Howdy guys. I thought I might need to come in here and talk about my edges. All secondary bevels on Fletcher Knives are just a standard secondary bevel. It doesn't take any fancy method what so ever to sharpen them. No mouse pads, special tools, big contraptions necessary.
Originally, I smoked through the sharpening process when knives were finished. It took me a lot longer then to do a batch and I was trying to get them done and out the door. That's no longer the case. Here is why.
One: I can finish a batch much quicker now so that isn't a factor, though it never should have been anyways.
Two:
A while back, I got a knife back from my first customer (not the first Fletcher Knife he bought) and he told me he just couldn't do anything with the edge. It was too dull and he just couldn't get it sharp. I sat down and checked the knife out, and sure enough, dull as hell. It drove me nuts that this happened, because I pride myself on how well I sharpen my personal knives and it really upset me that I sent a knife out that was this dull. I spent about 20 minutes on it with my sharpening setup and it was hair popping. The customer is a great guy. He was nice enough to approach the whole subject in private and let me make it right. As a beginning maker, that was very good for me, because I didn't want to tarnish my rep right off the bat with something like that. This particular customer knows how to sharpen a knife, so it must have been hella dull if he couldn't get it sharp.
At the same time, I got another knife back from a customer that had arrived to him dull. For the sake of this story, we'll refer to him as Scott. Scott called me and basically told me that the knife was way too dull and that he would try his best to sharpen it up. I said, "you can go ahead and send it back to me and I'll do it, or you can try it yourself and if it doesn't work out, I'll fix it." He decided to try it himself. A week later, he called me and said he just couldn't get it sharp, even with super-drastic methods. He explained to me his method and I cringed. I won't go into it, but I almost started crying while he was talking. That's when I realized that even though my customers are knife enthusiasts, that doesn't mean they have the best methods for sharpening knives. The best thing I can possibly do is make absolutely sure that the knives are good and sharp before I ever send them out.
Moral of the story is, no matter what, the knives absolutely have to be sharp when they leave. I can't make it the customer's responsibility to make sure their knife is sharp. It shouldn't be on them to sharpen a knife right after they get it. The knife HAS TO BE SHARP when they get it.
Now every time a batch gets finished, I sit down and hand-sharpen every single knife with stones and strop before it gets sent out. I make absolutely sure that every single knife is sharp. I never want anyone to have a dull knife when they get it ever again. I have damn near no hair left on my body, except that which is on my head, because I test every knife on hair, paper, and rope before it goes out.
If anyone EVER gets a knife from me that isn't sharp right out of the package, please let me know. I would be more than happy to sharpen it for you. You shouldn't have to sharpen a knife that you just got.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE EDGE OF A FLETCHER KNIFE:
1) It's not a convex edge. It's a standard secondary edge bevel. You can use any standard method to sharpen it. You don't need anything special. You can sharpen it with whatever method you like. Get as fancy as you want. If you don't want to sharpen it yourself or you don't have the best sharpening skills and would just rather someone else do it so you don't take any chances, send it to me and I'll do it for free. Just pay the shipping.
2) These edges are HARD. Fletcher Knives are meant to keep their working edge for a long time. If you wait for it to become totally dull, or it gets damaged before you sharpen it, or you're changing the edge angle, expect it to take a while. Once it's sharpened to your angle the first time, it will take less time from then on. Also, it takes less time the less it's allowed to get dull. If you take the edge all the way to hair popping sharp, it should keep a good edge for a loooooong time. Also again, if you don't want to sharpen your Fletcher Knife, send it to me and I'll do it for free. Just pay the shipping.
I hope nobody reads this and thinks, "what a cocky a#$hole. Don't tell me how to sharpen a knife." lol. That is definitely not my intention. I always find myself writing stuff on Bladefroums and then having to read it over and over again to make sure that I don't give the wrong impression. I hope you guys know how much effort Andy and I both put into not only putting out the best tools we can, but also watching what we say as to not have it taken the wrong way.
Since I started making knives, I've become more and more worried that someone on Bladeforums will take something I say the wrong way and then be like, "that guy is a d#$%head and I'll never buy anything from him and I'm going to spread the word."
Last thing I'm going to say:
I never use a mouse pad to sharpen anything. I never use sand paper on an edge. I never use fancy stuff that lets you select and exact angle for your edge. I'm a simple country boy. We use stones and, IF we want it to just be stupid sharp, a strop. About the fanciest I ever get is my diamond impregnated stones from DMT and using my good eye.
