Sharpening a Randall Made Knife

DJD said:
I didn't see it as trolling either. I guess I have talents I was unaware of. :rolleyes:

DD
Click to expand...

Trolled so hard they moved your thread;).

[Youtube]Cdiz0k0Rudw[/youtube] .

No reason for the troll song other than I'm really sleepy, and it amuses me.
 
The Randalls I've bought over the last 35 years didn't come with any instructions at all. They came wrapped in a rust preventive paper and that was it. I do have an old number five and it is pretty evident the original owner got the instructions when he bought the knife.
 
I have never owned a "randall" but my ESEE 5 which is a Randall knife came with a razor edge..1095 steel.. a survival knife built for bushcraft and first for downed pilot's in centralAmerica...the hour I opened it I chopped down approx 2 2 inch oak trees. Was amazed it still shaved so I am wanting a Randall now and guess I have a lot to learn. Yes I have those knives I never take out of the box and do not use..but the whole purpose of my ESEE 5 was for bushcraft survival..will use the "RANDALL ALSO " any advice from RANDALL owners are more than welcome on which style (survival" and how best way to keep it shardare..thanks guys COLT NE ALABAMA

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
Hello Colt and welcome. This thread is about Randall Made Knives. ESEE knives are completely different.
 
DJD said:
Exactly the way Melvin does.

However, if it were a nice Randall that I might sell someday, I wouldn't sharpen it at all. What would be the point? I have plenty of perfectly good users if I need a sharp knife.

But I think the point may have been missed. The instructions are not advocating honing the knife. They are instructing the owner to lay the blade flat on the stone. That's not honing. That's re-shaping. I knew an old cowboy who used to sharpen knives that way. Ruined some really nice ones too.

DD
Click to expand...


That's not what the instructions are "advocating". They are suggesting you could do that, but they explain that laying the blade "flat" would result in an edge that is fragile... They recommend instead the usual low-performance industry-standard of 20 degree per side (40 degrees total) which are not edges but "wedges", and which require so much effort to cut anything with... (They typically ship with "wedges" over 30 or even 40 degrees per side, meaning they come with hardly have any edge at all, the purpose I suspect is to minimize heat build-up on the edge at the factory: This "non-edge" is even said to be hand applied for this reason, and it does pay off in edge holding if you finish it by hand.)

The edge as it comes from Randall is usually ridiculously open-angled and dull, but that hardly matters, since almost all of them have very thin edges grinds, typically 0.020" at the shoulders, mounted on deep, or shallow, hollow grinds, this combination making them very easy to re-profile to whatever angle you prefer, as "suggested" in the instructions...

This is the whole point of a Randall knife...

The idea of leaving a Randall in its dull factory condition is really an outrage to the intent of its design... The are moderately priced roughly finished user knives of excellent performance... They are definitely heirloom quality, but hardly rare or out of production, or really that expensive for the performance they offer (which is outstanding, particularly in stainless), so I really don't understand why putting a hand applied edge to them is unthinkable... The hollow grind is why the edge doesn't thicken over time, keeping the exact same cutting performance for generations of rough sharpening, this being exactly why they are so beloved, and why they don't lose their value... Hand-applied edges is what every feature of what they are is designed for, unlike the current infatuation for recurves, the convex edge nonsense, or even the overrated Full Flat Grind, which inevitably thickens over time...

Gaston
 
Melvin-Purvis said:
I use crock sticks set in a V pattern in a wooden base to realign an edge when needed, then a leather strop glued to a wooden paddle that I screwed onto my work bench. Dull to very sharp in about five minutes or less - with no metal removal... :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Melvin - I am new to knives, but my understanding is that the crock sticks are metal and abrasive - how are you able to use them without taking any metal off? - sorry if this is a dumb question

thanks
 
Gaston444 said:
That's not what the instructions are "advocating". They are suggesting you could do that, but they explain that laying the blade "flat" would result in an edge that is fragile... They recommend instead the usual low-performance industry-standard of 20 degree per side (40 degrees total) which are not edges but "wedges", and which require so much effort to cut anything with... (They typically ship with "wedges" over 30 or even 40 degrees per side, meaning they come with hardly have any edge at all, the purpose I suspect is to minimize heat build-up on the edge at the factory: This "non-edge" is even said to be hand applied for this reason, and it does pay off in edge holding if you finish it by hand.)

The edge as it comes from Randall is usually ridiculously open-angled and dull, but that hardly matters, since almost all of them have very thin edges grinds, typically 0.020" at the shoulders, mounted on deep, or shallow, hollow grinds, this combination making them very easy to re-profile to whatever angle you prefer, as "suggested" in the instructions...

This is the whole point of a Randall knife...

The idea of leaving a Randall in its dull factory condition is really an outrage to the intent of its design... The are moderately priced roughly finished user knives of excellent performance... They are definitely heirloom quality, but hardly rare or out of production, or really that expensive for the performance they offer (which is outstanding, particularly in stainless), so I really don't understand why putting a hand applied edge to them is unthinkable... The hollow grind is why the edge doesn't thicken over time, keeping the exact same cutting performance for generations of rough sharpening, this being exactly why they are so beloved, and why they don't lose their value... Hand-applied edges is what every feature of what they are is designed for, unlike the current infatuation for recurves, the convex edge nonsense, or even the overrated Full Flat Grind, which inevitably thickens over time...

Gaston
Click to expand...

Gaston, I bought a Randall as my first knife to use every day for just the reasons you wrote - your post is spot on as far as my decision making went

Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top