Sharpening Sharpfinger

B

Barry E Harris

Joined
Nov 27, 2006
Messages
136
When sharpening a Sharpfinger for the first time does anyone reset the edge to a double edge or do you try to maintain the single edge (flat on one side - beveled on the other)?
 
I don't recall any chisel-ground Sharpfingers. I've had a couple, and they had conventional bevelled edges. Maybe yours wasn't typically ground for some reason. I modified mine by cutting off the little finger guard/tab and then reprofiling the blade by grinding it back a bit (keeping the steel cool) to provide a longer edge. Funny, once I'd done that, they disappeared into the hands of relatives.
 
I have two knives of this design. A carbon steel Old Timer and a stainless Uncle Henry. I got both within the last five years or so, new. Both had a chisel edge. I recut a double edge on the Uncle Henry. I completely reground the whole blade on a soft wheel on the Old Timer. I skin lots of animals. Both work great. I assumed all these knives had a chisel edge. I was just wondering how others were addressing this issue. Thanks for the reply.
 
I don't believe they were supposed to have. All of mine (20+) from all vintages have a symmetrical ground edge. Sometimes the bevel is not perfect side to side, one a more acute angle than the other, but with use and normal sharpening between uses, it usually evens out. I have skunt (Tennessee talk: past tense for skinned) four bucks with one so far this year, and yes, they are the perfect skinner knives for me. Larger cuts are done with a 165OT. I used all stainless Safe-T-Grip series knives last year, but you just can't beat a good carbon steel blade. Resharpening, if done often enough, and with a fine hone, does not remove much metal. My original 165 (Schrade Walden #16239) does not show any appreciable blade loss after more than thirty years of use.

Codger
 
They're excellent skinners. A taxidermist I once knew used a Sharpfinger for all his skinning. The 1095 steel takes a great edge and is very tough in my experience.
 
I made it almost all the way through skinning out two whitetails without having to whet up the edge on my carbon steel Sharpfinger during our recent deer season. Just a few strokes on an Arkansas stone and it was shaving sharp and ready to finish the second animal. It has a near perfect shape and ergonomic fit for the job, too.
 
I read a treatise the other day entitled "The Ideal Hunting Knife". It made me realize why the Sharpfinger is such a good skinning knife. Its got "point" and "belly"; but, so do alot of other hunting knives. It also has "slicing" ability because the blade is not too thick. or too wide, or severely hollow ground near the edge - these things are what prevents a knife from being a good slicer. Its unusually rare to see good "point", "belly", and "slice" in one knife.
 
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