Sharpening

Keep your hands on the blade, when you can't touch it then dunk it in water, then back at it... I think that solves the heat treat problem although I've heard on here that the heat treat needs to reach over 800F to mess up the heat treat. This is all hearsay and only Jerry really knows
 
I'll be honest. This is pretty much all greek to me. You guys have way more knowledge than me. I will have to read up on the edge pro and work sharp. That looks easiest to get them razor sharp. Honestly I have never really had a blade expensive enough or nice enough to be worth investing in a sharpener. I usually just use them to death and Run them through the sharpener my wife keeps in the kitchen:o
 
Lots of info on youtube. Tutorials on Work Sharp, Apex, Wicked Edge, and other products. Also how to use paper wheels, belt sanders and other methods.
 
I have gotten excellent results with paper wheels. It's inexpensive to get started, all you need is a cheap bench grinder and the wheel kit. The wheels are lubricated with wax while you work, so your blade stays cool to the touch and doesn't throw sparks. Look on amazon for "razor sharp edgemaking system." They have cheaper wheel sets but the expensive ones are worth it.

The Edge Pro and similar systems will give you more precise results. Paper wheels work really fast and just take a little practice to get a consistent edge. You'll get good at it within a few knives and you can take a knife from blunt to terrifying in 5 minutes. You can get a convex edge with a paper wheel also, by slightly varying your angle on subsequent passes. Takes a little practice, and not as consistent as a slack belt sander, but it does work.

Edit: I wouldn't personally recommend the work sharp. That tiny belt removes a ton of metal way to fast, in my opinion.
 
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Real men just use free hand Arkansas or water stones, however I am not a real man by this definition. I cheat to my shame and use a Kalamazoo, which works great. :D
Seriously though, I spent some time in Japan with an elite swordsmith, and the speed with which I saw him take an old rusty village knife and turn it into literally the sharpest hairsplitting knife I have ever used bar none was shocking.
 
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resinguy said:
Just guessing here, but ... :eek::barf:

You can do better.
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I wouldn't be on here half as much if it wasn't for resin and others peoples sarcasm, man I love the Busse forum. Excellent source of info to, never fear the search bar.
 
mach 5 said:
Real men just use free hand Arkansas or water stones, however I am not a real man by this definition. I cheat to my shame and use a Kalamazoo, which works great. :D
Seriously though, I spent some time in Japan with an elite swordsmith, and the speed with which I saw him take an old rusty village knife and turn it into literally the sharpest hairsplitting knife I have ever used bar none was shocking.
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How did he do it?? And that's awesome!
 
20151015_181750_zps0ytndqxz.jpg


worksharp plus leather strop on this one, came out well
 
resinguy said:
Check out Murray Carter sharpening videos; it may be a similar technique.
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Thanks resin. I have Carter's videos, stones, and a pricey white steel and damascus knife of his. He does great stuff, and the knife is very nice, much thinner geometry and higher Rockwell hardness than your average Busse. I was expecting a super fine edge when I ordered it, but in truth, I have received sharper Busses with thicker grinds. The Carter would shave, but not smoothly, cut paper cleanly, but not push cut thin paper. Its was a solid working edge, which perhaps was his goal. The knifes this other guy touched were an entirely different kind of sharp...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp-ZRaAnNTk
 
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I also advocate the HF 1x30. Can pick one up for around $30 with a good coupon. Buying the proper metal-cutting belts (Blaze Ceramic, Norton Norax, 3M Trizact, among others, and a leather "Surgi-Sharp" stropping belt or two) will make all the difference in the world, just FYI. There's a good chance you'll spend $50 - $100 in belts to get started, but that's still cheaper than many of the other options out there.

After that, practice, practice, practice... Get some cheap knives at a thrift store to practice on before trying any of your expensive cutlery. HTH.

ETA - Pics of what can be fairly easily achieved:





 
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It is very easy to burn an edge using a belt sander. If you are using one, I would not even let the edge get more than just warm. If you grab the last half inch towards the edge and it is hot like 170 degree hot water hot, then you may have already ruined the edge. I remember reading once on this forum that INFI can take a lot of heat, something like 900 degrees without affecting the HT. But I would not test that.
 
Great point Cobalt!!! :thumbup: I'm just about to make a big post on sharpening in RG's sharpening resource thread, and I cover that in detail.
 
Cobalt said:
It is very easy to burn an edge using a belt sander. If you are using one, I would not even let the edge get more than just warm. If you grab the last half inch towards the edge and it is hot like 170 degree hot water hot, then you may have already ruined the edge. I remember reading once on this forum that INFI can take a lot of heat, something like 900 degrees without affecting the HT. But I would not test that.
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As always great wisdom and advice from Cobalt. I will note that one of the reasons I like the Kalamazoo over other belt sanders is that the belt rpm is 1725 which is almost half that of the harbor freight (and most others I have seen) than spin at 3260. This means that it generates less heat, and is also more forgiving of technical errors by the sharpener. With minimal precautions I never have any heat problems (and I agree with Cobalt about never letting the edge get more than warm, since the molecules at the edge will theoretically be much hotter than the body of the knife feels).
 
The Kalamazoo is a great machine, for SO many reasons, but at how many multiples in cost vs. the HF? Not dissing it in any way, but a lot more folks, myself included, have the much cheaper 3,400 RPM (!!!) HF instead. The HF has a ~4" drive wheel, so it moves those little 1x30 belts at about 40 MPH! :eek: What size is the drive wheel on the Kalamazoo?

You definitely have to be careful not to overheat the edge. IMO, the belt plays nearly as important a role in that as the machine's RPM does.
 
mach 5 said:
As always great wisdom and advice from Cobalt. I will note that one of the reasons I like the Kalamazoo over other belt sanders is that the belt rpm is 1725 which is almost half that of the harbor freight (and most others I have seen) than spin at 3260. This means that it generates less heat, and is also more forgiving of technical errors by the sharpener. With minimal precautions I never have any heat problems (and I agree with Cobalt about never letting the edge get more than warm, since the molecules at the edge will theoretically be much hotter than the body of the knife feels).
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While I do agree that getting a blade warm while power sharpening is a bad thing, I've always wondered how a good chop session that can get the blade quite hot would compare at the very edge.

I know when I sharpen I generally don't feel any heat with my bare fingertips when I check (frequently), but after a good chopping frenzy it's uncomfortable to put the sweet spot of the blade on my bare forearm. I've never gotten a blade nearly that hot from sharpening. So I tend to not be super paranoid about heat generated while sharpening. As long as care is taken, I don't see any issues arising.
 
I would think (and this is PURELY hypothetical conjecture) that a good chopping session warms the blade more evenly, while sharpening concentrates the hear build-up to the area that is being sharpened, so even in the average total temperature of the blade is hotter chopping, it is possible that the edge is hotter while power sharpening.

It is also my understanding that most of the concern is with regards to overheating the very edge only, leaving the majority of the blade unarmed.
 
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