Sharpening problem

[cariboo]

I agree that glueing (contact cement) a piece of 8 or 10 oz leather to a board is excellent. Rub a compound like jeweler's rouge into your leather.

 

[British Red]

Mirius,

Try putting a paper clip on the spine of the penknife before sharepening - it makes you keep a consistent grind angle

Red

 

[Ogri the trog]

Mirius,

Try putting a paper clip on the spine of the penknife before sharepening - it makes you keep a consistent grind angle

Red

Now that tip alone is worthy of reinstating the Rep Points system.

Kudos Red

Ogri the trog

 

[Andy]

as a side note a bad method of stropping can do a lot of damage to edge. It's only takes a couple of strokes to damage the cutting edge and it's even easier when paste is involved (after all stropping paste can be around 10,000g abrasive paper and your effectlive filing the edge off with it)
FWIW I don't normally bother with a strop as such, instead I just use 10,000g paper. It cuts burrs off a bit better, more evenly (if your careful) and doesn't leave any paste on your knife which can then damage the edge

 

[sam_acw]

While we're having a sharpening clinic I've got an axe issue. I've been able to get all my knives to have lovely convex or scandi edges that will shave hair happily. However my new axe will not take a final edge.
I've got a lovely shiny bevel but there is a line that reflects light (about a hair's width, maybe less) along the cutting edge. I've tried using worn 800 grit paper (probably more than 2000 now) and an arkasas stone with the technique seen on the A-Z of bushcraft videos. The stone seems effective yet every time I get rid of the light along the edge it still won't shave and any attempt at stropping it brings the hair edge back.
This is getting really frustrating as each time I think I've got it right I end up back where I started a minute later!
Thanks in advance for any advice