Thread: Knifemaking photo-essay (9) Finishing and sharpening

The last post in this series was: https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....-guard-105396/

Finishing the knife.

I sand the handle and guard with 320 grit abrasive cloth, then I smear the timber with a paste made from beeswax and turps, and let it dry for an hour.

1) The beeswax-covered handle is protected by a leather strip and clamped to a horizontal surface. I now sand the blade flats with 320 grit abrasive cloth.

2) The handle bordering the guard, and the blade, are protected with masking tape. (Note: the blade is blunt!). I then polish the guard.

3) Sanding the bevels and evening up the grind lines with a 320 grit belt.

4) Finishing the bevels. The belt I’m using is made of a material (similar to Scotch-Brite) which is impregnated with fine abrasive particles.

Finally, I use a soft cloth (e.g a piece of old flannel sheet) to rub away excess beeswax on the handle.

The finished knife (albeit unsharpened).

Sharpening.

1) I begin by carefully grinding the new edge with a 180 grit belt.

2) One way to envision your sharpening angle. With a drop saw, cut a wedge to your selected angle, place it on the sharpening stone, and set the blade flat against the angle. You can now see what your sharpening setup should look like.

3) I begin stoning the edge using the fine (brown or red-brown) side of a Norton IB8 aluminium oxide stone. The IB8 at top was brand-new when it was given to me in 1980, the bottom one is new and unused.

4) An IB8 sharpening stone in a wooden holder, which is fixed securely to the bench.

1) Sharpening - forward stroke. I’m using turps as a cutting fluid. I’ve also used WD40, CRC 556, kerosene, honing oil, and light machine oil. The stone is a fine finishing stone I bought from a second-hand shop.

2) The reverse stroke.

3) A fine wire forms at the newly sharpened edge. Running the edge over timber breaks off that wire.

If all goes well the blade is now shaving-sharp. I test all along the edge by trying to shave off my arm hairs – if the edge (or part of it) won’t shave, I sharpen it some more.

4) A selection of finishing stones – the first three were bought from second-hand shops:

a) A fine, hard stone. This one appears to be synthetic or man-made; unfortunately, I have no idea who made it, and I’ve never seen one of these for sale brand-new.

b) An Arkansas stone.

c) A hard, natural stone.

d) A Spyderco ceramic stone. I imported two of these from the USA – one fine and the other ultra fine (they both look the same, and I long-ago lost track of which is which!).

These images give an idea of the knife’s size.

I’ll conclude this photo-essay by mentioning that I sometimes get asked how long it takes me to make one of my full-tang knives. They can take from 8 – 10 hours (or more) spread over a minimum of five days. That 8 – 10 hours is measured as follows: start the clock, do an operation, stop the clock; then add up all the time spent on the various operations. It doesn’t include “support” time spent making and maintaining machinery, sourcing sanding belts and materials, drinking coffee, etc.

Stunning work Wurzelmangler!

Thanks for the effort of posting all the knife making pics. And I love the shape/look of the finished knife.
As a knife collector a makers name or mark is mandatory requirement for me. Also gives provenance to the knife if trading or selling on. Especially knifes with a stamp at the end of the forging. Not so much light etching or acid etching.
If one goes to all the trouble of making a knife, why wouldn't they put there name to it? Ive seen a few top qual knife makers who don't . Always wondered why.

Thank you for taking the time to put together these 9 "essay's". Well done, well presented, and makes me want to go out and make my own. And the knife itself is just stunning!

That nine to ten hours puts the price of a good knife into perspective..thankyou for taking time to share this.

Thanks mate that was a great photo-essay and the end result is spot on!

Thanks guys for all the positive comments + likes on this and the other threads. Cheers, D.

Thank you so much for posting these threads @Wurzelmangler. It's been enjoyable and educational following all the processes and seeing the obvious (& deserved) pride you take in your work.
Al.