Sharpening a clip point blade

S

Sebrw

Joined
Oct 2, 2019
Messages
16
Hi,

I need advice on sharpening a case 6.5375 SS large stockman knife.
I'm a beginner in sharpening. The only knives I ever sharpen were Victorinox and a Higonokami japanese knife (pretty straightforward as you just have to keep the blade flat on the stone).

I'm using Japanese 800 / 6000 whetstone.

The problem I have is to sharpen the end of the blades. The sheepfoot is easy as it is straight but I can't get the tip of my clip point sharp. (didn't try the spey yet as it is still sharp enough).

I think I got the movement wrong and it is not a matter of steel as the flat part of the clip point blade is hair shaving sharp but the curved part of the tip is totally dull.

I tried different techniques:
1- keeping the blade horizontal pushing through the stone and then move outside the stone trying to keep my angle
2- Keeping the blade like a clock hand showing 11' and going forward then back
3- Trying to sharpen only the tip by applying pressure only there with a tip oriented angle

Nothing worked! What am I doing wrong?

As for sharpening angle, I folded small piece of paper in 2 (45°) and again in 2 (22.5°) and tried to keep that angle.

Thanks for any suggestion!
 
It's very possible to angle of the edge at the tip is wider than your angle, meaning you're only hitting the shoulder of the edge. Have you checked for a burr?
 
Yes, there's no burr at all on that part, that's why I guess I'm doing wrong.

I tried to use the 6000 stone to see where I was polishing and it seems I catch the tip rather fine although the polished part seem wider than the original edge.

Do you have an easy way to describe the movement I should do to catch the tip at the right angle?
 
I've found that it helps to gradually raise (or lift) the blade as you approach the tip. Start raising it when you reach the the area where it begins to curve and gradually raise it more as you approach the tip.

This compensates for the change in angle caused by the curve in the blade.

Keep your angle the same during the process. Just raise the blade.

You could probably find some good instructional videos on Youtube for getting the tip sharp. It's much easier to watch than it is to explain.
 
Sebrw said:
...Do you have an easy way to describe the movement I should do to catch the tip at the right angle?
Click to expand...

I’ll try:

The general idea is to keep the edge perpendicular to the long axis of the stone. As you approach the curved portion of the edge you need to rotate the butt end of the knife toward you. Additionally, I lift the butt of the knife slightly as I approach the tip.

Until you get the motion down it might help to mark the secondary bevel with a Sharpie to ensure you’re maintaining contact with the stone at the proper angle.
 
Frailer said:
I’ll try:

The general idea is to keep the edge perpendicular to the long axis of the stone. As you approach the curved portion of the edge you need to rotate the butt end of the knife toward you. Additionally, I lift the butt of the knife slightly as I approach the tip.

Until you get the motion down it might help to mark the secondary bevel with a Sharpie to ensure you’re maintaining contact with the stone at the proper angle.
Click to expand...

This is good advice, mark the edge with a sharpie, and lift the handle and rotate it to match the curve of the blade. It is an odd motion to get used to the first few attempts, but the sharpie will help you learn the technique.
 
Thank you all for suggestions!
The "lift the butt of the knife slightly as I approach the tip" (from Railsplitter and Frailer) was the part I was doing wrong. It is not perfect yet, but I'm working on it!

Great channel JTB_5, this video in particular helped me a lot :D
 
Look up Dean O on YouTube. He has some great sharpening videos and very straight forward.

Definitely mark the bevel with a marker. Great visual aid! And yes, slightly lift the knife so the bevel on the tip stays flat on the stone. Also, speed is not your friend until you know what you're doing.
 
Make sure you have good light and some sort of magnification helps.
I don’t use sharpie but that would probably help you much but what I do when doing a clip point or really any new knife I do one light pass then check progress and adjust my angle depending on the initial scratch pattern.
 
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