A Few Questions
- This topic has 13 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 01/05/2017 at 8:51 am by
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I am currently in the same boat, when cutting up moose I found the polished edge does not hold up long enough with the thick dirty hide. Even with high quality steel I am only getting halfway through before the knife dulls. I am experimenting with a toothy edge and am guessing I will settle somewhere between 200# and 600# for my final finish, I still haven’t tested the coarser finish yet but looking at a knife that I know performed well out of the box (Benchmade steep country) it looks to be about that level of coarseness. I would be interested to hear more from others, these moose are a chore and I hate having to stop and tune up a blade once the mosquitos find you…
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Coming from a kitchen knife guy, I would say that you guys are doing a lot of coarse cutting with those knives. I am thinking that a toothier edge would be sort of like a serrated knife when examined under a scope. The idea with serrated is life extension as the tips get worn/bent down.
I am sure the metal type would have a lot to do with it also. I assume knives made for moose butchering would have different specs than those for chicken slicing.
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Do you create micro bevel after sharpening main bevel? Micro bevel significantly increase edge durability. Benefits of micro bevel: – Knife stays sharp for much longer. – Sharpness can be restored in a few honing strokes. You can use honing a hundred times between need to sharpen again.
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Try a micro bevel. Do a search for micro bevel and see what others have done.
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I’ve been using the WE sharpening system for about three years now and am satisfied, overall, with the results I’m getting. I find the sharpening process to be enjoyable in and of itself. My knowledge about knives and sharpening, while somewhat above the average person, falls very short of the expertise I witness here on the forum. As a result, I’m coming with some questions I have regarding sharpening and knives.
- Currently, my deer hunting knife is a Buck Paklite skinner sharpened at 23 degrees verified using the angle cube. I originally employed a 20 degree angle but was disappointed with the longevity of the sharpness. In using the stones, I usually progress through the 1600 ceramics and can easily shave hairs, but I’m not satisfied with how long the blade seems to stay sharp when skinning deer. I can usually process one, but on occasions when two deer are done, the blade seems really dull by the time I’m working on the second. So, is there a more optimal angle that I could apply to the blade that would seemingly last longer, or is the problem with my sharpening process? I like the Buck, but is there another knife I should consider that would do the work better and longer? I am really not interested in buying a knife that costs much more that $100 unless the benefits are so obvious that I can’t afford not to buy it.
- I use Victorinox-Forschner knives for processing the meat and really can’t complain too much about the knives, especially when considering the cost for them runs in the $20 range. Considering these knives, what angle should I put on them to optimize performance? Is taking them to 1600 on the ceramics beneficial, or should I stop at some other point for best results?
- I have the Pro-Pack II and am considering adding/upgrading my setup. I have the stones through the 1200/1600 ceramics and the 5/3.5 Micron Diamond and Leather Strops. I don’t use these too much as I didn’t see too much of a sharper edge when using the strops. and now the leather is pulling away from the handles. Given my lack of skill, should I invest in the 1500 Grit Diamond Stones and Blank Glass, the Pro Pack II Upgrade Kit, or the Gen 3 Vise to reach my goal of creating the best combination of sharpness and longevity for the knives I have? Eventually, I’ll probably have all three upgrades, but which of these is the most significant to helping me achieve my goal? I acknowledge that my skills are probably the limiting factor, but is there something that will make an enjoyable hobby even more so?
Thank you all for your input. Matt
Hi Matt,
I spent about 15 years as an outfitter on a big ranch where we harvested 35-40 bull elk a year plus a few cows and some mule deer. Here’s the knife I always used then and still use now: https://www.amazon.com/Browning-Kodiak-F-D-T-Point-Cutter/dp/B001DF0614/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8. It’s not available any longer on Amazon, but if you can find it somewhere online, it’s a great knife. I don’t use the saw but prefer this knife to the two-blade version because the metal on this knife significantly better and holds its edge much longer. Someday I’m going to find someone to custom make the 2 blade version in M4 for me. My favorite feature is the hide blade. I use the drop point blade to ring the limbs and the slip the hide blade under the skin and unzip each limb, cutting from the inside out. I use various other cuts to ring the trunk depending on the kind of mount or rug to be made. Then I use the drop point for all the skinning and that is always from the inside out as well, so the only time the blade touches hair or dirt in during the ringing cuts. I then use a folding fillet knife (http://davesknifeworld.com/browseproducts/Benchmade-Salmon-Creek-Folding-Fillet-Knife–Zytel-Handle–Nylon-Pouch.html) to remove all the meat. I prefer the model listed because it’s very light and packable but any good fillet knife or flexible boning knife would work. I always quarter the animal in the field and use a “no-gut” method which is much faster and cleaner.
My preferred edge on the Browning has been 20 degrees per side and sharpened through the 1000# stone and then heavily stropped at the same angle with the 5/3.5 strops. I have always found it to be extremely sharp and durable. I was generally able to field dress up to four bulls with this setup. I haven’t updated my knife prep recently and would probably like to lower the angle a little and add a micro-bevel with some tooth so I’d probably go for 16-17 degrees per side with a 20 degree micro-bevel. I’d polish the main bevel and then do the micro-bevel at around 800# though I’d want to tinker and try some other grits to see what I liked best.
All that is probably pretty confusing but I’m happy to answer questions as you have them.
-Clay
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we harvested 35-40 bull elk a year
Bull elk here. Happy New Year!
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…are you guys doing like 10 passes per side with your micro bevel? Just curious how much needs to be taken off to make much of a difference
I use only 3-5 very light strokes with my 1000’s when I create a microbevel, but I never work my knives as hard as you’d do with elk or moose. Those ring cuts would be death on most steels if you hit bone.
If I needed to stand up to such abuse, I think I’d go with the 800’s.
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Good info, are you stropping your micro bevel also? Have you tried more aggressive grits for skinning? In Bladeforums a lot of people recommended going to a 300 grit micro bevel for skinning big game, seems pretty rough but I obviously don’t know if I’m askin. I may have to go harvest a caribou so I can try some new technique with my sharpening
Also curious if anybody uses those diamond dust honing steels… good, bad, indifferent?Thank you all for the replies. Clay, when you strop, if I understood you correctly, you’re not reducing the angle as some have suggested? You also move straight from the 1000 to the leather strops? With a micro bevel, do you go back to 100 grit and raise a burr or simply use the 800 or 1000 grit stones and run a few passes? I’ll be sure to do a search for micro bevels and check out the suggestions and videos.
Not reducing angle before stropping – Think of it as a convex micro bevel (Clay, please correct me if I’m wrong)
Micro bevel question – you don’t need to raise burr. Blade should be sharp at this point. Use 800 or 1000 stones with edge leading strokes. Just a few (like 2-3-4) very light strokes per side. Almost no pressure.
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Thanks for all the info guys, I tried the Micro bevel last night by making a polished edge at 17DPS 3.5 micron strop, then finished with a micro bevel at 22DPS with 800 grit and lightly stropped, I slashed up several boxes then cut up an old belt into small pieces, still seemed pretty sharp, not sure if this was a very accurate representation of skinning but was the closest thing I could figure out at the time, its defiantly an improvement on durability to what I had, thanks again
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