Sharpening the new Busses

[PeterPHWS]

Interesting thread and a lot of good advice .... personally after years of using all sorts of sharpening methods .... I wish I had invested in a cheap belt sander and some good belts a long time ago. There is no better method once proficient than using a belt sander for re-profiling an edge .... knives that come sharp and to the right angles can be sorted and kept on top of with stones and strops .... to me they are the tools for keeping a sharp edge sharp .... and are excellent for in the field use .... but if you need to sort out a poor grind or want to change the angle on an edge to something better suited for your needs .... a belt sander makes it all "tolerable" when it comes to time .... and when it comes to frustration over the money you have spent too ....

Using cheap blades can be ironic and sometimes frustrating though when wanting to practise .... I ordered some cheap Mora's thinking I would have good steel to practise on .... they came "razor" sharp .... LOL .... and cost next to nothing compared to any of my Busse's .... or other knives for that matter.

Machete's though are often soft steel .... that means they have difficulty taking a fine edge on the speed of a sander and seem to always roll one way or the other .... but they do give you something to practise at and nearly always need a proper edge applying .... they also show you what a rolled edge is .... that is MUCH more than a Burr .... and you won't fix that with a strop easily .... unless time and patience are given in large quantities .... and from reading the responses above it sounds like some have rolled edges and not burr's to sort out ....

The best thing to practise on using the belts in the higher grit area are old tool files .... they are hardened metal and will take a great edge .... they will show you all you need to know by letting you create the edge from scratch .... and remember to use a face mask and appron because the dust and sparks will surely fly .... but once you do an edge from scratch you will have no problem understanding what it takes to tweak an edge already formed .... as going up through the grits should give you a good idea on the file as to what you need for a touch up job on a knife ....

If you are into Busse's and performance in using a knife .... a belt sander will save you days of toil on stones or mousepad systems ....

The stones and strops just let you keep a knife in tip top condition ....

 

[Bigfattyt]

Richard,

I used 400 to try and reshape the edge, once I had it as good as I could get it, I went,

600, 1000, 1500, 2000, black, then green.....

Maybe I should have spent more time on each....

Most likely you have a thick bur.

You should be able to strop off a normal bur quickly with leather/compound,

But, a heavy bur will pack with stropping compound etc.

I had a BAD that had a heavier bur, and I have also encountered this with edges I have rolled by hitting rocks, or hitting the sink, or glass etc.

Couple of questions. Do you have a steel? When I get a tough wire edge, I usually steel it back into alignment, before moving on.

You should be able to go from 220 grit right to a strop and get it hair popping sharp.

I laze out on my edges some times and do that, and they are still sharp enough to jump hair after some stropping.


My question is how much experience have you had with the sandpaper/mouse pad thing?

If you are proficient and just having an issue with this knife, that is one thing.

If you are just learning, that is another thing, and would illicit different advice from me. (like basic advice about pushing with pressure= bad, light touch = good!).

 

[Reeper22]

no teenagers here.

http://www.knivesshipfree.com/pages/Sharpening-Videos

http://www.barkriverknives.com/convex.htm

There is nothing unique about sharpening Busse knives or INFI. If you have had knives before, and know how to sharpen, then just carry on. Don't get hung up on the Great Debate, V edge vs. Convex. When sharp, they both cut.

Fantastic links. Thanks a lot :thumbup:.

 

[eljugador]

Thanks again to everyone for their help and replies on this issue. After speaking with Amy (one of the nicest customer service people ever) it became clear that they wanted to fix it and it would happen quickly and efficiently.

In the meantime, I bought the spyderco sharpener so I can get my kitchen knives back up to snuff as well as a strop and some sandpaper.

I also picked a pair of $15 Moras so I can practice sharpening on them. My only fear is that they will be super sharp when they arrive simply because I don't want them to be. And if, indeed, that is the case, does anyone have advice on how to quickly make a knife dull w/o doing significant damage?

 

[wyattT]

ive got two busses and as much as i like them, the bad taste at having to reprofile two in a row will likely lead me to other manufacturers. its a shame they seem to come so rough, id consider that their weak link for sure

 

[eloreno]

.



My question is how much experience have you had with the sandpaper/mouse pad thing?

I have been using a strop, sandpaper, and a mouse pad for years. That's whats

got me stumped....

 

[eljugador]

If you're stumped send it to Busse. It sounds like the turn-around for fixing our issue is very fast (like a day or two at the shop).

 

[Mr. Clean]

I have been using a strop, sandpaper, and a mouse pad for years. That's whats

got me stumped....

Depending on what Busse you have, it's probably just the amount of time spent on each side. In my experience, Busse's are quite a bit thicker behind the edge so the amount of convexing time increases quite a bit.

 

[PeterPHWS]

Thanks again to everyone for their help and replies on this issue. After speaking with Amy (one of the nicest customer service people ever) it became clear that they wanted to fix it and it would happen quickly and efficiently.

In the meantime, I bought the spyderco sharpener so I can get my kitchen knives back up to snuff as well as a strop and some sandpaper.

I also picked a pair of $15 Moras so I can practice sharpening on them. My only fear is that they will be super sharp when they arrive simply because I don't want them to be. And if, indeed, that is the case, does anyone have advice on how to quickly make a knife dull w/o doing significant damage?

My Mora's came razor sharp .... I got the tool steel models .... there is no sense in deliberately blunting them IMO .... but batoning does'nt blunt the edges .... you need to cut and slice to do that ....

Making pot hangers for cooking over a fire is always good practise .... or whittling spoons .... but if you want to do a job like cutting up cardboard boxes .... that should take the edge off quickly .... so does carpet if you have old off shoots you don't need.

 

[eljugador]

Cool. I'll give that a try. I intend to learn to use both the sandpaper method and how to properly use a whetstone. It just seems like skills that are good to have. In the meantime, I picked up a Sharpmaker and practiced on my kitchen knives which were horrendously dull. I didn't get them to the point where I can shave the hair off my arm, but I did get them to the point where I can cut a tomato without crushing it and I can cut paper pretty well.

This has inspired me to keep learning and has gotten me over the fear that I'm going to bugger up my knives in the process.

After that I'll worry about a belt sander or whatever.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Raining]

Mora's are scandi grind though - they aren't sharpened the same way you would sharpen a Busse. Scandi grinds are usually sharpened flat to a stone on the entire bevel.

 

[Bigfattyt]

As for dulling an edge, you can do that by doing constructive work (like cutting cardboard and whittling).

I just take the knife and saw some concrete curbes work great!


Why would I do that, you might ask?

Well, I have some throwers. I try not to throw razors if I can help it. The old "twang......coming right back at your face" throw is exilerating enough without the knife being a 2 lb razor! I do occasionally throw razor sharp knives.

What happens, is I throw multiple knives and hawks at the same time. Eventually you will have knife edge contact with another knife, or hawk. I fix the edges with a belt sander, which makes for a sharp knife. It is a vicious cycle!

CS also makes some knives that are great for learning. The GI tanto is one. Also, their machetes will be a good one for training. Lots of edge to practice on!. The steel is softer too.

 

[gottahaveit27]

You are right, there is no excuse for a knife not being at least reasonably sharp as delivered, and having proper grinds. No one here is going to be making excuses for Busse. Call the Shop, and they will take care of you.

(btw, I bought my first ESEE recently, the Machete, and it had NO edge at all. They promptly replaced it, (they have great customer service) but the new one was still not really sharp. My belt grinder fixed that. Jeff explained in an email that at the price point of the imported machetes, they really can't afford to regrind each edge. I have no experience with their made in the USA blades, so please don't extrapolate)

Don't really know why you would bring ESEE sharpness up in this thread. :thumbdn:Especially in a blade that is not made by them in their US factory (not to mention it is a machete). ESEE has some of the sharpest factory blades in the business. I'm sorry I extrapolated.

 

[Bigfattyt]

That's what I was hoping/assuming all mine would do. None come close but the SAR 3 is the worst. Just for kicks I tried it with the two new ESEE blades I got and a new Bark River and all three of those sliced the hell out of the paper.

I have been using a strop, sandpaper, and a mouse pad for years. That's whats

got me stumped....

Well, now my advice just seems condescending.


To remedy that, and frankly, I feel we have all been remiss as Hogs here.........

You obviously have at best a faulty Busse (at worst a fake).



Just send it on over to me. I will dispose of it properly!



There, I feel better now that I have said that.

 

[Horn Dog]

You are right, there is no excuse for a knife not being at least reasonably sharp as delivered, and having proper grinds. No one here is going to be making excuses for Busse. Call the Shop, and they will take care of you.

(btw, I bought my first ESEE recently, the Machete, and it had NO edge at all. They promptly replaced it, (they have great customer service) but the new one was still not really sharp. My belt grinder fixed that. Jeff explained in an email that at the price point of the imported machetes, they really can't afford to regrind each edge. I have no experience with their made in the USA blades, so please don't extrapolate)

I recently got their Junglas. It came shaving sharp. It's a heck of knife, too. I just love choppers.

 

[resinguy]

Don't really know why you would bring ESEE sharpness up in this thread. :thumbdn:Especially in a blade that is not made by them in their US factory (not to mention it is a machete). ESEE has some of the sharpest factory blades in the business. I'm sorry I extrapolated.

Well, someone else brought ESEE up first, and I was responding to that, in a way. Why shouldn't a machete be sharp? My Condor Golok was. btw, did you notice I gave them credit for great customer service? Just like Busse, they take care of their customers. :thumbup:

 

[LMT66]