Sharpening tool guidance?

Jetblack

Jetblack

Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
543
Hi guys,
I was looking into purchasing some knife sharpening tools, and Im not sure what the consensus among the HI crowd is. I have spent the past 2 weeks reading through hundreds of threads, the problem is the more I read the more confused I get. Should I be using stones, sand paper, or belt sander? And what about a strop and compounds? I know that alot of this comes down to preference, but thats why Im asking in the HI forum. I want to know what some of the more experienced members are using to sharpen or polish their HI knives. I woul really like to hear about sharpening a CAK, but any advice would be great. Again, I understand that this has been answered somewhere on this forum, but it has become almost impossible to weed out the knowledge I am seeking.

Thanks
 
I am not an HI regular by any means, but I sharpen my HI khuks with the sand-paper+mousepad method, I can elaborate if you are unfamiliar. Then, on the recurved portion, I used an EZ-lap diamond rod. I follow this up with some stropping on green compound loaded leather and then white compound loaded leather.

If you are skilled in the ways of the belt sander, That is another very efficient technique.
 
BarberFobic1992 said:
I am not an HI regular by any means, but I sharpen my HI khuks with the sand-paper+mousepad method, I can elaborate if you are unfamiliar. Then, on the recurved portion, I used an EZ-lap diamond rod. I follow this up with some stropping on green compound loaded leather and then white compound loaded leather.

If you are skilled in the ways of the belt sander, That is another very efficient technique.
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I am not familiar with that method, I would appreciate the help.
 
I sharpen my Sher-forged CAK using 600 then 1500 grit sandpaper on a hard rubber school eraser. On the flats near the sweet spot and tip I will use the hard surface of my oak dining room table. The eraser has just the right amount of stiffness while still allowing a convex profile with minimal fuss.

Work in sections starting from the cho and work your way to the tip by guiding the sandpaper perpendicular to the length of the blade. Be careful not to round over the edge when drawing it across the edge (always spine to edge, not edge to spine).

You will notice some initial hammer forge marks (wavy when viewed at a low angle) that will eventually work themselves out. Hey, these aren't CNC machined. Occasionally, I will run the eraser down the length of the blade from cho to tip to smooth these out.

I finish off with 0.5 micron green chromium oxide on a leather strop glued to a 12" paddle I made out of a 1x1/4" piece of lathe.

Do not get over-zealous with the strop. It cuts best when fully smeared with new compound. I've found that after twenty strokes (each side) it's best to either reload the strop or stop polishing the blade. The edge will eventually be rounded over otherwise. Take care to keep the blade low on the strop, ensuring you have the proper angle. The recurve near the cho is the tricky part. I can get at this with the flat edge of the strop.

My CAK is not razor sharp. It will never be and quite frankly I don't want it to be.
For woodcraft, it cuts best with a fine edge capable of push-cutting through photo copy paper or drawing shavings off my thumbnail with only minimal pressure. Under hard use, a finer edge will break off, which is ultimately a lot more work refinishing the profile.

Keep in mind these blades are intended for HEAVY work. Only the sweet spot is 58-60rc.
Putting a razor edge on a khuk may be great for slicing flesh, but will very quickly deteriorate under normal use cutting maple, birch, pine, etc...

The edge on my CAK is very obtuse. I am slowly reforming it to a more shallow angle while still maintaining the look of the knife. Don't use a belt sander. Do it by hand and preserve the blade profile/temper. HI kamis will thank you for preserving your knife for future generations. The CAK is a beast that will last two lifetimes if properly taken care of.
 
Thanks to you as well MrMike, I like the idea of preserving the blade profile and will let you know how it goes when I decide to sharpen it. I have yet not put my CAK through a full day of work, so it is still as sharp as it was when I first got it. Again, thank you for helping the new guy.
 
MrMike said:
... Don't use a belt sander. Do it by hand and preserve the blade profile/temper. HI kamis will thank you for preserving your knife for future generations. The CAK is a beast that will last two lifetimes if properly taken care of.
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I disagree completely. Properly used, belt sanders do a fine job on Khukuris and other large blades. In fact, major knife companies use belt sanders routinely to sharpen their blades. Using the right belts, I can sharpen my CAK just fine without overheating the steel. Using the very fine 9 micron or a leather belt with compound takes off very little steel. Only in the initial profiling of the edge, if necessary, do I use the courser grits to take off steel. What is true, is that with the speed of belt sanders, unskilled users can over heat an edge or damage the edge profile. Doing it by hand without power assistance is the way I did it for many years, but a good belt sander is the way to go for big jobs on big knives.
CAK16010-1.jpg
 
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Thanks guys, I would like to become proficient in all maners of sharpening. Up until now, I have only been using stones. I am looking forward to learning the art of sanders, both hand and belt. I am willing to spend some money on a good belt sander, I just dont want to break the bank on it. I heard kalamazoo 1" x 42" is a good starter.
 
I use a belt sander as well. I use my khuks fairly heavily; if I had to resharpen them by hand... well, I don't have the patience for that.

Andy
 
Jetblack said:
Thanks guys, I would like to become proficient in all maners of sharpening. Up until now, I have only been using stones. I am looking forward to learning the art of sanders, both hand and belt. I am willing to spend some money on a good belt sander, I just dont want to break the bank on it. I heard kalamazoo 1" x 42" is a good starter.
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The Kalamzoo is what I use. Best practice on some cheap machetes first. Don't want to mess up a nice HI Khukuri. :D
 
Seriously,
I use the 3M rubber sanding block loaded with fine paper at the flat bottom and a more aggressive grit at the rounded top. Or just send them to Andy C., Ferguson or Horn Dog...( jk guys :) )...I only have some flap discs on my bench grinder right not ;)

;)
Mark
 
I went to the flea market today and grabbed a few throw away knives and a couple of machetes. I will practice on those before I even think about trying to belt sand my CAK. Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate everyone who took the time to help answer my questions.

P.S And a special thanks to you Horn Dog, every time I have needed help you have taken the time to respond.

John
(jetblack)
 
greenwoods said:
Or just send them to Andy C., Ferguson or Horn Dog...( jk guys :) )
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No joking but Steve Ferguson has an open offer to all HI Forum members whereby he will convex edge your blade for free, all you have to pay is the postage both ways, registered would be best.

I have two examples of his convex edges and both are hair popping sharp and expertly finished.

Thank you Steve.:thumbup:

bruce
 
Thats a great idea, I would rather have a pro do my CAK. I will practice on some cheap knives. How do I get a hold of him?
 
Hand-sharpened performance check - Just took mine out this weekend and took down some 1" prickly ash saplings (8-10 feet tall) that were growing on my dad's property. This ash has a nasty habit of overtaking everything around your woodlot. Cleaving through the small branches was effortless. Gashed up my hands in several places from the thorns.

Took one to two swings to sever the 1" trunks. The trunks are pretty limber so they spring back a lot when hit making it hard for a clean cut. Still, even with this they were cut clean through at a 45 degree angle.

Inspected the edge and it was still sharp after going through five of these saplings, quartering them and then clearing a bunch of 5' tall sumac.
 
I use belt sander if the edge is really effed up or too thick but mostly use strop and sandpaper. I have a strop that is about 1/2" wide and 10 long that is really great for the tip and curved part near the cho.

When I use my little strop instead stropping the khuk I hold the khuk with the edge up and then I thumb tack the end of the sandpaper strip on the top of the strop and rubber band it on the handle and then sort of "file" the edge all along with the strop. A lot of times only certain parts of the edge need re sharpened or aligned and this will be more precise.
 
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