Sharpening the North Star...

[bushwacker bob]

There are a few of us pacing the floor waiting for a north star

 

[tomtom]

hehe... what is your specification?

 

[The General]

You ought to see the Spyderco Military that Sargey has... A great polished convex edge thanks to the Hoodoo hone and strop... :You_Rock_

Got me thinking now... ):

 

[RovingArcher]

Here's a site that goes into the convex grind and sharpening angles.

Sharpening convex

 

[Gary]

Tomtom as a recent convert to convex you will not believe how easy it is to keep your edge tiptop - the hoodoo hone and the sharkie sharp are perfect combo, I use the sharkie in the field and the hone in base camp or home.

One top tip - top up your edge continually, if it starts to dull strol it then and there and it will never let you down.

 

[bushwacker bob]

hehe... what is your specification?

Thuja burl with red spacers

 

[Lurch]

I've gots to say:

I really don't like the Starkie Sharp :yikes:

I find it a bit awkward to use without slicing my fingers.
Much more comfortable with a full sized strop.
Oh and I was slightly miffed to see that the polishing compound was the same polishing blue that I have a stack of in our workshop!

Controversial!

 

[tomtom]

where do you get it lurch.. is this the type of stuff that you can get in a good hardware store?

 

[Lurch]

Get mine from a local engineering store. I guess you could probably get it from a good hardware store, it's just your regular polishing bar. Comes in a block of blue stuff!

 

[ScottC]

I myself have made a Hoodoo hone after my brothers mate tried to sharpen my axe on a dry waterstone. They are excellent at honing and polishing an edge and the only real way to keep that convex grind.

Before using the Hoodoo Hone:

After:

Good Luck!

 

[Gary]

The leather pad is a little short but thats why god invented leather belts to hold up your trousers!

Paste one end - and strop the other - and a belt, strap for fire wood carrying etc - wicked multi tool! :super:

 

[Lurch]

Yup. That's what I do. Stand on the buckle if you want a bit of tension in the strop.

 

[ScottC]

I expect it to be very cumbersome when out in the field so just cut a little piece of paste off and use it with your belt or cut a piece of leather stick it on top of a mousemat stuck to a bit of wood.

 

[tomtom]

ok stage one of the hoodoo hone compleat.. i have a bit of wood with some slits in it... (now need to find a mouse mat) but also..

What sorts of sand paper does one use, is it wet&dry, glass paper.. sand paper.. does it matter, but most importantly (i guess) what grades of paper should i use?

 

[Gary]

I used a piece of foam from an old ground mat for mine! And wet and dry seems to be best as the backing is generally tougher.

 

[tomtom]

ok thanks :You_Rock_ .. and is it better wet or dry? and what grades?

 

[Gary]

Dry - the idea of wetting a stone is to remove waste that blocks the pours here your just going to chuck the paper once worn out so you need not worry about it.
Grades - I have pre-prepared strips of 600, 400 and 200 (or is it 220?) anyway they work ok for me. And carry more Fine grade strips as these will be used more.

 

[Simon]

I prefer to use a bit of WD40 regularly sprayed on to the paper or the paper clogs up. WD40 helps keep it clean and prolongs the life of the paper

 

[Gary]

Interesting idea Mushi, but surely the idea of the hoodoo hones is to simplify the sharpening process, if your going to carry oil and such you might as well just good back to an oil stone.

Just a thought :roll:

 

[JakeR]

AH! Someone against the starkie? Dont use it the same way you would use a normal strop. Lie it on a surface and just drag your knife along the leather. Kinda more like you would use a stone, except, erm, different.

Cheers,

Jake