Sharpening recurves... Lansky???

mycough

mycough

Joined
May 20, 2007
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I am not good at sharpening yet. I do pretty well with my lansky on regular blades but want to tackle my blur, zt301, and shallot.Are the stones narrow enough to do a recurve blade? I think they are a half inch wide. also I am contemplating a sharpmaker or an edge pro and wanted your thoughts on the subject. I recently got a dmt coarse and fine but I am scared to death to use them. Maybe I will start on some old bokers and see what happens! Thanks for your help!!! Russ:confused:
 
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If you do quite a few recurves spending $30 for a Harbor Freight belt sander and buying three belts from Lee Valley is just the ticket to get a razor edge in no time...
sharpeningservice005yg4.jpg
 
a belt sander will work just fine for recurves but you can also get a set of paper wheels that are 1/4" wide and made just for recurve blades. it takes some time to learn how to use them but they will do a great job once you do. i use both for sharpening a recurve if someone wants a convex edge. i work up a burr with the belt and remove it with the paper wheel. here is a link to a knife i sharpened with the wheels.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=43364157
 
how would you sharpen a recurve with out power tools? I was hoping there was an easier solution than buying a sander.Russ
 
Lansky's hones are thin enough. Back when I was in better practice, I used to sharpen recurves with my Sharpmaker and my EdgePro all the time.
 
Practice on your least expensive recurve or get a Storm II from Wal-Mart to practice and have one more cool blade when you get the hang of it.
 
You can easily sharpen a recurve on a Sharpmaker. Power tools not required (but make things ALOT faster).
 
mycough said:
how would you sharpen a recurve with out power tools? I was hoping there was an easier solution than buying a sander.Russ
Click to expand...

For recurves, you can use a Sharpmaker without a problem. The only thing to remember is to use only the corners of the stones and not the flats. The corners are used with recurves because they are thin enough to follow the contour of the blade and sharpen the whole thing. If you use the flat part of the stones, you will eventually distort the shape of your blade and cause uneven sharpening in the process.

One recommendation would be to pick up a set of the diamond rods for the Sharpmaker as well. I have found mine to be a very valuable addition.

But, if do ever get in the mood to go the power tool route, what the guys are saying is also very true. A 1" belt sander and the paper wheels on a grinder can make sharpening extremely fast and fun!;)
 
WhitleyStu and richard j have the answer. You can always use a Sharpmaker, but when you accumulatre a pile of em, the belt sander/paper wheels make very short work of sharpening a handful at one time.
 
Thank you Gentlemen!!! I like it here... friendly, knowledgable people who don't dump on you just because you seek answers. My regards, Russ:D
 
Sharpmaker has worked for me with recurves, but I don't let them get dull. Just keep them touched up and it will work fine, IMHO.
 
I use a GATCO. It is similar to the Lansky. It works just fine on the recurve of my Kershaw Vapor.
 
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