Sharpening?

R

Recon Jack

Joined
Jul 10, 1999
Messages
37
I know you guys have probably answered this question before, but could not find any thing on it except about straightening the blade with the chakma?
How do you sharpen this brute? I have about every kind of sharpener made, and all I can figure is sharpen a little part of the blade at a time. I would like to keep the blade as sharp as possible. Does anyone have any better way? By the way I tested the tang and it definatley is not a weak one!!!

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Jack Russell

[This message has been edited by Recon Jack (edited 09 August 1999).]
 
Recon
I am wondering the same thing. In a previous post, Cliff Stamp suggested using a steel to keep the edge straight, and to only sharpen when the steel will not bring back the edge. I purchased a new steel recently and it works well.
After a few hours chopping and cuting oak limbs, a few strokes and the edge is like brand new. This saves on blade edge removal. Not that the edge would wear away from sharpening.
smile.gif
Unless it is the salyan with such a narrow blade. Ha Ha
I have been itching to try my edge pro apex on my HI khukuris, but it may be years before they are dull enough to use it.!! In fact by that time I probably would have forgotten how to sharpen with it, or where I put it.
smile.gif

Jim


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What? Another knife? Don't you have enough of those things already?
How many does one person need?
And just what are you going to do with this one that you can't do with the others?
What is the purpose of all these knives anyhow??

 
:
There are a couple of others that are the sharpening gurus here.
They should be along soon.
I finally got one of the DMT red and green folding diamond sharpeners and I have found it works even better than I imagined it would after Cliff recommended it. I start at one end of the tool and make a diagonal swipe up the edge as far as it will go and then another one from that point. I do like Will says and lay the Kuhkuri down on a table and move the tool.
Thatmay help 'till the experts get here.


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>>>>---¥vsa---->®
The civilized man sleeps behind locked doors in the city while the naked savage sleeps (with a knife) in a open hut in the jungle.
 
I've used my Lansky sharpener on my 18" WWII & villager 21 1/2" Chainpuri Sirupati and have gotten hair popping edges on both. I first set the clamp in the middle of the forward portion of the blade, between the bend and the tip.

Using the 30 degree slot, I started with the coarse stone and worked one side of the blade only until I raised a burr. I then moved to the opposite side and repeated the process. Once I had the second burr, I went back to the first side used the medium stone until another burr was formed, etc. I went on in this manner through the ultra fine (white) stone.

After finishing the forward part of the blade, I moved the clamp to the middle of the rear portion of the blade, between bolster and bend, and started the process all over again -- i.e., coarse through ultra fine stones.

This has been noted before, but I found that the forward portion of each blade was somewhat harder than rear portion. Also, the village Chainpuri Sirupati is a bit harder thsn the HI WWII and took longer to get the desired result.

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Cheers,

--+Brian+--

 
This drives me nuts but I'm apparently edge challenged. I worked and worked with the carda, still not razor sharp. Next day,picked up one of the BuckSharp tools, stroked it down edge lightly a couple times, nice working edge if not quite razor sharp.

I got the BuckSharp to hog off large quantities of metal off unsharpened swords. It does that well, and establishes a bevel, etc., using it with heavy strokes.

( It's the one with the two little metal carbide sharpeners mounted in a V on a big handle. )
 
Recon, as you can see we do have a bevy of shapening gurus here -- but I am not one of them. I admit that I do not keep my khukuris razor sharp.

Uncle Bill
 

Rusty wrote:
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This drives me nuts but I'm apparently edge challenged. I worked and worked with the carda, still not razor sharp. Next day,picked up one of the BuckSharp tools, stroked it down edge lightly a couple times, nice working edge if not quite razor sharp.

I got the BuckSharp to hog off large quantities of metal off unsharpened swords. It does that well, and establishes a bevel, etc., using it with heavy strokes.

( It's the one with the two little metal carbide sharpeners mounted in a V on a big handle. )
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Rusty it is probably difficult to use the finesse it needs to get a razor edge with that appartus. I have seen some similiar ones that had both coarse and fine carbide rods in them.

I have also seen some made with two sets of ceramic rods in them.One was coarse and the other fine.
I have considered getting one of those for field use.
I have 3 sets of the large ones around the house.When I get a good bevel and fairly sharp I can use one of the coarse ones in a vise on my workbench to help finish it. This gives a hair tugging edge that will shave a few.
If I use the fine one the same way it produces a hair poppin edge in short order.
You might want to look at a couple of these for your finish work.



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>>>>---¥vsa---->®
The civilized man sleeps behind locked doors in the city while the naked savage sleeps (with a knife) in a open hut in the jungle.
 
I have a friend down the road, I had forgot about. He has the cardboard wheels set up in a professional contraption, that catches the dust, etc. He put a razor blade edge on my bolo and on a large bowie I had. I think when my AK gets a little duller I might let him give it a try. He don't work but just a few seconds and I mean when he is done that knife is sharp! I don't know if he can do this knife but it would save me a lot of time, as I am probably the most edge challenged of the bunch,
Thank you all for the good ideas. I'll let you know later how it comes out.

Cliff, thanks for the other threads.

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Jack Russell

[This message has been edited by Recon Jack (edited 11 August 1999).]
 
Recon, I know I will get flak from my pals who keep their knives, including khukuris, razor sharp but I shave with my razor and chop trees with my khukuri. I don't do it the other way around and I sharpen accordingly.

Uncle Bill
 
Uncle Bill,
You are the salesman for these knives, and handle them every day. I have had my "Beast" less than a week. I respect your opinion. I don't want to sound pretentious but I have done my homework...

In a thread: (http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum26/HTML/000255.html) Mr. Cliff Stamp states quote: "Concerning chopping with razor sharp edges. I have never had someone go back to duller ones after using one that was razor sharp."
He goes on to say there are exceptions. Then and I quote again, "One of the advantages of a really sharp edge is that it allows much better control and is much more efficient." He goes on from there...

I have been reading the old threads, and what Mr. Stamp has done to these blades in a week, I will not do in my lifetime. I really respect your knowledge, experience, etc. But I feel I have to defer to Mr. Stamp on this one. When I pull out that "Beast" I want to know in the back of my mind, that it is ready to BITE! Sorry.


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Jack Russell
 
Cliff knows more about sharpening and its advantages than I do by far, Recon, and you need not apologize for taking his great advice. Will Kwan is another who jumps on me because I am too lazy to keep my blades razor sharp -- him among several others.

You are in very good company and I advise you to listen to the experts and not me -- at least in this area. I am the first to admit that I am lax in both sharpening habits and the technique. When I do get a razor edge on a blade it is usually accidental.

Uncle Bill

 
It seems that all the sharpening approaches I use have been mentioned and a few I didn't know about as well.

As far as chopping efficiency goes I find there is little difference between a razor edge and a resonable sharp edge, as long as the blows are well aimed.

I like my blades razor sharp. The blade is much less likely to slide after impact. My khukhuri's perform quite a few knifely duties as well as ax duty.

Will
 
:
Uncle I think there are advantages to sharpening with a file and stone like you have shown us pix of.
Like I have said,when I was young I carried a hatchet around most of the time.
I had that thing thinned down and perhaps not razor sharp,but the only reason it wasn't is because the edge wasn't smooth enough.
It cut the inside of my forearm once,just by touching the edge with it. (carrying it without a sheath,backwards in my belt.)

It had what I would now consider to be a "full body shiver edge."
smile.gif


I think that if I ever decide to "get with it" so to speak and take a file to the bevel that it would save me a lot of time with my favorite Kuhkuri.
smile.gif
(but then what would I do??
smile.gif
)

Sharpening "well" with just a file is a kind of an art in itself.It was all I had for a good number of years.

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>>>>---¥vsa---->®
The civilized man sleeps behind locked doors in the city while the naked savage sleeps (with a knife) in a open hut in the jungle.
 
Yvsa, as a boy when I started shaving my dad gave me an old straight razor and told me to sharpen it up and use it. I tried but in the process did some rather serious damage to my dad's strop, a combo rig of canvas and leather. I believe the tongue lashing I got for damaging the strop has left me with a psychosis about razor sharp. I did, however, after considerable practice master the art of shapening the straight razor and used one until I was in my mid 20's. But, I grew weary of wearing bandages and bits of kleenex on my face and finally opted for a safety razor.

When I stuck that straight razor into the drawer for good I never worried about razor sharp again.

Uncle Bill

[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 12 August 1999).]
 
Jack :

I feel I have to defer to Mr. Stamp on this one
Click to expand...

Different people have different methods. What works for some is not guaranteed to work for others. If possible try many of the sharpening techniques and methods used, maybe not on your best knives but we all have some old ones lying around that have been turned into scrapers. By working with them you can gain valuable first hand information on the type of edge that works well for you and the best way that you can obtain it.

-Cliff
 
I must have half a dozen 2"x2" pocket ceramic sharpeners with coarse and fine sides. I love them for other knives. Khuks are too wide a blade to fit into their slots. The Bucksharp with it's carbide inserts does nicely if you use it lightly. It doesn't bring it to razor sharp for me, but for a touch up in the field, a nice useable edge, I love it now that I know to go very easy on it. PS: Taking it to a less "sharpening challenged" person is probably the best idea of the lot and the least frustrating.

[This message has been edited by Rusty (edited 13 August 1999).]
 
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