Why are the old Buck 110/112 blades so hard to sharpen?

grizzled gizzard said:
I've heard how repulsive hollow grinds are to some folks, but I don't get it. I have done testing cutting cardboard. I have gotten 2 of my friends to test the knives too. There's some gross dis-information being touted as fact about hollow grinds, mainly, I think, because not all hollow grinds are the same. Take your Seb or your Dozier and take the pepsi challenge. I know I was surprised. A well done hollow grind slips through cardboard like I couldn't believe after a thread on the evils of HGs. There are simply too many differences in hollow grinds to make blanket statements. HGs done properly, and by that, I mean big wheels and full hollows, like Chris and Bob (and others) do, slice like crazy. It's not the strongest blade, but you have to give and take. I talked with Chris himself about it. That man is no dummy, and he does things with reason.
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Good post.

Hollow grinds done well, are truly superb cutters. :thumbup:

And anything Bob Dozier does is done extremely well. :p
 
My late '70 vintage 110 was very hard to sharpen. I finally got it where I wanted it with a Lansky...a system I no longer use since a) learning how to freehand finally, and b) getting a really good set of diamonds.

But, what finally worked, was I clamped the guide on the blade (the Achilles heal of all such tools). I think I went with 15 degrees but can't recall, fairly acute. Then here's what I did to make it work (I am not recommending this, just telling the story). I stuck the point of the blade into the table which really allowed me to bear down on the thing with the extra-course (maybe it was course) and basically just bore down on the thing, with decreasing grit sizes for about 2 hours. Another downfall of these types of devices is the relatively small abrasive surface and the little short strokes. I went back and forth for most of the time because I was just removing metal. Only at the end did I worry about raising a burr etc.

So at this point, I must say that a) my Buck 110 is right up there as one of my scariest sharp knives, b) probably the best job I ever got out of my Lansky, and c) still razon sharp.

That is some seriously hard steel and after 33 years, the blade is still in great shape. I am not a big fan of the 4nn steels but I sure like the stuff my 110 is made of...or will until I have to resharpen.

PS: I am in no way knocking the Lansky system or their fine products. They are great for small knives and I learned a heck of a lot about the mechanics of knife sharpening from using this fine tool. It is just that one really needs to be able to sharpen freehand and when one is good enough, the results of a freehand job are second to none. Heck, this terribly difficult sharpening job did in fact meet its match with a Lansky and that says a lot.
 
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