Sharpening Frustrations !!

Brendan

Brendan

Joined
Feb 13, 2002
Messages
3,679
I have been practising my convex edges just as Yvsa has instructed me to but I can not get the edge hair popping sharp !! It's plenty to sharp to chop wood and just about anything else (Uncle will tell me that that is good enough) but the razor's edge eludes me !!

:mad:

Anyone else experiences the same frustration !!

B
 
Originally posted by Brendan
I have been practising my convex edges just as Yvsa has instructed me to but I can not get the edge hair popping sharp !!......but the razor's edge eludes me !!

Anyone else experiences the same frustration !!

B
Click to expand...

:p ;)

Bren, I bet you're there and just not knowing it. It can be pretty easy to roll the final edge from one side to the other without realizing it.
I use a wood backed strop as I think they give better control over the final edge.
Try reloading your strop with the Chromium Oxide and then using very, very light pressure strokes, just the weight of the blade, strop the final burr off.
It helps at the end of the stroke, before lifting the knife from the strop, to stop and raise the edge from the strop first.
It's very easy and pretty common to raise the spine first which can roll the edge just enough to get rid of the hair popping sharpness.

Hang in, you'll get there yet.
Most things learning worthwhile takes a little time, something we all forget in this age of instant gratification.:rolleyes: :p ;)
 
Same as me :(

I can sharpen a flat grind as sharp as a razor is after a few weeks of shaving but am still working on the convex.

The shape is rather simple to get but same as you it doesn't cut very well.

The leather on my strop is pretty hard. Will this make a difference? :confused:
 
Originally posted by BruiseLeee
Same as me :(

The leather on my strop is pretty hard. Will this make a difference? :confused:
Click to expand...

Hard & taut works very well, just use a light touch and a well charged strop.
And remember to lift the edge before the spine when turning to go the other way.
 
Don't feel bad Brendan and Bruise---I still haven't gotten around to trying the stropping techniques and others that Yvsa has been teaching us for so long:o I've got a few blades that really need to be razor sharp like my 20" kobra, Cherokee Rose, and a few more...one of these days I'll get my butt in gear and try it...
 
I have been woodcarving for some 25 odd years,and the main problem for most people is seeing the edge off the blade.You have to train yourself looking at it in the right light and angle you shoud be able to see a burr or a blunt piece off the edge.If you pollisch the edge too long you will have a verry scharpe edge, but it will feel dull because the angle off the cutting edge is too blunt.Olso it takes a lot off practise to keep the right angle while sharpening by any means.This is my first time on this forum so forgive my mistakes in spelling.Greetings Karels.
 
Thanks,too all of you for the extra pointers.Iknow it will take some time for me because i don't have all the right equipment I need yet.:D But i'm getting there! ;)
 
Keep at it Brendan, it's like learning to ride a bike or swim, once you "get it", it'll become second nature. Be careful though, it becomes habitual, and your arms will quickly become hairless.:eek: ;)

Greg
 
I don't get shaving sharp either, Brendan.

Yvsa, thanks for the advise about light strokes

Karels; about the edge in the light: no matter how much work or what angle the basic edge comes in at, there is still ultimately a fine little edge on the end of that. I've been trying to get that even.
If this is wrong, I shouldn't have a tiny edge on the end of my edge, people let me know!!


munk
 
I can get my khukuris to shave hair, but not very well. I would call them shaving sharp, but not hair popping like some of my thinner bladed folders. Are any of you getting your khukuris to the same level of shaving sharpness as say an SAK blade? If so, how? Do blade thickness and geometry affect the ability of a knife to shave hair?
--Josh
 
Originally posted by Josh Feltman
Are any of you getting your khukuris to the same level of shaving sharpness as say an SAK blade? If so, how? Do blade thickness and geometry affect the ability of a knife to shave hair?
--Josh
Click to expand...

I have a "burr knife" I made many years ago from a 3 cornered file.
Each side is 120* and once was perfectly hollow ground.
I've lapsed over the years and the hollow grind isn't as perfect as it was when I made it.:(
I can sharpen it on a Norton Fine India Hone to where it's hair popping sharp.
It's so sharp that you have to wrap the edges with several layers of tape to keep it from cutting yourself when deburring metal parts!!!!
The angle really doesn't have anything to do with whether it's shaving sharp or not.
 
Okay, another question

What about the lenght of blade from cho to belly, how the hell do you get the right angle on that with a sharpening stone. If you use the edge of your stone you make it round (eventually)

Brendan
 
"Okay, another question"

Brendan, you might want to try one of these on those troublesome reverse curves;
ceramic.jpg

It's a ceramic sharpening rod available from www.ragweedforge.com
You can't beat the price, the 4 1/2" rod sells for one dollar, the 8 1/2" rod sells for two bucks. Yvsa mentioned a while back the effectiveness of gluing leather around a wooden dowel (1" diameter, if I remember right), loading it with compound, and using it to strop the curved edge of a khuk. I've tried it with great success, thanks for the tip Yvsa.

Greg
 
Or.........you could try a slipstone like the one pictured below.
00003506.jpg

These are rather wedge shaped in cross section, with one thin edge and one thick, rounded, edge. They are used for sharpening woodworking tools, like gouges, and are sold in stores that cater to woodworkers (read that specialty shops, not hardware stores generally). The one pictured is a medium carborundum from a company in Britain.

Greg
 
Thanks for great links and advice Greg !!

Thanks to you too Yvsa - the man with all the answers !!

Brendan
 
Bren

The secret is in how much McCanns Finest you eat for breakfast!! After talking via e-mail with Yvsa, I came up with a sharpener that you might find useful. You know the insulators that you see on utility poles & around switchyards/substations? When the "skirts" on the 'stacks' break, usually these are just picked up & thrown away. These skirts are ceramic & will break in all shapes & sizes. As I do yard inspections, I have picked up a good many & then pick through these broken pieces & find ones that have enough exposed ceramic material, as well as the glazed coating that is on the outside. The rough inside ceramic will pull an edge up quick, & the glazed part that is slick works good as a steel. If you know somebody with your local utility company, you can probably get as many pieces as you want for nothing.
 
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