So does anybody sharpen a knife with a file?

stitchawl said:
The farmers around here use parang, machete, coconut knives, corn knives, etc., etc., as their daily work cutting tools. All sharpen using files. In fact, when I asked one about why she used the file rather than a stone for her sickle, she said she prefered the rougher edge for harvesting rice.

7oxz.jpg




Stitchawl
Click to expand...

Really like this photo.:thumbup: As for using file to sharpen knife only time i use a file on a knife was to do this on my rat seven. Before and after.
Rat7got_zps6fff9f4a.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

20140418_162615_zps37f08baa.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

Only use files on axes for most part. But file would work well to sharpen knife.
 
Ulf, You improved the look of this model. Good file work. I think I would take the edge further, right up to the finger groove choil. Thus, giving it more 'eye appealing' lines and function. DM
 
My dad used to sharpen his knives with files, grinders... on bricks or what ever he could,,,edges were crude but he would make them cut...lol.
 
You can produce a very nice edge with a *quality* file on a blade with steel of appropriate hardness. Proper use of files for sharpening rather than bulk metal removal is a developed skill, but anyone with good tool literacy/sensitivity can figure it out without much trouble.
 
I’ve used a small diamond grit file to touch up some of my m390 knives. Just use a very light touch. One or two light passes per spot that needs sharpening is plenty. Then strop. Find I can get a sharper edge more quickly this way.
 
Machetes cut grass and other soft material well with a very coarse filed edge. Jeweler's files are useful for touching up serrations. I have re-profiled a few knives with very obtuse grinds using a fine trangular file (SRK, Kabar Mark 1), but finished those blades with my DMTs.
 
You can get a faster better edge using one of those dogshit V shaped carbide sharpeners by dragging the blade through it a few times. Thats an edge good enough to clean a buck or featherstick with but not much else. This is why I prefer rolled edges. Not only do they slice through an animal better, but the edge is less likely to nick or chip, and it simple to sharpen up with a sheet of 3M 600 grit sanding film on top of a mouse pad. No finesse needed....the sharpening medium takes the shape of the blade as you drag it across with slight downward pressure. A Lansky kit is hard to beat as an affordable system for knives under 5in with conventional flat ground edges.
 
Kragnut said:
You can get a faster better edge using one of those dogshit V shaped carbide sharpeners by dragging the blade through it a few times. Thats an edge good enough to clean a buck or featherstick with but not much else. This is why I prefer rolled edges. Not only do they slice through an animal better, but the edge is less likely to nick or chip, and it simple to sharpen up with a sheet of 3M 600 grit sanding film on top of a mouse pad. No finesse needed....the sharpening medium takes the shape of the blade as you drag it across with slight downward pressure. A Lansky kit is hard to beat as an affordable system for knives under 5in with conventional flat ground edges.
Click to expand...
I would personally argue that if you don't want to thicken up your edge angle convex edges are, at best, equally if not more difficult to maintain, since you have to be so mindful of the pressure you use with flexible sharpening mediums. The true advantage of a convex edge is that it's like a flat-beveled edge with the edge/primary grind transition's "speed bump" removed, so for equal edge angle they're a thinner total geometry behind the apex. The give of flexible abrasives makes it very easy to abrade the apex but it often does this by adopting a larger and larger angle as it deflects under pressure, leading to the geometry being rapidly thickened if great care isn't exercised. By contrast, you may sharpen them like a conventional flat-ground edge and merely make a few strokes at a lowered angle on your abrasive of choice to keep that shoulder thinned and you have effectively the same thing but with the angle being easier to control.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I would personally argue that if you don't want to thicken up your edge angle convex edges are, at best, equally if not more difficult to maintain, since you have to be so mindful of the pressure you use with flexible sharpening mediums. The true advantage of a convex edge is that it's like a flat-beveled edge with the edge/primary grind transition's "speed bump" removed, so for equal edge angle they're a thinner total geometry behind the apex. The give of flexible abrasives makes it very easy to abrade the apex but it often does this by adopting a larger and larger angle as it deflects under pressure, leading to the geometry being rapidly thickened if great care isn't exercised. By contrast, you may sharpen them like a conventional flat-ground edge and merely make a few strokes at a lowered angle on your abrasive of choice to keep that shoulder thinned and you have effectively the same thing but with the angle being easier to control.
Click to expand...
All sharpening is dependent on the skills you as the knife owner prefer to develop, the advantage I've found of the mouse pad or other thick closed cell neoprene is you can keep your downward pressure away from the apex of the edge, and let the springback of the neoprene do the work of sharpening the actual edge as you drag it backwards. Blades (and especially small skinners and folders) that are flat ground and only have a very small convex edge at the bottom of the blade profile are harder to deal with than something like the San Mai Trailmaster, which has a huge thick blade with a cross section like a katana. Just used for game, rope and soft wood, it seldom needs more than a very gentle and slow honing, and you're not going to sand the profile of that blade away with 600-800 grit 3M film.

For fixed blades under 5 in and all folding knives, I prefer a flat ground edge around 20 degrees. Its hard to beat a Lansky or similar kit in the field for a quick sharpening.
 
Kragnut said:
All sharpening is dependent on the skills you as the knife owner prefer to develop, the advantage I've found of the mouse pad or other thick closed cell neoprene is you can keep your downward pressure away from the apex of the edge, and let the springback of the neoprene do the work of sharpening the actual edge as you drag it backwards. Blades (and especially small skinners and folders) that are flat ground and only have a very small convex edge at the bottom of the blade profile are harder to deal with than something like the San Mai Trailmaster, which has a huge thick blade with a cross section like a katana. Just used for game, rope and soft wood, it seldom needs more than a very gentle and slow honing, and you're not going to sand the profile of that blade away with 600-800 grit 3M film.

For fixed blades under 5 in and all folding knives, I prefer a flat ground edge around 20 degrees. Its hard to beat a Lansky or similar kit in the field for a quick sharpening.
Click to expand...
It takes only a single stroke at too thick of an approach to broaden the actual apex angle. Fixing it then takes many strokes. I'm perfectly capable of sharpening using a slack belt or a soft-backed abrasive to produce a convex edge at a desired apex angle, but under most circumstances I wouldn't recommend it to others as a method for manual sharpening because of that dynamic. :)
 
Years ago, I used to carry Moore Maker knives. Loved the look and design of these working knives. I had a coworker who would sharpen them for me to a surgical edge. He used a file and would take forever to sharpen them. He basically just laid the file on the edge and let the weight of the file do the work. I stopped carrying Moore Makers because they NEVER stayed sharp! Pocket lint would dull one out.
I've seen it done with a file, but never tried it myself.
 
Blackie Scantling said:

So does anybody sharpen a knife with a file?​

Click to expand...
I've never used a file for knife sharpening unless you count diamond coated files. I think that's a bit different and I don't think that's what you're talking about.

I have heard that a file can be handy if you do a lot of knife throwing.
 
Nope, never on a knife.

I've used a file on an axe head tho on a rare occasion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top