Who would you trust to sharpen your Customs?

OilMan

OilMan

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I was wondering who you would trust to sharpen or change the edge angle and whatnot on your custom/important/expensive knives? I'm looking to get two 9inch fixed blades sharpened and I'm not sure who to contact as these are big production knives but not cheap and I wouldn't want them screwed up. (Busse and SR) I also occasionally come across customs I don't want to try myself in fear of scratching them and wasn't sure who to contact about sharpening or reprofiling.
I occasionally see Tom Krein's name come up when someone is talking about someone sharpening their stuff but haven't looked into it yet. In the threads I've seen though they rave about his sharpening skills.

TIA,

oil
 
Maybe you can practice on some cheapies until you're confident enough to try it yourself? I imagine if they're users your sharpening shouldn't make that much of a difference. If you want to keep them totally "mint" and don't use them maybe it would be better to leave the edges the way they are.

Good luck,
Jose
 
Dan Koster....that is if he would do it you should look at his web site for some of the upgrades and repairs he has done. Also he has put out guides on how to sharpen.
 
Send them back to the maker if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself.
Many makers will sharpen for just the shipping charges. Blade Gallery also has a sharpening service, however haven’t hear any + or - about it.

Jose, where have you been? Haven't seen you around these parts for a while.
 
OilMan said:
I was wondering who you would trust to sharpen or change the edge angle and whatnot on your custom/important/expensive knives? ....... (Busse and SR) I also occasionally come across customs I don't want to try myself in fear of scratching them and wasn't sure who to contact about sharpening or reprofiling.
TIA,

oil
Click to expand...

Bill Siegle!

http://www.geocities.com/siegleknives/

Fast, proper and VERY reasonably priced.

I have access to a LOT of makers who can do work for me, but Bill has gotten a very good reputation for working on Busse products.

Last year at Blade West, I asked him if he would sharpen and put a sharpened clip on my Ratweiller. He said "sure", and got it back to me within two weeks.

Night and day difference, it is actually a knife now, instead of a somewhat sharpened prybar.;)

Can't say enough good things about the guy!

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
This may be because it was his design, but I had Jerry Fisk put a wicked convexed edge on my BK-5. "It can slice a radish so thin, it won't give you gas." "You can shave a sleeping mouse, and not wake him up." That's how sharp it is now.
 
Kevin Jones said:
Send them back to the maker if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself.
Many makers will sharpen for just the shipping charges. Blade Gallery also has a sharpening service, however haven’t hear any + or - about it.

Jose, where have you been? Haven't seen you around these parts for a while.
Click to expand...

Hi Kevin,

I've been around I just tend to browse most of the time. Most of the questions I can help with tend to get answered before I drop by but I'll get gabby once in a while and you'll see a spurt of posts...:D

Oilman,

I didn't consider customization but if that's what you're looking for I'd take Steve's advice. Busses are nice but with some custom geometry they might be more well rounded. Don't forget though that any modification will have it's pros and cons.

Steve,

I know you have more contacts than a CIA agent but I might have another surprise to show you soon...;)
 
Mongo said:
This may be because it was his design, but I had Jerry Fisk put a wicked convexed edge on my BK-5. "It can slice a radish so thin, it won't give you gas." "You can shave a sleeping mouse, and not wake him up." That's how sharp it is now.
Click to expand...

Jerry can sharpen a knife now. No doubt about that. He does a very good tutorage and demonstration on sharpening at his micro show.
 
Does any maker or stone distributor offer an instructional DVD specifically on sharpening?
If not, maybe an worthwhile endeavor.
Actually, Jerry did the sharpening demonstration during his first micro show and JR Cook did it last year.
 
Kevin Jones said:
Does any maker or stone distributor offer an instructional DVD specifically on sharpening?
If not, maybe an worthwhile endeavor.
Actually, Jerry did the sharpening demonstration during his first micro show and JR Cook did it last year.
Click to expand...

Jerry does a detailed sharpening demonstration on his video - "Jerry Fisk - Knife Care". He demonstrates on knives of varying sizes, including (if memory serves me correctly) a small sword.

Roger
 
Kohai999 said:
Bill Siegle!

http://www.geocities.com/siegleknives/

Fast, proper and VERY reasonably priced.

I have access to a LOT of makers who can do work for me, but Bill has gotten a very good reputation for working on Busse products.

Last year at Blade West, I asked him if he would sharpen and put a sharpened clip on my Ratweiller. He said "sure", and got it back to me within two weeks.

Night and day difference, it is actually a knife now, instead of a somewhat sharpened prybar.;)

Can't say enough good things about the guy!

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

STeven,
Do you have any other contact info for Bill? His website seems to have gone missing.

thanks,

Greg
 
I Agree with STeven when it comes to Bill Siegle.He ground the other side of the blade on my Mr Mojo making the edge symmetrical.The tip ended up a perfect V and that MoFo was Freakin SHARP as SHARP Gets.Bill makes some Pretty Wicked knives Too.There's my Two Cents.
:cool:
 
While we're on the topic of sharpening, I was wondering if some of you collectors could chime in on how much you feel the value of a custom knife is reduced if it has been sharpened. Assume it was not used, or beat up, but just touched up by someone other than the maker. Also assume this other person knew what he was doing and didn't mess up or scratch the blade. Specifically I'm talking about a nicely engraved interframe folder from a well known maker.

I believe it deserves a better edge than the butter knife edge it has now, and feel I could certainly do the job justice myself, but at the same time I don't want to cut its value in half or something, either. Thoughts?
 
If I knew how to sharpen knives, I would NOT do it myself. I would send it back to the maker, and have him do the edge. I feel that it would reduce the value of the knife, if I did it myself. That is my $.02.

Or, from reading this thread, Bill Siegle seems to be the man for sharpening!!

Oilman:
The link for Bill's site works for me.
 
the possum said:
While we're on the topic of sharpening, I was wondering if some of you collectors could chime in on how much you feel the value of a custom knife is reduced if it has been sharpened....... Also assume this other person knew what he was doing and didn't mess up or scratch the blade. Specifically I'm talking about a nicely engraved interframe folder from a well known maker.

I believe it deserves a better edge than the butter knife edge it has now, and feel I could certainly do the job justice myself, but at the same time I don't want to cut its value in half or something, either. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

The truth is that most people, including seasoned dealers, will not know if a good knife has been sharpened by a good custom maker.

It is the amateurs that only have access to basic hand stones that have given such a bad name to "sharpening" because they tend to scratch the hell out of the knife in sharpening it.

Once got a beaut of a knife from DANBO, Russ Andrews personal camp knife, and you could TELL that DANBO used the Sharpmaker on it from the edge scratching(he did a fine job, otherwise, it WAS sharp!:) ) but the lad needed to be introduced to a leather wheel, and told him that should be his next purchase.:cool:

If it hurts the value on a modern piece, it is maybe a $100 hit, if you can tell.

Now, old pieces by dead guys should not be touched. Don't ask me why, but that seems to be the rule of the day. I guess for one thing, on those carbon, forged knives, that develop patina, is that you CAN tell that they knife got sharpened.

Does this make any sense?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
the possum said:
While we're on the topic of sharpening, I was wondering if some of you collectors could chime in on how much you feel the value of a custom knife is reduced if it has been sharpened. Assume it was not used, or beat up, but just touched up by someone other than the maker. Also assume this other person knew what he was doing and didn't mess up or scratch the blade. Specifically I'm talking about a nicely engraved interframe folder from a well known maker.

I believe it deserves a better edge than the butter knife edge it has now, and feel I could certainly do the job justice myself, but at the same time I don't want to cut its value in half or something, either. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

In my opinion, sharpening should only be done by the maker on a investment grade custom. However, such a knife should be razor sharp from the maker.
 
Steven & Kevin, thanks for the insights. I figured on sending it to the maker for sharpening one of these days for that reason. The main things holding me back are worrying that it may be damaged in shipping, and perhaps also the shipping costs for a round trip (with insurance) for a job that seems simple enough for myself...


This maker has also participated in the cutting competitions, so I'm sure he knows a thing or two about sharp edges. The grinds on this folder are wonderfully thin for cutting ability. However, the edge itself is another story. It has an included angle of about 100 degrees. Yes, the spine forms more acute angles. And it's too dull to even slice paper at all- only tears it no matter how I try. I've looked at the edge under a microscope I had handy, and it had not been used that I could tell.
 
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