What's the deal with sharpening a Becker "Brute"?

F

finchatton

Joined
Mar 25, 2001
Messages
48
Purchased a Becker Brute last weekend. Played around on some wood planks etc. Dulled the blade and have been trying to sharpen but I can't get an edge on it! I've been using an Arkansas stone but to no avail. I don't have a diamond hone, prefer a stone. I like the size and heft of this knife but if I can't put an edge on it I think I've just bought mysef a $120 hammer! Beginning to remind me of a United Cutlery 420J2 stainless steel piece I've got lying around here somewhere. What's the trick? Do I need a diamond hone? I'm tempted to take a file to it, probably wouldn'tdo much good either. Any advice?
 
Finch, Have done alot of sharpening befor? You might have messed up the angle. Your stones pores also might be clogged. Try cleaning it with some comit.The steels used today are much better then yesterdays so you also might want to get a better stone like a DMT or a Ceramic stone. I now use a cardboard wheel with some jewelers rouge in it mounted on a grinder motor @ 3,450 rpm. It polishes the edge to a true razor edge! Best of all It's FAST and dosen't remove alot of steel. It's even fast os steels like 420V,440V! You can get all of these at Treeline.com. Good luck!!!
 
Finchatton - I resharpen my Brute with a 10" Hewlett Jewelstik 3 sided diamond sharpening rod. The sharpening surfaces of the rod are curved, not flat, to capture the recurve edge. This works very well and fast for me.
 
FINCHATTON;
You are using a hard arkansas stone to try and put an edge on the Brute? No wonder, a hard arkansas stone of for polishing not sharpening. You should be using an India stone, medium or fine to put the edge on and then if you want a polished edge then use the hard arkansas stone.

Hard arkansas also will load up pretty fast if you are not using an oil on its surface. I find that WD-40 works well for the stone and also cleans it quite good.

Dexter's suggestion is also a good one, I have one too and it has 3 different grades of diamond on it so you can work from course to very fine with it. It can also be used like a file if thats easier for you to maintain a consistant angle.:cool:
 
You could also try using the edges on a sharpmaker for the recurve. I've got a big recurve knife, and the sharpmaker does wonders. Check out Joe Talmadge's FAQ on sharpening recurved blades.
--Josh
 
I prefer a stone because I like to carry it on the sheath. Kydex sheaths with the rivets are great for this, can slip a stone in a pouch and string to the sheath, perfect. Looks like I'll have to look for a ceramic stone? or a fine Indian stone. I'm hoping that the local mall knife store will carry something of this sort. Maybe I'll bring the blade in to the store and someone behind the counter is half as knowledgeable as you guys. Thanks to all! You guys are the best!
 
Get a Spyderco Sharpmaker 204.
Sure it's an investment, but you will be able to sharpen virtually anything around your house that has an edge on it.
I use mine to sharpen all the recurve knives I have and it brings them all back up to factory razor edge in no time. Plus scissors, chisels, clippers, pruners, utility razor knives, etc. etc. etc.
It is well worth the $$.
 
Finchatton - i don't have a Becker/Camillus Brute... yet.
But i DO have both an original BlackJack Campanion and a Camillus Campanion: the one has a saber grind, they tell me that the Brute has that, but in recurve; & the newer Campanion has of course, the same 0170-6C steel as yours (Brute)... i just sharpened the one (the Camillus Campanion) to: take-all-the-hair-off-my-arm-in-one-sweep-sharpness by a FEW passes (about 20 per side) with a ceramic stick (8 1/2" length). it wouldn't cut ANY hair before i began: elapsed time: 3 minutes, but only b'cuz i'm slow... i pass the ceramic stick at the same angle as the edge bevel, looking down the blade from the tip, holding knife very still: ONE PASS PER SIDE! Then repeat on other side: i pass it in the forward direction of the edge bevel; not against it: (not toward the spine). With one pass per side, there is NO feathering, wiring, burring, just "ceramic-strop-&-go". i have a small ceramic stick also attached to the kydex sheath backside via paracord wrap; black ceramic stick is ring-mounted, 4", & 4 bucks from C.R. Specialties... i bot two... one for the Campanion; one attached to my SAK TrailMaster Lanyard. Never leave home without them.
The longer ceramic stick was a gift from a friend; but i believe was bought for about 30 cents at some surplus place... budget-happy! :D
 
Originally posted by Dexter Ewing
Owen - I bought mine from the KnifeCenter a couple years back. Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

Found it! Thank you very much.
 
Finchatton,
If, after all this good advice from our BK&T fans, you still ahve trouble sharpening your BRUTE, email me, and we will ensure that your knife gets razor sharp. Thanks for being a customer....
 
I'll pick uo a DMT diamond stone. It's flat and portable. And my old stone which I don't really know how old it is or what type either, just always called it an Arkansas stone, Bad Habit! But from what I've read and heard, DMT should do the trick. At least now I"ve got a reason to upgrade. Looking forward to razor-sharp edges! Never really too concerned about that before. Thanks again..
 
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