Sharpening with a carbide scraper

S

shecky

Joined
May 3, 2006
Messages
3,092
Anyone ever try this? I was digging through some old stuff, and came across an old paint scraper with a removable scraper bit, about 2" long, 5/16" wide, and about 1/16" thick, trapezoid shaped in cross section. Have no idea what it's actually made of. Whatever it is, it's really hard. So far, I've taken it to a Buck 119, a SAK, a Mora, and a Tramontina machete. The results have been pretty good, particularly after I lapped it a bit on a flat piece of ceramic to clean up the corners. It basically scrapes away steel. A fairly crude method, but if the corners are sharp, it takes little effort, and one doesn't remove much material. I did have difficulty on a cheap stainless "Rambo" knife, which wanted to burr even with the lightest touch. The others went pretty well. The Mora, with the hardest steel of the bunch, responded better than I expected.

I've tried those cheap V carbide sharpeners before, but using this freehand is a much better solution. This sort of thing might be a good, minimalist field sharpener. I think I may epoxy the carbide in a small wood handle for easier use.
 
For emergency field use it could be valuable, but proper maintenance sharpening will save the life of the knife. Carbide scraping removes large amounts of metal.
 
if used correctly they wont remove any more steel than any other method of course sharpening techniques.
 
Yes, one doesn't need to remove much metal to sharpen. Takes a pretty light touch when the corners on the carbide are crisp. They scrape easily. One could really hog away lots of metal quickly with these things if using a heavy tough.

Interestingly, as long as the corner angles are crisp, they work well. In fact the obtuse edges on the carbide, maybe 110 degree angles, seem easier to control when sharpening than their opposite acute angles.

Anybody know what these things are usually made of? All I can say is that it's dark gray metal, slightly attracted to magnets. It laps easily on a diamond or ceramic hone.
 
I wonder if one of these could be fitted to a Lansky-type set-up, where angle and pressure would be easier to control.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top