Sharpening Cheap Blades

R

ricklee4570

Joined
Aug 12, 2010
Messages
643
I have been sharpening for years with no problems until last weekend. My step daughter brought me her cheap flea market made in China stilleto style knife that she had given to her. She knows it is junk but just for fun she asked me to sharpen it. No matter what I tried, it would not take an edge. I could get it reasonably sharp, but not razor sharp. I could never get it to cleanly slice paper, no matter how hard I tried. I guess the steel was so soft it just would not take a keen edge. Anybody else ever encounter this?
 
Well...First off, I would never give my daughter a razor sharp-edged knife. [emoji14]

Joking aside, I've had mixed results with cheap knives. They are cheap because of blade material. So, I don't buy cheap knives expecting to get razor edges. On the other hand I've gotten some killer edges on all knives including cheapo's using a sandpaper washboard setup made by a great fellow forum member. http://www.washboardsharpening.com

Mike
 
Last edited:
Years ago, someone wanted me to put an edge on a really cheap, China-made bali song/butterfly knife he had gotten in Mexico. He said he used it when he goes camping. First off, I couldn't figure out how he used it; the blade was some type of thick, soft chrome steel(?) that was far duller than any butterknife. I tried and tried, but it was like trying to sharpen a bar of soap. I returned it to him a little sharper than before, but still far from a functionally sharp knife. He didn't seem to mind.

Jim
 
James Y said:
Years ago, someone wanted me to put an edge on a really cheap, China-made bali song/butterfly knife he had gotten in Mexico. He said he used it when he goes camping. First off, I couldn't figure out how he used it; the blade was some type of thick, soft chrome steel(?) that was far duller than any butterknife. I tried and tried, but it was like trying to sharpen a bar of soap. I returned it to him a little sharper than before, but still far from a functionally sharp knife. He didn't seem to mind.

Jim
Click to expand...

I know that guy too. And have done the exact same thing. They see my knives and wonder why theirs won't cut like mine. But for some reason they just don't want to buy a quality blade.
 
I've been given a lot of beat up blades to sharpen and also my share of cheap knives with thick stock.

Many times I've tried to sharpen thick bladed knives and thought "this steel is just crap; it won't take an edge." In 99% of the cases, I simply hadn't ground off enough metal. Again, on these blades I'd think "is that a burr I feel? I must feel one by now, that's got to be it.... right?" But the truth was simply that I hadn't ground off enough metal to reach the apex. I couldn't feel a burr definitively because it wasn't there!

Once I started doing powered sharpening, I found that a lot of these knives suddenly were able to get sharp. Will they hold an edge? That's a WHOLE other question. But for 99% of the blades I've dealt with, they can be made sharp. Just remember the basics and you'll get there. The thickness of the blade stock and how dull the knife is to start both play a huge role in how long it takes to get to the edge.

Brian.
 
EyeDog said:
Well...First off, I would never give my daughter a razor sharp-edged knife. [emoji14]

Joking aside, I've had mixed results with cheap knives. They are cheap because of blade material. So, I don't buy cheap knives expecting to get razor edges. On the other hand I've gotten some killer edges on all knives including cheapo's using a sandpaper washboard setup made by a great fellow forum member. http://www.washboardsharpening.com

Mike
Click to expand...

Mike, I didn't mention that she is 30 years old! :) Thanks for your reply.
 
I resort to my belt grinder. For whatever reason, machine sharpening produces better results than I could ever do by hand with cheap knives. If I must sharpen by hand I usually go a bit coarser such as an 800 grit waterstone.
 
I encountered this when I was in scouts, many of the boys only had cheapo knives while I was the only one with a decent sharpener, so I often got called on to sharpen others' knives. It took FOREVER in comparison to my Buck 110 and SAK to put an edge on their knives, though mainly because they had dulled them to the point where I was doing much more than touching up an edge. With softer and cheaper steels it just takes a while to coax them into being sharp. I am definitely glad I don't have to sharpen knives like those any more! Use a belt sander with a high grit belt, much faster than individual passes on a stone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top