Knife Sharpening

[Lnk]

Nylon cutting boards are destroy knife edges. They also harbour bacteria that gets into the cuts and can’t be washed or cleaned properly.
Wood cutting boards are better, but most use straight grain and will still prematurely dull an edge.
End Grain wood cutting boards are the best of the best. When you cut on end grain, you cut into or with the grain of the wood. Because you are not “severing” wood fibres, your knives will stay sharp much longer. When washed, the wood fibres swell and allow complete cleaning and disinfecting of the cutting surface.

To keep my knives honed use a ceramic honing rod and a flax linen strop followed by a cut through a hard felt block. If I need a bit more touch up, I’ll use CBN spray on a strop. The strip is a niece of float glass with balsa wood glued to the surface. On top of the balsa I use leather with the felted side out. The balsa will compress slightly giving a slight convex profile to the edge. It removes the wire edge and the slight convex is very durable.
Once this process no longer revives the edge, it’s back to the beginning.

Very similar to the straight razor honing/stropping process. I go about two years between hones. Proper stropping, and not shaving my cutting boards, makes the edge stay sharp.

 

[ammoaddict]

Very similar to the straight razor honing/stropping process. I go about two years between hones. Proper stropping, and not shaving my cutting boards, makes the edge stay sharp.

I carry a 2 blade trapper pocket knife. One blade I only use for cutting my apple that I eat with lunch every day at work. It's probably been 5 years since I sharpened that blade and it still cuts an apple very nicely.

 

[ammoaddict]

I've carried that knife for 20 years. It's a hen and rooster.

 

[jakethesnake]

Very similar to the straight razor honing/stropping process. I go about two years between hones. Proper stropping, and not shaving my cutting boards, makes the edge stay sharp.

You shave with straight razor ?

 

[old guy]

I am certainly guilty of this, but to me it’s about the process.

I have skinned and dressed many animals, beaver including beaver. Many of my good friends are indigenous and have taught me so much. That said, I have never had a knife dull on me cleaning a beaver.

If you have to sharpen three times on a single animal, your edge was not properly created and/or the steel in your blade is less than optimal and too soft to hold an edge.

Most mass produced blades use inferior steel. Gerber comes to mind with regards to this. They make many good products but their knife steel is worthless IMO.

S35VN, Maxamet, etc. are modern powdered steels made specifically for forging of blades. There is no comparison to quality steels. Hard to sharpen, absolutely, but worth the extra effort.

It has been many years since I trapped beaver, maybe I didn't sharpen that often but others with cheap knives did. My best knife at that time (1960s) was the little swedish birch handled laminated blades with the hard center laminate, these took a razor edge, I once took a curl off the side of a hair before it cut thru the hair with one of those blades.
Nowadays I'm liking Bowler k390 steel, & s30v seems to hold an edge even if it is stainless.

 

[Lnk]

You shave with straight razor ?

Yes, when I shave, which isn't too often from November to March. I have a half a dozen of them.

 

[jakethesnake]

Yes, when I shave, which isn't too often from November to March. I have a half a dozen of them.

I run safety razors but never tried a straight razor my favorite is a muhle r41

 

[Rugger007]

Straight razors are wonderful! I can definitely say that they are easier to sharpen than a knife. At razors spine is a literal guide whereas a knife, freehand is a very “learned” technique. The biggest issue people have when honing a straight is too much pressure and not properly forming the apex. The same can be said with a knife, if the apex is not formed correctly, it will never be true sharp. By true sharp I meant that the wire edge is completely removed and the apex refined. Many believe that their knife is sharp but they are only feeling a wire edge.

 

[Lnk]

I run safety razors but never tried a straight razor my favorite is a muhle r41

I like my sheffield the best.

 

[legdelimber]

Anyone got an older Sister that you just can't quite get to quit using that damned shopping channel gadget?
I'm talking about the ones with two bits of tungsten in a V and you drag the blade through 'em.
I've shown her how it just rolls a burr over that you can shave wood with just like a card scraper.
Never mind that these things just keep amplifying any nicks or other damage of the blade edge.

Got her away from from the damned glass cutting board some years ago at least.

She just feels that rolled over burr and thinks its sharp....ehhh yeah, kinda, on a vague technicality there Sis.

I've snuck in a couple of flat files and a Fiskars diamond grit tool that I found on sale in Homedepot.
I sometimes just grab something and go out on the patio (to keep from getting fillings in the kitchen).
Other problem is nearly everything in the drawer is some Indian or Chinese stainless steel that is soft.
I can touch up an edge under the faucet (with the diamond stick) and work up a plate of peppers etc, but the blade will be in need of a touch up by the time you cut the pepper and onions.
I'm prone to using a cheap plastic plate to cut up food as it's just more convenient for my arthritis and keeping things from scattering all over.
Dosen't seem to be any hard fillers or fiber in the plates.


There's a glimmer of hope though! She's actually grabbed a knife or two and said how bout you sharpening this.
Plus I find the ones that I've pawed over, are the ones she'll go for in the drawer a bit more often now.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

I busted the knife sharpening kit back out and thought I would try a stainless knife so I can see the development of the burr better.

on the side of the knife that shown if I run my fingernail over the edge I can feel the burr, so do I need to remove the burr from the otherside? or do I keep working this side until it is gone? on the otherside when i fingernail it I do not feel any burr.