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AMERICAN WARRIOR
I learned the skill from a old butcher years ago when i worked as a butcher. That gentleman could put a edge on knife with a stone and steel that was scary sharp.
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Need a knife that will hold an edge
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I learned the skill from a old butcher years ago when i worked as a butcher. That gentleman could put a edge on knife with a stone and steel that was scary sharp.
It actually takes a long time for a properly sharpened knife to lose its sharpness from use. What usually happens is that the edge gets bent and/or folded over on a microscopic level. That can happen very quickly depending on the bevel angle, type of steel, how its used, etc.
Something with a small bevel angle like a scalpel will be very sharp, but easily bent with use. It will have to be touched up frequently. Something with a large angle like an ax will not be as sharp, but has a durable edge, simply because you have to move more metal to screw it up. Some types of steel are better than others, but there is always a compromise between sharpness and durability.
If you want to keep your blades sharp, do this. Get a tube of green buffing compound. Harbor freight sells it for $5, or you can order it. Cut a strip of denim from an old pair of jeans, roughly 3 in wide, 2 feet long. Color one side of the strip with the compound like a crayon. Then you secure one side of the strip and use it as a strop like an old time barber sharpening a straight razor. I use a table vise to hold one end of it and draw the knife backwards with gentle pressure, alternating sides. That will straighten the edge back out, and polish out the small nicks and imperfections. You take a sharp knife that suddenly seems dull and strop it like that, you can make it razor sharp again in about a minute.
Something with a small bevel angle like a scalpel will be very sharp, but easily bent with use. It will have to be touched up frequently. Something with a large angle like an ax will not be as sharp, but has a durable edge, simply because you have to move more metal to screw it up. Some types of steel are better than others, but there is always a compromise between sharpness and durability.
If you want to keep your blades sharp, do this. Get a tube of green buffing compound. Harbor freight sells it for $5, or you can order it. Cut a strip of denim from an old pair of jeans, roughly 3 in wide, 2 feet long. Color one side of the strip with the compound like a crayon. Then you secure one side of the strip and use it as a strop like an old time barber sharpening a straight razor. I use a table vise to hold one end of it and draw the knife backwards with gentle pressure, alternating sides. That will straighten the edge back out, and polish out the small nicks and imperfections. You take a sharp knife that suddenly seems dull and strop it like that, you can make it razor sharp again in about a minute.
AliBubba
Senior Member
A S30V steel is my choice in blades..
king george
Senior Member
Buck
chrislibby88
Senior Member
I had a fit back in August trying to skin a pig in the woods. Big boar with a about 3 inches of dry mud on his back. I dulled both my normal knives, an ole timer and a morakniv, trying to peel the skin back to the point I couldn’t even saw through silver skin. He was too big to drag, and I didn’t have a sharpener in my bag. I’m giving Havalon a go this year. Snap in disposable blades. So far I’ve used it to debone a hog on one blade, and gutted a fox with another. The fox didn’t do anything to the blade, but I swap blades every animal just to avoid cross contamination. I’m guessing I would go through about 2 blades on a 150lb + animal skinning and deboning.
Sharpen a Buck 110 knife and it will clean multiple deer before needing sharpening. Last year I did 2 back to back and didn't touch the blade.
Sometimes it is just how we do stuff - I do primarily use an electric diamond Chef style sharpener and then use a Smyth pull thru carbide style sharpener for touch ups when necessary.
A sharp Buck 110 knife will walk thru a deer and keep cutting after the next one or 2 or 3...
Sometimes it is just how we do stuff - I do primarily use an electric diamond Chef style sharpener and then use a Smyth pull thru carbide style sharpener for touch ups when necessary.
A sharp Buck 110 knife will walk thru a deer and keep cutting after the next one or 2 or 3...
Kris87
Senior Member
The biggest thing sharpening anything is keeping your angle consistent with whatever your choice of medium may be. I can get broadhead blades the sharpest due to their small size and consistency with the tool I use. I do those on a granite countertop with different grits of sandpaper. Scary sharp. For my knives, I use a Lansky.
