Sharpening the North Star...

[Simon]

I thought the idea of the "hoodoo hone" was that it comformed to a convex edge? ... obviously in the field, you don't want to be carrying oil too .. water will work ... but Wet'n'Dry clogs up just like a stone would ... using something to keep the particles from filling between the grit will prolong the life of the grit .. at home maintenance use some WD40 .. in the field . some water... and if you are carrying soap .. use a bit of soap with the water .. and your Wet'n'dry will last 3 - 5 times as long

why would anyone want an oil stone? .. horrible things

 

[Lurch]

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.

Yeah I know, that's why I don't like it.
Alright in the field I s'pose given it's compactness, but not my weapon of choice.
Anyway, someone needs to provide much needed balance in this heavily pro-starkie biased media

 

[SquirrelBoy]

Not that ive used a Starkie thingy but isnt it just as easy to use your belt?

Whack some Autosol/Toothpaste whatever on one end and your done surely?

Also its not another thing to carry around,loose or rumage through in your pack
K.I.S.S :?:

 

[JakeR]

The starkie is a perfect width, if used properly you shouldnt need as much length as a belt. Its a perfect little sharpening tool, so easy and efficient! Oh well, cant please 'em all.

Cheers,

Jake

 

[TAHAWK]

"Open Coat" sandpaper is less likely to clog. Just turn over and tap to cause metal to fall out. I have been using MMM Opencoat Al. Oxide 1200 grit when leather strop doesn't work to restore edge.

Cardboard is also a good stropping material. Place on hard surface and roll the wrist while drawing the knife back.

Keen cutting.

Tom

 

[ScottC]

waaaaaa My stwupid axe wont gwet a wazor edge with the swarkie swarp. I was doing it fwor about an hour i was!

Please help. I was doing backwards and forwards strokes like normal. I was doing it for quite a while and why the edge has sharpened it isn't sharp enough to slice paper or shaving sharp. And the edge was quite sharp before stropping so it wasn't completely dulled or anything.

 

[Simon]

Scott :roll:

were you using paste?

were you going back and forth on the edge?

Within the paste are abrasive particles .. if you push from edge to spine as well as from spine to edge, you are bringing the particles at the face of the edge, thus smoothing and rounding something you want to be sharp and angular .. you only go one way when stropping .. from spine to edge

 

[sargey]

scott, it sounds like you might have a case of the terribleoversharpenings. it sometimes happens with stropping convex edges, that the strop might be "giving" too much, you start off with a nice sharp edge, but end up with a nice rounded butterknife edge this is why many of the commercial strops you can buy are glued to a whacking great lump of wood. don't worry about it, it's far easier to do than you'd think, and it only took me about a year to work out what was going wrong :shock: and that is no joke!

without actually seeing the axe before and after, i can't really say for sure. but you might just have to go all the way back to the beginning and start again.

were you using the starkie strop on a hard surface, or a soft one?

cheers, and.

 

[Martyn]

and is right, a strop wont work miracles. You've overdone it.

 

[ScottC]

were you using the starkie strop on a hard surface, or a soft one?

cheers, and.

A hard surface for most of the time then near to when I stopped I put a mousemat underneath the leather thinking that you might need the strop to conform to the edge on convex edges like when using the Hoodoo Hone.

 

[Martyn]

If you roll or lift the blade too much when stropping, you'll just polish the edge blunt.

 

[ScottC]

What shall I do now then?

 

[JakeR]

Hi Scott,

I'd get it sharp again using either the Hoodoo hone or some other method. Ten once you finished, get the starkie, lay it flat on a wooden bench-top, and drag the knife towards you with the edge facing away. Then as you get to the middle of the leather roll the spine up and you can feel a slight difference in the friction. do that over and over and you'll get a razor edge in no time. Perhaps someone here could clarify what i just said, it is 9:30!! Urgh, work in a min.

Cheers,

Jake

 

[The General]

Try not to spend more than a couple of mins stropping (each side) at a time. Otherwise you will probably over do it.

 

[Martyn]

Remember, a strop is for keeping an edge, not creating it. You need to get the edge first, then strop little and often to keep it at razor.

Jake is spot on, it's all in the touch. If you lift the spine too high, you'll round the edge and make it dull. You need to lift the spine just enough so the edge just touches the leather. You can feel it through your fingers when it's "sweet" on the leather.

Once you've dulled the knife or axe in the way you describe, forget about further stropping. You need to go back to square one and put and edge back onto the axe with hones & stones.

 

[ScottC]

Oky Doky, I shall get on to it tonight. Thanks for your help.

 

[tomtom]

ok back to the original topic: i jus got my starkie sharp, and i was wondering.. which side does one use.. does it matter.. do you use both?

 

[JakeR]

Hmmm, always wanted to know that. But it doesn't seem to matter, i think the rougher side is better IMO, but i could be wrong.

 

[tomtom]

one side had writing embossed on it.. and the other Axminster stuck a nice sticky lable in the middle of it!

 

[Lurch]

Jake mate! You're the Starkie Meister, surely you know?