I must be getting better at this free hand sharping thing

[HandofCod]

My new Trail Hawk arrived today in the post and came factory spooned. By which I mean it was a dull enough to use as a back scratcher.

20 minutes with my lansky diamond set freehand and then a few more minutes stropping on black and green compound and I appear to have made the thing shaving sharp. At least that's what my leg hair has to say on the matter.

It's a fairly obtuse angle so I don't think there is any danger of damage. Does the final edge of an axe need to be shaving sharp to be more effective? Will this edge disappear pretty quickly through chopping? Haven't had a chance to get out and give it a few good swings yet.

 

[BryFry]

haha... congrats on the edge!

The CS hawks seem to take an amazingly sharp edge with relative ease, when compaired to some other steels. I really like them.

Sure, when it comes to chopping, you can get by with a not-so-sharp edge, but really sharper is better in my opinion. Your hawk will bite deeper with less force required, allowing you to focus more on technique rather than simply swinging hard. Also makes your hawk more capable for finer woodworking too.

It will loose its ability to shave after chopping enough wood of course, but these hawks are very easy to touch up so I wouldn't be worried about that.

 

[omniviking]

And for safety sake, keep your pants on at all times.

please no pics at attempts to be like Cold steel owner Lynn Thompson wearing bike shorts.

Congrats on improving your sharpening skills

 

[Shotgun]

Nice job. Yes, IMO axes should have a MORE refined edge then a standard utility knife. Axes push cut and benefit from a polished edge.

 

[HandofCod]

Nice job. Yes, IMO axes should have a MORE refined edge then a standard utility knife. Axes push cut and benefit from a polished edge.

Excellent, looks like I have some more stropping to do!

 

[Ookami]

+1 on the refined edge. You basically have all bases covered:
- edge angle more obtuse than a knife edge
- polished to (arm/leg hair) shaving

I'd say you're good to go.


Ookami