Sharpening knives?

[6mm Remington]

@6mm Remington definitely knows the business of sharpening knives. I sent him a Buck 103 skinner a few years ago (a knife that I got for my 10th B-day and never could put the perfect edge on), and it came back sharper than a Gillette. Thanks again man, I really appreciated that!

It was my pleasure doing that for you!

 

[6mm Remington]

So 6mm can we connect after hunting season to have you sharpen ?

We can. Just got out of my sling after shoulder surgery in October. Give me a couple months and then give me a shout. Should be ready to go.

 

[COJoe]

I am terrible at sharpening because I haven't taken the time to learn it properly but I'm buying some new items to help me get to where I need to be. I am looking forward to getting better.

6mm-remington have you ever sharpened a hand made machete? My old roommate was an Army special forces guy and he was sent to Malaysia for a jungle tracking course and they laughed at his machete so they made him one that they use. It's made from an old lawn mower blade with a custom bamboo handle and sleeve. It weighs about 20 ozs. and used to be really sharp. He had another made for me and it was a great blessing.

 

[Jpsmith1]

@6mm Remington definitely knows the business of sharpening knives. I sent him a Buck 103 skinner a few years ago (a knife that I got for my 10th B-day and never could put the perfect edge on), and it came back sharper than a Gillette. Thanks again man, I really appreciated that!

Always satisfying to bring an edge back to life.

Similar story here. A buddy had a Buck that was sentimental to him that someone wrecked up pretty good with a belt machine and had some tip abuse.

 

[6mm Remington]

I am terrible at sharpening because I haven't taken the time to learn it properly but I'm buying some new items to help me get to where I need to be. I am looking forward to getting better.

6mm-remington have you ever sharpened a hand made machete? My old roommate was an Army special forces guy and he was sent to Malaysia for a jungle tracking course and they laughed at his machete so they made him one that they use. It's made from an old lawn mower blade with a custom bamboo handle and sleeve. It weighs about 20 ozs. and used to be really sharp. He had another made for me and it was a great blessing.

I have not sharpened one like that. Looks like it would be challenging.

 

[blsnelling]

I've always wanted a Wicked Edge. I'm thinking that Lansky looks like a much more affordable option.

 

[kolky]

It's not my favorite activity in the world but I don't mind it. I've got the Workshop Professional Precision Adjust and it does a really nice job (definitely worth the upgrade from the original). I usually set it up on the coffee table, turn on a football or hockey game and just knock out a few knives.

 

[6mm Remington]

I've always wanted a Wicked Edge. I'm thinking that Lansky looks like a much more affordable option.

Get what I suggested and start sharpening. It will take a few knives to get it down but don't give up. The Lansky system is not the most costly but it does a really great job on knives. I suggested in a post above some things I would get to make the system complete. I hope that helps. If you get it and want me to help you get started give me a shout and I could get you started to help cut down the learning curve.

 

[blsnelling]

Get the 3 stone standard sharpening system with Coarse, Medium, and Fine stones. Buy an Ultra Fine stone and a Medium Diamond stone also.
View attachment 808217
Get the Super C Clamp as it is a must have. Makes it faster, safer, and much easier sharpening knives.
View attachment 808218


Last thing to get is replace the standard/Phillips head screw in the blade clamp with a Hex head screw and get an Allen wrench to fit the screw as shown below. Get the same length & diameter obviously as the screw that comes in the kit but just with the Hex head on it. Get an Allen wrench to fit the screw and put that into your sharpening kit for snugging the blade clamp. Get a couple of the screws, nice to have an extra. Then get a couple Hex head screws but just the next length longer. Sometimes on thicker blades the longer screws come in handy so you can manipulate the blade clamp to get the most bite/holding power on the knife blade. You'll figure it out once you get the system. The Allen wrench makes it a lot simpler and easier to use the system and the wrench fits easily in the kit when not in use. Way more so than a stubby screwdriver. Get all of this and start sharpening.
View attachment 808222
A first time knife that I have never sharpened before and so it doesn't have perfect edges on it takes me about 25-35 minutes on average to get to an ultra razor sharp edge. Knives that I have sharpened previously and take care of and aren't in bad shape take at most about 10 minutes to 15 minutes to get to where the edge is perfect in my mind at least.

Why not diamond for the Coarse, Medium, and Fine stones?

 

[WyoKid]

Love it...same with cleaning guns or reloading...I find it therapeutic when I need to focus on doing one thing well with quantifiable results. For super steels, going to diamond plates made the process easier but requires constant near perfect angles.

 

[6mm Remington]

Why not diamond for the Coarse, Medium, and Fine stones?

I just like the natural stones for most sharpening. I purchased a course diamond stone when I had my Lansky system for a while. On a knife that had a bad blade or one buggered up by abuse/poor sharpening, I thought the course diamond would be the ticket. It wasn't. I don't think it removed steel as well as the natural course stone did. Maybe that doesnt make sense but I feel that was the case for me. I have recently (A couple years ago.) bought a medium Lansky diamond stone to go with the set. Now it does remove steel from a bad edge pretty well, and I believe better than the course diamond stone that I bought before it. I will use it on abused edges to get them cleaned up so some real sharpening can take place.

 

[6mm Remington]

On the Lansky blade clamp in the kit it has a lip close to the end of the clamp for use with small pocket type knives (Buck 55, etc.) and blades with short distances between the top of the spine and the blade edge. (A fillet knife, or boning knife.)
Here is the edge on the clamp.
If it is not sharp and defined like this one is, take a small flat file to just touch it up on both lip edges.

Here is a boning knife set up in the Lansky blade clamp ready to sharpen. As you can see the clamp grips on the small edge of the clamp on the blade. Also the clamp is set up so it is centered in the blade from the handle to the tip of the blade.

Here's another photo showing how it looks.

It might not look it, but this grips the knife blade very well. Tightening the red knob so it's really snug is all it takes on a blade like this.

 

[blsnelling]

I just like the natural stones for most sharpening. I purchased a course diamond stone when I had my Lansky system for a while. On a knife that had a bad blade or one buggered up by abuse/poor sharpening, I thought the course diamond would be the ticket. It wasn't. I don't think it removed steel as well as the natural course stone did. Maybe that doesnt make sense but I feel that was the case for me. I have recently (A couple years ago.) bought a medium Lansky diamond stone to go with the set. Now it does remove steel from a bad edge pretty well, and I believe better than the course diamond stone that I bought before it. I will use it on abused edges to get them cleaned up so some real sharpening can take place.

I ordered my setup last night. I went with the standard stone set as you recommended. I also got the medium diamond, as well as the fine Ultra-Fine and Super Sapphire ceramic hones. I went with the metal Universal Mount instead of the clamp on. I think I'll fasten it to a hardwood base.

 

[6mm Remington]

I ordered my setup last night. I went with the standard stone set as you recommended. I also got the medium diamond, as well as the fine Ultra-Fine and Super Sapphire ceramic hones. I went with the metal Universal Mount instead of the clamp on. I think I'll fasten it to a hardwood base.

I am pretty sure you will like it a lot once you figure it out. It takes a few sharpenings to start to get it down, but once you do there won't be a dull knife in the house. I like the Super C Clamp personally as it's much easier to use the sharpener in different locations. I'm wondering even if you clamp the Universal Mount to a wood base that there won't be more movement than you would want with it sliding around? Just a thought.

It's worth it to check the lips on the knife clamp to check and see if they are sharp and defined for small blades. Just a few light touch up strokes with a small flat file will make sure they are. Sometimes from the factory they could be just a wee bit better. That's the compulsive side of me talking. Probably work fine, but I like them better.

If you get your set-up and have some questions give me a shout and I'll get you my phone number and we can talk. A knife that's never been sharpened with set angles, even a factory blade brand new might have side to side angle differences on the blade. A knife that is dull and has not been properly sharpened before will on average take about 30 minutes to get a perfect edge on it. Typically a 17 1/2 degree is for fillet knives or fine kitchen knives. 20 or 25 degrees for pocket and hunting knives. You don't have to try and remember what angles you used on a pocket knife as an example. Use a black permanent marker to blacken the cutting edge in the blade in the center of the knife about 2" long on each side. After the ink dries and the blade is set in the knife clamp the medium stone with light strokes starting at the finest angle and see where the black is removed. Doesn't get all the black then try the 20 degree, then the 25 degree is still not getting the black removed. Simple and quick to figure out what degree the knife is at. Same for knives that are dull in the kitchen to figure out what angle, or closest to it that was used on them.

I'll add that you see small strips of paper that I have cut out of old Fish & Game regulations and all the clothing brochures and such that my wife gets in the mail. These work great to help you see if your knives are sharp and how sharp. You think the blade feels sharp enough but you try and cut the paper and the blade kind of drags and catches as you are cutting. Probably still needs work. As it gets sharp the knife will slice through the paper much easier and and smoother as it cuts. It will also sound less course as you are doing it. Doing this will also tell you where on the knife that it needs more work, sharpening. Have good overhead lighting and look at the cutting edge on both sides of the blade where it seemed to be catching and not doing well. You will likely see a very tiny bright spot ( could be short in length or longer 1/4' to 2")on the very end of the cutting edge on one or both sides of the blade. Work on these areas until that is no longer present. Anyway need help give me a shout.
David

 

[S-3 ranch]

Yes, I like sharpening my knives, I use a worksharp guided diamond at 600 grit
Then finish with ceramic and a .5 micron impregnated strop
I do more maintenance then metal removal once I have a 20* or 18* edge
And maintain in the field with a small ceramic stick
I use every steel under the sun but s35v & cv20 are super easy maintenance
I use lots of moraknifv carbon steel knives and they too carry a razor sharp toothy edge a long time.
Just treated myself to a new hunting knife in 52100 steel for splitting the sternum, key is never let a knife get dull, maintenance, maintenance, maintenance over steel removal

 

[roosiebull]

I just like the natural stones for most sharpening. I purchased a course diamond stone when I had my Lansky system for a while. On a knife that had a bad blade or one buggered up by abuse/poor sharpening, I thought the course diamond would be the ticket. It wasn't. I don't think it removed steel as well as the natural course stone did. Maybe that doesnt make sense but I feel that was the case for me. I have recently (A couple years ago.) bought a medium Lansky diamond stone to go with the set. Now it does remove steel from a bad edge pretty well, and I believe better than the course diamond stone that I bought before it. I will use it on abused edges to get them cleaned up so some real sharpening can take place.

After several years of primarily sharpening with diamond, I have grown disdain for diamond, and much prefer oil stones. Diamonds are too grabby new, then not grabby enough after some period of time (fairly short “prime”) I switched to them with the availability of harder steels, and when you use a medium or coarse diamond on s90v, it takes more time trying to clean up the scratches than it would just to sharpen the knife with oil stones.

I see no upside to diamond stones, a good oil stone cuts as well, and cuts a lot smoother, and the edge doesn’t get all scratched up. I could see using a coarse diamond on a jig sharpener to reprofile an edge or something, but that’s about it

 

[dirtshooter]

I use a little guide made by sharpal on my DMT diamond stones

I can get them shaving sharp but they don't seem to hold an edge super long. Using the 17 degree angle guide for an S90 Southfork and D2 Barrage and H-1 Salt folder.