Sharpening a round knife.

O

Omega Leather Works

Joined
Jun 13, 2007
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I may have asked this in the past, but I can't find a thread.

Anyway, I'm wondering how you guys sharpen your knives. I've never been very satisfied with the level of sharpness on my round knife. I've watched videos, and read how-to's, but never really nailed it. Until tonight.

So, without the long story, I found a stack of small (1.5"x4") translucent Arkansas stones at my local surplus store some months back. I gave them all away, save one. Holding the knife parallel with the floor I took the stone and applied it to the edge while watching closely to make certain I was hitting the apex. Because of the small size of the stone I sharpened in a circular motion. May sound awkward, but it's actually very easy and intuitive. After that I took one of my Black Magic strops and loaded a piece of 2k grit wet/dry paper on the back. Using a stropping motion, then following with the ChromOx loaded leather, the blade is screaming sharp.

My knife came somewhat sharp, but the machine finish wasn't what I'd have called polished, it was also a bit obtuse. I reprofiled it to something around 20° convex a while back so that made the technique above easy peasy.

The polished edge won't cut a hanging hair, but with a little snap it'll sever a free hanging hair. That's pretty dang sharp!
 
Here ya go Chris, used to cut leather. Half round knife might be a closer term but they are called roundknives or sometime head knives.

FmIrBVF.jpg


Strig if it works cool. I use my 2x72. Can't live without that puppy
 
It was only a short time ago I finally saw a youtube video showing how those are used, I had always 'thought' that it was like a pizza cutter and couldn't quite figure out how it would benefit my leather work, but now, I may look into getting one to try out ;)

Nice sheath too btw !
G2
 
Horsewright said:
Here ya go Chris, used to cut leather. Half round knife might be a closer term but they are called roundknives or sometime head knives.

FmIrBVF.jpg


Strig if it works cool. I use my 2x72. Can't live without that puppy
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If I had a vfd belt grinder I'd be all over the idea of sharpening with a belt too. :) I'm pretty tempted to beg the wife for a Ken Onion Work Sharp. I imagine it would seem like a toy next to a KMG or whatever, but it's 1" and variable speed, plus the belts are supposed to be very good. They are the same brands and abrasives that you may use as well. Great assortment in any case.

http://www.worksharptools.com/knife/sharpeners/ken-onion-abrasives.html

I don't like that they are only 18" long, but I've not heard too many complaints about longevity. The grinding accessory looks pretty sweet too for light metal work and handle shaping.

Gary, you gotta get yourself a knife!. Maybe get in on Dave's passaround just to see. I suspect most guys that try one will find it indispensable. I just grabbed a rotary knife, but I'm not really sure why. I have never needed fringe, but I guess they are useful for that kinda thing. I'm just hoping I don't *really* love Dave's skiver. :o
 
Gary W. Graley said:
It was only a short time ago I finally saw a youtube video showing how those are used, I had always 'thought' that it was like a pizza cutter and couldn't quite figure out how it would benefit my leather work, but now, I may look into getting one to try out ;)

Nice sheath too btw !
G2
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My leather work is very basic and I've been using a utility/razor blade knife. It was killing my wrist and elbow, of course I do have joint issues. After one hour with Paul, I was sold on the round knife. With a good knife and very little practice, the blade glides through leather with an easy push-cut and rolling it makes straight lines better than I ever could dragging a razor. Even trimming tiny bits off the edge or welt is a breeze. I highly recommend trying one. You won't go back;)
 
Horsewright said:
Sign up for the Passaround jdk.
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Dave, Thank you so much for the invite. As much as I'd love to, I can't even drink coffee with my left hand. This was my first week with my arm not strapped to my side (6 weeks in the strap). While my right hand is good, I couldn't even steady a piece of leather with my left, and it'll be months. My plan is to get back out to Paul's place as soon as possible and check out his skivver, if he lets me touch it:D Maybe in the future I can try one of your round knives, though it would be akin to a new driver testing a Ferrari! Your work with these blades and leather is incredible. Thanks again for making these beautiful tools available to everyone. I believe they will change many minds.
 
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Ya know I'd forgot you were beat up. My son just went through a similar surgery around the first of the year. Hope you recover as well as he did. Thanks for the kind words.
 
Hey Anthony, if you are curious, I posted a short review of my Ken onion work sharp which arrived today in the similar named thread. I am not sure about using it for round knives, but it does produce a really nice edge. I would want to try and compare it to paper wheels, but alas, no power grinder. BTW, did the stuff from nigel Armitage arrive yet?
 
Florian, nice review. I'd buy the KOWS above anything, I think, but I too am interested in the paper wheels. If the WS had trouble with the round knife, the wheels should do nicely I think. My bud Ohallum does very sharp edges with his. I noticed you said you don't have a strop. I'm a hardcore strop kinda guy, and not just because I make them. It's probably because I prefer carbon over high vanadium super steels, although cpm m4 does really well for me with a ChromOx strop. Strops don't really sharpen, but they definitely refine and maintain a good edge. They can also take off an obnoxious burr.

I haven't got the parts from Nigel yet. I'm responsible for shipping and it's out of my budget at the moment. I've got a lot going on, including trying to buy a house. :o
 
Maybe I should look into a head knife. I am limited to an old cobblers knife and an Old Hickory knife that was worked over to a modified head knife edge radius with a convex edge. Bad news though, if my hand slips forward while I am pushing cuts. I contacted Mr. Long a while back about different head knives and what to look for. Very valuable information. After looking at all of the degrees and styles, I just backed off. I guess I should reconsider again. Dave thank you for showing your head knife and offering the pass a long. Hopefully there will be some good feedback so I can decide on what to do.
 
May I suggest you guys include Bruce Johnson in your search? His vintage tools get great reviews as they come cleaned up and hand sharpened.

I bought my vintage Craftool knife from ebay, but if I had to do it over again I'd look towards Bruce's site.

http://brucejohnsonleather.com/

Now that that's been said, my personal feeling is that you cannot beat custom from someone who knows what they're doing. Modern steel coupled with superior heat treat trumps factory from any vintage imo.
 
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