Sharpening Help......!!!!!

Tobias

Tobias

Joined
Feb 25, 2009
Messages
98
I am having a REALLY hard time sharpening my Chiruwa Ang Khola. I have tried the mousepad thing, stones, paper wheels, I feel like a imbecile. Even my chakma has been nicked up by my attempts. I am looking for someone who can put a mean, clean, convex edge on this beast. HELP! Second, I need to resheath this thing with a better sheath. Mine had already started falling apart. I have used it about six times. can anybody help?
 
I had the same problem initially. I decided to use the mousepad method but, the turning point was getting a strop with chromium oxide in it. I can now have things sharp within 15 minutes.
I ordered a quick kit from sharpshopusa.com for my strop. Takes 15 minutes to put together then, depending on the type of glue you use to adhere the leather to the wood block, a couple hours to a day wait to use the strop and put in the chromium oxide.
Hope this helps.
 
been using stones and a regular strop held between my toes (sounds odd but it is how I keep it taut) since I was a tot.
In fact it is how my Grandpa taught me, including the between the toes thing.

I am a horrible teacher via the net but if you lived near me I could do it in an afternoon.
 
i can help you get your knife convexed. the slotted paper wheel works good for finishing up a convex edge. i can also do it for you if you want but i would like to help you do it yourself.
 
If you already have paper wheels, Richard j is THE man to talk to.....
Even if you don't he's probably one of the best, if not the best sharpening man to talk to....and a heckuva good guy to boot. If he can't set you straight...noone can.
If you find you just can't do it, he can sharpen anything for very reasonable prices.

If anyone needs help sharpening, he's a simple pm or email away....
 
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If I decide I want a more acute (sharper) blade angle on a user I get very aggressive about obtaining it. I start with a metal file and manually take a portion of the blade shoulder off. Then I go to a belt grinder with a course belt and smooth out the transition area around the remaining shoulder. A series of grinds with progressively smoother belts yields the convex profile I want, and a final work-over with a loaded leather strop produces a razor sharp cutting edge.

I know it sounds almost sacrilegious to apply this approach to a beautiful HI blade, but you can spend the rest of your life trying to get a sharper edge if you don't realize that the blade in question really needs to be re-profiled first.

Just a possibility to be considered. Good luck. :thumbup:
 
If you want to DIY then do yourself a favor and pick up one of these: http://www.harborfreight.com/1-inch-x-30-inch-belt-sander-2485.html
and some 1x30" belts from Lee Valley.

I generally like to start off w/ 120 grit, then 360 and finish w/ leather belt and some chromium oxide.

To get that last bit of sharpness and to touch up edges between sharpening a hand held leather strop is a must.

If you want to reprofile an edge start w/ something more aggressive like a 40 or 80 grit.

If you want a polished edge Lee Valley sells a micropolish belt, but watch the heat build up so as not to affect temper.

Take it from someone who was taking way too long to get consistantly sharp convex edges from stones, mousepad and sandpaper etc.

With some practice your kuks and other blades will be as sharp or likely, sharper than you when you got them.
 
I've been doing okay with a belt grinder and ceramic stones meself. Some of my HI's still have a dull spot here and there, but overall they're shaving sharp and the users perform pretty well even without a major reprofiling job.

When grinding I start out relatively acute, and if things are still not developing a burr after a while, I gradually increase the angle until I can feel a difference on the majority of the edge... then I put it to a combo of wet/dry sandpaper glued to a paint stir stick and/or diamond stone prior to honing on ceramic and stropping on denim with baking soda as a makeshift stropping compound.
 
Man, thank you for all the replies. I'ts great to see the community come forward and help out. I have been thinking about getting a belt sander for a while. Any recommendations for a starter rig?
 
1" sanders are ok for small knives but a 2x72 works much better for larger knives. you might check harbor freight or grizzly imports and see what they have. for the belt grits, i dont use anything over 400 grit for finishing up an edge since the slotted wheel will put a screaming sharp edge on even at 280 grit. i have put shaving sharp edges on with 180 grit playing around.
 
what about the recurve on the kuk? is a smaller belt better, or is the belt sander pretty flexible?
 
I've helped a couple members via email as to how to sharpen up their khukris (using the mousepad + sandpaper method) so I can say this: the most common thing people mess up on is not staying at the lower grits for long enough... they tend to start moving up in grits before they've reprofiled the edge entirely / created a bur. Your first grit level is where you do all the work - higher grits are for polishing/refining the edge you create with the lowest grit.

Kukris have a LOT of metal to remove when re-profiling and are fairly well hardened at the sweet spot. This means a good bit of work is needed and this work is easier done with lower grit papers. I tend to entirely wear down about 4-6 pieces of 9"x2" 120grit paper before I move on to 220, 400, 800 and then 1000. DO NOT move past ~120grit until you're 100% certain that you're done re-profiling (you should be able to easily feel a bur before moving on).

BTW, thanks for raising this topic. You've reminded me that I really need to finish up my INFO thread found here. Right now, I'm trying to come up with a cheap and easy to follow tutorial on putting a shaving sharp edge on a kukri :thumbup:

P1030310.jpg
 
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Thank you for being specific. I see what you mean. Today while chopping wood I FINALLY found my groovewith technique while chopping some logs for a campfire. i spilt a few in one stroke. Then I got excited and started trying to sharpen. Big mistake, my kuk ended up less sharp after all that work.I kinda (EDITED) it up with the lansky and all that. I was complaining about it to my wife and she said:Ii thought you were really good at sharpening. OUCh that hurt. I can sharpen kitchen knives all day on the wheel ( easy ) but the kuk evades me.
 
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Well my advise is to first get good with the sandpaper+mousepad method... I wouldn't try jumping straight to a belt sander before you get the basics of convex sharpening down. The way I see it, if you can't figure out why you're not producing a satisfactory edge using a slow method, speeding it up isn't going to solve that underlying problem. You'll just be removing more metal at a faster rate and still not knowing why you're not producing the edge you want. Even if you graduate to a belt sander afterward, mastering the sandpaper+mousepad method also allows you to be able to touch up a convex edge out in the field with a small kit like below:

P1040291.jpg
 
I also use a 1x30 belt grinder. It's a little odd to have a two pound knife sharp enough to hang off the hair on the back of my head, but that's how they work best!
 
Personally, I don't want my khuks shaving sharp. You can do it and they work well, but thats not their forte (IMO). They are for chopping. My karda now...THAT I have like a scalpel.
 
the 2" belt will work ok to convex a large recurve and if you know how to use a belt sander, a small recurve too. can you post some pictures of the edge as it is now? you can also email me the pictures too which might be better. rje196021@gmail.com
 
I wish someone would do a series of videos on sharpening a kukri. From the sand paper to the mechanical versions. Including basic sharpening, repairing damage, etc.

The problem with many of the videos out there is that they are taking a sharp kukri and going through the motions for 30 seconds. Lets see someone actually take a dull kukri and sharpen it on video. Then lets see someone take a kukri that has really been in the field and is dull and has nicks and rolled metal and then get it back in shape on video. How about showing the use of files, products like Edge Pro, wheels, stones, etc.

I have been sharpening knives all my life and do a decent job but completely understanding the kukri's curves and convex edge is much different. I hear people talking about shaving sharp edges but also see lots of chipped blades from having too fine of a tip. It would be great for one of the english speaking kamis or one of the sharpening pros (that is also a kukri person) to do a kukri video that can be used and understood by novice or experienced person alike. Some of the videos out there like the Edge Pro videos are great but, if they don't specifically show a kukri or talk about a convex edge, they are useless.

Thanks,
Bill
Virginia
 
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