Sharp knives

[bruce moulds]

Seems even this old dog might need to learn new tricks. Hearing your methods, experiences and expectations have me thinking. My current practice is as follows;
I keep my knives sharp, and only used for game. (I have a pocket knife for all else).
I put a 20 degree edge on my hunting knives (boning and skinning) and a 25 on my pocket knives. - too steep?
I hang field dressed big game for 2-3 days if I can, then skin and bone while hanging. (skining is tougher, but..?)
I use the same hunting knife from my pack for field dressing and rough boning (final trimming is done in the house with another fine bladed boning knife).
I almost always use a dedicated skinning knife for caping, and skinning the carcass before boning.
After processing two deer my hunting/boning knife can benefit from a touch up.
I sharpen and hone edges with a WorkSharp.

Your thoughts?

if it works, do it.
bruce.

 

[Tra3]

I use the KME sharpening system. I now sharpen all the knives for my hunting group. I also bring it to friends houses and sharpen their kitchen knives.
I first learned to sharpen knives from my grandfather who was a scientist and studied metals. Then I learned how restaurants sharpen knives after working in a few during high school and college. Now I use the KNE system because it has a guide to set an exact edge. I also sharpen our broadheads with it.

I carry two knives when hunting. Taking apart an elk in the field is much easier when you can switch to a second knife if needed.

once you set a edge bevel, it is very quick to sharpen again.

@Von Gruff should chime in on this thread.

 

[TByrd]

For what it’s worth....I’ve used combinations of Lansky V notches, Arkansas Stone, sharpening steels, etc. What I’ve moved to is the Work Sharp (Ken Onion Edition). All work, but all have disadvantages as well. Stone or rock: easy to carry, but more difficult to achieve exact angles. V notch style: easy to carry, but removes WAY too much metal if using carbide. Sharpening steel fine for honing and light maintenance...but not for heavy sharpening work (I worked my way through college in a butcher shop). Work Sharp in the field....better have power source and too large to lug around. So, with that said, here’s my “system”.

1) I use the work sharp religiously, I love it. Sets the edge, and as stated earlier, once that happens the “fine” belts will maintain.
2) Hunting/Camp and thick blades at 25 degrees. Skinning and butchering blades as 22.5. Fillet knives at 18.
3) I travel with a butcher kit. Several meat cutting knives and skinning knives. When one dulls (which happens), I trade out. I also have, in this kit, a skinner with replacement blades.
4) Sharpening Steel in butcher kit.
5) I bought an extra work sharp to send to the guy that owns the pole barn where we skin/butcher at my deer lease in Illinois. So, it’s there.
6) The “convex” angle that you get with the work sharp, cannot be duplicated in the field with other items (thus the small replacement blade knife).
7) If butcher kit is not in the travel plan, I carry one pocket knife, one hunting knife and usually a backup fixed blade in the backpack.

Work Sharp is accurate and easy to use, turns an amateur into an expert knife sharpener.

I may mention, I have a severe knife problem...hard not to buy 4 more a year, whether I need them or not.

 

[nztimb]

I

@Von Gruff should chime in on this thread.

I have given my sharpening advice many times so with the variety of posts in this thread offering differing methods it is best without me adding to the mix. The guys who have posted are doing so from their experience and if it works for them that is what counts.

 

[WAB]

I’ve had great luck with the speedy sharp. Sarshop.com.

 

[TMac]

Has anyone ever used Warthog sharpeners? I saw a V-Sharp demoed at DSC. Seemed to work well.

I have used the warthog. Worked well, but took a while. I use a work sharp now, except on my Von Gruff. It gets the strop per his recommendation.

 

[CBH Australia]

@Von Gruff do you recall the threads you posted sharpening in?
I too have a knife fetish only commercially made stuff but I have stainless butchers knives for meat and skinning, my wife has decent kitchen knives .
I mostly use a stone and a steel. I am familiar with some other types of sharpeners but with practice and patience I can get a decent edge. I was shown by an old butcher and slaughterman.
I have some gadget sharpeners for a quick cut if required but would not use those on a good knife.
Oh I made paddle strops a few years back for trying to get a sharp knife sharper.

 

[nztimb]

@Von Gruff do you recall the threads you posted sharpening in?
I too have a knife fetish only commercially made stuff but I have stainless butchers knives for meat and skinning, my wife has decent kitchen knives .
I mostly use a stone and a steel. I am familiar with some other types of sharpeners but with practice and patience I can get a decent edge. I was shown by an old butcher and slaughterman.
I have some gadget sharpeners for a quick cut if required but would not use those on a good knife.
Oh I made paddle strops a few years back for trying to get a sharp knife sharper.

Have done so on various threads at various times Chris so cant point to any specific post. Many are battling against less than optimum blades, either in blade steel, heat treat or ability to get/maintain an edge.
I have very settled views on many of most aspects of sharpening but so have many of the posters already noted in the thread.

 

[Ray B]

I started sharpening knives at age 8 in 1956 at the family meat company and have been involved with cutting either professionally or as part of game meat processing since that time but for the life of me, I couldn't tell you how many degrees I have the blade at as I'm sliding it along the stone. There are two aspects to know: 1. the blunter the point the more durable & strong it is, conversely, the thinner the angle the weaker it will be; and 2. it is necessary for the edge to be flat (not rounded). To be flat it must be sharpened at the same angle every time. When sharp you should be able to hold the knife between your eye and a bright light and see a reflection off of the edge. then you should be able to rotate the knife, edge toward you, so that you are looking first at one side of the edge then straight on to the edge then the other side of the edge. If properly sharp you should see a mirrorlike shine on the edge then now reflection as the knife is rotated until you see a reflection off of the other side of the edge. this is probably no making a lot of sense so I should probably see if I can make some photographs to illustrate.

 

[nztimb]

I started sharpening knives at age 8 in 1956 at the family meat company and have been involved with cutting either professionally or as part of game meat processing since that time but for the life of me, I couldn't tell you how many degrees I have the blade at as I'm sliding it along the stone. There are two aspects to know: 1. the blunter the point the more durable & strong it is, conversely, the thinner the angle the weaker it will be; and 2. it is necessary for the edge to be flat (not rounded). To be flat it must be sharpened at the same angle every time. When sharp you should be able to hold the knife between your eye and a bright light and see a reflection off of the edge. then you should be able to rotate the knife, edge toward you, so that you are looking first at one side of the edge then straight on to the edge then the other side of the edge. If properly sharp you should see a mirrorlike shine on the edge then now reflection as the knife is rotated until you see a reflection off of the other side of the edge. this is probably no making a lot of sense so I should probably see if I can make some photographs to illustrate.

Yes it does as I learned that from my father who had a smallgoods shop in the early fifties and was very good with knives.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

I have watched ours and other PHs skinners time and time again they all seem to sharpen their (or ours) skinning knives the same way, using one knife on another as you would sharpen your knife on a steel rod with handle. It works for them, but of course I never let them touch one of my knives (or anything else that I highly value)!

 

[BenKK]

I’ll never buy an expensive knife, because I don’t have the ability to look-after it or the time to learn.

I buy the $40 knives you typically get at disposal shops here in the bush. And I bought some kind of expensive German steel - a round one, if that helps. In my leather knife roll I have two cheap skinners, a cheap boning knife, a cheap pull-through vee-blade sharpener, and the expensive steel.

I have a bench grinder on a table on the front veranda. After processing a buffalo, I give the knife (or knives) a couple of passes each side, gently, and at about the “right” angle, on the bench grinder - then a few hits with the steel and they’re good to go for next time.

On the buffalo, going through the hide, every two or three pressing passes the knife gets a hit from the steel.

Often I’ll just use one skinner for the buffalo, keeping the other knives in reserve - and using my favourite cheap-arse knife.

The cheap pull-through vee-blade is in-case we need to process more than one buffalo that day, away from the help of the bench grinder. Or, it is also used, like Saturday, if I’ve been too busy / weary to have given the knives a touch on the bench grinder, having put them away unsharpened.

My system is extravagant - most people here are lucky to have a pull-through sharpener. However uncouth my methodology, people love using my knives, and often ask me to sharpen theirs. And these knives must’ve processed a hundred or more buffalo and are still going strong. My previous set was stolen by some unwelcome visitors from five-hundred kilometres away, teenagers. That set had also had a busy life.

Anyway, once you get through the hide the meat is easy.

My beginning as a buffalo cutter was embarrassing, and how I didn’t get booted off the station I don’t know - the station folk were patient and hid their frustration well (I cost busy people precious time by failing in my endeavour to feed their dogs as promised). The first lesson they had to teach me: “Mate, that’s actually a fishing knife. You need to get a proper skinner, boning knife and steel.”

 

[bruce moulds]

watching a youtube video on sharpening knives.
the guy suggested that the steel is superior for blades under Rockwell 58, and the strop for harder.
certainly my new strop does not help my little cheap pocket knife, and is no better than a steel on puma blades.
a gerber with a laminated blae, the middle laminate being harder, responds to the strop the best of all.
these results might be tempered by inexperience.
bruce.

 

[CBH Australia]

Interesting comment on the strop. While i dont actually know the difference i would have thought a strop could work on a softer steel. I also might have thought strsight razors of yesteryesr may have been in the softer range being a fine blade and to assist getting that razor edge on a fine blade from touching it up on a bit of leather. Straight razor blades would vary and ive seen them in a damascus steel.too.
If your chrap little pocket knife is a cjeap they dont respond to much. You can get an edge but domething about cheap stainless doesnt get a keen edge. Its maybe its just hard and doesn't hone so well.

 

[slam8031]

I have a warthog sharpener that I enjoy. It works well and is very convenient. It helps produce good angles for me. There are some incredible knife guys in this forum—for me I choose the warthog.

 

[Standard Velocity]

Decided to sharpen all of the knives in the house today. Too hot outside to work in the yard.

The knives run the gamut of steels; D2, cheap carbon, French, German and Japanese stainless steels, Aogami Super, S30V, VG10 and a couple of semi-stainless I can’t recall.

I use three water stones when I need to sharpen, two to touch up and just the final stone if I want to polish the edge. My father-in-law broke two tips off so it took a couple of hours to reshape the entire blade profile on those.

Some people on here have said they don’t take their knives to the sharpest edge as it takes too long and doesn’t last. I’ve found that five to ten minutes finishing on the 8000 grit stone makes the edge mirrored and, if the angle is correct for the steel, last longer.

Finishing on the strop or using newspaper as a strop doesn’t seem to improve on the 8000 edge. Either one does improve the edge if I use a ceramic rod.

Boredom appears to be the most effective sharpening method.

 

[Rickmt]

Decided to sharpen all of the knives in the house today. Too hot outside to work in the yard.

The knives run the gamut of steels; D2, cheap carbon, French, German and Japanese stainless steels, Aogami Super, S30V, VG10 and a couple of semi-stainless I can’t recall.

I use three water stones when I need to sharpen, two to touch up and just the final stone if I want to polish the edge. My father-in-law broke two tips off so it took a couple of hours to reshape the entire blade profile on those.

Some people on here have said they don’t take their knives to the sharpest edge as it takes too long and doesn’t last. I’ve found that five to ten minutes finishing on the 8000 grit stone makes the edge mirrored and, if the angle is correct for the steel, last longer.

Finishing on the strop or using newspaper as a strop doesn’t seem to improve on the 8000 edge. Either one does improve the edge if I use a ceramic rod.

Boredom appears to be the most effective sharpening method.

I was at a gun show awhile back and a seller was offering a liquid that removed stains and rust from knife blades . I was wondering if any of you guys know what product that might have been ?
Thanx Rick

 

[Standard Velocity]

I was at a gun show awhile back and a seller was offering a liquid that removed stains and rust from knife blades . I was wondering if any of you guys know what product that might have been ?
Thanx Rick

Probably Flitz repackaged. I don’t fuss about stains and scratches but you can work most blades to a shine with Flitz.

 

[Rickmt]

Probably Flitz repackaged. I don’t fuss about stains and scratches but you can work most blades to a shine with Flitz.

Thank-you Standard Velocity

 

[Bruce]

Has anyone ever used Warthog sharpeners? I saw a V-Sharp demoed at DSC. Seemed to work well.

I ONLY use Warthog sharpeners.
Progressed onto them from years of Lansky!!
Have a unit in my kitchen, one in my hunting trunk ( with spare blades)... And a spare one, in case.
Started by a local guy here in his garage.. Made one for himself, then all his mates wanted one.. Garage became a factory. Later, he packed up his job and went full time... Look where Warthog is now!!!!