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

warty said:
Groovy! That sounds pretty comprehensive then. :thumbup:

As for those saying they lack the patience for stones... :confused:
does this men you think a stone cannot produce the edge as quickly as a piece of sandpaper with similar grit?
Click to expand...

Well, for my part, I don't think a stone or a piece of sandpaper can bring an edge back to life as fast as a belt grinder. :D

I use my khuks hard, and they often end up with dinged or chipped edges. I would hate to have to sharpen out dings or chips by hand, or even to bring an edge back by hand after having dulled a blade down significantly through heavy use. So, I use a belt grinder and a steel and a ceramic rod to finish. If I feel like stropping, I use the edge of a heavy piece of cardboard. That does a great job honing up a khuk edge.

Andy
 
Ok. Thanks. The DMT is very simular to what I use. except mine doesn't have the 'holes".
and the hefty price tag. Very light and usefull I keep it tight to my belt or I'll not notice if it falls.

I didn't know about the diamond compaund though...will have to ask around the shops.
 
I use a belt grinder too when I have dings/chips etc to remove... I just try not to do this routinely is all. I also don't live on a ranch Andy. Back when I lived with my folks as a kid, we had stock too. This was when my Uncle taught me how to sharpen everything from a straight razor to an axe head or a drill bit, even a chain saw chain. No doubt back then I had no time for dinking around trying to hone an axe or my knife, once I was done with homework, chores and dinner, I was out the door trying to find a party if it was a weekend and in bed if it wasn't.
 
Ok here's a question for the guys that are used to stones:

Which way is the "best" for the blade to move? edge against or trailing?

I've seen people use both... even for razors ( i use trailing...)


Also ( @Warty) how do you keep that stone between your toes?:confused:
 
DanSmithy said:
Which way is the "best" for the blade to move? edge against or trailing?
Click to expand...

Well, it depends.

When establishing the edge, I go back and forth. Stones aren't files, they don't cut just one way. When aligning the edge, and getting it fine-tuned (fine India, and very fine soft Arkansas), I go with the blade forward. When I get to the very fine, polishing stage -- hard Arkansas, hard black Arkansas, and stropping, I go blade trailing.
 
DanSmithy said:
Which way is the "best" for the blade to move? edge against or trailing?
Click to expand...

Cpl. pretty much summed it up - stones cut in any direction. However, leading with the spine is less likely to raise a bur.

I personally have a different method to Cpl: I go back and forth on all my stones including the finest one I intend to finish with - but before I finish off, I increase the angle ever so slightly then lead with the spine (stropping motion) for a few final strokes. This knocks off the remaining bur and also adds a slightly more obtuse and resilient microbevel. Oh, and I also have a block of hard wood with my sharpening kit that I slice at with the knife (45 degrees both sides and then straight on) in between different grits - this helps knock off the bur left behind by the previous, coarser stone :thumbup:
 
Last edited:
Me is back with more pictures for your viewing pleasure:

I've made an "microscopic attachment":D to my camera and now can really see what's going on with my sharpening. Here's part of my wrist:eek: just to see what magnification we are talking about (+/- 50 times) or so I think.

micros.jpg


Here it goes:
For those of you that are new to knife sharpening here's what a "burr" looks like.
Top 2 slices are the burred edge, the bottom one is edge close up - no burr.

burr.jpg


And here's the edge without burr, unpolished: you can see the convex shape clearly

edge1.jpg


here's the edge after stropping and polishing...obviously much more is desired...

edge.jpg


a bit off subject: I've got me a baby belt grinder (long overdue) for 50$ and it works like charm.
beltsander.jpg

A trick I do is, since the back of the belt is fabric...I put some green compound on the back of it and use it to "power strop" the edge. It works actually... not as good as a leather belt...but I don't have one yet so...
 
DanSmithy said:
Also ( @Warty) how do you keep that stone between your toes?:confused:
Click to expand...

Re-read the post, I hold my leather strop taut by tying one end of it to my toe and pulling on the end with my free hand. :) How this works is I have a loop of paracord on one end of the strop, then with my leg out straight I am able to work the blade back and forth for that final edge.

How do I use the stones re: the knife edge? I am told that either way works fine. However my Uncle told me that the way to properly use a stone was to o edge first, like I was cutting into the stone. Not that aggressively of course but always edge first. Personally, I don't seem to have issues with bur raising but I am sure to have them now that it has been said. I do, at times, make circles as I sharpen but this is something I only recently began doing.
 
warty said:
Re-read the post, I hold my leather strop taut by tying one end of it to my toe and pulling on the end with my free hand. :) How this works is I have a loop of paracord on one end of the strop, then with my leg out straight I am able to work the blade back and forth for that final edge.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Sounds logical to me.
 
Many years ago I bought a set of buffing cakes (maybe sticks) black, brown and white. I think they are white rouge, brown tripoli, and black something. Can any of these be used on a strop?
 
The catalog from Supergrit includes these buffing compounds:

"Black Emery...used for steel...approx. grit 4-500"

"Brown Tripoli...used for alum.,brass,copper...approx. grit 800"

"White Rouge...used for alum.,brass,copper...approx. grit 1500"

"Chrome Oxide [green]...used for honing chisels...approx. grit 1800"


I am starting to experiment with using Black Emery and Chrome Oxide for stropping.
 
Since a more-experienced stropper is not jumping in here with a reply, I'd guess that the green chrome grit is more durable than the grit in the white rouge, hence its suggested application for honing chisels instead of just polishing alumininum, for example. The green is also more expensive. Checking around various forums with threads on stropping knives, it looks like the white rouge is used by some people. If you have already have it, why not try it, maybe first on a strop made of cardboard. I've read about people grating or shaving off some of the buffing compound from the bar and mixing it with some veg or mineral oil to soften it (some people even heat it in the microwave) before rubbing it onto the strop.
 
I was told elsewhere that the green is more consistent and more durable than the white. Green Chrome oxide is harder and has finer particle size, so it works really well on strops. So I guess all three(black, brown, white) are usable, not optimum.

Thanks for the replies. From here I am off to read all of knifenut1013's stop and sharpening directions.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top