Need Sharpening Suggestions!

UltraSteele

UltraSteele

Joined
Dec 12, 2002
Messages
163
Hey All.

The father of a woman I'm dating has asked me to resharpen what might amount to an heirloom/collectible knives. This has all the hallmarks of being a rite of passage to see his daughter, and I want to get it right.

While I'm normally VERY confident of my sharpening skills, one fillet knife is... well BLUNT. It doesn't have an edge so much as a part that is narrower than the spine. I have many sharpening systems, but I need a FAST way to get a quick, straight bevel without spending 12 hours on a diamond hone. Yes its that dull.

If I use a bench grinder, will that take off too much metal? And how do I keep the bevel straight through the draw?

Does anyone have another suggestion for this? I don't want to ruin his favorite knife, nor alienate my girl's dad... but I'd like to resharpen this without it looking like a hack job.

Thoughts?
 
Spend 12 hours on a bench hone.

A belt sander would do the trick in minutes, but if you don't know how to use it properly, you'll wreck the knife in seconds. If this is arite of passage, do it right. Use the best gear you already have, and put the time in it.

(Or send it to Ben Dale... hehe)
 
If it is an heirloom, why does it have to be sharpened at all? I see nothing wrong with leaving a valuable gift 'as is.' I have at least four knives in my collection that have the original bevel on them because they are collectibles.

Why not get her a replacement filet knife, one that she can use and you can sharpen.
 
The knives weren't a gift to me. Basically I'm restoring several knives to a better condition. Removing rust, cleaning leather, etc.

The Filet knife, while *I* wouldn't consider it anything special, is his favorite/oldest knife, and has sentimental value to him. He uses it and wants it resharpened, and I want to try and get it back to him in usuable condition without ruining its finish, etc.

It wasn't a gift to me or anything, just a "test" I suppose.
 
I have decades of experience sharpening knives and given your circumstances I would not use a bench grinder to sharpen any of those knives. If you had a belt sander and had a lot of experience with it I might use the sander otherwise I would stick with what you have the most experience with.

A situation like this is perfect for using a sharpener which has an angle guide. Although it is slower than power tools I would use a sharpener that uses a clamp or has stones set at an angle like a Spyderco Sharpmaker V-rod system. If I had something like this, but it was very slow because the abrasive was too fine I might try and improve the cut rate by attaching some 120 grit Wet or Dry paper onto the stone's surface. This might be done with tape or even double-sticky-side tape.

If I was working freehand on a simple flat hone I would tape the side of the blade to protect it from accidental marring. When you have a lot of honing to do it is easy to slip and scratch the side of the blade when honing freehand. I would take some tape and run it lengthwise up the sides of the blade leaving about a 3/16th inch uncovered strip adjacent to the edge in which you will do the sharpening. The width of this uncovered area depends on the thickness of the tape and the bevel angle you are using to sharpen the blade. You don't want to rub the tape on your hone as you work, but you want to protect as much of the blade as possible. Try and minimize the unprotected surface. If your hone is too fine (like an Arkansas stone) you may want to tape some 120 paper to the surface for your rough work. Use a medium coarse abrasive for your heavy work rather than trying to hog off material with a fine grit.

Take the time to do this right. This will make the best impression. Do the easier knives first and return them. Say that you need a bit more time to do the really dull one.
 
I have followed Jeff´s recomendations before and they´ve always worked.

Now, what I think I would do is:

Get a coarse stone and put it in a vise with padded jaws, use a protractor to set an angle of about 10 or 12 degrees (I sharpen drawing the knife horizontaly across the stone, if you want to draw along vertically you would have to measure the angle against the vertical the way crock sticks or the Sharpmaker do it).

Work the edge along the stone, checking frequently with a magnifier to make sure I got a straight even bevel, work both sides all the way to the edge, the knife should get sharp but with a burr.

Get a medium grit stone and lay it on the coarse one (to keep the same angle), work both sides of the knife, to get a smoother edge.

Do the same with a fine grit stone.

Take the hones off the vise and put in it a fine or extra fine grit hone, using a slightly higher angle, like 15 or 17 degrees.

Work the edge about a half dozen times each side, alternating sides, this should build a secondary bevel and get rid of the burr. The knife would be ready now.

If I wanted a toothy edge I would then lay a medium or coarse stone on the fine one and give the knife a couple of passes.

Again, as Jeff said, take the time to do it right.
 
I would just send it to Ben Dale of edge pro...
hahaha...
Doesn't he give a free sharpening of 1 knife?
 
Like already posted, don't use a bench grinder!

If you want to use a jig, then don't keep reading.

IF you are going freehand, then use the coin stack trick to set a consistent angle. (See: http://knives.mylamb.com/calc.htm)

Make sure your stones are dead flat.

Set the spine on the stack, lock your elbows at your side, lock your wrist and stroke.

I just finished another knife last night with this method, checking with a 100x magnifier and it is amazing how consistent you can be this way. I have the luxury of setting the initial edge with a belt, but for the final work stones rule.

So, on a knife with a new edge (similar to your problem), I use:

100 micron belt
30 micron belt
1000 grit stone
2000 grit stone
leather belt on grinder

By hand I would:

120 grit - paper over glass
320 grit stone
1000 grit stone
2000 grit stone
2000 grit increase angle by 2 degrees


The best would be to use a leather strop at the end, but I can't do that right - always seem to round the edge.

Steve
 
Order an Edge Pro. How long can it take to reprofile a fillet knife? They are so thin to begin with. I could do it in 10-15 minutes on my Edge Pro. :)
 
This is obviously very important to you and I would establish right away what her father expects.
He might just want a sharp edge.
On the other hand he might be expecting a beautifully polished
secondary bevel and a scary sharp edge.

Once you know what he expects , then and only then should you decide what to do.

Point44's suggestion, although I suspect somewhat tongue in cheek,
is a very good idea and you would get to see what a fine edge looks like when done on an Edge Pro.
 
Hey thanks everyone! I knew you'd all come through for me.

I'll Try the 120 grit sandpaper/double sided tape- I have both and many of the other items listed here.

I can't afford the edgepro. I'll post results when I have them myself!

Thanks all!
 
personaly i think yoru taking this sharpening to seriously. secondly i would "cheat" and send the knife to edge-pro at

For a FREE sharpening demo, send your knife to:

EdgePro Demo
c/o Ben Dale
P.O. Box 95
Hood River, OR 97031
Include return postage (and insurance if necessary).

it is one of the best sharpining systems ever. if they cant get it right no-one can:D

hope this helps,
your friend hydraulicman;)
 
Does anyone know if:

a) Edgepro does free "demos" of their sharpening?

b) That is a legit address/person?

Thanks Hydraulicman.
 
yeap ben dale of edgepro does a free demo on 1 knife that you send...no obligation to buy anything...but i'm quite sure you'll be amazed at how sharp an edge he can put on a knife...

most people actually buy an edgepro once they see what sort of edge it can put on your knife...

i'm still considering buying it but since i'm in the uk shipping and tax is a factor.....


oh and yes...that is a valid address...

http://business.gorge.net/edgepro/

have a look at the above site...
 
I have had almost every sharpening tool/device known to man, and just bought an EdgePro (got it today).

The first 3 knives I did with it are sharper than anything I have ever done in the past!

If you can't afford an EP send it to Ben for the free demo - you'll be impressed.
 
Well...

The fillet knife wasn't very hard steel. In the end, I bought a cheapie- $12 sharpener that used carbide steel to put a quick, really roughed out edge on the blade. Then I used my Sharpamker for the rest. It didn't take the BEST edge I've ever made, but certainly better than he'd ever had it.

The unique/collector knife isn't done yet. I did some testing on the edge and am confident that its made from scrap steel. Its beautiful and functional but hardl=y a state-of-the-art. I got most of the corrosion off, and will look into something more effective when I have time, but for now it has a rough edge and the steel looks like steel, not mud.

I need to investigate some other methods of corrosion/pitting removal, but Flitz got the real tough stuff off. Once I get it done up, I'll post a pic- its a really lovely hand made knife.

And the girl?

We're doing great!

Thanks all!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top