knee pads and a cup when i strop!!
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What cup.... ya mean Mrs Skunk lets you have em out of her purse while you play with your knives? :D
 
Skunk is lying, he's never sharpened a knife inhis life. When one dulls, he sells it and pulls another out of his vast stores.:eek:
 
Cobalt said:
Skunk is lying, he's never sharpened a knife inhis life. When one dulls, he sells it and pulls another out of his vast stores.:eek:
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So that explains the condition of my knives when they come from the company store! :p
 
Sometimes when I strop a knife I don’t get the tension right on the strop, or I don’t get the angle of the blade in relation to the strop right, and the edge gets rounded/blunted.

Be careful to get the tension and angle right.

I’ve read about people having a similar problem with sand paper and a mouse pad: they push too hard, and at the wrong angle, and round the edge.
 
Crisis averted! djolney got it right, I was rounding the edge due to not paying close enough tension to my angle on the strop. Thanks Jerry and skunk for the help, the stropping on the white sharpmaker rod brought the edge back to sic sharp in about 10 minutes......you guys should look into charging for your advice....it is invaluable. Again, thanks for the help!:D
 
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