More Knife Stuff

[paulaboutform]

A couple more things I've discovered since getting my new Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition. Yes this thing will put a stupid sharp edge on knives. But, I wish someone would've told me to follow the manufacturers instructions, especially regarding blade angles. My first mistake, hunting and folding knives are recommended to use between a 25-30 degree blade edge angle. MAXIMUM 22.5 degree for ridiculously sharp results. I went with 18 degrees thinking this would yield better results. WRONG. What I did is grind way more off the blade than was necessary. Secondly, I recently bought a leather barber's strop and I'm amazed at how rubbing some polishing compound on the belt and carefully stropping the blades has fine tuned my knives to hair popping sharpness. Problem....bald patches all over my arms!

Paul

[ihunt]

I need a nice clean close shave want to try on me

Just kidding...

[Kegbelly]

Be careful Paul, when the hair grows back it's twice as thick, you'll have gorilla arms before long

I also strop my blades with a leather strop with green jeweler's rouge. There's better stuff out there, like diamond paste, etc, but this works good for me. They say when you strop to maintain the same angle as you sharpen but I find that hard to do.

[newbie]

Paul make up a few mini strops for field use, i used an old belt and they help maintain those bald patches

[884savage]

I hunt on a farm owned by a custom knife maker. I've used a Chef's Choice for a few years as well as a wet stone. He showed me how to put a wicked sharp edge on a knife. First, buy a nice India stone. Second, get a carrier oil and mix it with diesel fuel to oil the stone. Then, and I feel this is the key, hold your knife at a 22 degree angle. At first that seemed like a quite peculiar angle to me, and he explained it simply. Put the knife to the stone and create a 90 degree angle. Cut it in half to 45. Then cut it in half again, and you are right at 22-23 degrees. For me, that has been the perfect angle for insane sharp blades. I use my Chef's Choice to do some repair work to damaged blades knowing it will grind off a lot of steel. Then I finish them off with the India stone. He also pushed and pulled with a LOT more pressure than I ever had before. He would pull it straight at himself. I always slid down the stone instead of pulling right at myself. Every knife in and around my house is now razor blade sharp. Sadly, I've never been able to make this trick work on dull broadheads.

[Timmypo1]

Never heard of work sharp before last weekend. A guy at camp had one and sharpened a half dozen Knifes in 10 minutes. Everyone agreed it was the sharpest their knifes had ever been. Great tool, I'll be getting one. I believe they make a leather belt for them as well.

[paulaboutform]

Never heard of work sharp before last weekend. A guy at camp had one and sharpened a half dozen Knifes in 10 minutes. Everyone agreed it was the sharpest their knifes had ever been. Great tool, I'll be getting one. I believe they make a leather belt for them as well.

I ordered one of those belts believing it was sold by Work Sharp but when contacting them (the manufacturer) they informed me they DO NOT make a leather belt for their units. They said they tried them at one time but found they were too hard on their motors.They're fake belts.
I do like Newbie's idea about making a couple for my pack. I have a tanned bison hide at home I think I could cut a couple pieces off to utilize.....I also used the green polishing compound like Kegbelly and may make another up with the white fine grit polishing compound. ....my wife is a laser tech so if the hair comes back too thick she can always laser it off.

Paul

[flightattendant100]

Paul make up a few mini strops for field use, i used an old belt and they help maintain those bald patches

My "Bald Patch" doesn't require knife or strop!

[flightattendant100]

Got a few Estate Sale finds over the weekend. Three paring knives, a J.A. Henckles, a Forgecraft-Hi carbon, and an Old Hickory, kept the Lansky busy for a while last evening. All three are wanting a shot at Paulaboutform's bald spot!

[Hi5]

"I ordered one of those belts believing it was sold by Work Sharp but when contacting them (the manufacturer) they informed me they DO NOT make a leather belt for their units. They said they tried them at one time but found they were too hard on their motors.They're fake belts. "

They're not W.S. brand strops (or at least mine isn"t) but it sure works, and well too. Mine has stretched a bit from use, and I will likely have to do the tightening adjustment. There was never any sound change to the motor as it was in use. It turns the belt freely, so I don't think there's much to the suggestion that the off brand strop would harm the motor.
Maybe a new belt, if it was too tight, could be a problem. Even that I question. Leather stretches quite readily, so unless it was so tight that you had to pry it on with a screwdriver, you should be good to go.

[roly]

Denim (blue jeans) will work in a pinch.
Also saw a video where a guy put green compound on mdf and used that.

[Hi5]

Paul

Here's the Work Sharp gospel on leather strops and their machinery....

"The Work Sharp Cloth Stropping Belt Kit provides a refined sharpening experience for those who demand the sharpest blades possible. The kit extends your sharpening and honing capabilities to the extreme end of the sharpening spectrum – utilizing micro-abrasive compounds to create an incredibly keen edge for high performance cutting tasks or creating a show-quality finish on your blade edges.

These Norton non-abrasive cloth belts will strop and polish an edge much like a leather belt, but provide a far more stable and consistent medium to apply micro-abrasive honing and polishing compounds. Unlike leather, cloth belts do not require conditioning and will not stretch over time – eliminating the maintenance that leather belts require. After extensive testing, Work Sharp discontinued the use of leather for honing. Cloth belts simply perform better – they are more efficient so you do not need to spend as much time on the belt, nor do you need as much compound."

[paulaboutform]

Paul

Here's the Work Sharp gospel on leather strops and their machinery....

"The Work Sharp Cloth Stropping Belt Kit provides a refined sharpening experience for those who demand the sharpest blades possible. The kit extends your sharpening and honing capabilities to the extreme end of the sharpening spectrum – utilizing micro-abrasive compounds to create an incredibly keen edge for high performance cutting tasks or creating a show-quality finish on your blade edges.

These Norton non-abrasive cloth belts will strop and polish an edge much like a leather belt, but provide a far more stable and consistent medium to apply micro-abrasive honing and polishing compounds. Unlike leather, cloth belts do not require conditioning and will not stretch over time – eliminating the maintenance that leather belts require. After extensive testing, Work Sharp discontinued the use of leather for honing. Cloth belts simply perform better – they are more efficient so you do not need to spend as much time on the belt, nor do you need as much compound."

Would this be the 6000 grit honing belt that's 1/2" wide? If it is I didn't know you could add polishing compound to it. Great info.

Paul