Stone for the BK16 Sheath & Straight answer on how sharpen a knife

I

IbrahimSS

Joined
Oct 18, 2013
Messages
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Hello

Now that I've been playing with my new BK16 I was looking for a stone to go in my sheath. However just looking up how to sharpen a knife seems to be going down the perverbial rabbit hole. There doesn't seem to be any straight answers on how to sharpen a knife or even how to learn to sharpen a knife. What's more is sharpeners seem to run anywhere from a few bucks to a few hundred bucks. Some are way to big to carry with you so it seems like the one that goes in my sheath will just be to keep the knife sharp on overnight trips but for overall maintenance it seems like you'd need a much bigger setup.

Can someone just point this newbie in the right direction? I tried the subforum but that place is overwhelming!

Thanks
Sam
 
get a set of DMT diamond file cards - they'll fit and leave plenty of room for other stuff.
EZ-Lap 1x4 is another good option.
 
Well there is a whole lot of personal opinion that some take as gospel. However I just recently have been able to put a passible edge on a knife. I'm a big fan of the free hand eyeball method that I think everyone should know.
 
+1 on the diamond pads. thin and easy to use, leaving space for other stuff. If you have ever sharpened a machete with a file, it's basically the same with a diamond pad on a knife - just go over the edge until everything is smooth on both sides and you can feel a burr - wire - on the side opposite the one you went over with the pad, switch sides do the same and then finish by making a shaving motion over the pad, like trying to take a slice off of it but not biting too deep. Freehand sharpening is a skill only learned by doing, and you will find it very rewarding when you learn to master it.
 
Rolled edge said:
Well there is a whole lot of personal opinion that some take as gospel. However I just recently have been able to put a passible edge on a knife. I'm a big fan of the free hand eyeball method that I think everyone should know.
Click to expand...

Yes, opinions about this sometimes resemble the fervor of religious zealots....

I got some good input from a thread here several weeks ago that you could review as a starting point.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1127249-Knife-Sharpener

I think the DMT file cards sounds like a good plan for field use, or one of these (or similar) would work as well. I picked on up years ago to sharpen the serrations on a couple of Benchmade folders that I regularly carry, and it works well for a quick touch up.

http://www.gatcosharpeners.com/product/ceramic/triseps.mgi
 
Ethan's answer would be a variable speed KMG with fresh 400 grit or used 220 grit belt to work up the burr, followed by a couple passes on each side with a Norton fine India stone to knock off the burr and then a couple passes on a strop filled with black compound.

I either use a 1x6 fine or x-fine diamond for maintenance along with a ceramic rod or if I'm doing major reconstruction of an edge, a Norton Tri-stone w/built in oil bath. followed by a light stropping - my preference for compound is Flex-Cut gold.
 
for home? keep it simple. Get a good old fashioned bench stone and practice that slicing motion, preferably a 3-sided one with coarse, mid and fine stones.
 
Norton...pretty sure they have pocket sized stones also like below.

11368360186_74d4d28161_b.jpg
 
Sharpening made easy:
Near as I can figure, whatever the process, whatever type or application of edge you are after; there's 3 (three) steps:
1.) set the angle and apex the blade -- get out any nicks, flaws and get the blade to a nice, even edge and remove any burrs.
2.) (optional) refine the bevel: go to a higher grit and "refine the scratch pattern" until the edge is keen enough to suit.(this part is where the black magic is)
3.) align the "teeth"/micro serrations/whatever: strop, jeans or similar to line them up.

It doesn't matter one bit what type of abrasives you use, you can get good results with anything from wet/dry sandpaper on glass to multi-hundred dollar stones/systems. Just don't go to step 2 too soon!

for field sharpening my beckers I usually have:
-A 1.5"x4" arkansas stone I found for about $2 (fits most fullsize pouches)
-a DMT card
-a ceramic stick or similar
-pants or belt for strop

at home (my usual method):
-Norton India- really fast to use for imo, "major" work.
-hard Arkansas bench stone - see step 2 :D
-my strop collection

This is just what I have/use. Over time, I'm sure you'll find your own favorites-- and that's fun if you let it be.
I will add that Beckers are big! and as such bigger stones help get the work done quick, but big stones have a nasty habit of having big pricetags.
 
I suggest using youtube and do a search for knife sharpening. You will find many videos depicting most, if not all, the methods of sharpening, sharpening systems, etc.
Sometimes a picture, or a video, is worth a thousand words...
 
all* sharpening is removing material along the edge bevel until the two** edge bevels meet.

all the tools are various means to that end. some guide the sharpening activity more than others.


* you can steel up a rolled edge without abrading or cutting away material
** except for single-bevel knives
 
Kai Winters said:
I suggest using youtube and do a search for knife sharpening. You will find many videos depicting most, if not all, the methods of sharpening, sharpening systems, etc.
Sometimes a picture, or a video, is worth a thousand words...
Click to expand...
The problem with YouTube is it's loaded with content. That's a double edged sword in that there is great stuff out there from knowledgeable people, but there is total garbage out there from amateurs that fancy themselves experts. I'm in no position to discern the difference in the arena of knife sharpening.
 
I have the diamond pads keep a fine grit one in my wallet!!! hmm where did I get that idea from lol!! anyway they work great and wont break the bank!
 
AverageIowaGuy has a really good video on sharpening. I've pointed a lot of folks to his Mors Kochanski sharpening video. It's helped a lot of beginners.
 
I was in the same boat as you, not long ago.
I had a Lansky system that I bought in 1993, and a few pull thru type sharpeners. None of the tools I had did a real good job of producing a good edge.
The problem was, I didn't understand what it took to produce an edge. I have purchased some different diamond stones, and the work sharp knife and tool sharpener. And still not shaving sharp. So I made a few strops, leather and balsa loaded with different compound. Now the edges were......the same as before.

Once I waded through a bunch of YouTube videos and spent a lot of time reading our "tinkering and maintenance" forum, the light bulb went on.

As mentioned above, you can buy diamond plates, Norton stones of all types, belt sander, sand paper or a host of other systems...I would recommend a pair of Arkansas stones, one soft for fast material removal and a hard to hone the edge and help remove the burr. Or a double sided diamond plate in course and fine. Buy or make a few leather strops and pick up a paint stirrer from the home store.
There are a lot of strop Ideas out there but I just picked up some remnants from Tandy and glued them to a piece of pine board. For the sheath any stone on the finer side in the 1 inch x 4 inches should work as you will most likely be touching up the edge in the field. The paint stirrer is rubbed with polishing compound and I use it for the final passes in the stropping process...cheep and effective.
1. Using a course or medium stone, guided sharpening system, belt sander, diamond plate or what ever you have, grind down one side of the bevel until you have a burr on the opposite side. Then switch and do the same to the opposite side. You are now making the bevels meet evenly in the middle. The key word here is Meet in the middle, don't stop too soon, take the bevel to the edge.
2. Using light pressure repeat step one on a finer media. (stone diamond plate, sand paper...) to refine or smoothen the apex of your bevels and begin removing the burr or wire edge.
3. Strop with leather and black polishing compound (I find black really pulls the wire burr off) and progress to white compound or green using light pressure pulling away from the edge.
You asked a really broad question that has no perfect answer, so this is what I do now and not a tutorial.
I hope this helps speed up the learning curve and pulls you into the obsession for the perfect system and sharpest knife. The addiction to sharp is almost as bad (good) as my obsession with blade steel and knives.
 
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You're getting some good general advice so far. I'd add: keep it simple, 2 stones is plenty to start with.
Like people said, find a good basic set of instructions and practice. It's a lot easier to sharpen at home,
on a full size stone, save the little one for when you are out in the field and need it.
I'd recommend a Norton Crystolon in coarse/fine for home, and an eze-lap 1X4 for the field.
 
The two sided Norton water stones are a good value, IMO, for home use. I think cschol has given the basic idea in an easy to understand way. For field use there is also the Worksharp Guided Field sharpener....though I don't know if it'll fit in the sheath pocket. It has multiple sharpening surfaces and a built in mini-strop.
 
I like good old Arkansas stone and a leather strop. Boom. Practice has gone a long way for me and I can sharpen and maintain my edges on my knives with ease. Takes only a couple of minutes at most now.

To get even more practice when I was first getting into sharpening, I just asked co-workers if they had knives they wanted sharpened. I ended up getting like 12 more blades to practice on. All were satisfied with the final products. Shaving sharp is not hard to achieve after some hands on practice.
 
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