blade sharpening

[rjmt]

I was sharpening my son's and mine knifes last evening

would test them by dry shaving the hair on my left arm

must have done a good job, since no hair and no cuts

told my wife why I had no hair on my arm - I can't print what she had to say about that

I have a Amish forged Hudson's Bay Ax I sharped to the point I can shave my beard with it

not to mention my son's Bowie knife - it can shave skin off your fingers without drawing blood

my wife doesn't allow me to sharpen her kitchen knives, since she's cut herself so many time

start with a dual grit round sharpening stone, then progress to course ceramic sticks, then the fine sticks

I sit up late at night out on my porch, drinking wine, listening to Saxophone jazz and sharpening our blades

even sharpened the back blade on my K-Bar

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[Knobgoblin]

Put an edge on your belt buckle, for the next rumble.

 

[Stomper]

Since his wife won't let him sharpen the kitchen knives, he should play a trick on her and secretly sharpen all the butter knives!

 

[rjmt]

Put an edge on your belt buckle, for the next rumble.

I wear Carhartt coveralls, even into town, old age spread, so no belts
which is why I use Alaska cross draw holsters, not belt holsters
and 72 year old veterans don't get into rumbles
for going into Portland, I cut 2 Cherrywood poles from young cherry trees, almost 2" in diameter and 6' long, one for me, one for my son
used a curved pull blade to skin them
stained with spar varnish
nailed brass plumbing caps on the ends
we call them walking sticks, but aged Cherrywood with brass end caps is a serious hardwood staff

 

[oremike]

I look for old high carbon kitchen knives at garage sales, it seems no-one knows how to sharpen or care for them any more. A little light machine oil and 4 ought steel wool takes the rust off then on to the stones to get them sharp. I have a 6" double sided Medium/fine Arkansas stone that works good for general duties but have others depending on need. My wife has learned to be careful with the knives but sees there value when cutting up a big old rump roast to make jerky meat.

 

[slimmer13]

for going into Portland, I cut 2 Cherrywood poles from young cherry trees, almost 2" in diameter and 6' long, one for me, one for my son
used a curved pull blade to skin them
stained with spar varnish
nailed brass plumbing caps on the ends
we call them walking sticks, but aged Cherrywood with brass end caps is a serious hardwood staff

I've heard alot of gangs are on the lookout to recruit guys that are good with a bo staff.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Aw , these old things?

 

[thorborg]

View attachment 1210540

Aw , these old things?

This old thing says; the steel in many of those "old things" were subpar, that's why they never ventured very far from the strop.

 

[Siglvr]

For us mental handicaps with little patience and skill, there are diamond stones. You have to sit for a long time with a ceramic stone to make a blade sharp, and if you deviate a few strokes angles, you will again have a dull blade. With a diamond stone, 2-3 strokes and you have @ 80-85% of the sharpness of the skilled sharpener with his ceramic stones. Guys like RJMT up there who is beardless now. So if you can't coax him over to your house to do the work or someone else with skill, get a diamond stone. Costs more, but worth every penny. You will likely be excruciatingly pulling the hair out on your arm if you try that shaving thing, but you can still better slice the tomatos

I still use my little 2" x 3" DMT double sided stone (MEDIUM/FINE) that I bought over 20 years back. It's a classic "Buy once-Cry once" thing for sure as they are not cheap. I'm known for going over for dinner invites with it and after getting permission ("would you want me to freshen up your knife edges a bit") simply holding it freehand, sharpening every dull knife I find (usually all of them) in the guests house, doesn't take long at all.

As an aside, I own the expensive Apex system (diamond) and the lanky system (also diamond), but I can freehand get to a decent edge in 1/10th of the time which is what lazy people like me usually do. Not dissing on either fine system. When my boy came back from his first hunt, he brought back the skinning knife I bought him so razor sharp via the Lansky ceramic stones while sitting around in deer camp that I ran right out and bought one. I should have asked how long it took him to get a perfect edge (and it was perfect although at 14 years old, he didn't have much hair to shave)

 

[solv3nt]

Since his wife won't let him sharpen the kitchen knives, he should play a trick on her and secretly sharpen all the butter knives!

LOL, I had a frozen cube of butter that I was cutting with a bread knife, you know safety. Anyways, frozen butter with a bread knife doesn't cut the best. Knife slipped and cut my finger...

 

[Hueco]

my wife doesn't allow me to sharpen her kitchen knives, since she's cut herself so many time

Improper grip and technique with a sharp knife leads to small cuts.

Improper grip and technique with a dull knife can lead to major stabs and lobbed off finger tips.

Don't worry though, finger tips seem to grow back.

 

[Capn Jack]

Don't worry though, finger tips seem to grow back.

Just ask my wife...

 

[41mag]

...maybe grow back but of a different shape...

 

[2Wheels4Ever]

I've tried a lot of sharpening devices; ceramic, diamond, sand paper, worksharp, lansky, etc. I finally found one I like. It'll put a beautifully strong and polished convex edge on any blade in minutes. Axes to kitchen knives, this thing takes care of them all. You still need a steady hand as I don't use jigs for sharpening, but it allows you to sharpen at any angle and change grits in seconds.

 

[ORhutner]

I've tried a lot of sharpening devices; ceramic, diamond, sand paper, worksharp, lansky, etc. I finally found one I like. It'll put a beautifully strong and polished convex edge on any blade in minutes. Axes to kitchen knives, this thing takes care of them all. You still need a steady hand as I don't use jigs for sharpening, but it allows you to sharpen at any angle and change grits in seconds.


View attachment 1212033

I do need to get myself a 2x72" grinder. Would make a lot of tasks much quicker and easier.

 

[2Wheels4Ever]

I do need to get myself a 2x72" grinder. Would make a lot of tasks much quicker and easier.

I use it all the time. Heck, just used it today to sand down a new walking stick.

 

[ORhutner]

I use it all the time. Heck, just used it today to sand down a new walking stick.

I have been eyeballing the Northridge grinder for a couple years now and just need to pull the trigger and get one on the way.

 

[2Wheels4Ever]

I have been eyeballing the Northridge grinder for a couple years now and just need to pull the trigger and get one on the way.

I would definitely not recommend the Origin Blade maker (formally Oregon blade maker.) It had bad bearings from the factory and the wheels wore out in a couple months of easy use. Their customer service was beyond awful, essentially blaming me for being too hard on the machine. After installing wheels from a different company, it's been going strong for over a year now. I wanted not support a local company, but I should gone a different route.

 

[ORhutner]

I would definitely not recommend the Origin Blade maker (formally Oregon blade maker.) It had bad bearings from the factory and the wheels wore out in a couple months of easy use. Their customer service was beyond awful, essentially blaming me for being too hard on the machine. After installing wheels from a different company, it's been going strong for over a year now. I wanted not support a local company, but I should gone a different route.

I have been narrowed down to the TW90 or Northridge for some time. Haven't heard any complaints with either other than the price.

 

[rjmt]

for my axes, I use an old Nickolson 12" bastard cut file ( 1968 era - made in USA)
keep it on the tractor so if I need to touch up an ax blade down in the woods
still carry an old double bladed ax
has dual edges on it - one for splitting wood and one for shaving

when we bought the property, I found an old Collins 5 lbs head ax leaning against a tree in my woods
made in USA back before the time of chain saws