RW Clark MAU -- sharpening!?

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biogon

Joined
Jan 2, 2002
Messages
2,111
Picked up a nice RW Clark MAU.

It looks like a zero grind, or maybe a full convex. I'm not sure.

Is that true? If so, how do I sharpen the thing!? I don't think I can do the convex trick with the sandpaper and mousepad, as it doesn't look convex.

Thanks,

-jon
 
I have no idea...

I dont know much about your knife. However sooner or later your knife is going to get a bit dull from use and you will need to sharpen it. It is pointless to own a knife that you are unsure how to sharpen.

also, a knife that is too hard to sharpen, (needs too weird of sharpener) will not be used very much because you are afraid to get the blade dull.

I dont know what type of edge your knife has, but if nothing else is suggested, I guess I would just get out a oil stone and sharpen it like any other knife. Yes this might not match the makers blade design, but the knife will be sharp, and in the end, haveing a sharp edge is the whole point to getting that knife right?

good luck.
 
A zero grind blade is essentially triangular in cross section. Each side of the blade is a straight continuous flat grind from spine to blade-edge.

Simplest sharpening method would be to hone a secondary bevel at the edge, producing a slightly greater included-angle edge - either bevel one or both sides at the edge.

Some high quality Japanese knives are 'zero grind' blades with a very narrow single-bevel grind at the edge. They cut like razors and edge maintainance is easy.
 
I have 2 MAU's, one in 0-1, the other in ATS-34, both of them go on the Spydie Sharpmaker when they get a little dull, sharpen up just fine that way for me.
 
biogon said:
Picked up a nice RW Clark MAU.

It looks like a zero grind, or maybe a full convex. I'm not sure.

Is that true? If so, how do I sharpen the thing!? I don't think I can do the convex trick with the sandpaper and mousepad, as it doesn't look convex.

Thanks,

-jon
Click to expand...

Even if not convex, you can still give that sandpaper/mousepad a try as that will reduce the sides of the blade...which in this case is the BEVEL of the edge, all at the same time, sword polishers do this as well I believe, so you don't end up with a thick edged knife over the period of it's life, it'll become slimmer to be sure but man will it continue to cut!
Depending on how dull, I'd start with 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper and workup to 400 and then 600 grit, finally stroping on a leather strop. Gets an amazing edge, though not for mirror polished blades ;) but you'll love the cutting action, push cuts become so effortless!

Now I've not used a mouse pad, but some very soft supple elkskin hide, so the paper will give just a little to allow for the convexing to begin as you draw the knife across the paper, been meaning to make a holder that will clamp down the skin and paper and have it fixed to a table top while I sharpen, one of these days I'll do that!
Good luck, his knives look to be very nice, maybe a call to him to see how much to have it refurbished by him?
G2
 
Thanks, everyone, for the tips and advice.

I did in fact try to give it the mousepad + 600grit treatment, but without following the entire flat (too scared to scratch it up) but I wasn't able to make it any sharper.

Having sharpened a convex edge/flat ground now (thanks, Pendentive!) I think I've got the hang of it, but I'm just scared to really scratch up the side.

I think I may have to pass it along to someone else who'd either collect or not be so afraid of scratching the flat. ;)

Thanks for the ideas, though!

-jon
 
I think the real question you face is not "how to sharpen it?"

The real question is "Is this a knife, or is it art?"

If the answer is - "Its a knife" then a knife is ment to be sharp, (thats the point of calling it a knife) and so you would need to do whatever you need to do inorder to get the knife sharp. scratches be damned.

If on the other hand, the answer you come up with is "It's art" then there is no need to even worry about sharpening it at all. Infact the very act of sharpening it is to deface that artwork. Sharp or dull means nothing, art is art. If the knife is to be saved, protected, and then sold to another in mint condition, you own it to the "art" not to scratch it. The next guy who owns this "art" will be then able to decide from himself "Is it art or is it a knife?"
 
I don't know about you, but I don't make my own knives, and I don't have a lot of money. If I were rich, apparently like you, I could afford to keep art, or beat up a using blade in order to sharpen it and NOT sell or trade it.

I USE and SELL my knives, in that order.

For knives that I know I will keep forever (so far, that only includes a CRKT M16, Benchmade 520 and a Becker CU-7), they get beat up and sharpened ugly so they can't be traded or resold. But I use them.

For knives that I have to be able to trade, I can't afford to sharpen it in a way that makes it so the next guy doesn't want it -- which means I can't afford to use it. I use my knives. I don't collect them. I can't afford to collect. But by the same token, if sharpening it means that I can't trade it, I can't keep the knife.

It's not art to me. I sharpen my knives to use them, or to test whether the geometry and the ergonomics will fit me. I keep them pretty so I can buy more knives. I treat this community like an extended pass-around, where I spend a little money to evaluate whether it fits my needs.

But it's useless if I don't like it and I can't sharpen it so that it's still pretty.

Which is ultimately why I asked. Sure, I can put another bevel on it. That's the easy (but ugly) solution. Sure, I could sharpen the whole bevel. That's the easy (but rich) solution. I'm looking for WHETHER it's possible to keep it pretty and yet usable, which, I seem to be getting the idea, that it's not.

Please don't patronize me. I don't appreciate it.

-jon

DaQo'tah Forge said:
I think the real question you face is not "how to sharpen it?"

The real question is "Is this a knife, or is it art?"

If the answer is - "Its a knife" then a knife is ment to be sharp, (thats the point of calling it a knife) and so you would need to do whatever you need to do inorder to get the knife sharp. scratches be damned.

If on the other hand, the answer you come up with is "It's art" then there is no need to even worry about sharpening it at all. Infact the very act of sharpening it is to deface that artwork. Sharp or dull means nothing, art is art. If the knife is to be saved, protected, and then sold to another in mint condition, you own it to the "art" not to scratch it. The next guy who owns this "art" will be then able to decide from himself "Is it art or is it a knife?"
Click to expand...
 
Is it art or a knife? (A story by DaQo'tah 2004)

It was about 8 years ago when my dad called me long distance and talked me into flying home for deer hunting with him and his hunting buddies. I did not actually have the free time to take off work but as dad had asked, I knew it was important to him so I went.

We had a ton of fun, and on top of it all, my dad shot the biggest buck that year with a massive rack. We had fun cutting up the deer on that last night. We drank, told lies and whispered things when the ladies came up to the shack to see how we were doing and to bring sandwiches.

I still remember dad so proud of his buck, using his big folder to skillfully cut the meat and hand it to me to be wrapped in the white paper.

Thinking back, I remember now how on the last day of hunting that dad had decided to walk with me in the woods. But about 10 min later he said that he didn't feel too well, so he went back to the car and drove around and picked me up at the end of the woods.

A month later the Lord called my dad home.

After the funeral we had to help mom take care of dad's stuff. My mom, sister, and brother came to me and gave me my dad's top-of-the line hunting knife. They decided that this knife that meant so much to my dad, should be passed on to me because I understood how much it meant to him more than anyone else.

I keep that knife in a glass display table in the living room. Once ever few years I take it out, oil it, think of my dad, and then carefully place it back in the glass case.

Is that knife sharp? I don't have a clue.
 
Is it art or is it a knife?

About 4 years ago I made a few knives for some guys who were in a Sci-fi Star Trek Klingon club. They had met me at a knife show where I had a table and had seen I had made a Klingon Bat'leth for people to notice.

As time came and went, I became friends with the members of this club and soon they were always calling me up and wanting to talk about knives they have seen or gotten at the store.

One guy came to my house to show me a Great Klingon knife. It was in fact a knife made by Gil Hibbing, and was really cool looking with all sorts of points all over it.

During that summer one of our friends was clearing brush from his land and burning it and he asked the Sci-fi Klingon club to come over to his farm and help burn the stuff (and drink a few cold ones)

My one friend showed up and he had with him his Hibbing knife. He had decided that it would be his working blade that day and he used it to cut and smack-around all kinds of trees and brush.

Later that day he seemed a bit upset and came to me and showed me what was left of his blade. The thing looked like it had been in a war! It was scratched, bent; the handle gold coating was rubbed off. It was a real mess.

My friend asked "Can you sharpen it for me?"

I looked at it and said to him, "Well yes, but I don't think you have understood the point behind owning this type of knife."
 
biogon said:
But it's useless if I don't like it and I can't sharpen it so that it's still pretty.
Click to expand...

I've never handled a MAU, but I do own a wharncliffe mini and looking at the pictures and description on RW Clark's website, it appears that the MAU's are beveled in the same manner: flat "V" ground with a very narrow secondary bevel. That narrow secondary bevel can be carefully sharpened using a benchstone (I like fine diamond for O1), without ruining the appearance of the knife.
 
dsvirsky,

Interesting! The one I have doesn't seem to have a secondary bevel at all -- at least, none that can be seen. It actually has the tiniest bit of a convex edge, if anything, but it goes straight to the edge. Even with tip-to-back lighting, it can't be seen.

Thanks for the tip. :)

It looks like I may be trading this guy to a gracious fellow here, so the point seems moot. But for future reference, I guess zero grinds can be sharpened at home with the steep secondary bevel.

-jon
 
The edge on the MAU is a zero grind with a polished edge. Meaning that the final slicing edge is applied with a buffer, giving the edge a slight convex. I recommend a set of ceramic "V" sticks (ie Sharpmaker) for touch ups. The mouse pad trick is a pretty slick idea and should do the job nicely if you want to put in the time. If it were me I would put it on the sticks.
 
biogon said:
Having sharpened a convex edge/flat ground now (thanks, Pendentive!) I think I've got the hang of it, but I'm just scared to really scratch up the side.
Click to expand...
:D :cool: :D Stick with it, Jon. The confidence comes with practice. First half-dozen or so I did took some real guts to try out. Once I got the hang of it - piece of cake. Actually, it's a good sign you're "scared"....once you lose that...it's easy to get sloppy.... :footinmou
 
Wow...

Straight from Mr. Clark and Pen, the maker and the convex edge god...

*grin*

Ok, then, I guess that's the right way to go then! I'll give it a shot.

Thanks everyone. :)

-jon
 
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