ABCs of Knife Sharpening

[WapitiTalk1]

Well, what methods and tools do you use to put that fine edge on your hunting knife/knives?

[Rangerz]

RJ,

Maybe we could get Redtop to chime in on this one.

Would be interesting to hear from a knife maker.

[>>>---WW---->]

All my hunting knives have a Scandi grind. They are the easiest of all to maintain. Just lay the blade flat on the stone. Then tip it up until it is on the bevel grind which is easy to feel, and stroke it on the hone. Generally about 8 strokes on each side or until you can feel the edge curl over. Then 4 strokes per site. Again looking for that curl. Next 2 strokes per side and finally 1 stroke several times alternating to knock off the curl. You can then strop the blade if you so desire. But for most practical applications just using a fine diamond hone is as far as you usually need to go.

For my wife's kitchen knives with a bevel edge , I just give them a stroke or two per side on my 1x30 inch belt sander with a very fine belt. That's plenty good for all her kitchen chores and she is very happy with them. It gives them a nice, slightly toothy edge that will slice bread or a tomatoe with no effort at all.

[Charina]

I worked my way through college in a butcher shop. The only way knives were sharpened there (and it was a daily routine) was a belt sander. It's quick, repeatable, and is capable of producing a very sharp edge - plenty sharp for working with meat. I've missed that professional knife sander ever since. Tried stones, ceramic v cutters, etc. Never settled on anything as satisfactory as a belt sander. Recently bought one of the little Work Sharp belt sanders for knives for my birthday. I like it. Quick. Easy. Nice and sharp. I don't like that the design is intended to draw up on one side of the knife, and down on the other, but it's sufficient.

For field work, I do keep a few knives on hand for various tasks, but the majority of my meat-work is with a Havalon replaceable blade knife. No need for sharpening, just pop a new blade on.

[Swede]

I use a Lansky jig to sharpen my knives. The knife with the ATS34 steel is sharpened at 17 degrees the rest at 21-24 degrees. Sharpening knives is nothing compared to the problem I have with those little throw away broadhead blades. I know I should just throw them away, but They don't make the Rocky Mountain broadheads anymore, or at least I don't find them offered.

[pointysticks]

i've gotten pretty good with a cheap japanese waterstone. especially a scandi knife. just lay it down and push the water ahead. the visual cues the water gives is great.

i watched a video with that chef knife guy..kramer..he said to push down 3 lbs..or four. it was a great tip. i used a kitchen scale to get the feel and the stones worked!! but i have simplified it for fast field sharpening. i use one of the DMT diamond things. red on one side..green the other..zip zip zip..done.

i can shave after stropping it on leather with compound.

[WapitiTalk1]

I've always liked sharpening knives. Old school wet stone to get the blade angle down then a Wyoming oil stone for the actual hunting edge. It's kind of therapeutic.

[TimeOnTarget]

I've got a lansky diamond and a workshop sharpener. But anymore, Both my spydercos and benchmades just make an annual trip back to their manufacturers for a shaving sharp edge. Way sharper than I can ever get them for sure.

[redtop]

]Being a maker of knives I get asked all the time how to sharpen a knife. My stock response is always "don't let your knife get dull" It seems simple but most times people just wait way to long to retouch the edge on their knife as if they are afraid of ruining it. Whether I'm taking apart an elk in the woods or butchering in my home I retouch my knife every few minutes. Hit it on a diamond hone or small folding steel and it will stay razor sharp.

IMG_3591.JPG (51.23 KiB) Viewed 5125 times

I really like the red DMT folding plate for in field use. At home I have a bench version to use.
When I sharpen a new knife or I need to seriously address someones knife that hasn't seen the care it deserves I use paper wheels. One wheel has a carbide powder glued to it the other just uses jewlers rouge which takes the honing to a mirror like level.

IMG_3592.JPG (39.57 KiB) Viewed 5125 times

Paper wheels are easy to use and will give you stellar results in just minutes after a bit of practice. A few words about them though.
First, make sure you have grinder that is dedicated to using only with these wheels, once trued they will spin with no wobble and you want to keep them that way.
In use you turn the grinder around so it is spinning AWAY from you and you are only using the top edge of the wheels. You never want to catch the edge on a wheel that is turning toward you.
It's a bloody mess, take my word on that!
Really there are so many good ways to put an edge on a knife and most everyone believes theirs is best but in my experience just keeping your knife sharp all the time is the easiest..

[DBLGBL]

I think most people would be surprised at what a couple strokes on a steel will do for a seemingly dull edge. I use lansky diamond stones for the initial edge and then just use a steel after that. I can usually go a whole season with just touching up on occasion.

2GBL

[Wahpeton]

Guys,

My dad was a toolmaker, moldmaker, master machinist...whatever the right term is in your part of the country. He could sharpen anything. At deer camp in Minnesota all the guys would break out their knives for my dad when he had the his sharpening kit out and working!

I asked him how he got to be so good at this task.

His answer.....his first year technical school project was for them to make a hammer using only hand tools, hack saw and files, and hold angles to +/- 0.5 degrees. He said that through that very mundane and tedious exercise him and his class were enlightened about the importance of angle of approach to a file or a stone.

When I would watch him sharpen a knife, you could see the focus of pushing the knife through the stone with an intense steadiness.

I try to do my best to duplicate what he tried to teach me, but I'm mediocre at best compared to what he could do.

I really miss him when I am handling a knife or a rifle that he had his hands on and I know he took care of that tool.

The moral to my rambling is that you need to be very deliberate about not hosing up your edge by not maintaining your angle to your sharpening device, whether that be a stone, rotating wheel, whatever it is. There is nothing more important than that! You roll the edge wrong and you just ruined a bunch of hard work.