Thread: Knives?????

The heat treatment of the steel is probably the most important thing for having a descent edge.

A perfect heat treatment on an average steel is better than a poor heat treatment on a flash steel.

Then there are the sharpening techniques which can be a science of its own. I am not using the same sharpener or sharpening the same way my Opinels, my Scandinavian knifes or my big blowies , but I can all get them razor sharp.

Originally Posted by Tussock

Big difference between a kitchen knife and an outdoor knife. My brother has a Svord I got him for his 21st and I have sharpened it. Its very hard, and from memory it came with a rounded edge like it had been sharpened on a linisher, and you can steel that up again, but its going to need to go back on the linisher or be honed out on a stone in a big way eventually and most people don't have a linisher. But I might be wrong, I have not seen it for years. I have had custom knives the same though. The edge from a linisher is epic, but not easy to keep sharp if you don't own a linisher.

People also talk about steel like it is the thing that dictates edge, or holding an edge, etc

Its a factor, but its less important to how the steel is handled. If you take good carbon steel and don't harden it, its not going to be a good knife. Its not just the steel properties. I saw said brother go to cook a toasted sandwich on his knife over the fire, till I yelled at him. That would have been the end of that knife.

What I know of edges, I know from the freezing works, and I was taught to make the edge suit the steel and the task. Its always a compromise unless you have a whole knife roll.

About your brother's knife, it sounds like that you are attempting to sharpen a convex bevel as if its a v edge. Svord knives have a convex edge, which requires a bit of understanding. I think that there is a vid or explanation on the Svord web page. And there are plenty of vids about it on youtube. If you put it onto a linisher to make it a flat and or a v grind you will need to take off a lot of material. Maybe learning to sharpen a convex grind properly will be the best option.