Thanks hogs! Thanks tom, I'm glad you like it!
This process here spells it out pretty well
http://www.barkriverknives.com/convex.htm
I just use 60 grit, 150 grit, 600 grit and 2000 grit sandpaper. The 60 and 150 does the majority of the reshaping. It also does the majority of the damage IE scratching of your knife if you're not careful. I wasn't but oh well, this is a user.
Anywho, I used a piece of box cardboard with a chunk of the carboard that came in the sandpaper pack to make the base. A mousepad should do the same.
Put the sandpaper on and drag the knife across in a stroping motion keeping the spine elevated about 1/4 inch or so. I think this part varies depending on the thickness of the knife.
It takes a while at the 60 and 150 grits to shape the blade (again, depending on blade thickness). I'd say 45 minutes or so to get it where you want it. You may notice a burr on one side when you get to the "right" point. You can also test the edge you're getting with the 150 grit paper. It'll be toothy, but it will give you a good idea still of where it's heading.
Once you've got you edge shape the rest is just elbow great. The 150 grit will start acting like 220 so you can reuse that, then move to 600 for a polish and then 2000 for a final polish.
After I was done I have two leather belt sections screwed to 5 gallon paint mixer sticks. One is loaded with Ryobi 1-5 micron metal polish, the other is loaded with Fitz metal polish. Voila, done.
Lessons learned...
60 grit is fine, but tape your blade so you don't get deep scratches. I think you should keep the blade taped if you want to keep it mint. I got careless a little bit that's why my blade is more mirror polished now than satin.
Be patient and don't force it. Don't apply pressure, the weight of the blade is fine. Also, with the start of each new step, the blade gets sharper. You'd be amazed when even the final step with the Fitz polish makes the blade sharper.
Practice first on a user blade!
I'll get some pics tomorrow. I was hoping for action pics, but I've got no tomatoes or stuff of the sort that would make for good cutting.
WHEW!
