Knife Sharpening

bucktail

Active Member
Having a favourite knife returnd to me after a friend borrowed it I am faced with having to to figure out how put a decent edge on a blade that is extremely blunt and has indents on the edge.
Does anyone have any tips on how to quickly hone a badly damaged knife.
It has sentimental value so is worth the effort to me.
 
Hi Bucktail

One of mine got dropped and indented the edge

I firstly took it back with the buck three sided sharpener used all three stones/ diamond boards and then gave it a trim up with the trusted DC4 sharpener.

Had to do this three times to get it to cut paper without a drag or ripple

I then gave it a good sharp on the DC4 both sides of the stone and gave it a good polish on the strop.

It is as good as new and takes your hair off your arm without trying. Lot of time, but the end result is brilliant, that was 01 tool steel

Good luck


Phil
 
It will take time but like Phillip says, start it on a really coarse stone then use finer and finer stones to bring it back to its former glory. If this doesn't happen all that frequently which I guess it won't because I doubt you'll be lending him your knife again you could go to screw fix direct and buy one of their 4 sided diamond stones. They are pretty cheap and will do a tidy job, they don't last all that long though.
 
Nice tip I got from a guy at work was to strop it with cardboard and the put a final edge on using the frosted bit on the top of a open car window as a steel. Works a treat.
 
No quick solution, patience and it will pay off in the end, original angles I use a lanky, followed by a spyderco triangle , followed by smurf poo on a strop or cardboard, then a final strop on leather, done properly and it will keep a edge, just needing a touch up.
 
The best advice would be not to lend your favourate knife, one you may rely on, to someone in the first place. i have made this mistake in the past with expensive tools, then you usually have to go out of your way to get it returned. When you get them back they are either dirty or damaged. No one looks after your favourate equipment like yourself. Myself personally, if i borroved your knife, i would have done all the hard work sharpening it and returned it as borrowed.
 
Hmm yes ( Jerry Paxman voice ) I find that the small intestine of the friend concerned stretched tightly via nailing to opposite ends of his living room works well. Does nothing for the blade, but works wonders on preventing it happening again :D

With due care for maintaining the edge geometry its a matter of using the highest grade abrasive ( ie least aggressive ) you can to remove the damage in a reasonable time and working on up.

If your bag fine, if not it may seriously worth considering talking with a knife nerd - they will likely have all the right kit and the time to do it right. A few quid invested there may work out cheaper than buying if you dont already have.

There are others, but Dougster on here springs to mind ( friend and business relationship etc etc as per usual ).
 
The best advice would be not to lend your favourate knife, one you may rely on, to someone in the first place. i have made this mistake in the past with expensive tools, then you usually have to go out of your way to get it returned. When you get them back they are either dirty or damaged. No one looks after your favourate equipment like yourself. Myself personally, if i borroved your knife, i would have done all the hard work sharpening it and returned it as borrowed.

Actually, I think the best advice would be to post a formal intro before admin notice ;)

Other than that, your post is bang on the money.

willie_gunn
 
Various grades of wet and dry will do nicely, I wet the back of a strip and stick it onto a glass sheet. As others have said start coarse and go progressively finer
 
4.5 inch grinder with a fine grit pad will get it back close quite quick. Just be carefull not to over heat and temper the steel. Finish it off with some fine wet and dry or Spyderco triangle sharpmaker.
 
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