Sharpening a pocket knife

[Caustic Burno]

Toughest knife to sharpen was a buck but when sharp it would last a long time.

I prefer Case with CV blades.

 

[j_20]

I have several stones, hones, and contraptions. I use the warthog on most of my hunting knives dependent on the bevel, I use the lansky on some of my knives in the saddle shop, but the case stockman that never leaves my pocket and the majority of my leather work knives get sharpened with a diamond stone and a careful hand. After sharp I have a leather strop screwed to my workbench that is packed with diamond dust, I strop em up and am good to go.

 

[pdfangus]

We have a local Blacksmith who is a farrier but he has started making knives and jewelry.
most expensive knife I own is a Buck sheath knife and I never use it....
have a lot of cheap knives both folders and clip and sheath....If I break or lose one it is not a big deal. I have three on me right now....
saw a beautiful Damascus sheath knife this young man made this week and I am thinking of ordering one from him ...
but then I probably would not carry it..so why spend money on it?

No fool like an old fool...

 

[backhoeboogie]

saw a beautiful Damascus sheath knife this young man made this week and I am thinking of ordering one from him ...
but then I probably would not carry it..so why spend money on it?

No fool like an old fool...

Old fool is right. No two Damascus blades are exactly alike. I have several Damascus collectors. Several other knives I never use. They just occupy space in the safe but I like having them. I have yet to use a Damascus blade for anything.

I value knives I have inherited the most. Heritage dominoes too. Those items could tell some tales if they could talk. They also just occupy space.

The old American made Marbles fixed blade knives are my favorites for processing hogs. Kreatin handle are easy to grip with greasy fingers and that's important with a razor edge.

Case made some good ones and I still carry one occasionally. Have a Gerber from Buckmasters I like. Have a few Buck knives I like. Every day knives. Practical for your pocket.

I've spent way too many nickels on collectors but many of those were made by people who are no longer with us.

 

[Nesikep]

For those if you who keep a sharp knife,what do you use? I know the old bench stone is the classic but I'm trying to hold consistent angles and haven't been able to do that.I have a Worksharp which does well but I'm concerned about taking out too much metal.Also have crock sticks which work well to hone a knife but aren't aggressive enough to reset angles or restore a dulled/chipped edge.
Maybe I'm overthinking this.Tend to do that but don't like spending money then finding out something else as better for the same or less.

The old pocket "Arkansas" oil stone works great. Someone gave me one when I was a child. It had a wedge to show you the angle to hold the blade. I developed a feel for it. There is also a change in sound when you start getting the edge refined. A dull edge versus a sharp edge sound completely different.

Now that I have learned the sound and feel, I can use it on diamond blades, steel, ceramics, tungsten etc.

A lot of folks hand me knives and ask me to put edges on them.

I've never owned a Lansky system. Didn't think I needed anything else. But I know a lot of people who love them.

If you learn to use sound, you won't grind the blade away. A 40 year old blade, sharpened regularly, should lose an 1/8" or so in normal use. If you abuse it or hack with it, different story. If you're a daily meat cutter, different story.

Anything you sharpen has to deal with angle. Lots of people throw away drill bits. I sharpen them. I still have much to learn with drill bits but I'm using a side grinder versus a stone. Sound can't be heard over the machine.

Drill bits are all about angles.. and getting both sides the same.. it's also the very tip of the cutting edge that has to be pointy and sharp, and you gotta grind until you get to a good part... It's a matter of getting a feel in your hand for the right motion that gets the right angle... I've sharpened millions of them, from 3/16th to 1/2" are easy, bigger or smaller and they get super persnickety.

 

[Caustic Burno]

saw a beautiful Damascus sheath knife this young man made this week and I am thinking of ordering one from him ...
but then I probably would not carry it..so why spend money on it?

No fool like an old fool...

Old fool is right. No two Damascus blades are exactly alike. I have several Damascus collectors. Several other knives I never use. They just occupy space in the safe but I like having them. I have yet to use a Damascus blade for anything.

I value knives I have inherited the most. Heritage dominoes too. Those items could tell some tales if they could talk. They also just occupy space.

The old American made Marbles fixed blade knives are my favorites for processing hogs. Kreatin handle are easy to grip with greasy fingers and that's important with a razor edge.

Case made some good ones and I still carry one occasionally. Have a Gerber from Buckmasters I like. Have a few Buck knives I like. Every day knives. Practical for your pocket.

I've spent way too many nickels on collectors but many of those were made by people who are no longer with us.

I have a Case Sowbelly or Saddlehorn in my pocket at all times.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Drill bits are all about angles.. and getting both sides the same.. it's also the very tip of the cutting edge that has to be pointy and sharp, and you gotta grind until you get to a good part... It's a matter of getting a feel in your hand for the right motion that gets the right angle... I've sharpened millions of them, from 3/16th to 1/2" are easy, bigger or smaller and they get super persnickety.

Thank you. I am learning and generally sharpen them as I use them. Sometimes they work great for a while. Sometimes my efforts are not much value.

They had a drill bit sharpening guide at an estate sale. Old but never used. It is designed to use with a bench grinder. I bought that thing and I need to get it set up. That would solve angle problems but it wouldn't help on the equality part you mention.

 

[Nesikep]

I have one of those as well.. never even tried to use it.. If you're good at metalworking, I have a little tool to help with angles, particularly important on large bits.. I'll have to find it and take a picture of it.. You lay the bit against it and on one side it has a 135* angle, so you can see if you have that part right, and with good eyes you can rotate the drill bit to the other cutting edge and see if it's at the same point, thus both sides are equal, then on the back angle (kinda the angle of attack, too much and you get a brittle edge that'll chip, or the bit will bite too hard and bind, too little and it's slow cutting

 

[skyhightree1]

I use a stone