Sharpening KaBars

yep tried to sharpen mine and it didn't work out to well at first. I tried my Gatco, (like a lansky) water stones and finaly my belt grinder which worked out better than i thought i used 120 grit, 220, 400, 600, 1000 and finaly 1200 after that it was onto a 4000X water stone and stropping, it turned out better than i thought :thumbup:
 
1095 is a tough steel.you have to get tough with it if you want great results off of normal stones.Remember to oil your stones too.This keeps the steel shavings from collecting in your stone and making it work less effectively.
 
these larger blades do best for myself on large hones, my dmts are around 11 in. long & my stroup is 18 in. of course manual dexterity allows one to achive good results with minimal equipment
 
TheOddloro said:
What about grinding the edge all the way back to create a kind of ''scandi'' style cutting edge? I wonder how compatible the kaBar would be with that?
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Somebody did that. Might have seen it W&SS. I think it was Vivi that did it. I have the Camillus version and used the cheap little Harbor Freight sander to reprofile the edge. Even sandpaper and a mouse pad was taking a long time. I didn't do scandi but I thinned it out quite a bit. I haven't had a chance to try it in the yard or camping but I don't see it easily chipping. Somebody else in W&SS did a dual grind on a machete; scandi on the couple of inches closest to the handle and the rest convex (I think). Hopefully somebody will chime in and give credit where credit is due. Looked like a good idea and it was skillfully done.

But yeah, 1095 is some tough stuff.

Frank
 
TheOddloro said:
What about grinding the edge all the way back to create a kind of ''scandi'' style cutting edge? I wonder how compatible the kaBar would be with that?
Click to expand...

I see alot of guys in the field with grinds like this, also alot of old school backpackers in idaho tend to use milsurp kabars with scandi type full grinds. I personally don't have too huge a problem with an 800 grit arkansas stone followed by wet and dry, I've maintained the flat grind on my Kabars pretty efficiently. Once you get em sharp you don't need to touch up much... that 1095 CroVan stays sharp.
 
Never had a problem sharpening K-Bars, having sharpened literally tons (Never counted) of them the years I was in the USMC on a simple Tri-Hone. :)
 
I have had good luck with a Norton FB-8 Fine India stone using simple green as a lubricant.
 
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