Haffner

When I reprofile a blade (and I do like 17 or even 15 degree ) I use a scrubbing up/down motion like you do. Where I differ is that I scrub one side and then the other, switching sides before I have a burr. By scrubbing both sides (alternating) you will approach the apex evenly. In my limited experience, scrubbing just one side (going from 20+…[Read more]

One example I’m aware of said he started by setting up a web site advertising his services.  Most of his jobs were managed by mail.  Meaning that customers shipped their knives to him and he returned them via same way.  I gathered that happy customers spread the word.

Another fellow set up a table at flea markets and such.  He also worked a dea…[Read more]

I see you have a Gen 3 Pro.  I did a Youtube video a while back that shows one method of doing convex edges on a Gen 3 Pro.  In the video I use half-step increments to produce the convex edge.  After subsequent tests, I found you can do full-step increments with pretty much the same results.  See the video here.

Kenneth:

Which vise do you have?  Is it the Gen 3 type with the crank arm?  I have an extra, older LAA that only works with the older vise models.

Hi Kyle:

If you’d like the ability to adjust to differences in angle from one side to the other on your Gen 3 Pro, you might try the micro-adjust parts I sent to Clay for him to test.  If I recall correctly, on my Gen 3 Pro, I was able to get +/- 2.5 degrees by adjusting one relative to the other.  From adjusted all the way in on one side and a…[Read more]

I’ve never tried the ultrasonic route but do remember someone stating that there was a solvent used in ultrasonic cleaners that degraded the mounting tape.  Should be a non-issue if you use soap and water.  I keep a spritzer of alcohol handy to clean diamond lapping film and have found that it works great on the diamond stones too.  A little ag…[Read more]

I have a rancher friend in NE Wyoming who carried a small Case folder which he used to convert bulls to steers.   The blade was really slender, looking more like a Texas tickler after many, many sharpenings.

This would be one of those applications which would benefit from a toothier edge, maybe 800 grit.

I hadn’t heard of a “Spey” blade until now, so I Googled it and found this very interesting page at AGRussel.

For really narrow knives, even the LAA won’t solve the problem.  The only solution to my knowledge is the Tormek Small Knife Adapter, which leaves the blade suspended in mid-air above the vise, where it is easily accessible.  One of our senior members is Josh at RazorEdgeKnives.  He once posted about how he used a Tormek SKA on top of a LAA.  Wit…[Read more]

BTW, I have a 3/4″ riser block installed below my Gen 3 Pro vise.    I recently was doing  a batch of knives and noticed that in every case, my angle settings were off by 3 degrees, relative to what I would have expected.  The riser was installed to use more of the length of the stone faces when I do narrower knives.  When sharpening short, narrow…[Read more]

Marc’s comments are spot-on, as usual.  The “5/8″ above the vise” rule is only to give you a correlation to the angle bar settings.  If you use a digital angle protractor, they’re completely irrelevant and you are free to mount the blade in the vise any which way you think is appropriate.

BTW, I have a 3/4″ riser block installed below my Gen 3 P…[Read more]

Ditto, Russ!

My best advise for a newby is to stick with this forum.  There’s a lot of good info and good people willing to share.  Feel free to ask any question.  WE is the host, but they’re wide open about the content, as long as it’s respectful.   Check out the oodles of videos here and on YouTube.  Avoid those which are “reviews” as they’…[Read more]

I’d sharpen the knife at whichever angle you think is appropriate for its intended use. For an EDC, I’d use 20 dps on both sides, taking fewer strokes on the wide bevel side each time . Try to move the apex toward the center, but don’t remove more steel than necessary to achieve sharpness.   For instance, you might take 10 strokes on the narrow b…[Read more]

I infer from Matt’s post that he is looking for tips on how to avoid rounding off the tip as he moves the stone beyond the end of the blade.  This is as opposed to producing a sharp edge along the last half inch of the blade.  For me, the key here has always been to “follow through.”  As you move through the area of the blade tip, do not allow th…[Read more]

I think it needs to be said that a 13/17dps knife isn’t necessarily ground that way on purpose.  I’ve seen knives with as much as 8 degrees difference from one side to the other.  Such differences are a product of “eyeball” sharpening by the last fellow on the production line.  His instructions may be to try for equal bevel widths, with sh…[Read more]

I don’t think I made it clear that in the case of steak knives and similar applications, dull tips do not normally need to be sharpened, unless the serrations are very fine.  In this case, I’d sharpen the knife as I would a non-serrated knife.  If it’s a knife by a manufacturer who offers free sharpening, like Cutco, you could send it to the m…[Read more]

I think there are two types of serrations, but they don’t necessarily have to do with the configuration of the serrations. It’s more a matter of how they’ll be used.  In one type, the tips of the serration are used to aggressively bite into the objective material – for instance, when cutting heavy rope or seat belts.  The other uses the tips of t…[Read more]

I usually sharpen the straight part of the blade and reposition the knife in the vise to sharpen a curved tip end if the curvature is very significant. Sharpening a blade in sections works well for big kitchen knives (or machetes) but you have to remember to blend the sections.

I guess I’m one of those people that likes to fuss over their knives. I sharpen the family kitchen knives to 1000 grit, mostly 20 degrees with a few at 17 degrees. My personal kitchen knives are sharpened at 15 degrees (or less) to 3000 grit and stropping if time permits. It definitely takes longer than 4 minutes per knife since I’m not a slap -…[Read more]

Hi Kenneth:

I’m a little unsure of what I see in the photo. At the apex, it looks like the scratch pattern isn’t quite reaching the apex.  There’s a very narrow line along the apex that stands separate from the main bevels.  At first I would assume that this is a burr, but I’m also incline to believe you that this is a sharp edge, and that y…[Read more]