Some Fu&*ed up sharpening problems

D

dibbler

Joined
Feb 12, 2006
Messages
69
My dad has a very old beat up EZE-LAP diamond stone rod sharpener and I tryed sharpening my old ka-bar (and other knives) and the knife(s) cut nicely into magazines but it didn't feel sharp and I even pushed on the edge with my thumb (yeah I know that wasn't the smartest thing to do) and nothing happned!:( :grumpy:
 
Will slice paper well but not not flesh eh? Sounds like you've got a coarse edge there. Try rubbing the rod, :jerkit: if it does feel abrasive, then that's your problem. Get another, finer stone. If the rod feels completely smooth, I have no idea what your problem is. :thumbup:
 
underaged! said:
Will slice paper well but not not flesh eh? Sounds like you've got a coarse edge there. Try rubbing the rod, :jerkit: if it does feel abrasive, then that's your problem. Get another, finer stone. If the rod feels completely smooth, I have no idea what your problem is. :thumbup:
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Rods fine...your guess is as good as mine:confused:
 
Flesh is fairly difficult to cut on a push as it is elastic and assuming you make a wide contact area the pressure will be really low. This is one of the reasons that you can see people do "tricks" where they put very sharp objects against thier flesh and don't get cut, they avoid draw cuts.

If you can actually draw the blade along your skin and it doesn't cut it (which is obviously a fairly dangerous way to examine sharpness unless you are really careful) then the edge is usually rounded. You can slice paper with a fairly dull blade, it takes a much sharper knife to cut flesh.

-Cliff
 
Cliff,

If we can slice paper with a fairly dull blade, what's the next easier test?

Thanks
 
When most people talk about slicing paper they are cutting the paper very close to where it is being held, this high tension makes it easy to cut. A sharper blade will allow a cut with lower tension so move the blade out from the point at which it is held. the closer the blade is to perpendicular to the top of the paper the more demanding the cut as well. the difference in sharpness from a blade which can slice paper on a 45 about 1 cm away from where it it being held, to one which can cut it several inches away on a 90, is about 10:1 .

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
When most people talk about slicing paper they are cutting the paper very close to where it is being held, this high tension makes it easy to cut. A sharper blade will allow a cut with lower tension so move the blade out from the point at which it is held. the closer the blade is to perpendicular to the top of the paper the more demanding the cut as well. the difference in sharpness from a blade which can slice paper on a 45 about 1 cm away from where it it being held, to one which can cut it several inches away on a 90, is about 10:1 .

-Cliff
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Again, I learn something new everyday in this forum. Great test 'cuz I sure don't like the idea of testing one of my knives off the strop by trying a draw cut on my thumb.

Thanks, Cliff.
 
Back to Dibbler's question.

You have the blades roughly sharpened which is fine for rough work like cutting cardboard, rope and soft wood. To get to the next step you need to refine that edge through finer hones (extra fine diamond, soft arkansas stone, hard arkansas stone or wet _R_ dri sandpaper 600 grit, 1200 grit, crocus cloth) and finally a leather strop coated with fine polishing compound.
 
frugalweaver said:
Back to Dibbler's question.

You have the blades roughly sharpened which is fine for rough work like cutting cardboard, rope and soft wood. To get to the next step you need to refine that edge through finer hones (extra fine diamond, soft arkansas stone, hard arkansas stone or wet _R_ dri sandpaper 600 grit, 1200 grit, crocus cloth) and finally a leather strop coated with fine polishing compound.
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That sounds great:eek:but are there any kits?
 
I have collected various parts and pieces over a 30 year span, if there were a kit with all the right stuff or even a good set of stuff I would buy it. It probably would cost way too much though. Like some of these sharpeners I keep hearing about. $50 or more for a few stones you could buy at $5=$10 a piece and still not a complete kit.

For a great starter kit go to your local auto parts store and get two sheets of 220, 360, 600, 1200 wet-r-dri sand paper. Cost you $6 and tax. Lay or glue the paper on to a flat surface like formica or glass, and use it like a stone. Start with the 220 and work your way up to 1200 and see how you like that sharpness.

That will give you a good idea of which stones you want to work with.
 
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