supaarcher

Just curious if someone who is good at sharpening hunting knives could toss me a tip or two. I have tried various sharpeners and haven't really found any that I like. How do you get your knives really sharp??

Also, I seen a post a long time ago that had a sharpening block for broadheads, it said that you should sharpen all your broadheads, even brand new ones. Does anyone have the link to that sharpening block or that post?

mez

I sharpen my knives and can get a pretty good edge on one. Some of it depends on the kind of edge you want. I can get one scary sharp but they don't hold that type of edge very long. The sharper the knife, the thinner the edge the quicker it dulls. Best thingyou can do is go to a convenience store and buy a handfull of the knives off the counter for $1.99 and go to practicing. You will ruin a few before you get the hang of it. I use flat oil stones and do them all by hand. Out of the packageI generally start with a medium stone and lay the blade almost completely flat on the stone to pull the edge back a ways up the blade. Factory edges are way to short. I then slowly work the angle on the stone up until the final edge goes on at about 15 degrees. You need to keep the number of strokes on each side equal and try to use the same pressure on each side. For a good all around edge just try to keep the knife at about 15 degrees and go in slow circular motions on the stone. Start with a medium and go to a fine stone. The more time you spend on the fine stone the sharper it will get. Don't get frustrated, it takes a long time to get the hang of it. I would guess I messed with cheap knives for over a year before I put a good one on a stone. A good razor strop to finish it off will help also. I sharpen my broadheads the same way. I have tried several of the gadgets they sell to sharpen them and I can do a better job with a stone.

Polkat

mezz is on the money here.
however there is alot to coincider when selecting the knife to sharpen; length of blade, thickness of blade (not width), curvature of blade, and most important type of steel used
A longer blade requires a lit of steedy pressure from hilt to tip and a lot of wrist action which makes it hard to keep the same pressure on the entire blade length.
Any curving in the blade will make it a lot harder to keep same angle and pressure, if not done correctly gives two or three completly different edges on the same blade (not good).
The thinkness of steel requires more precise movement of wrist since the wall of the edge is already thick. but will tipically hold edge a bit longer due to more edge surface.
Type of steel, wow!, the harder the steel the harder to but an edge. but the longer that edge will last. the softer the steel the easier to edge.
Angle to sharpen as a beginner sharpener place stone in off hand oil it rub oil out so all stone is covered eaqually. pick up knife with primary hand. gently place blade onto stone at about a 45angle. slowly drop angle down till you meet (feel) the factory angle.
slowly draw blade across stone from hilt to tip away from you, using the entire stone and covering the whole blade in one smooth stroke. flip knife over and repeat drawing blade towards you. REMEBER TO KEEP FINGERS AND ALL FLESH AWAY FROM EDGES AND A MOVING BLADE. go slow while you do this and concentraight on the angle of blade and pressure on blade both must be equal at all times. speed makes careless mistakes dont go fast.
only work knife for about 10 mins if you work it to long wrist will get sloppy and you will actually dull your blade. remember it just takes time.
follow this system and you can even make a bowie knife into a razor.
sorry for taking so long. need any more help pm me.

Kanga

Apart from doing the above to get the final edge on my knives I strop them on leather.

I went to a barbers supply shop and brought a strop like the barbers use on their cut throat razors

Arthur P

The most difficult part of sharpening to learn is that you don't want to keep the blade at the same angle throughout the entire stroke. It's the angle of the edge you must maintain.

Stainless blades tend to raise a burr along the edge, and the softer the steel the easier it is to raise a burr. When I get done with the major honing at the basic angle, I raise the angle just a bit and make a few light finishing passes on a hard Arkansas stone to remove the burr. Finishing the very edge on a steeper angle will also help the edge last a little longer, as Polkat mentioned.

Then I go to the leather strop, which I've covered with jewelers' rouge, for an edge with a high polish. When I'm done, the blade is not only hair popping sharp, it's sharp enough to cut a hair lengthwise.

For blades made with hard steel, it goes much faster to use diamond hones. Best thing about diamond hones is they stay flat. Arkansas and carborundum stones will dish out after long use.

For a beginning freehand knife sharpener, I'd suggest buying a Helle or some other brand of traditional Scandanavian knife. With them, you don't just work the edge itself, but you lay the entire bevel of the blade on the stone. You can feel when the bevel is flat on the stone all the way through the sharpening stroke, and that will help you learn how to maintain that constant angle.

BobCo19-65

I agree and that's the way I like my knives even though I may have to sharpen them often. But the harder the metal, the less you will have to sharpen them. But the softer the metal, the sharper I can get them. I have found my best sharpener lately to be a diamond jewelstick.



For my two and four bladed broadhead, I use an s-24 sharpener.

jerseyhunter

Besides the above , you need some good steel to sharpen, poor steel or stainless will never hold an edge long, might not even take one. I just use an oil stone (double sided) depending on what I have to start with, then from there go to maybe a diamond stone and finish off with a hard arkansas stone. The oil helps float the steel particles away from the working edge of the stone and blade.

melancon196

I got this kit at Bass Pro a year ago. I sharpened my KA-BAR with it before season. A bud and I cut the heads off of 3 250+ lb boars with it in one day. Went home and had the knife back like a razor in about 10 minutes. It comes with easy directions and set degrees at which you can sharpen the knife. I think for the $$ it would be the best kit to buy. Works great in my opinion.

melancon196

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=41168&hvarDept=400&a mp;hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=12&hvarSubCode =6&hvarTarget=browse

Guess it'd help to post the link huh guys?

Champlain Islander

For all you guys that have good luck sharpening with an oil stone my hat is off to you. I guess I failed to keep the angle the same or some other problem.My wife always laughed at me for spending so much time trying to get my knife sharp with a stone and failing. After I was done I would hand it to her and she would run it over a steel in her kitchen for about 30 seconds and it would be real sharp again. One day I got the bright idea I would try one of those Chef's Choice 3 stage electric sharpeners which I borrowed from my brother. Told the wife I would show her how to really sharpen a knife and proceeded to grind away. I pulled it out and the blade was ruined and looked like someone took a file to it crossways. She is still laughing about it and does all my sharpening.