Sharpening Opinel No.08 - advice please

[Braidsta]

Hi all,

My EDC Opinel is great but now needs sharpening. I had a go with my DC4 and tried stropping too, I've got nowhere!

Just read that it's a convex grind, what angle would folk suggest for this sharpening? Has anyone got an Opinel they keep razor sharp? I'd appreciate any advice or tips, getting hard slicing up my apple!
I'd use the Boar, but that's for gingercake

Thanks

Brady

 

[Dave]

It really should be dead easy to sharpen with a dc4 and a strop. You'll have to look around the site for technique. Its just getting the hang of it, then its a doddle.

try the marker pen technique.

 

[redandshane]

Heres a video might help

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14d3UbAgSaY

 

[MikeLA]

get a bladetech makes it nice and simple

 

[ateallthepies]

I lay the blade on the stone and then raise it a smidge with my Opinels. A couple of strokes on the diamond side is all that's needed to touch up then 10 strokes on the Ceramic followed by a strop gets them as sharp as I can get any knife.

 

[Samon]

Ugh.. it's such a sod to try and explain how to do something by hand over the 'net..

My only advice is draw the edge towards you on your stone, go slow and watch to make sure you are getting the edge steel in contact with the stone and not the sides or the edge at a silly overly high angle. Opinels come full flat, in the fullest way any knife I've had comes! Mine are all super sharp and generally slightly convex due to natural hand sharpening.

Stropping is significantly easier to get the hang of without a tutor.. but still requires practice. As mentioned give the pen/pencil trick a go (draw on the part you want to sharpen and check to see if the applied mark has been removed etc)

 

[spandit]

I use a Spyderco Doublestuff on mine. Managed to drop it in long grass today with the blade open. Fortunately found it before the dogs did...

 

[crosslandkelly]

Use some wet and dry on an old mouse mat, drawing the back of the blade towards you. The mat will deform enough to follow the shape of the convex edge.

 

[demographic]

Use some wet and dry on an old mouse mat, drawing the back of the blade towards you. The mat will deform enough to follow the shape of the convex edge.

That one gets a lot of fans but personally I absolutely detest that mouse mat sharpening technique.
The mousemat deforming means that all the good accurate grind lines (that someone has worked hard to achieve) get blurred one to another. OK for a cheapo knife but on anything else it looks like its been sharpened with a grit blaster.

 

[crosslandkelly]

That one gets a lot of fans but personally I absolutely detest that mouse mat sharpening technique.
The mousemat deforming means that all the good accurate grind lines (that someone has worked hard to achieve) get blurred one to another. OK for a cheapo knife but on anything else it looks like its been sharpened with a grit blaster.

Perhaps you need a finer grade wet and dry, or you could use the wet and dry on a piece of mdf. It goes without saying that whatever sharpening technique you use, a good stropping is needed afterwards.

 

[Goatboy]

get a bladetech makes it nice and simple

Some great advice so far. I've said in the past that I used to really dislike "sharpening devices" like the Bladetech, after getting to use one at a game fair I was totaly turned around. It'll never replace my more comprehensive kits but for £10 you get an incredibly quick, portable, effective & cheap way to keep an edge on a blade, especially a carbon Opinel.
I keep one in my possibles pouch and one on my keys.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[Robson Valley]

What do you suppose is the total included bevel angle for the service that you expect of the knife?
There must be enough steel behind the edge to support it. That explains why my bone cleaver is 40 degrees and
my good Porsche kitchen knives are 20 degrees.
I am a wood carver. I am competent to keep my tools "carving sharp." While that's a concept, it applies to all
bushcraft edges. Pfeil gouges, PacNW crooked knives and adzes, all the same = technique.

No matter which sharpening method that you elect to use, there is a learning curve which cannot be side-stepped.
They all work beautifully.
You can turn you body into a jig to control the bevel angle throughout the entire process, should you elect to go "free-hand."
That's all I ever learned to do and it has been adequate for the past 15+ years.
Suppose you want 20, wonderful in the kitchen and most common for carving gouges.
All I can do, if there's any interest, is to illustrate what I have been doing.

The real deal is that there are some tricks of technique which I have never seen written down.
You watch me for 30 minutes, you will never figure out why I get such a good result.
Both my elbow adze and D adze are carving sharp. The only thing that can stop them is a bone in your leg.

 

[leon-1]

Use some wet and dry on an old mouse mat, drawing the back of the blade towards you. The mat will deform enough to follow the shape of the convex edge.

Yeah, I am another that uses a "Hoodoo Hone". Once in a blue moon I will run the edge at a shallow angle over a wetstone, but afterwards I'll run the No'8 over the hone.

 

[Braidsta]

Cor, thanks so much for all the responses!

I've read and re-read the Hoodoo hone stuff on other forums when I first started searching, in fact I read more from folk who warn against it. I'll give it a go and if it wrecks it, try my DC4 again. My concern with the DC4 was people saying it'd not do well on a convex edge - I do think these opinions might have been a bit extreme / from sharpening purists or whatever.

It had me puzzled as any other straight blade I easily get ninja sharp, spoon knife no probs too, recently got my first hatchet and can get that done no issue - tried with my Opinel and just couldn't get the results. I was stropping away and nothing, figured I'd underestimated how blunted it had got from cutting my lunch up and took it back to the DC4 - I think I just made it worse though through lack of knowledge.

I'll be studying these responses tonight, thanks so much I really appreciate it!

Brady

 

[Braidsta]

Just an update for folk that might find it useful -

Last night I went at it with my DC4 and strop with a bit of compound, I approached the blade as though it's flat grind - still not sure if it's flat or convex due to conflicting research.

So, sharpening and stropping, treating it like a flat grind blade worked and my Opinel is now as sharp as any other.

Now to burn some designs into the handle

Thanks again for all the help

Brady

 

[WoodGnome]

I'm now going to share a big secret which I'm actually a little ashamed of... I usually use different stones to sharpen my knives and leather to strop them to maintain the edge, but for the Opinel what works best according to my experience is... *sigh* This crappy little thing here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lansky-Sharpeners-Quick-Fix-Red/dp/B000B8JDT0/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1429525613&sr=8-16&keywords=lansky+sharpener

It really almost does damage to any other blade but for some strange reason it seems to like the Opinel and does not take away the original grind. After pulling it through a couple of times and going over the strop a little, the thing is razorsharp again.

Now I'm getting ready for the beating

 

[rik_uk3]

Some great advice so far. I've said in the past that I used to really dislike "sharpening devices" like the Bladetech, after getting to use one at a game fair I was totaly turned around. It'll never replace my more comprehensive kits but for £10 you get an incredibly quick, portable, effective & cheap way to keep an edge on a blade, especially a carbon Opinel.
I keep one in my possibles pouch and one on my keys.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

Spot on, take up no room and work very well.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/1911...1=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108&ff19=0

For the cost of three pints its well worth getting one.

 

[spandit]

For the cost of three pints its well worth getting one.

Or for those of us in the South East, a pint & a half... or one gin and tonic

 

[Wizzkid67]

I've never stropped my no 8 I run it across a 350 grit stone to remove the old metal then grind it till the light just stops glinting of the edge. Then I rise it up a few degrees and with very light pressure on my 1000 grit stone do passes in to the stone from side to side about 30 times and that will shave hair from my arm. It also last a good long while even with the soft steel of the no 8

 

[Gray]

I thought they where a flat grind