Two questions :)

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Asa Samuel

Native
May 6, 2009
1,450
1
St Austell.
Hi,

Firstly, I saw a video of someone running the edge of their knife very lightly through a piece of wood to remove the burr after sharpening and stropping (he stropped on the stone which I've never seen before?) he didn't explain why he did this or how useful it is so could someone please elaborate on why/how/when you do this and whether it is worth bothering?

Secondly, a while ago I foolishly decided to use the diamond side of my DC4 to change the bevel angle on a cheap axe and abused the DC4 quite a bit , ever since then whatever blade I am sharpening catches over different parts of the surface and causes quite deep scratches and there also appear to be lots of little holes as well. Have I completely ruined it or is there a way of me fixing it without having to buy another one!

Thanks in advance,
Asa :cool:

Just to ease confusion, it is the DC4 that is broken with the scratches and all, not the axe. :)
 
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launditch1

Maker Plus and Trader
Nov 17, 2008
1,741
0
Eceni county.
Your first question.I was taught to do this at school in woodwork.Its done to take off the wire edge after sharpening.Why?To take off the wire edge.When?When it has a wire edge.Why bother?Affects the cut does a wire edge!Ive only ever done it on chisels tbh..my knifemaker friend does it on his hand.
:)

Second question i dont understand..
 
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Ph34r

Settler
Feb 2, 2010
642
1
34
Oxfordshire, England
Best bet is to have a go at re-grinding the bevels on your axe. A lengthy, but somewhat rewarding process - by far the most tedious process when knifemaking!
 

Asa Samuel

Native
May 6, 2009
1,450
1
St Austell.
Sorry, I've really confused you all, it's the DC4 that is broken, not the axe!

Launditch1, the knife was run through the wood edge-side down as if trying to cut through it. Wouldn't your friend slice right through his hand?
 

JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,809
1,479
Stourton,UK
Sorry, I've really confused you all, it's the DC4 that is broken, not the axe!

Launditch1, the knife was run through the wood edge-side down as if trying to cut through it. Wouldn't your friend slice right through his hand?

Buy a new one. Best thing really.
 

launditch1

Maker Plus and Trader
Nov 17, 2008
1,741
0
Eceni county.
Doh!I meant to say he strops the blade after sharpening on his hand.
Im sure i was told exactly why the blade is pulled through wood after sharpening...ive seen an old school chippy do it as well.I think it is just simply to remove the wire edge.

And as for dc4..it sounds kaput!
 

Asa Samuel

Native
May 6, 2009
1,450
1
St Austell.
Doh!I meant to say he strops the blade after sharpening on his hand.
Im sure i was told exactly why the blade is pulled through wood after sharpening...ive seen an old school chippy do it as well.I think it is just simply to remove the wire edge.

And as for dc4..it sounds kaput!

So you would use the wood enough of stropping on leather? Which do you think would give better results?
 

PeterHW

Forager
Dec 31, 2005
116
0
U.K.
Your DC4 appears to have lost some of the diamond impregnated coating from what you say .... given that it is an impregnated coating you cannot smooth it out .... so really you need to get another and I would not try splitting the old stone .... if you are minded the only thing I would consider is sending it back to Fallkniven and inviting them to consider what has happened as a warranty issue ... using it to "sharpen" was what it was intended for ... it ought not to have lost the impregnated coating ....

As to your first question .... lightly running the edge through wood is a good way to remove a wire edge or the loose carbides on the edge caused from sharpening .... doing this prior to stropping on leather with a compound saves nicks in the leather from the wire edge .... it also shortens the task of finalising a razor sharp edge ....

Interestingly on the same theme .... if you have a bushcraft scandi grind knife which is thin at the edge and you do a bit of whittling for fuzz sticks etc and feel that the edge has rolled slightly .... which it will do with a fair bit of use if the angles are quite acute .... changing hands with the knife and doing a little whittling with your left hand will often bring back the roll to a central pinnacle ... worth doing if you don't want to stop what you are doing to do this by stropping .... and enables the edge to wear properly and thus last longer than it does by "dulling" due to rolling ....
 

Asa Samuel

Native
May 6, 2009
1,450
1
St Austell.
Your DC4 appears to have lost some of the diamond impregnated coating from what you say .... given that it is an impregnated coating you cannot smooth it out .... so really you need to get another and I would not try splitting the old stone .... if you are minded the only thing I would consider is sending it back to Fallkniven and inviting them to consider what has happened as a warranty issue ... using it to "sharpen" was what it was intended for ... it ought not to have lost the impregnated coating ....

As to your first question .... lightly running the edge through wood is a good way to remove a wire edge or the loose carbides on the edge caused from sharpening .... doing this prior to stropping on leather with a compound saves nicks in the leather from the wire edge .... it also shortens the task of finalising a razor sharp edge ....

Interestingly on the same theme .... if you have a bushcraft scandi grind knife which is thin at the edge and you do a bit of whittling for fuzz sticks etc and feel that the edge has rolled slightly .... which it will do with a fair bit of use if the angles are quite acute .... changing hands with the knife and doing a little whittling with your left hand will often bring back the roll to a central pinnacle ... worth doing if you don't want to stop what you are doing to do this by stropping .... and enables the edge to wear properly and thus last longer than it does by "dulling" due to rolling ....

That's a useful tip about changing hands and the answer I wanted to hear about using wood, thankyou! I think I will contact fallkniven and see what they say.
 

ged

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jul 16, 2009
4,976
13
In the woods if possible.
...saw a video of someone running the edge of their knife very lightly through a piece of wood to remove the burr after sharpening ... worth bothering?

I think we've elaborated. Yes, it's worth bothering. It doesn't have to be wood. I like to use a piece of an old tyre, they're tough (and free:)).

I foolishly decided

Hmmmmmm.

... to use the diamond side of my DC4 to change the bevel angle on a cheap axe ...

The diamond grit is probably embedded in a thin nickel layer on a steel back. You've probably removed some of the nickel, complete with the diamond grit, leaving areas of just the plain steel back, which is useless for sharpening.

Have I completely ruined it ...

I'm afraid you have. On the bright, er, side there's presumably still nothing wrong with the other side of the DC4, and you can get a diamond sharpener for three or four pounds from Silverline. The diamond side of the DC4 is a bit fierce for most sharpening jobs anyway, normally I'd only use it if I'd chipped or otherwise badly damaged a blade.

You're only supposed to remove TINY amounts of metal with a thing like a sharpening stone. If you're going to change the grind on anything then you'll be removing a lot of metal and you need something different, probably a power tool with a belt, disc or wheel. From the sound of it you should be very cautious about using more aggressive tools like these, you could easily injure yourself. You could also damage the blade very quickly and irreparably by overheating it. There are plenty of people here who can help you with that sort of thing, ask before you do it.
 

Asa Samuel

Native
May 6, 2009
1,450
1
St Austell.
I did soon realise that the DC4 was the wrong tool for the job and bought a large file to finish the job, and of course I made sure not to overheat the metal.
 

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