I JUST SHARPENED my first knife

Judge_Blackhawk · Jul 4, 2000

Well fellas and ladies, I have to tell you that today, Independence Day, I got out my Wal-Mart 6 inch arkansas stone from Smithy's and put a hair popping, razor sharp edge on my Buck swiss army look alike knife.

Took me about 20 minutes and it is SHARP with a capital ARP.........

Boy was it fun.

Did it all freehand with no gadgets of any kind, just good old fashion elbow grease and holding the edge steady.

If you haven't guessed, I am exstatic and a little on the giddy side.

Thanks for all the help in given me information on sharpening.

Godbless you all

Judge Blackhawk

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Government's ability to
ABUSE and EXPLOIT is directly related to it's ability to DISARM it's LAW ABIDING citizens. - Judge Blackawk

PhilL · Jul 4, 2000

Congratulations, feels good, don't it?
Now, if you're like me, you'll want to get it dull so that you can sharpen it up again.

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"Will work 4 Knives!"
Homepage: http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=254126

Jeff Clark · Jul 4, 2000

I've got so addicted to the rush that I go to Goodwill and buy old kitchen knives (largely so I can experiment with sharpening them). If you get a Japanese MAC brand kitchen knife you will be astounded by how sharp you can get a very thin AUS-8 alloy blade. Another amazing thing is if you buy one of Spyderco's Santokus and see how sharp you can get MBS-26.

Practise on thin blades will help you refine your technique before you tackle heavy "tactical" and field blades.

Taz · Jul 4, 2000

Congrats! I know that giddy feeling! What section was the stone in at WalMart and how much was it? My Arkansas are getting old and tired and I used them before I learned to respect them, so they are all dark black and concaved

. Jsut be careful, before you know it, you will bring the stones to work to use when you are bored and your left arm will be bald!

Chang · Jul 4, 2000

Taz, the Smith's Arkansas are very high quality, they are well worth the price. Go to: http://www.getsharp.com

I had one inside my Smith's Precision Kit (now retired), and the Arkansas stone was much smoother and more refined than the one with the Lansky's.

You can probably get them at Walmart for under $10. You'll generally find them in the Sporting Goods section. Some Wal-Marts will have them very close to the knives, and others will have them seperated.

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Chang and the Rebels of the East!
Southern Taiwan Will Rise Again!

Chang · Jul 4, 2000

By the way Judge, congradulations. When I first sharpened my knife sharp enough to shave, it was using the back of a plate. The edge looked sort of nasty (polish was irregular). The first time I got a clean polish and a razor sharp edge was using a Smith's arkansas stone as well. After that, I felt like I could do anything.

The arkansas stone I had was part of the Smith's precision kit (Lansky type system), and I had just removed the hones and used them for freehand.

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Chang and the Rebels of the East!
Southern Taiwan Will Rise Again!

K Robinson · Jul 4, 2000

Judge:
Congrats,It usually takes a few trys to get a hair shaver,you must be a natural to get it on the first try, I work in a whse with 150 employees and word got out that I could sharpen pretty good and now they all come to me to sharpen their knives and get advice on what knife to buy.

Kevin

Taz · Jul 5, 2000

I know the feeling of people wnating to have their knives sharpened! I did about 20 knives in about 5 days for co workers at $2 a blade. I think I had the Smith's 2 stone deluxe kit, but it had a wooden base, which fell off after a few years. I love those arkansas stones! I got a small pocket arkansas from a Ace hardware for about $4. I want to get a 6 or 8" tri Arkansas sharpener, but right now i am trying to convince my parents to let me a) make more blades to sell and b) build my own 2X48 or 2X72 belt sander.