Scandi Sharpening

I

Ian Red Redmond

Joined
Jan 24, 2020
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Talking about a Mora Companion here. If a Scandi is so simple to sharpen why have I wrecked mine? It's gone from moderately sharp to destroyed in 2 attempts at sharpening on wet and dry paper. I've used a plate glass cutting board as a base and I've clamped paper to an old oil stone. It seems to get worse whichever way I try. I've not just dove in, I've taken my time and started with 240 grit, to no avail. Tried 400 grit for a longer try and it seemed to become more rounded as I've gone along. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers. Red
 
Sharpening with sandpaper can be problematic for the edge-rounding issues you've noticed. But it can work a lot better if the paper is firmly adhered to the hard backing. This means something like a peelable adhesive bond, or done with double-stick tape (NOT the type with foam backing). The whole objective is to prevent the paper from lifting away from the backing AT ALL, so it can't even slightly roll around the apex under pressure. Clamping or taping the paper at the ends or edges isn't quite enough to keep the paper from lifting a bit under pressure from the blade.

There is some technique to it also. A very light, skimming touch used when the edge is very nearly apexed helps to avoid the compression that causes the paper to lift and/or roll around the apex.

I'd suggest also, that the sandpaper is OK for creating the bevels or thinning out the steel behind the edge. THEN, after that's done, then use a stone in conventional sharpening technique to do the final apexing, so the edge is crisp.
 
Ian Red Redmond said:
Talking about a Mora Companion here. If a Scandi is so simple to sharpen why have I wrecked mine? It's gone from moderately sharp to destroyed in 2 attempts at sharpening on wet and dry paper. I've used a plate glass cutting board as a base and I've clamped paper to an old oil stone. It seems to get worse whichever way I try. I've not just dove in, I've taken my time and started with 240 grit, to no avail. Tried 400 grit for a longer try and it seemed to become more rounded as I've gone along. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers. Red
Click to expand...
 
If you are rounding the edge, your technique is off.

I've used stones (diamond) and ceramic rods on my scandi to good effect.

Sandpaper, as others have noted, works, provided you have the set up correct.

When I use sandpaper I tape it to a glass sheet if trying to do a flat/straight angle.

Pay particular attention to the end of your stroke. No rushing...never allow the edge angle to rise at the end of a stroke. Take it slow, pay attention to feel.

My Glas plate pane is broken right now...so I have not used my sandpaper in a while.

I used to do a lot of convex edges on sandpaper with a hard rubber backing.
 
To add, you hope the factory edge is a true scandi and not beveled. Ive dealt with that before. Its a lot of work to get back to a true scandi.
 
Nothing really beats a Waterstones in this task, a 1k and 4k should be all that is really needed on a mora with softer steel. Because most Mora knives won't hold a true Scandi, I recommend grinding the bevel flat with a coarse to medium grit and leaving it at that. To finish I would micro bevel with the fine stone then finish with some stropping.

I wouldn't worry about some rounding unless you are a purist. Even then most would tell you to let your hands rock a bit so the bevel is slightly convex.

IMO, the most valuable tip.. Keep pressure to the edge. If you are just pushing the blade along and not staying conscious of where the actual grinding is happening then you are probably grinding in the wrong spot. In other words, your pressure is probably more on the shoulder of the bevel, this causes Thinning of the Scandi grind, changing geometry of the bevel and causing all sorts of sharpening problems.

When you sharpen, twist the handle to create pressure near the edge apex.
 
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