Knife (and other things) sharpening.

[anomad]

There was another thread about chainsaws that I didn't want to take meaning away from. So I made this post.

One of my hobbies or DIY things is sharpening. Could be tractor related if we were talking about mower and bush hog blades. But I want to hear about what you do yourself and what you hire out. I have a lot to learn about chainsaw sharpening apparently.

I enjoy sharpening. Especially my anomad scissor rehabilitation program. Where I find "Judy" struggling with her old GSA issued scissors from 1960. Take them home and make them effortlessly cut yarn fibers and bring them back.

I have several fancy sharpening devices and really like sharpening knives. I use paper towel to measure how sharp my knives are. What do you use?

 

[ken erickson]

Paper towel is a good indicator of knife sharpness. Any “sawtooth” of the sharpened blade will catch and tear the towel as I am sure you already know. One of the things I would do to test sharpness and lack of a sawtooth or rough edge was to lightly drag across my fingernail perpendicular to my finger. It really becomes apparent how sharp it is. Not Recommended if you have a fresh manicure! Lol.

The first time I made a pair of scissors to incorporate in one of my handmade traditional multi blade folding knives was a learning curve all its own! I quickly learned proper cutting scissors are much more than just two pieces of metal pivoting and sliding across each other!

 

[mcfarmall]

I like to sharpen plane irons and wood chisels. I bought a holder from Lee Valley and a couple of Japanese water stones to do the job. Makes them scary sharp!

 

[Biker1mike]

I have a couple of those cheap 'V' run thru that work okay. When I have the time I use a wet stone for the kitchen knives and they are really sharp.
Pocket knives on the stones with more of an angle.
Camp hatchet and axes are just put to the grinder.

When I was a kid my mom used to use a paring knife and pulled towards her thumb. I sharpened the knives and she cut the top of her thumb off. She was so used to the dull blade over the years that they would not cut on first touch.
My wife grew up with dull knives. Shortly after we were married she found out just how good sharp knives were in the kitchen. She has no problem slamming the clever into the cutting board and then telling me to clean up the blade.

 

[DustyRusty]

This is what I think of when I hear about sharp knives. LOL

 

[Sparky Prep]

I sharpen all my own knives, mower blades, and scissors. I have.several different sharpening tools, but I gravitate to a simple Japanese whet stone, with several different coarseness. I don't sharpen chainsaw blades. I just buy new ones.

 

[anomad]

Paper towel is a good indicator of knife sharpness. Any “sawtooth” of the sharpened blade will catch and tear the towel as I am sure you already know. One of the things I would do to test sharpness and lack of a sawtooth or rough edge was to lightly drag across my fingernail perpendicular to my finger. It really becomes apparent how sharp it is. Not Recommended if you have a fresh manicure! Lol.

The first time I made a pair of scissors to incorporate in one of my handmade traditional multi blade folding knives was a learning curve all its own! I quickly learned proper cutting scissors are much more than just two pieces of metal pivoting and sliding across each other!

I've bought fixed blade blanks and assembled handles. That's as close to knife making as I've come. Making your own scissors is a whole different level!

 

[ken erickson]

I've bought fixed blade blanks and assembled handles. That's as close to knife making as I've come. Making your own scissors is a whole different level!

This is the last multi-blade traditional knife I made with a scissors. This knife is based on a Sheffield style large sportsman knife. I think I scrapped two or three scissors before getting one I was happy with. Not only does the scissor have to cut, it has to operate in the knife, folding into the frame smoothly , with clearance around other blades or liners. On this knife the pick and tweezers fit into recesses on the head end. The other implements besides the three blades are a leather punch/corkscrew and cigar fork. This one was CPM-154 blade steel, which I used a lot of.

 

[rc51stierhoff]

Any other ‘Forged in Fire’ fans on here? I like the show…It hurts to watch sometimes how they test the knives…I’d love to see an episode where they make brush cutter blades and ‘test’ them on a live machine in the field across whatever ‘pops up’.

 

[D2Cat]

You mentioned "other things". I don't carry a knife. I use box blades, so when one quits doing what I want it to do I replace the blade. I purchase used ones, usually in a box at flee markets for 50 cent/$1 each. Always buy a bright colored one, orange, red, yellow and spring retracted blades. Have one near just about every place I could need one. Have one on each tractor. The bright color makes it easy to locate if it's dropped, exp. in cutting twine on a bale of hay, and the retractable blade makes it safe if I don't find it.

All other sharpening is done with a 4" angle grinder!!

 

[anomad]

I like to sharpen plane irons and wood chisels. I bought a holder from Lee Valley and a couple of Japanese water stones to do the job. Makes them scary sharp!

I like jigs, aka guided sharpening systems, too.

 

[anomad]

I have a couple of those cheap 'V' run thru that work okay. When I have the time I use a wet stone for the kitchen knives and they are really sharp.
Pocket knives on the stones with more of an angle.
Camp hatchet and axes are just put to the grinder.

When I was a kid my mom used to use a paring knife and pulled towards her thumb. I sharpened the knives and she cut the top of her thumb off. She was so used to the dull blade over the years that they would not cut on first touch.
My wife grew up with dull knives. Shortly after we were married she found out just how good sharp knives were in the kitchen. She has no problem slamming the clever into the cutting board and then telling me to clean up the blade.

That's a great story.

 

[Pawnee]

This is the last multi-blade traditional knife I made with a scissors. This knife is based on a Sheffield style large sportsman knife. I think I scrapped two or three scissors before getting one I was happy with. Not only does the scissor have to cut, it has to operate in the knife, folding into the frame smoothly , with clearance around other blades or liners. On this knife the pick and tweezers fit into recesses on the head end. The other implements besides the three blades are a leather punch/corkscrew and cigar fork. This one was CPM-154 blade steel, which I used a lot of.


View attachment 99202

You made that from scratch?
It's beautiful

 

[ken erickson]

You made that from scratch?
It's beautiful

Thank you for the kind comment. Yes, all from sheet stock, 410ss liners and bolsters, CPM-154 blades, implements and back springs, 416 for the cover pins and ebony for the covers.

 

[anomad]

@ken erickson you clearly know a lot more about knives than I do. What is your preferred sharpening system?

 

[anomad]

You mentioned "other things". I don't carry a knife. I use box blades, so when one quits doing what I want it to do I replace the blade. I purchase used ones, usually in a box at flee markets for 50 cent/$1 each. Always buy a bright colored one, orange, red, yellow and spring retracted blades. Have one near just about every place I could need one. Have one on each tractor. The bright color makes it easy to locate if it's dropped, exp. in cutting twine on a bale of hay, and the retractable blade makes it safe if I don't find it.

All other sharpening is done with a 4" angle grinder!!

I resharpen used box blades for re-use. They sharpen easily. They are short and relatively soft.

 

[bird dogger]

No way can I compare with Ken’s exemplary work!! This is my very first attempt over the past couple of weeks at making some knives and tooling for some upcoming leatherwork. I bought a couple of tanned half cowhides to make some leather welding and general shop aprons. Thought I might as well make some needed tools for the projects as well. Call me a fool…..I know!!

A couple of nice steel rings (of unknown composition) provided the blade stock. Some youtube videos on heat treating were watched for that process. Not trying to make pieces of art, the goal was only to make some functional knives. I was able to shape the cutting edge and get them quite sharp on the diamond stones I have.

After some sharpening research, I made this jig along with some PSA abrasive sticks in extra fine grits. I’m hoping to get the knive's edges into a polished “Bloody Wicked” sharp state. Or at least try. I think I’ll be limited by the steel’s ability as to how Keen an edge they’ll take and hold when sharpened on the jig.

The blades are already sharp enough for the intended job but it’ll be fun to see just how much sharper I can get them without too much more modification. I figure once I learn a little more on the techniques, it might be time to buy some good knife blanks and see how much difference that might make.

Some pics of the last 2 weeks shop time:

The unknown blade material and adding handles.


The knives and their leather sheaths. Magnetic sheaths just to cover the knives on the bench only.


The sharpening jig parts and the setup. The angle of sharpening is also adjustable.



Assortment of abrasives & strops to fit the jig. They slip on and off under spring tensioned clamps.


Most of the homemade tools so far:


It’s almost time to start making some final decisions on apron styles and pockets. Then start cutting up the hides for marking and sewing.

And now it’s very apparent as to who to ask for information on the different types of steel for future knife blanks!!

David

 

[ken erickson]

@ken erickson you clearly know a lot more about knives than I do. What is your preferred sharpening system?

When I first started knife making I purchased a Lansky sharpening kit and achieved decent results. After I got into making traditional slipjoint and lock back pocket knives my free hand grinding skills got pretty good. That being the case, this became my sharpening routine.

Keep in mind this is on a newly made blade with no edge.

I start by grinding the edge bevels with a medium worn 2 x 72 400 grit belt on one of my variable speed belt grinders slowed WAY down. I preferred my Wilton square wheel with glass platten for sharpening. After bringing the bevels to a edge, checked with eye and the technique of dragging across my finger nail I then would go to a 1200 grit diamond bench stone and then finally finished up with a very old and seasoned , if I can use that term, white hard Arkansas bench stone. i Want to stress that it was shear repetition that allowed me to learn to sharpen knife blades in this manor.
A black sharpie used on the bevels really helped at times to see what I was doing as far as keeping my angles consistent. like your first post and video one of my checks before calling the knife finished was it’s ability to cut paper towel!

One thing to keep in my mind is that different steels and heat treat sharpen up differently. I worked almost exclusive in stainless knife steels with some A2 and D2 , CPM-D2 thrown in. I did all my own heat treating and checked Rockwell on all blades (61-62 R C ) so my sharpening method was also consistent. One other big factor in sharpening is the initial blade bevel geometry. Many new makers grinding blades and blade blanks sold thru knifemaking supply houses have poor blade geometry, ie, too thick, and are a bear to sharpen .

 

[RadiantSpy]

Chainsaw sharpening can be a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it's super rewarding. I use a dedicated chainsaw sharpener and make sure to maintain the correct angles for the teeth. It's all about getting that precision to cut like a breeze.

Your "anomad scissor rehabilitation program" sounds awesome! Giving new life to old tools is a wonderful feeling. As for testing sharpness, I'm a fan of the paper towel test too. It's a quick and easy way to see how well your knives are performing.

By the way, when it comes to safety knives, I always make sure I have a good one on hand for various cutting tasks. They're not just safer but more efficient too.

 

[skeets]

Ken, and I will ask because I know everybody thats looked at that folder would like to know the $$$.
That would be way to pretty for me to carry for EDC, but sure would be nice for dress up days.