Sharpener for recurve

[CWendling]

Friend of mine has a couple recurve blade knives to sharpen and was asking me about one of the work sharp tools vs the spyderco sharpmaker for them and other non-recurve blades as well. I dont own any recurves and sharpen all my knives on a grinder, so I thought Id ask in here for some more knowledgeable opinions to give him

Thanks
Cory

 

[tinfoil hat timmy]

I use a harbor freight 1x30'' belt to sharpen recurve blades.

I use BLAZE 36 grit belts to establish a burr then go to 400 to 600 grit or so.

then I strop with compound on a powered leather belt or just on a piece of cardboard. pAper towel tubes are good for this as it helps hit the recurve section

 

[kreisler]

one can use sharpmaker, it works but i doht recommend it because the recurved sections are particularly harsh on the 204M even the 204F rods. well, i have no standing nobody believes the kresil from gemani haha so go ahead and experience the consumption of 204M for yourselves (you'll see "black powder/flakes" on the blade).

i recommend cheap round ceramic rods, stuff like RRS or similar

 

[Twindog]

Wicked Edge has curved stones, but in limited grits.

You can also use dowels of various diameters wrapped in wet/dry sandpaper. You can drill holes into a block of wood at a specific angle so they work like a Sharpmaker.

 

[ferider]

Google Eze-Lap-Oval-Diamond-Steels. I have one M390 recurve knife and I use the Eze-Lap for that one.

I have a small belt sander too, but only use it for rough stuff or cheap kitchen knives - usually with 600 paper.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

+1 to the oval diamond steels, for recurves. Their relatively wide radius - therefore wider direct contact to the blade edge - and length make them pretty fast at metal removal, even for tasks like reprofiling recurved blades. Most of them seem to be around ~ 600-grit finish. I have one of the EZE-Lap 10" models and have used it to good effect for recurves.

Pretty much any ceramic rod can handle the light touch-up jobs on recurves, beyond the heavier work done on the diamond steel.

 

[Wild Willie]

I use an American scythe stone from FortyTwoBlades .

 

[ferider]

I use an American scythe stone from FortyTwoBlades .

I was considering a scythe stone .... how coarse/fine is yours ?

 

[Wild Willie]

I was considering a scythe stone .... how coarse/fine is yours ?

The only one in my possession at the moment is an artic fox. I'd call it fineish, use it to finish/maintain my machetes after a file.

 

[ferider]

The only one in my possession at the moment is an artic fox. I'd call it fineish, use it to finish/maintain my machetes after a file.

Thank you ... didn't know they came that fine. Just ordered one (I like that I can also use it as a normal benchstone)

 

[Wild Willie]

Thank you ... didn't know they came that fine. Just ordered one (I like that I can also use it as a normal benchstone)

You're welcome . Hopefully you're as happy with yours as I've been with mine.