Sharpening Kuks

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Mar 27, 2014
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406
Hi all. I have sharpened a lot of knives in my life, but I can't seem to get a shaving sharp edge on my kuks. I have diamond steels of all grits, I have tried a file finishing with medium to fine fine sandpaper . No mater how I sharpen, I can't get a really good edge. Sharp, yes, but not razor sharp. Help! What am I doing wrong????
 
Use the mousepad method, with a sharpie pen to help guide your strokes, and to make sure you are on target.

Make sure to keep the convex edge.

I am not really good with instructions, I am sure someone will be along to explain more in detail.
 
You're probably doing nothing wrong. I can get a good working edge on mine, and the steel is wonderfully tough (probably an old Mercedes leaf spring, 50100 or something similar), but keep in mind these are hand forged and tempered. I use an old EZE Lap diamond rod to take the burr off. I figure if it's good enough to chop, that's fine; I shave with a BiC anyway to avoid taking an ear off:D.
 
Unless youre working in a kitchen or actually shaving with your khukuri, a shaving sharp blade is unnecessary.
In fact...for chopping duty, an axe/hatchet or "field sharp" khukuri is preferred.
 
I'm no expert as I don't achieve shaving sharp sharpening at will. It`s kind of hit and miss and on some knives, I just can`t do it. Btw, I don`t use fancy tools to fix the angle.

But I can say edge geometry has a lot to do with hair shaving performance. Actually the geometry is very important for performance period.

Now the type of performance you need will dictate the edge geometry. In this case, it's proven that hollow ground is best for hair shaving. Not exactly what we have on our Kuks. And as Karda wrote, not all geometry are suitable for every tasks. A thin edge will roll easily if used for chopping.

Also, the Kukries do not have a uniform hardness across the length of the blade. That may as well affect the sharpening. The recurve in front of the Cho before the sweet spot (belly) is, if I remember right, where you can achieve the sharpest.
 
Yes, I did read that the HR was different at different parts of the blade, including a very soft spine to keep from breaking. I am using about a 32% bevel and yes a convex blade will not ever get as sharp. A convex blade is always a better, more controlled chopping blade and so a kuk needs to be convex. I guess I just prefer a blade that will shave my arm and I cont get it to that point. I think it is possible to do that, but maybe a person needs to be more skilled than I. Thanks for all of your input, it is great.
 
The use of a leather strop + honing compound or the mousepad trick as suggested by cul4u01 will make it crazy sharp.

Another thing that seems to cut it (pun intended) is a big phone book directory in replacement of the mousepad.
 
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Oh man I love that accent... Guy is hilarious.

[video=youtube;Pp1uvKJDLAU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp1uvKJDLAU[/video]
 
Snowwolf, could you explain what is meant by a mousepad trick. I'm not sure I know that term. Also, your video of the guy shaving his legs was hilarious. I would like my kuk that sharp, but a small area of test will be sufficient. I thought he was going to shave both legs completely, lol.
 
Hi all. I have sharpened a lot of knives in my life, but I can't seem to get a shaving sharp edge on my kuks. I have diamond steels of all grits, I have tried a file finishing with medium to fine fine sandpaper . No mater how I sharpen, I can't get a really good edge. Sharp, yes, but not razor sharp. Help! What am I doing wrong????

There is nothing wrong in striving for a well honed edge. There are many misconceptions about a well honed edged blade.
Some believe a blade that will shave hairs from your arm is a fragile edge. While this is possible, it isn't necessarily true. As long as the angle isn't too narrow, then honing the edge until it shaves will not make the edge more fragile. It's more about the angle.

Honing( taking a sharp edge to a greater level of sharpness and cutting ability) simply reduces the fragile micro serrations while aligning the edge. This gives a better cutting ability as well as a longer lasting edge. A rough sharpened edge will actually dull faster.

Convex edges.
Convex edges are superior for chopping, but a Khukuri is not a dedicated chopper. It is a multi purpose tool, and it excels very well at this niche. Let's face it, if you want a dedicated chopper, an axe is hard to beat. I've used mine for slicing, a draw knife, and yes for chopping. A convex edge is not a necessity, nor desirable for me.

I have about 15 HI khukuris, and have found them to be of much higher quality in both usability and aesthetics. Both are important to me, but I am utilitarian. With this in mind, I can tell you that few of those blade are true convex grinds, nor do they need to be.

If you feel that you must sharpen your kuk in a rolling manner in order to preserve the grind, check out some of the top axe manufacturers web sites, and read/watch how they recommend their axes be sharpened. The reason I suggest axe manufacturers is because a cross grain axe is built around a convex grind. While a cross grain cutting axe has a pronounce convex edge, axes designed to cut along the grain do not.

It's your blade, do the research and sharpen it the way you wish.
 
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Another thing that seems to cut it (pun intended) is a big phone book directory in replacement of the mousepad.

That is what I use, since it's so darn hard to find those old padded mousepads anymore. I need to rummage through some of my junk to find one. A big ole phone book from SF always does the trick, that thing is about 6-8 inches think...lol
 
Snowwolf, could you explain what is meant by a mousepad trick. I'm not sure I know that term.

Search for it on youtube. I think I used these search terms before. "Mousepad convex knife sharpening method", or "how to sharpen convex knife with mousepad"
 
Snowwolf, could you explain what is meant by a mousepad trick. I'm not sure I know that term. Also, your video of the guy shaving his legs was hilarious. I would like my kuk that sharp, but a small area of test will be sufficient. I thought he was going to shave both legs completely, lol.

Mousepad trick :-)
[video]https://youtu.be/GqYfDnEHpTQ[/video]
 
sawgrass: The method you describe sounds like it will work perfectly for a nice sharp edge. If you want it razor sharp, I would say all need to do is add a stropping step, then do something to remove the burr. I run the blade gently on a pine 2x4, like you would use a gummy stone on skis. Hope that helps!
 
Karda, I had no idea that much information was in there from Bill Martino. After reading this in full, I find it invaluable for future use and will keep this posting for future reference. Thank you for taking the time. It is appreciated.
 
Thank you, this is great. I will research mousepad convex knife sharpening and I will learn something new. Thanks again for your input.
 
Karda, I had no idea that much information was in there from Bill Martino. After reading this in full, I find it invaluable for future use and will keep this posting for future reference. Thank you for taking the time. It is appreciated.

You are very welcome, Sawgrass. Its part of my job here, aside from having to bonk Bawanna on the noggin once in a blue moon. ;) :D
 
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