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[Deadeye Dave]

I have a survival/camp knife that is made of very hard to sharpen steel. It is plenty hard, but I think that the edge geometry is off. Is there any way to sharpen this thing short of a belt grinder? It reminds me of old USMC fighting knives I've had that require a lot of work to get a good edge on, but this thing is MUCH heavier and I don't really want to put that kind of time into it. Think Busse Combat and you have an idea of the size I'm talking about here. Any ideas?

[Trembula]

Whenever I sharpen a knife on a stone these days I use "extra course". Most knives have two edge bevels - and only the last one of those, right at the "edge" does any cutting. A knife that has only one bevel (makes a continous "V" shape instead of having the "V" truncated at the final edge) is sharper even if putting that sort of edge on a knife tends to "muss" up the pretty finish and the result is fugly... but it cuts much better. A trick I learned somewhere for any sort of sharpening is to take a marker and cover the area you intend to sharpen - if shiny steel appears, then that is where the work is being done.

I have had to reprofile the edges of several larger knives to get them to cut... so long as you don't let the blade linger on the grinder or belt sander you'll be fine. If you see red hot metal, you screwed up. And avoid the "burnt" feather edge too... it means you let things get too hot.

Hopefully this helps a little... There is a book too, I think it is called "The Razor Edge of Sharpening" or something like that... has a picture of a man shaving with an axe on it.

Also look here: http://ex_knife.tripod.com/excalibursknifeezine/id10.html

Dan

[Deadeye Dave]

Thanks Dan.

I'm thinking it's belt grinder time. It's no problem to re-profile an edge as long as you either go slow or keep it wet. Just for some reason I really didn't want to do that on this blade. Go figure.

[kayakpirate]

I have a Lansky system that uses diamond stones of different grades. Course, hard, med, fine...
Its not too high priced at about 50.00 bucks.
This kit has put a razor edge on just about everything I use.
Remember to oil your stones as you work them. the grit will make things very difficult.People often clean after they are finished. This also damages the stone by causing areas of uneven wear.
The Lansky will keep your edge angle consistent and develops a super sharp edge.

[Professor]

Thanks Dan.

I'm thinking it's belt grinder time. It's no problem to re-profile an edge as long as you either go slow or keep it wet. Just for some reason I really didn't want to do that on this blade. Go figure.

Here's a another vote for the belt grinder.....sounds like you've worked it before.



The DMT Double sided Diafold Sharpeners work well for most knives and I stones are great!   

extra fine, fine, coarse, and extra course.


Good luck,

Jeff
   

[Milldog1776]

Or you could just buy a new knife?

Screw all that work!!!!

[Deadeye Dave]

Darn, and I already did it... You are a genius!

[Kentbob]

     Lansky also makes a ceramic rod sharpening system.  It sharpens every single one of my knives with very little effort.  It has two angles, and two sets of rods, to re-bevel the edge, as it were.  Also puts an excellent edge on the knife.  Only about 30 bucks, as I recall.  Think about it.


Kent