Sharpening your knife

[Olly]

In Boy Scouts I learned a sharp knife is a safe knife. Only times I've ever cut myself with a knife was when I was trying to cut with a dull blade.

Sent from my phone.

[aunt betty]

Sad how there are folks who don't take pride in their tools enough to keep them perfectly sharp.
I sharpen my shovel and hoe before I use them in the garden.

Sorry I insulted the guys who do it wrong. Here....

hurt feelings report.jpg

[Baysider]

Ive never understood why someone would even carry a dull knife. Isnt the point of a knife to cut stuff? That would be like carrying a gun with a wore out firing pin. ....it might go off eventually.

If you keep a knife maintained as Assa stated it doesnt take long. If I allow one of my carving knives to get dull it can take me 15 minutes or more to get it razor sharp again. If I hit the blade on a strop with some sharpening paste on it it takes literally 5 seconds, each 30 minutes to rehone the edge. In carving dull knives can tear wood, follow the grain rather than cut through it, and eventaully kill your hands from fighting the dull blade. On one bird I may use a hatchet, roughing knife, draw knife, spoke shave, chisels, and a fishtail gouge. If one of those is dull and messes up my work Ive waisted my time. I learned this the hard way and eventually did some research on the properties of different grades of steel and how to sharpen them.

At the same time sharpening can be something thats required much less if you get better tools/knives. I typically try to stick to cryogenically hardened A2 tool steel for my chisels and gouges. These take some time to get right but once you do its a good while before you have to touch them again. Flattening the backs was a pain due to the extremly hard material, but at the same time that A2 steel holds a fine edge without it curling over during hard use. My Lie Nielson chisels will still cleanly shave hair after a year of use since Ive sharpened them. Oppositely, I want a slightly softer steel in my roughing knives for easier sharpening as they get used a lot more.

[Baysider]

Want to learn the right way? Buy one of these used copies cheap. It covers everything.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Sh ... sharpening

[Rick]

I must have missed the part where someone's advocated carrying a dull knife.

[Tiler_J]

I must have missed the part where someone's advocated carrying a dull knife.

Me too! I don't remember that anywhere in this thread.

[Willie]

Good info here. I may drop my Buck knives in the mail to the shore or out to Betty.

[assateague]

[jehler]

The rotary grinders are best for sharpening as they add carbon to the steel of your blade

[Willie]

:lol:

To the Baysider...

[Baysider]

The rotary grinders are best for sharpening as they add carbon to the steel of your blade

Yes, and the harder you mash the blade into it the better off you are.

[assateague]

When it starts to turn a dark bluish color, you know you're just about right.

[rebelp74]

When it starts to turn a dark bluish color, you know you're just about right.

That's not even 50/50

[rozzo842]

When it starts to turn a dark bluish color, you know you're just about right.

haha!