New to knives

[Livin4alife]

Hi! Just started working at cow hide processing, and I am looking for ways to contribute. That in mind, they seem to use generic knives and a standard bench grinder to sharpen, plus the rods at their hip for when they can't hit the grinder.

I've been looking at what makes a quality knife and what makes a quality grinder, I just can't quite figure out how I can contribute, if I did something like get a few people heat treated blades and brought in a paper attachment for the grinder, would that really make a difference?

I guess it would help if I contributed more, we are handling the hide just after it's gone through a flesher and it has had all of its fat removed soaked in brine, between a weight of 60-90lbs.
Minor detailing with knife to remove strands and patches
pull on hide and push on blade method
splits easily with sharp knife.

 

[brando555]

There's a few people here that are fans of paper wheel sharpening. With a little practice you can get a knife razor sharp in no time, I don't know much about it so hopefully someone that does can chime in.

Blade geometry plays a big role too in how well a knife slices and how long it holds an edge. I bet something like the Mora Companion would be good at cutting through cowhide.

 

[Bill3152]

Paper wheel works great. You are best served imo using junker knives or even an old.hacksaw blade to practice. Very fast and very sharp. There is a sticky that talks all about it. Loads of info there. Leaning to freehand isn't that hard either. But I would imagine speed is an issue. You can sharpen a knife in decent condition in about a minute.