Sharpening a Mora 106

[xraymtb]

My first foray into a woodcarving knife and I realised I have no idea how sharp to make it or how to get there?

I currently sharpen axes, planes and chisels using a Stanley oilstone (two sided, not all that fine but enough for many uses), a few diamond files (again only down to 400) and occasionally wet n dry (400 again).

I've been using the Mora as it came to shape an axe haft and it's brilliant but now the sharpness has gone from 'ooh that might need hospital' to kitchen knife sharp. The 400 grit wet n dry brought back a bit of an edge but nothing close to original.

I do have a mixed set of diamond paste to try but how sharp am I am aiming for?

 

[WULF]

leather strop and solvol autosol is all ive used.

 

[mr dazzler]

Me too, its a deceptively simple system. I use it for most thigs-knives, hook knives, axes, drawknife, plane irons, works grand. The strop I use now is around 2 feet long 3 inches wide and an inch thick, covered with thick leather. I fixed another 4 inch wide board to it to make it into a T shaped beam. If I am in my shop it can go in the vice. If I am working indoors I rest it horizontally on the floor with my knees either side of the vertical board (which is about 12 inches longer than the top board with the strop leather on it) I can also rest it vertically on the floor with my feet either side, useful for some tools eg mora hooks. Every now and again I resurface the leather just with coarse abrasive paper. I use solvol metal polish, sometimes I add ground up jap waterstone dust into it as well...I've had 2 mora hooks for years now, in all that time they have stayed razor sharp just from leather and metal polish.
I am thinking of building a big stropping wheel, one that works on the horizontal plane like a record player. Does away with the awkward join in a regular leather wheel.

 

[Two Socks]

Stropping is indeed wonderful to keep knives sharp. It does tend to round bevels over time though. For the outer bevel of the mora hooks that is great, but normal knives will need to be flattened out every now and then. Also, since you have used grid 400 sandpaper to sharpen it up I think it is a good idea to do the same with some 600 grid. The step from 400 to autosol is rather large and it will leave you with more of a saw-toothed edge than you'd like on a carving knife. Flattening on 400 and 600 grid and then stropping will give you a nice edge that leaves a smooth cut behind.

 

[xraymtb]

600 then stropping could be a winner. I'm off to dig out something old and leather.