The woodsworthy edge?

[Rick Marchand]

You may be tempering the edge back and making those final microns soft by not using some kind of coolant while you sharpen. I know some of you guys are going to laugh at that but it is true. Roman Landes did experiments by imbedding pyrometers into very thin cross sections of steel. Sharpening BY HAND on a dry stone saw edge temperature reaching over 1000F! What do you think that is doing to the steel? That is why I no longer use power equipment to set my edges or strop. I set my final bevels on watercooled stone or DMT plates. There is a noticeable difference.

A burr means you are either taking more material off than you need or are overheating/tempering the edge and deforming it. In fine grits, there should be no burr.

The geometry that works best for me is a shallow convex(almost flat) with a fine micro-bevel at around 12-15 degrees.

 

[hollowdweller]

A steel is only as good as the heat treat/temper and geometry. Scott

Very true. I've got a bunch of 01 and L6 blades and they vary hugely in their ability to hold an edge. I think the best 01 I have is the Skookum bushtool and an 01 Koster. Both of them will hold an edge way longer than some of the other 01's I have.

 

[Barrabas]

I learn more, the longer this goes on...Wow.
Thanks, Thanks, Thanks.

 

[hlee]

BTW, when I'm skinning deer, I'm lazy and don't want to mess with stopping to touch up a blade unless I have to skin more than a couple out beforehand.
I would also think that if I sharpen correctly, I should be able to get a couple of fires started at least, and still be able to keep a shaving edge unless I'm just sloppy in the prep.
What started this was a friend (avid hunter) from several years ago that told me that the way you can tell if you have put a good edge on a knife, is if I could skin out 3 deer, and the knife would still shave, he had done it many times... that's my goal
Unfortunately, I lost contact with him, so I can't learn the secret first hand from him (I was to arrogant to ask for details at the time).. Thankfully I've got a little time before next season to get my act together before I try again.

Your friend probably didn't use his knife much for deer skinning. He probably skinned A LOT of deer, but there is not a lot of knife work to the skinning. One cut up each leg, a cut along the belly, and one around the neck. Most of the rest of it is pulling on the hide. Yes, there is more cutting that what I mentioned, but releasing the hide from the carcass can be done with a butter knife. The dulling cuts are those through the skin AND THE HAIR. Cutting hair has approximately the same effect on a blade as cutting through copper wire of the same gauge. Add some mud or dirt to the mix and you can really dull your knife. Minimize cutting through hair (cut in the direction the hair is laying, not across it- Make orthogonal cuts from the underside of the skin, not from the hair side) while skinning and you can maximize the life of your razor edge. Also, I have found that a blade that is all gummed up with fat, membrane, and whatnot SEEMS dull, but a quick cleaning returns it to shaving sharpness. And, cutting into and around joints will dull your edge as bone is much harder than wood.

 

[Camber]

Shaving sharpness is overrated. IMO, it's all about geometry. Steel choice is also overrated. A steel is only as good as the heat treat/temper and geometry. Sharpness is determined by the steels grain structure. The finer the grain the smoother/sharper it's going to feel. The steels hardness will determine edge holding. The harder the RC the longer it will hold an edge. The drawback is getting it resharpened if you let it dull.
Scott

This (especially the part about geometry) is a lesson I am currently learning...and it's not a painless lesson when you start adding up the price of customs you have with less than perfect geometry. I can almost all of my knives to shave, but not all of them cut well...some even less well than the axe I have.

 

[hlee]

I've got an axe that will shave. I wouldn't use it on knotty gnarly wood, but it sails through clear wood, and is relatively easy to maintain. It doesn't shave after chopping a bunch of wood, but it is easy to bring back with a file and some automotive sandpaper...

 

[Barrabas]

Guys, wanted to update you, and let you know that the coaching you have given paid off. The shookum still shaved after hitting the woods with my son today, after running the full phase of fire prep, using Oak. I now understand clearly the value of stropping. I can't express my appreciation enough for helping me with this. Looking forward to seeing the same results from the Gossman on our next outing. As soon as I can figure out how to upload pics, will share the "smores outing" with you.

To clarify, when I say "still shaved" I mean one direction on my arm, had stropped lightly afterwards, before I realized I should have probably tried in the other direction too, but oh well, still pleased as punch .

 

[Rick Marchand]

To clarify, when I say "still shaved" I mean one direction on my arm, had stropped lightly afterwards, before I realized I should have probably tried in the other direction too, but oh well, still pleased as punch .

Good stuff, man.

Okay, this might turn out embarrassing to say as a knifemaker but... What does switching directions accomplish?

 

[Barrabas]

Thanks Rick. It may mean nothing, but had read that proves better that there is no wire edge. There have been times where I could shave one way but not the other after a sharpening, but now that I think about it, since it past the wood prep, that may be moot.

 

[Gossman Knives]

Something else I've found works well while out in the field is to strop on your pants leg/thigh. Not as effective as a loaded leather strop but it can maintain your edge.
At home, cardboard is another material that works well as a strop.
Scott

 

[Skrapmetal]

Something else I've found works well while out in the field is to strop on your pants leg/thigh. Not as effective as a loaded leather strop but it can maintain your edge.
At home, cardboard is another material that works well as a strop.
Scott

I tend to do the pantleg thing before it goes back into the sheath every time... if you've gotta wipe off your blade so you don't put it away dirty anyway, why not get a little stropping while you're at it?