Thread: Getting The Knife Sharp

It is said that we learn from our mistakes,it is also said the day you stop learning is the day you begin to die.
Getting knives sharp is something I have always been passionate about and Im still learning.
Reading comments on this great forum in last year has given me new insight about some things,Ive had to eat humble pie too..that was good for me to do as the learning was priceless.
Bruce made comment re keeping angle constant and just to keep going with harder steel knife...took that on board and revisited a couple of knives that I just couldnt quite get right before...got angle really good then switched to super fine/hard stone and continued.. results are hair shaving sharp.
2 years ago I made a custom knife on course,as 50th birthday gift from my wife...only in last month have I really got to grips with getting it super sharp,I had origonally left blade very meaty with rounded shoulders for strength..but realised was shooting self in foot.so got stuck in and took shoulders right off blade so have ended up with sort of a long shallow angled scandi grind maybe 15mm from my fat raw cast section down to razor edge...I also took about 5mm off back of blade along the spine...figgured no way will I grind down that far in remaining 30 years on this earth so why carry the extra metal around the hill???
processed two goats with knife yesterday and MUCH better to use and taking that 5mm off back edge dropped point back closer to level of back of handle..more to my liking have never liked a sweeping skinning blade.
That brings me to another wee tootoo I did last week..had old green river?? works knife with sweeping skinning blade,close to half worn down but still lots of life left in it..but I dont like swept blade...asked question on this a month or so back,was it posible to rebend it...NO was answer but maybe grind it to more user liked shape..so I took big slice off tip and rear..not quite enough to have it straight backed but nearly..it has had added bonus of creating a much better point. love using that knife now..before it sat un used.
mate had older boning knife sort of a lamb skinner shape..he really liked knife but it was really blunt.Ive put edge back on it twice over last 18mths but it had really pronounced shoulders...a blade cross section that was fat till about 5mm from edge then steep taper to ccutting edge... he gave it to me the other week with permission to "get stuck into it,use grinder if needed" so I took it to shed and did get stuck in..I dont have linisher but have got good at using 4" bench grinder with blade just touching wheel at very very shallow angle..its fine balancing act of mark blade up too high..but get stuck in I did,took shoulder back from 5mm to about 10mm back from edge,then used rough stone,then fine stone to finish it off...gave it back to him and week later after cutting up ANOTHER pig..we is stoked,completely different knife to use and very sharp.
Now I have another wee delima and its caused a learning in of itself,it involves the use of a steel.Having served my time on fish filleting line,I learned that steeling can be done both ways and sometimes putting point of steel onto table and stroking knife down from handle of steel towards the tip while looking along steel can be VERY effective,It allows you to watch your steeling angle...I watched mate use steel out of corner of my eye and noticed on some strokes the angle between blade and steel was far far to steep..EG knife was close to 45 degrees into steel..PERSONALLY I prefer knife to be much flatter onto steel so its brushing along stroking feather edge back into line not grinding it off...now I have to work out how to tell my older much experienced mate this without offending him (Ive already threatend bodily injury if catch him using drag through grinding thing again) Im positive with wee tweek to technique his knives will stay sharper for longer.
Comment by Mr Songhurst some time back...I now polish blade using fine wet n dry sand paper...lovely to see a dark dirty looking blade come back to mirror finish..the look on face of "dirty old pig hunter" when the trusty previously rusty svord is removed from sheath is priceless.
Thankyou to all you folks for caring enough to pass on knowledge,sometimes without even knowing you are doing it.
My left arm is often seen hairless,when you give me a knife to sharpen you find out why.
Hopefully this rambling may help someone somehow
Sharp blades
Milky