Sharp knives

[Standard Velocity]

A sharp edge will tend to cut in line with the angle of the edge. That is, if the blade is sharpened to a 20 degree angle then the direction the blade will tend to cut will be in a straight line, with 10 degrees on each side of the axis. think of it as an arrow, the point is the edge and the point tapers away from the shaft at 10 degrees on each side. The shaft is the blade seen vertically. The problem that I have with those sharpening methods that resemble chisels, flat on bottom, all angle on top or side if a knife blade, is that the edge doesn't know that it is out of line with the blade and will want to cut in the direction of the middle of the angle. Now if it is a chisel and you are removing wood, this is great because with the flat down, the edge will tend to cut into the wood and if inverted the edge will just shave along the top of the wood, not digging in. But when used on a knife blade and trying to cut meat, the blade will try to cut in the direction of the angle and result in trying to cut in a circle rather than a straight line. I can see some use of the one sided bevel for skinning an animal- keeping the flat away from the hide so the knife would be inclined to cut away from the hide, therefore having a lesser tendency to nick the hide- but since there are two sides to the animal the user may need two knives with reversed bevels, or change directions to keep the flat away from the hide.

I use a few Japanese knives. Some, like debas and nakiri, have a single edge chisel grind and are for specific tasks. My favorites simply have an asymmetrical edge with say 20% left and 80% right of center. These compensate for being really right handed and also allow you to perform tasks similar to single edge knives. Filleting tomatoes to make a concasse is much easier with thin Japanese knives over thick German or French ones.

 

[steve white]

never thought about an oval fn dick, personally

 

[steve white]

why are grooves on a steel a bad thing?

 

[Ray B]

why are grooves on a steel a bad thing?

They aren't bad- they are the equivalent of coarseness in sand paper. The larger the groove the more coarse. So when sharpening a blade it is common to have a coarse steel for initial lining and a fine steel for finish.

 

[TMac]

That’s the same size strop I got last fall and it works very well for me as a non-expert user. Same green stuff too. All based of Von Gruff’s recommended sharpening method for his knives.

 

[Ray B]

Top to Bottom

Henkel coarse
Forschner Ceramic
Gerber coarse that has been worked down
F.Dick very fine.

the F.Dick is at least 70 years old, was given to me nearly fifty years ago by a fellow that worked for us.

 

[bruce moulds]

grooves tend to abrade steel while smooth hones it.
strops also abrade, particularly when using compound.
they can easily turn a flat bevel into a convex.
because they abrade, they can leave a very fine feather, particularly as the blade goes backward on them rather than slicing in as with a stone.
for a very fine edge, honing is superior to abrading.
some guys split the difference between a grooved steel and a smooth one by sandpapering a smooth one with 100 to 120 or even 180 grit to get very fine grooves.
bruce.

 

[bruce moulds]

i have yet to learn about ceramic steels, but believe they very finely abrade, and block up fairly quickly, needing cleaning often in a special way.
any comments from an experienced ceramicist.?
bruce.

 

[Ray B]

any comments from an experienced ceramicist.?
bruce.

It's been a few years since I was active in the business, so things may have changed, but my experience is that a very sharp blade may be obtained by having a bevel set with stones, then "lining" the edge with a coarse steel, then smoothing with the ceramic, then final edge with the fine steel. For cleaning the ceramic I and those that I knew, used common household cleansers such as Comet and water, which was also used to clean the stones.

 

[nztimb]

I clean my stones with CRC brakleen

 

[Standard Velocity]

I clean my stones with CRC brakleen

I use the one in the green can (no chlorine) for everything. Apparently chlorine is bad for steel. I believe it’s just compressed acetone.

 

[bruce moulds]

one of my lansky stones is a ceramic.
i use it with oil and wonder if this is correct.
it seems to keep the metal buildup cleared.
bruce.

 

[TMac]

You guys need to stop. I have too many voices in my head now. I just finished sharpening & touching up my filet knives for the August Salmon run and all I could think about was “Am I doing this right?”, lol. Mostly joking but the thought was there.

For the record, a strop, a smooth steel, a grooved steel and a work sharp were used in an order to be forever kept secret. Mostly because it varied by the blade, the moment and because now I have forgot who got what first and what was second... For the first 20 years I hunted all I used was a small pocket stone of unknown grit, it was simple and worked OK.. Now I have a whole kit, my knives are noticeable sharper, they work great, work longer, but sometimes...

Carry on...

 

[JLF]

I am always accompanied by hunting my faithful friend a Ka-Bar 1214, the sharpener and a chaira that I manufacture with the central axis of an automotive shock absorber