noob sharpener

Z

ZippyDan

Joined
Sep 30, 2005
Messages
61
i have a 14 inch crappy blade that i want to sharpen for an excursion into the jungle soon (along with some other smaller knives)

i have two options

1. sharpen myself. whats the best noob sharpening set? is it still that spyderco set? and what else will i need that doesnt necessarily come in a set... like a strop. and stuff for measuring angles

2. get someone to sharpen it for me. as time is short, i may go this route for now. only problem is i have no idea where in the phonebook to look for this service. can anyone point me in the right direction and give me an idea how much this should cost?
 
The Spyderco set is good if your knife (or knives) are moderately sharp and at a somewhat acute angle. It sharpens at only 2 angles 40 degrees (20 degrees per side) and 30 degrees (15 degrees per side). Most "crappy" knives edges aren’t ground at angles this small. If it is very dull or at a thick angle then you would either need to
1. buy a extra coarse or a coarse bench stone (DMT is a leading brand in bench stones) to supplament a Spyderco Sharpmaker (This is the only one of these kits I have used, it is quite nice.)
2. Buy a one of the better equiped Lansky sets
3. Buy an Edgepro.
4. Buy a couple of bench stones and free hand it.
When I first started sharpening the results weren’t very satisfactory, I think this is true for many, so I would suggest having it sharpened until you have time to get some equipment and sharpen it. Happy sharpening :)
 
There are several kits out there that will do an adequate job of sharpening. Three of them that I really like are (A) The Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker (B) The Skarb sharpening unit (C) and the Lansky sharpening kit.

I have had first hand knowledge with all 3 of them. You can probably pick up any of the 3 of them on Ebay at a decent price. I have never used a DMT diamond sharpening although I have heard good things about it.

Now if money is not an object I would also recommend the Edge Pro. But that system ain't cheap. But it has had fantastic reviews.

Good Luck
 
"14 inch crappy blade" and "excursion into the jungle" suggest to me a machete or similar. If it were me, I'd clamp the blade in a vise and sharpen it with a file. That should give you a satisfactory edge for big blade jungle hacking type stuff .... use a smaller blade for cooking or lighter chores.
 
You can get an edge very sharp with a file, shaving for example. You can polish the edge with a coarse/fine stone if desired.

-Cliff
 
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