Those videos at knfesshipfree.com were great, but were not much like what I learned back in ye olde boy scouts.
Thank you. The techniques I discussed in those videos are not much like what
I learned in BSA either. I am a huge BSA proponent, and most of the other skills I learned were golden (compass, firestarting, winter camping, knife safety, and other skills that I still use at 35), but honestly the knife sharpening instruction in my troop was a little perfunctory.
- What is the functional difference between a convex and a flat grind? ie What's it mean to me? Is convex better? Easier to maintain?
Better? Some will say yes. IMHO it's just
different. IME, maintaining a convex edge is about the same difficulty as a few swipes on the Sharpmaker. As much as I enjoy my convex blades and "convexology" generally (and the honor of winning the KSF contest), I really view convex as just more knifeknut voodoo. That is to say, I love it!
I am no convex guru, but many people find them to be great slicers. Knifenut1013 puts it well:
knifenot10103 said:
A convex edge is all about geometry, the constant curve of the edge causes less friction in the cut. A convex edge is also very easy to maintain because essentially there is no bevel angle. If you can strop you can convex.
- Are this guy's methods something I can start with the hard sharpeners I have, or would I really benefit getting some leather?
My experiments with convex techniques on hard surfaces were disappointing. It really just turned into beveled sharpening. However, I still strop most of my beveled edges backwards (spine leads, edge trailing) on hard stones.
I just watched some of the videos. Can one use normal 2000 grit sanding paper? I really did not know that. I only have till a 1000grit white stone of lansky. Will a 2000grit polish the edge even more?
I don't know that it is "normal" 2000-grit paper -- I and others prefer 2000-grit wet/dry paper of the type usually found at auto-supply stores. And yes, you really can use it for sharpening convex or beveled edges (lay it on a table or glass). I love it and use it frequently, but mostly as an intermediate step. For real edge
polishing nothing beats compound on leather.
Back OT, I too am surprised at the number of dedicated knifenuts who are not really very good at sharpening. It's like gun owners who can't really shoot. It's an evolving skill in all of us -- there's always something to learn or learn better. However, Phil is right to caution - many of us put down the gadgets on occasion and
do take sharpening pretty seriously.