Sharpening question

[jamesraykenney]

I don't do it often but I have on occasion if needed.

My living history blades are sharpened more often with river stones as I can't pull a modern stone out in front of the public in a museum

These days I tend to carry a DC4 for field sharpening of my good blades.

Just as an aside Sal have you ever thought of resurrecting the barrel knife for an interesting project. I've had one for years and it's the best folding design I've ever seen.

I THINK I remember Mike Stewert(Bark River, Blackjack, Marbles, etc.) saying that he was considering making one about a year ago, but I could have the wrong person... Look over on http://outdoors-magazine.com and search there. You should find the thread...
I love that design too, and that is a beautiful example!:notworthy

 

[leon-1]

sal, there is a place down here where they used to dig out whetstones, it also has a large amount of badgers. So whilst walking in that area it is quite possible to pick up a peice of natural rock that a friendly badger has dug out for you that is capable of being used for sharpening.

I have tried it once, the stone itself is quite coarse grained (a bit like sandstone) so it scrathces the hell out of the knife itself and although you can put an edge onto a knife it is not nearly as good as the edge that can be put on using modern stones in thier many different grades.

 

[Nemisis]

I know its probably patented etc but I was looking at a lansky crock stick sharpener earlier and I wondered if it wouldn't be possible to make something similar only with the ceramic rods pre set to the blade geometry of whatever final design Sal comes up with. That would make touching up in the field simpler for all newbies and experienced and only require a quick stropping then.
Dave.

 

[Andy]

or the knife could just have the bevels set at 20degrees per side and we can carry on using the sharpmaker.

BTW I think if there is ever a sharpmaker 205 a built in spirit level would be handy. Due to my rather rubbish desk at uni the bevels aren't even anymore as the table bows in the middle. It would also mean that people could tell it was on a flat surface if out in the wilds (or in the UK the bushes at the side of a car park)

 

[Nemisis]

My point was something simple light weight and pocketable while retaining the accuracy of a sharpmaker/lanskey system. More often than not its a quick touching up needed in the field or even just a stropping no one wants the weight of a sharpmaker etc in there pack for a week for maybe one or two occasions its otherwise dead weight.
Dave.

 

[leon-1]

Simplicity is small flat stone, flat bevels, lay stone on bevel keeping flat and draw along blade length.

The more parts you add to a system the more complicated it becomes and of course the more that can go wrong with it.

A small combination ceramic stone will give you a bit of flexibility and it's about as simple as it gets.

K.I.S.S. is the order of the day, the simpler it is the easier it will be to use, the easier and cheaper it will be to manufacture, this in turn should be reflected in the cost to the customer (remember cost is one of the major things influencing whether you or I will buy it).

Spyderco already produce combination ceramics, producing one which is a little shorter and wider isn't a long developement process and isn't gonna break the bank when you and I go out to buy it.

I currently have a medium and fine combi stone from Spyderco, my only bad point (Stuart will probably back me up on this) is that the medium grit combination is the same as the fine grit on a DC3 or DC4. As a result I normally carry the Spyderco stone and a small diamond stone as well.

If sal could come up with something that incorporated all three, then you would have a stone that could be used for minor repairs to an edge, touching up the edge and fine honing.

 

[sal.]

We have a few small protable sharpening designs in R&D. One is a portable with built in angles, one is a diamond/ceramic combination 1" x 5" flat stone, the third is for a convex edge. All are pretty simple. The KISS concept was taught to me many years ago by Dick Newick, a US Trimaran designer. I've learned quite a bit from him about simoplicity and performance.

As an aside., the small portable "Crock Stick" that Lansky produces was designed by yours truly for my friend Louis Graves, who invented the Crock Stick and sold the company to Lansky.

Can't do them all at once, so we're trying to deside which to do first. The "Bushcraft" model concept will help us on which direction to go with first.

sal

 

[Nemisis]

I think the 5" flat diamond/ceramic would be most suitable in this situation as athough primarily needed for the knife it would be ideal for repairing the edge on a axe/machette/billhook at the same time.
Dave.

 

[British Red]

Given you are going for a flat grind sal, I'd stick with the 5" x 1" stone too. The portable jobby with built in angles means I'd have to carry two (another one for my axe) as Dave says

Red

 

[Hoodoo]

We have a few small protable sharpening designs in R&D. One is a portable with built in angles, one is a diamond/ceramic combination 1" x 5" flat stone, the third is for a convex edge. All are pretty simple. The KISS concept was taught to me many years ago by Dick Newick, a US Trimaran designer. I've learned quite a bit from him about simoplicity and performance.

As an aside., the small portable "Crock Stick" that Lansky produces was designed by yours truly for my friend Louis Graves, who invented the Crock Stick and sold the company to Lansky.

Can't do them all at once, so we're trying to deside which to do first. The "Bushcraft" model concept will help us on which direction to go with first.

sal

That is great news Sal! I look forward to all those options. I have found a diamond stone to be a real lifesaver in the field. With the hardness of some of today's knives, its pretty nice to have a small diamond stone handy.

This past winter while ice fishing, I did some unintentional welding with my ZDP Calypso Jr. Kinda got it hooked across the terminals of a gel battery on my fish finder. Fortunately I had a little diamond hone with me that I used to clean up the edge. Ceramic would barely touch it.