Sharpening recurve blade?

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NWOS

Joined
Jan 11, 2016
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All my knives are straight from heel to belly, thinking of getting a new knife that has a slight recurve. Just wantng to know if you can sharpen on conventional stone or need something else? Thanks
 
Wrong area.

Hit the triangle in the corner of your post and ask the mods to move this to maintenance and tinkering.

Goodluck.
 
NWOS said:
All my knives are straight from heel to belly, thinking of getting a new knife that has a slight recurve. Just wantng to know if you can sharpen on conventional stone or need something else? Thanks
Click to expand...
Conventionals are fine if they arent too wide.
 
Recurves are a pain. At least to get to "hair whittling sharp" consistently across the blade.

Imagine holding a stone parallel to the ground (as I do...especially with recurves).
You want to take the knife and hold it at an angle...with the handle side LOWER than the stone so it hits the initial curve at the back at an appropriate angle on the corner of the stone.
As you slide down the stone and work towards the tip...you raise the angle slowly and consistently across the blade. You want to be flat on the stone at the lowest belly of the blade. Then create an UPWARD angle as you reach the tip.
Doing a full regrind like this isn't necessary really. Just do the harder work on the corner and do the curving the blade motion when you actually start sharpening...still takes more time and is easier to mess up.

It is a pain in the ass, as stated...but once you get it down it'll feel like any sharpening system you develop for yourself. You'll find your hand naturally landing and moving exactly how it should be at the correct angles...and you'll be able to do it nearly as quickly as with any knife.
I love recurves. Definitely worth the hassle in my opinion.
 
If you are picky about the sharpening angle, I can attest that the Buck/Hewlett flip-stik screws into the rod for the serrations-sharpener that comes with the DMT Aligner Deluxe. The flip-stik or flip-stik ultra is a diamond-rod with wider oval-surface - perfect for sharpening recurve blades.
 
NWOS said:
All my knives are straight from heel to belly, thinking of getting a new knife that has a slight recurve. Just wantng to know if you can sharpen on conventional stone or need something else? Thanks
Click to expand...

A 10" or 12" oval diamond 'chef's steel', as marketed towards kitchen use, is great for sharpening recurved blades. Both the diamond surface and the extra length will speed the work for heavier grinding tasks or rebevelling. A ceramic rod (or a 'steel' of the same) could also be useful for higher-grit refinement and touch-ups as needed. Pocket-sized rod sharpeners in diamond and/or ceramic can be useful for lighter touchups as well, especially on-the-go.

Some conventional water stones or oil stones can be radiused (rounded) at one edge relatively easily, so that's also a possibility.


David
 
NWOS said:
All my knives are straight from heel to belly, thinking of getting a new knife that has a slight recurve. Just wantng to know if you can sharpen on conventional stone or need something else? Thanks
Click to expand...

If it's slight, you should be able to use conventional stones. You may need to slightly round the edges if they're sharp.

Jubakuba said:
Recurves are a pain. At least to get to "hair whittling sharp" consistently across the blade.

Imagine holding a stone parallel to the ground (as I do...especially with recurves).
You want to take the knife and hold it at an angle...with the handle side LOWER than the stone so it hits the initial curve at the back at an appropriate angle on the corner of the stone.
As you slide down the stone and work towards the tip...you raise the angle slowly and consistently across the blade. You want to be flat on the stone at the lowest belly of the blade. Then create an UPWARD angle as you reach the tip.
Doing a full regrind like this isn't necessary really. Just do the harder work on the corner and do the curving the blade motion when you actually start sharpening...still takes more time and is easier to mess up.

It is a pain in the ass, as stated...but once you get it down it'll feel like any sharpening system you develop for yourself. You'll find your hand naturally landing and moving exactly how it should be at the correct angles...and you'll be able to do it nearly as quickly as with any knife.
I love recurves. Definitely worth the hassle in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Good post!
 
Just use the edge of your stone, or else use something like a scythe stone, or a rod-shaped or oval bonded abrasive or diamond hone. It's really not too tricky--folks have been using forward-curving blades for hundreds of years. :)
 
Thanks everyone for your time. some great ideas for me, I'm fairly decent at freehand sharpening, looks like something I can handle.
 
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