How do I sharpen this?

[milius2]

Hi there

A friend of mine has asked me to sharpen his knife. At first it looked like an easy task, but when I took it, I had to put it back on a table and stand back a bit. It's a hunters knife, has got laminated blade and only the fine edge is to be sharpened. I'm well used to a flat grind sharpening, but this is my first. So before I spoil the blade, I want an advice from you. How would you sharpen this knife?

i haven't got any diamond sharpening systems, only 5 pound sharpening kit. Any jigs you'd advice me to make/get? I want to get this right, because hunters seek this kind of service all the time and I could help them if I learn......

It has got " Steel 65x13" written on it.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Andy

 

[Retired Member southey]

Hey Andy, you say the £5 sharpenning kit, is that the sand paper one? If so use your high grit and stick it on the back of a mouse mat, the foam will help conform to the shape of the covex, then experiment with the angle needed, the high grit won't take much off and you'll be able to see what effect your having as it'll polidh the edge, like before keep the pressure and number of strokes equal for both sides. Hope that helps matey.

Dave.

 

[bushwacker bob]

Remember that it is hollow ground so you are only sharpening the secondary bevel, the 1-2mm on the cutting edge that are at a slightly more acute angle. You dont want to sand off his etching. A man needs his Beaver.

 

[lannyman8]

id use a ceramic steel just on the the micro bevil, use a car window edge if you dont have one, just dont put to much pressure on the window though....

 

[youngbushcrafter]

it may be a bit too easy too be true and maybe i am missing something but i use the finer combination of these:http://www.axminster.co.uk/ice-bear-japanese-combination-waterstones-prod22468/ this worked well on the only hollow grinder that i used on it, dont put all of your eggs in one basket though

 

[John Fenna]

I would use a good old butchers steel and finish off with a leather strop.

 

[VFR800Essex]

id use a ceramic steel just on the the micro bevel, use a car window edge if you don't have one, just don't put to much pressure on the window though....

Also don't hit the glass in it's edge. Very easy to shatter the window this way. I always advise using the car window is you have nothing else to hone the blade. Can be a very expensive to replace side glass!

 

[rancid badger]

I think your best bet, would be to learn how to sharpen hollow ground blades on something else.

Once you have the technique, then start on your friends knife

cheers

Steve

 

[Bundleman]

Don't be put off by the hollow grind. Hold the blade at a 15 degree angle and sharpen as normal. Just go steady and concentrate on keep the angle constant until you get used to it. As it's been pointed out you're only sharpening the last 1/16th" of the blade.

 

[Hoodoo]

Remember that it is hollow ground so you are only sharpening the secondary bevel, the 1-2mm on the cutting edge that are at a slightly more acute angle. You dont want to sand off his etching. A man needs his Beaver.

:yikes:

 

[ged]

I'd go with Mr. Fenna on this, oh and I agree with Bob too.

As has been mentioned you're only touching up the microbevel. From the photos it looks like it's a little bit convexed from sharpening already, so it might be tricky to find the right angles, but you should be able to get a noticeable improvement just with a steel. If you can get hold of a ceramic one to try it would probably be worth the effort.

One word of warning when using a steel. Run the knife off the steel, not the steel off the knife. By this I mean that the tip of the blade should leave the steel well before it reaches the end of the steel, and the end of the steel should never touch the blade at all. If it does, you'll risk putting long, curved scratches on the blade flats as the end of the steel runs over them and your customer won't be happy.

The fact that it's a laminated blade means that the core is likely to be harder, so requiring more effort to sharpen, and the outer layers are likely to be softer, so easier to scratch. It doesn't make a lot of difference to the sharpening techniques.

By the way it's a lovely knife.

 

[milius2]

OK, cheers lads.I have a few ideas now. I'll try as Southey said with the sand paper. Haven't got any water stones, but that might be just the right gift for myself as my b-day just in a week always thought of those ever since Mr Mears bushcraft series... ahhhhh.. The main thing, as Ged said, is not to scratch the lamination, should be careful there. I have one more option, but it's a bit risky.... It's a soft grinding stone that is made of rubber and some abrasives, it's rubbish on flat grind, but might just work on hollow. Thanks again lads, have a good Easter and make sure you decorate some eggs!

 

[Elines]

You might find these helpful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHV_OjOKkno&lr=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qlM2JDJkQY&lr=1

(I have copied them from my 'favourites' and so can't remember if you only need to watch one of them.)

He uses the same sandpaper/wet and dry method that you do (and me too) and his advice - in summary - is that you lift the edge until it 'catches' on the paper - works for me and it might for you too. But the advice to practice on something else first looks good to me!

 

[blacktimberwolf]

Was it made in Russia then ?.....I would just give it a few strokes on a wetstone.

 

[Bundleman]

What's all the fuss?! It's a piece of steel, drag it across something abrasive until it cuts again!

 

[bushwacker bob]

What's all the fuss?! It's a piece of steel, drag it across something abrasive until it cuts again!

The fuss is;- it aint his piece of steel and he only has a mousemat and wet and dry.

 

[milius2]

yes, it was made in Russia and it is an expensive piece... so that's why all the fuss, ant the sharpness should be better than great. Anyways, I'll post the results next week, since then, good luck!

 

[Zingmo]

It might be prudent to stick some tape over the beaver beforehand. I know that I would scratch that somehow!

Z

Sent from my brain using my fingers.

 

[bushwacker bob]

It might be prudent to stick some tape over the beaver beforehand. I know that I would scratch that somehow!

or maybe wax it.

 

[milius2]

It might be prudent to stick some tape over the beaver beforehand. I know that I would scratch that somehow!

Good idea!