I will never buy another recurves blade again.

[kreisler]

if the recurve is ever so slightly mild, it shouldn't be there imho. for example on the Leather man surge (and wave too?).

 

[mycough]

There are a lot of good answers here, practice being one of the better tips.
I will just ask one question, why do you feel the need to carry through to 8000 on a blur.
If it is 14c28n I might polish it up a bit, but for a beginning sharpener every time you move up, it is another chance to screw it up.
Speaking of blurs, I have an old blemished s60v that has no recurve, it took a long time but now it is one of my beater folders and it has held up like a champ.

 

[MtnHawk1]

I really don't understand what folks like about recurves (from a performance/use perspective). I would agree, sharpen the recurve out from in front of the ricasso and be done with it ;-)

+1

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

(Realizing this is somewhat of an old thread; maybe still pertinent though...)

I'm not a fan of recurves in general. But I've found out an oval diamond kitchen 'steel' is perfect for quickly resetting an edge and apexing on them. I use a 10" EZE-Lap oval diamond rod (~ 600 grit or so), which has pretty crisp edges to each side of the oval profile. I put the knife into a clamp or vise, with the blade pointing UP and the edge facing me. Then I place the tip of the rod alongside the edge at the heel of the blade, rotating the rod so the oval's narrow edge is flush to the blade's ricasso where it meets the blade's edge. I then push the rod away from me and UP along the length of the cutting edge, rotating the rod so it's oval center works the major portion of the recurve as it moves up the edge toward the tip. The length of the oval diamond rod, and the diamond abrasive, make it very fast-working in resetting an edge. I also lubricate diamond surface with some mineral oil to 'smooth' the work and keep the diamond cutting cleanly without clogging.

For lighter touchups on such edges, I've also used stones with one edge radiused (maybe 1/8" radius or so, not very wide), as suggested earlier by HeavyHanded & Jason B. That works well for maintenance, after the fact.

 

[Wowbagger]

I'm really enjoying my XL Voyager !
Hard to beat these Voyagers.
I use it in the kitchen.
Not saying it hurts anything to sneak in a straight plain edge occasionally.
As far as sharpeing . . . a knife Dude has got to do what a knife Dude has got to do to get his / her blades sharp.
Narrow stones help and they even make half round stones for the guided sharpeners.

 

[Wowbagger]

use a 10" EZE-Lap oval diamond rod

Thank you for the tips.

 

[numbersman]

Get a Sharpmaker. Works great on recurves, and is a great all around tool for maintaining your edges.

I second the SharpMaker. I only have one recurved blade, but never had a problem sharpening it.