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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
New to Sharpening... Need help!
- Thread starter Downhill Trucker
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2012
- Messages
- 176
+1. I'm pretty sure most of us have been at the "I'm hopeless and Can't sharpen" point before. It will pass.
Wow, thank you for the offer.:thumbup: I may have to take you up on that. I'm trying to get together with Downhill Trucker and maybe freewheeling, but I don't know oif they have video capability. I'd seriously like to do a video to show people how to sharpen a knife very easy with no fancy gizmos that cost a lot of money and are not pocketable. You're probably not more than 10 minutes from my house not far off Clopper Road.
Carl.
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2013
- Messages
- 24
Looks like Carl and I will be meeting up next week to film the video. Ill be sure to upload a link to it when we are finished. Thanks for all the tips, I look forward to learning a little bit about the art of sharpening.
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2013
- Messages
- 24
Is this like sharpening with a kitchen knife steel? How would I do this on a pocket knife? Thanks again.
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2009
- Messages
- 129
Yes it is. Where the knife is sharper when properly done, you have not removed any material. If you will touch up an edge with a steel or a hone periodically it will last much longer between sharpening with a stone, diamond surface, belt or wheel. A chef steels his knife virtually everytime he uses it. I am sure there is something available that explains it better than I can. Good luck!
I met Carl last night and Omar is right! Carl is one of the most interesting guys I've ever met. In just a few minutes he showed me how to get a shaving edge using the bottom of a coffee cup and a leather strop. I love my Edge Pro and the incredible shiny edges it gives me, but to get a knife to do it's job (that would be cutting stuff
), it's really not necessary. THANKS CARL!!!
When I got home there was a new knife waiting for me that I had ordered last week. After a very few minutes to re-profile with a $4.00 stone, clean it up with a coffee cup and a strop, the edge was good enough to shave and slice phone book paper.
I don't think that I'll give up the EP, but I don't have to carry it with me when I'm away from home.
Allen
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2010
- Messages
- 6,642
While I didn't have access to any of the nicer meatpacker's steels, I did a bit of work trying to find out more on this topic back here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-steeling?highlight=quick+close+look+steeling
Lots of speculation mixed in with a bunch of micrographs. I never did get around to testing with a borosilicate rod, but went as far as pricing some on the net - considerably less expensive than a higher end steel and likely better results, especially on the more wear resistant steels.
HH
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2011
- Messages
- 2,090
No vid for us to watch? 
I met Carl last night and Omar is right! Carl is one of the most interesting guys I've ever met. In just a few minutes he showed me how to get a shaving edge using the bottom of a coffee cup and a leather strop. I love my Edge Pro and the incredible shiny edges it gives me, but to get a knife to do it's job (that would be cutting stuff
THANKS CARL!!!
When I got home there was a new knife waiting for me that I had ordered last week. After a very few minutes to re-profile with a $4.00 stone, clean it up with a coffee cup and a strop, the edge was good enough to shave and slice phone book paper.
I don't think that I'll give up the EP, but I don't have to carry it with me when I'm away from home.
Allen
Contrary to popular opinion, you don't need a meatpackers steel, or any other special purpose steel. Any kind of round or semi round steel surface will do. You are merely re-alining the knife edge, not removing any metal. I've used the shaft of a screw driver, handle of an adjustable wrench, and even the back of another knife blade. Of the screw drivers, I've had the best luck with Sear's Craftsman and Snap-on.
You can buy a real butchers steel, but it's not really needed.
Carl.
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2010
- Messages
- 6,642
Contrary to popular opinion, you don't need a meatpackers steel, or any other special purpose steel. Any kind of round or semi round steel surface will do. You are merely re-alining the knife edge, not removing any metal. I've used the shaft of a screw driver, handle of an adjustable wrench, and even the back of another knife blade. Of the screw drivers, I've had the best luck with Sear's Craftsman and Snap-on.
You can buy a real butchers steel, but it's not really needed.
Carl.
I had the best luck with a length of drill rod. When I stated looking into it I found there was a lot of variation in how it worked based on surface finish of the 'steel'. Some produced results that were better left alone, some whipped up impressive edges in very short order. Like all sharpening and maintenance techniques, it has its limits. In the linked thread there's a fair amount of info mixed with even more speculation and a couple series of micrographs. I'm no expert, but I know a lot more than I did before I took a closer look.
David Martin
Moderator
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2008
- Messages
- 19,520
Does knife maintenance have to occur using a hard polished rod? Can it also be by stropping? I don't need a video to help me understand it. DM
No, it does not have to be done in any particular manor, and that's my point. Knife maintenance can be done with a very wide variety of materials, both hard and soft. You can steel it with a drill rod or screw driver shank, or strop it on the back of a legal pad, boot top, back of a Dickies work belt, or any scrap of leather glued to a paint stir stick. The world around us is filled with all kinds of stuff that will work on a blade. We're limited only by the blinders we put on ourselves.
Carl.
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2001
- Messages
- 4,608
Is the video up and ready? Don't seem to find it 
Further step is to read the sticky on this subforum, it'll help deepening the understanding.
Further step is to read the sticky on this subforum, it'll help deepening the understanding.
No vid for us to watch?
The concept was very well covered in this excellent video:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...system-–-from-dull-to-push-cutting-edge
You used a piece of concrete & Carl keeps a cut off EZ Lap in his wallet for the course work, but you both seem to be in agreement with the spirit of using almost anything to sharpen a knife. The coffee mug or the broken piece of porcelain tile that I successfully used, may not give us the super polished edges that many BF members want, but they will get a knife sharp enough to be useful.
BTW if you use a broken piece of tile, be careful of the edges. They can be sharper than the knife! You can use Mag's concrete to make them less bloody to handle.
I've only been on Blade Forums for a short time, but it has become apparent that there is more than one approach to sharpening a knife. Many love the mirror finish and that's OK. Equally OK are the guys who just want a knife to cut. And there is just about every combination in between. It's not wrong if the user of the knife is satisfied with the result. I'm just happy that there are guys like Carl and Mag and several others who are willing to help us get the results we want. Many thanks for your generous and patient help for those of us who are "sharpening challenged"!!
JMHO,
Allen
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2011
- Messages
- 2,090
Hey, any time. With the marvel of the internet and YouTube, the pros here have made their knowledge and experience available to the rest of us. Those of us who benefited from their knowledge and willingness to share are always happy to "pay it forward" and do whatever we can for other sharpeners in any way we can.
With the marvel of the internet and YouTube, the pros here have made their knowledge and experience available to the rest of us. Those of us who benefited from their knowledge and willingness to share are always happy to "pay it forward" and do whatever we can for other sharpeners in any way we can.