Haffner

Here’s another approach, if you have access to a chop/miter saw (not the type using a backsaw on a fixed fixture).

Find the primary grind angle.  This is the angle from the centerline (ridge?) of the blade to the edge.  Probably on the order of 8 or 9 degrees.

Find a piece of hardwood (maple or oak or other very hard wood) about 1.5 inches t…[Read more]

Lookin’ good! Welcome to your new obsessions….knife collecting and sharpening them.

John,

I’ve done one sword about 3 years ago.  It was not a “real” sword, but a replica or something from a flea market.  I did it on a dare, from one of my golf friends.  He travels around a lot of bad neighborhoods and keeps the sword in his work truck.  He would lose in a gun fight but get maximum points for crazy.

It took me almost 40 hou…[Read more]

I’ve done only two long blades but learned a few bits to share.  This last weekend I did an ulu which required two separate mounting positioned, so I needed to do the blending there, too.

Sharpening long blades in a single vise system by shifting the blade position longitudinally is not all that difficult.  For the best results in matching b…[Read more]

Hi Kenny,

Try mounting the blade so that the back of the vise is lined up with the start of the belly of the blade, or thereabouts. You’ll have to tinker a little to find the “sweet spot”. If you need more info on finding the sweet spot, do a search here on the forum and you’ll find some excellent posts from forum members. You’ll probably find…[Read more]

I learned somewhere along the line that drying off your razor with a hair dryer after each use would increase its (sharpness) life by some large factor.  I’ve been using a titanium Schick Quattro which probably wouldn’t make a difference, but after each use, I rinse it with full hot water and then place it blade-down on a towel to draw any…[Read more]

I use my Micro-Fine ceramics if I want extreme sharpness. In our testing, some of the lowest (best) values we’ve gotten for sharpness on the BESS machine and our own machine have been after finishing with the white Micro-Fine stone. If I spend enough time with strops and emulsions and then kangaroo strops and diamond/cbn sprays, I can get a better…[Read more]

Heads up folks, Stephen, owner of Silver Knights (SKBlades) sent an e-mail to all customers announcing that they will suspend operations for the time being. If there is something you’re interested in, get it now, before they run out.

My understanding is that SKBlades works with Buck  Knives and they get fairly small batches with more select materials sold exclusively thru SK Blades.

I totally agree with you. I do have a Buck 119 fixed blade I bought ages ago but now my eyes are drawn by this https://www.skblades.com/product-page/the-ranger

Basically, if you mount an FFG knife correctly in the Gen 1 vise, it will be leaning toward the fixed jaw side.  The amount of lean is one-half of the angle between the two sides of the knife.  Spyderco knives are all about 4 degrees between the two faces.  This means that the blade is leaning two degrees toward the fixed jaw – usually on the le…[Read more]

That sure is a beautiful knife, enjoy it in good health.

I’m more of a folding knife guy and I wanted a Buck 110 with a little character so I ordered the 110 Ultimate Hunter with CPM- 20CV which is very nice but then I just had to have another from SKBlades (the Silver Fox) with micarta scales and CPM 20CV blade. I think the Silver Fox is the…[Read more]

Right you are.

Dear God…..with that thing you can field dress a moose, cut up a cow and do brain surgery all at once.

Thanks TC, I ordered 8 of them to keep around the house.

Sorry, I meant to include a link, but decided to have a brain fart instead.  https://www.grizzly.com/products/Bullets-com-Z-Knife/BL11195

You wouldn’t happen to have a link to the place you purchased from? All I get is Grizzly tools….

For years I’ve been buying batches of Grizzly’s Z-Knife, which is a small lock back folder with a skeletonized blade.  When I first bought them, maybe ten or twelve years ago, they were only about $7 each, and I kept one at every place around house I worked or sat.  When they became dull, I’d gather up the whole lot and take them to my WEPS for t…[Read more]

Great video Tom. I love the visualization with the big wooden clamps. I’ve been trying to teach what you show in the video for years, but haven’t been very effective at it. You nailed it. Can you elaborate more about the compensation of angle from 1 side to the next to make it even more clear how that’s  decided on and accomplished?

Gillette an other razor companies have demonstrated this well. I’ve had a similar experience w/ a Sabatier knife that I bought as a gift for a chef friend. I got it hair popping sharp but then couldn’t connect with him for a few months. It just sat on a shelf with a cover over the edge. When I next checked the edge, it was no longer popping hairs…[Read more]