Sharpening at Gun shows???

xaman

xaman

Joined
Nov 27, 2005
Messages
9,574
Hey Guys,

I'm new to Rats (bought 2 in the last month though -- and love them.) Got a Rat Hunter that is really sweet, but it's not very sharp. I'm not the greatest w/sharpening, and I'm thinking I don't want to learn on these knives.

There's a gun show in town (Saxet Gun Shows) tomorrow. I know there's a couple of different booths there that'll sharpen for 3-5 dollars. Is this a good idea for my rat hunter? Is there anything I should know to avoid? I don't want to make a rookie mistake and mess up a great knife!

thanks a bunch!
 
Hi xaman,

Excellent question. I'm horrible at sharpening too.

The problem with getting your blades sharpened at a gunshow is the method that they typically use to sharpen them -- the grinder. Using a power grinder to sharpen your blade will do two very bad things -- it removes a LOT of steel and it will likely ruin the heat treat due to high contact temperatures.

If they offer a service to sharpen by hand then I'd say go for it. It would be worth the extra price. If not, I would recommend finding somebody with experience to show you how to do it right.

Good luck, bro! :D
 
thanks for the response.

one of the guys was using some sort of huge belt driven leather sharpener...

Another guy had some sort of spring tensioned, v-shaped diamond rod contraption. I've never seen a shaprmaker in person- but it looked similiar to the pictures. it worked good on the demonstation blades - sliced thin paper w/no problems. i asked him about the angles, and he said he could set it at different angles (he was trying to sell the system for home use).

i should probably wait, but i just don't know anyone that does anything except free hand on a wetstone...
 
I understand your concern about people sharpening knives at gun shows, however don't limit it to the guys with grinders. I just had a guy ruin the grind on my benchmade with a hand sharpener at an outdoor show I attended yesterday.

When I owned a knife store I routinely used a paper wheel grinder. I used it for the basic reasons that it was easy to teach my employees and did an excellent job when used correctly.

My suggestion would be to check the person operating the equipment. Is he knowledgeable about good knives in general, or does he just think all makers and steel are alike? Does he check the current knife for sharpness, and burring of the edge? Quite often all a knife needs is the bevel straightened, in which case a very fine stone, or the non-gritted part of a paperwheel is enough. Does he understand the different grinds (i.e. flat, concave, and convex)?

Sharpening is an art, and the person doing the sharpening is as important as their choice of equipment.

Pam
 
Excellent point, KL. An idiot operating the best equipment is still very bad. ;)

Xaman, I've seen that spring loaded sharpening system that you're talking about. A friend of mine bought one of those. From what I hear, those can make it pretty simple to restore your edge.

Often times, the person selling those sharpening systems will demonstrate the technique on your blade. You might give that a shot.
 
Hey Xaman, I know the fella that does the sharpening with that big machine and he is an excellent person to deal with, and he does a great job sharpening a knife with that thing. He put a beautiful polished convex edge on my old Satin Jack a few years ago. That reminds me, I need to take my Steel Heart to the next show for him to work on for me, a convex edge on that puppy would be awesome!

hmm, isnt the Broadway show next weekend? :confused:
If you want to meet up there, I'll introduce you to that fella, he'll do ya right reguardless. You, me, and Senorcosas would have a time talking Rats and Busse's if you have the time. :D
 
Thanks for the advice everyone.

Leatherman, that sounds like a blast. I'll look into it and see if the schedule would permit me being gone (San Antonio is about a 4 hour drive.) I'll let you know if it looks possible. Are you thinking Saturday or Sunday?
 
Looks like either day is open for me, I'll contact Senorcosas. I bet either day will work for us, to give you more possibilities. I'll be up with the daugher delivering on Girl Scout cookie orders. :o ;)
 
360joules said:
Hi xaman,

Excellent question. I'm horrible at sharpening too.

The problem with getting your blades sharpened at a gunshow is the method that they typically use to sharpen them -- the grinder. Using a power grinder to sharpen your blade will do two very bad things -- it removes a LOT of steel and it will likely ruin the heat treat due to high contact temperatures.

If they offer a service to sharpen by hand then I'd say go for it. It would be worth the extra price. If not, I would recommend finding somebody with experience to show you how to do it right.

Good luck, bro! :D
Click to expand...

What the Brother here is saying about GUN SHOW SHARPENING services is true. All of the ones I have seen use high speed grinders and they try to do it ultra-fast. Two problems with that: #1> like the brother said it definitey screws up your heat treating for a considerable amount of edge stock. #2> being ignorant about 9 years ago I let one of those guys sharpen a Benchmade I had just bought~~ Not only did he screw up the edge the sharpening job didn't even last a day. And this was on a folder too.

It is my humble opinion but probably not a popular one: I believe that any knife owner has an obligation to learn sharpening. A dull knife to me is about as useless as a car without gasoline. Plus once you learn the tricks to sharpening it actually becomes relaxing fun. The only grinder I ever used on a knife of any kind was a TORMEK grinder I bought that uses a wet grinding stone. Then the only time I use it is when the blade is really horribly battered. He is right they remove way too much stock. Just like taking a saw chain off of a chain saw in to have it sharpened commercially. The only time I did it they removed 2/3rds of the cutter tooth. Just like the old saying goes>> no one will takes as good of care of your money as you>> also no one will take care of your cutting tools as good you yourself will either. Hard fact of life but that's the way it is. There are exceptions but very few of them. :(
 
senorcosas said:
Hey Leatherman,

Let me know which day you are going. Any extra boxes of cookies available?
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Hey bro! That was easy, I didnt even have to send an email! :D Cool! We'll taker as it goes.

JD, read my above post about the Knife Sharpist. A few years ago a hack tried to push in on his business, this guy was bad. He ruined so many good knives, thankfully he went out of business quickly.

The machine that the Sharpist uses is a good one it runs slow and it doesnt, #1 remove too much metal, the belts he uses are very fine. So much so that they feel smooth to the touch. And they dont heat up the blade, I grabbed my Satin Jack right after his sharpening and it wasnt even warm. #2 this guy is a true knife nut, he knows his steels and he knows his knives. It would hurt him more to ruin a blade than it would the owner. ;)

It is good to make sure you choose the sharpener carefully, like these fellows say theres some real hacks out there just in it for the money and they will literally chew up a blade. Ask around at the show, the other vendors will either know or know someone who has dealt with the sharpener. Once upon a time I did a lot of gun shows and the vendors for the most part will honestly try to steer a person in the right direction. Its a close knit group.
 
xaman said:
Thanks for the advice everyone.

Leatherman, that sounds like a blast. I'll look into it and see if the schedule would permit me being gone (San Antonio is about a 4 hour drive.) I'll let you know if it looks possible. Are you thinking Saturday or Sunday?
Click to expand...

Xaman,,, you in Houston?
 
waht about a lansky sharpening set?? I bought myself one and it's really nice if you can't sharp by hand (like me:grumpy: )

Or buy yourself a good diamont sharpening stone and practice by hand with an old knife. And once it goed good you can do your rats for sharpening. But be patience with this.
 
Pack Rat,

I'm in Huntsville, 70 miles north of Houston... What part of town are you?
 
xaman said:
Another guy had some sort of spring tensioned, v-shaped diamond rod contraption. I've never seen a shaprmaker in person- but it looked similiar to the pictures. it worked good on the demonstation blades - sliced thin paper w/no problems. i asked him about the angles, and he said he could set it at different angles (he was trying to sell the system for home use).
Click to expand...

I think that this device is the Warthog. A guy sells these at the Gun Shows in Birmingham. Looks like a good device. However, watch him closely when he tried to slice paper with a potential customer's knife, half cuts, half collapses the paper, swipes the knife about five times through the device, then slices the paper like crazy. It looks to me that he slightly alters his technique for the before and after paper slices. However, that does not mean that it is not an excellent device.

The original Warthog had too narrow a slot to accomodate most Busse and other larger knives. However, that has been corrected in current models.

The Warthog is definitely not a field sharpener, though, unless you keep your vehicle nearby. It is a little too large and cumbersome for on-person carry. Requires a flat, solid base like a table. A tailgate would work.
 
xaman said:
Pack Rat,

I'm in Huntsville, 70 miles north of Houston... What part of town are you?
Click to expand...
Have you figured out if you can make it up this weekend or not? :D
 
Man, no I can't... I don't know what I was thinking because I have a family b-day party saturday am, wedding sat pm, and have to work the other direction Sunday...

Sorry, I should have communicated sooner. It's a bummer 'cause it sounded like a load of fun... Maybe next time?
 
Sounds great! We'll plan on that. :D No worries about not getting back sooner, life tends to get in the way more often than not. ;)

Hey Senorcosas, you up for terrorizing the lesser knife dealing folks? I'll have cookies, heh heh heh heh, but the selection is getting low, the cookie drive is finally slowing. Thank goodnes. :o
 
Ask the guys at the gun show how they are doing the sharpening and how they avoid excess heat and screwing up the edge angle and whether or not they strop and whether they have ever sharpened knives like yours and do they have insurance to replace you knife if they screw it up royally.

Say it with a smile and see what response you get.

They will at least know that you are serious and want it done right the first time.

The guy using the leather belt sounds like he has an automated strop/hone. If the speed isn't too great it should make a beautiful sharp edge.
 
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