Spitewinter workshop

[ged]

One of the Spitewinter mob suggested that at the next meet we might spend some time looking at sharpening. I said I'd throw together a list of a few of the things that I could bring to give us all something to talk about, so here it is.

I've tried to think of particular items/topics that might come up and then tried to include some things that will be relevant to those. There's a lot of topic overlap in the tools here, rarely will something have a topic all of its own. For example to compare different steels or grinds you'll always need to look at more than one tool. I deliberately didn't include actual topics to try not to influence things too much. If you want to throw in some topics, particular issues or whatever then go right ahead and add to the list. If you can help me with the formatting that would be great, I'm not happy with it yet.

I'm not setting myself up as a sharpening guru (especially on this site!) I'm just throwing things into the pot at this stage to see what eventually comes of it. But I do use a lot of cutting tools, and I use them a lot. I like to spend as little time as possible sharpening them.

The list so far (I think it will all go on the bike)

Single blades

• Camp
• FKMD x 2
• Hacksaw blades
• Hatchet, rusty
• Keyring x 3
• Machetes x 2
• Normark
• Potato peeler
• Safety razor
• Stanley/craft
• SOG x 3

Multi-tools, cheap:

• Oxford etc. x 3

Multi-tools, not cheap:

• Gerber x 2
• Leatherman x 4
• SOG x 1
• Victorinox x 2

Woodworking tools:

• Chisel
• Disc, tungsten carbide tipped
• Drills
• Plane
• Saws
  • Bow
  • Crosscut
  • Pruning

Other:

• Article by JD Verhoeven (Sep 2004)
• Bits of steel and wire, hardened and soft, stainless and not
• Garden shears
• More drills
• Tungsten carbide scribes
• Turboflame

Sharpeners:

• Alumina stones
• Carborundum stones
  • Large/Small
  • Handled/plain
  • Flat/round/disc
• Ceramic fuse
• Chisel/Plane Sharpener
• Crossover
• DC3
• Diamond, various
• Ground glass
• India files
• Potato
• Rubber tyre
• Saw sharpener
• Steels
• Strop (leather belt)
• Victorinox (ceramic/oxide)

 

[shaggystu]

looking good ged, i'll have a look around and see what i can dig out to bring along.
i'm a big fan of files for profiling etc. so i'll definately bring a selection of files
i'll bring some wet'n'dry, glue, and bits of MDF/ply and mousemats as well
not sure what blades i've got to bring but i'll find a few out, i've got a couple of axes to bring along as well
i'll try and keep this thread in mind and see what other stuff i can come up with.

one question, potato?

cheers

stuart

 

[ged]

...i'll have a look around and see what i can dig out to bring along. i'm a big fan of files for profiling etc. so i'll definately bring a selection of files
i'll bring some wet'n'dry, glue, and bits of MDF/ply and mousemats ... axes ...

That's great Stu, that will broaden out what I've suggested very well.

one question, potato?

Ah, you read it then.

Yes, potato. A long time ago, after I'd sharpened a few kitchen knives for her, my mum expressed surprise that her favourite one never seemed to need sharpening. I asked her if she peeled her potatoes with it. She said "Yes". That was around the time that I first found out that cleaning the oily grit and road cr@p off the nearside wall of the rear tyre of a BSA 650 would sharpen up a stanley knife like nothing I'd ever found before. So "Tyre" is on the list too.

 

[PREPER]

I'll have a think and bring some goodies too!

PREPER...........

 

[badgeringtim]

i know i wont be involved but what about curved tools like gauges or Adz's?
they can be kinda tricky to get the hang of sharpening.

and to reiterate - potato ha...?

 

[sasquatch]

Wow, looks like every possible avenue will be covered. Shame I can't make that, sounds interesting!

 

[Elines]

This is looking really good and looking forward to Spitewinter in October - I have lots to learn about knife sharpening and looks like there'll be a great opportunity to do that.

 

[IntrepidStu]

OK. I'll bring my british army machete along for someone to have a go at sharpening. Im not sure what steel it's made from but its tough as hell and almost ompossible to get sharp. Then again, it IS a heavy duty tool, so if its too sharp it may dull quicker

 

[shaggystu]

OK. I'll bring my british army machete along for someone to have a go at sharpening. Im not sure what steel it's made from but its tough as hell and almost ompossible to get sharp. Then again, it IS a heavy duty tool, so if its too sharp it may dull quicker

interesting, i've never tried sharpening an issue machete but i have read in a few places that the steel used to make them is usually a bit on the soft side. i'd guess that the quality of materials has vaired a bit over the years though, it does tend to with issue kit.

big files, rough stones, we'll sort it!

cheers

stuart

 

[shaggystu]

just acquired something that may or may not enhance this activity a little for some people, kevlar gloves! ok so i don't know if they're actually kevlar or not but it sounds cool doesn't it. they are, however, pretty good protective gloves (EN388 4342 if anyone's interested in the finer details) the 3 of 4342 is all that really concerns us, it means that you've got to cut the gloves at least 5 times (but probably fewer than 10) in exactly the same place before you get through them. i don't know whether or not they'll be of use to anyone but for those who are slightly less confident about handling sharps they may add a little extra feeling of safety.

cheers

stuart

 

[Elines]

'good protective gloves' - since I almost managed to cut the end of my finger off peeling the carrots last time these might be worth trying!

Also - just thought of a good way to earn some brownie points off Higher Management. She has some kitchen knives that she bought because they 'never need sharpening' - but they seem pretty blunt to me and I got nowhere when I tried to sharpen them.

I'll bring them along to see what we can do with them.