New to knife sharpening ?

[booger68]

I have a buck knives diamond sharpening kit.Is this a decent one to start with?Also i have a crkt m16 with the tanto blade it looks like only one side is sharpened does this sound right?If it is how would i go about sharpening this blade?And one last question.I made a stope out of a piece of boot leather i had will this work to strope a knife or does it need to be treated with something?
thanks
booger

 

[DGG]

I have a buck knives diamond sharpening kit.Is this a decent one to start with?Also i have a crkt m16 with the tanto blade it looks like only one side is sharpened does this sound right?If it is how would i go about sharpening this blade?And one last question.I made a stope out of a piece of boot leather i had will this work to strope a knife or does it need to be treated with something?
thanks
booger

I have never used the Buck kit so I can't speak about it. However, what you want in any sharpening system is something that holds one constant edge angle when sharpening. I use the Spyderco Sharpmaker just because I am lazy and it it is very easy to use and store. It comes with two preset angles of 30 degrees (15 per side) and 40 degrees. You can adjust the angles with a little wooden wedge.

Your strop should work with or without any type of polishing paste. You can get the paste at most any hardware store if you want. Here is a link that may be of help. The strop/hone just removes any remaining burr of metal on the edge and gives it a nice finished polish which increase they cutting ability.

I sharpen my tanto and serrated blades on both sides without any problems. The little micro-bevel that you use is immaterial to the knife's cutting ability. You are not using it a a plane blade so you can have a little edge on both sides.


http://www.drsharpening.com/leatherhone.html


http://forums.egullet.com/index.php?showtopic=26036


http://users.ameritech.net/knives/

http://knifeart.com/sharfaqbyjoe.html


Let us know how you make out. The error I made when first learning was that I was impatient. There is no quick way to get a sharp blade that I have found (unless it was pretty sharp to start with and you are just touching it up).