Recommendation? >20 degree knife - sharp maker - not getting burr

I wish I could give you a more expert explanation right now. The short answer is from experience it works much better for me and shortens sharpening time a lot (for me).
I grew up being taught to alternate which seems to work better if you get the exact same pressure and angle everytime. When working with a tough blade shape and or difficult to sharpen steel all strokes aren't always equal. Do one side until it's done then switch, should make things easier, esp when reprofiling. My 2 cents.
 
I think sometimes when I alternate before finishing a side I end up just making a nice convexed burr on both sides that is aomewhat sharp but not hair popping.
 
Bo-dacious said:
Torrin: oh really? Howcome I just do one side? Someone else told me to alternate every 100 strokes. I'll try doing it your way.

Thanks,

Bo
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Raising a full burr on just one side first is usually OK if the edge is already fairly sharp.

If the edge is dull, that technique will push the edge off of center. I think you're better off alternating until you get close to the burr. But you don't seem to be getting close or making any progress.

One possibility is that you're trying to hog off a ton of metal with just the corners on the sharpening stone. You may have worn out those corners.

You should know the angle of the edge you're working on. You need to hold a consistent sharpening angle -- either the existing edge angle or your chosen reprofile angle. You need to see what is being ground down on the edge as you go.
 
Torrin said:
If you aren't removing metal from the apex it can't push it off center. ?
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Think of a triangle with a small, flat top (a dull apex). Now shave just one side of that triangle at the pre-existing angle until it forms a sharp apex with the other side. The triangle's apex will be moved off center.
 
Okay I've been going as light as I possibly can on these stones. I do notice that it's not AS gritty as it was when it was new. Does that mean I'm going too hard, or is that normal? I AM removing marker just as fast as when they were new, however.

I think I'll try alternating for a while then switch to all strokes on one side until I get a burr.

Thanks guys, this is helping me.

Bo
 
I'm not sure if people care about making a karambit razor sharp or not. The man I trained with, who popularized the karambit in North America, probably cares as he trains to fight with the karambit. I think all blades that are designed to slice (not just pierce with the tip) should be sharp. For the record, I only did a very small amount of training with Tarani and it wasn't even with blades.

Any time I have a hard time raising a burr and I know I need to remove a lot of metal, I do one of two things. Or both. :)

1. Use a more abrasive media. (Low grit stone or belt)
2. Go to a powered (motorized) system.

I would be inclined to use low grit (like 80) sandpaper, or a very coarse sharpening stone on the karambit. If you do, please keep in mind that it's much easier to cosmetically scratch your blade with coarse stones. If you care about looks a lot, you should tape up your blade pretty thoroughly before staring with a coarse stone. I'm actually not sure what kind of motorized system I would try on a karambit, as belts aren't very good at reverse curves.

The corner of a very coarse stone is probably your best bet. Or sandpaper wrapped around a dowel, or maybe wrapped around a sharpmaker rod.

As someone else said, you might be clogging up the corners of your stones pretty good with the amount of sharpening you have been doing. I would recommend using a powdered cleanser and a toothbrush to clean your stones off. I like Bar Keeper's Friend because it has oxalic acid in it, which "eats" steel residue, so it gets sharpening stones really clean. You can use almost any kind though: Comet or something like that will probably do a nice job. If they are clogged, when you unclog them, they should cut faster.

Finally, when removing a lot of metal, I definitely recommend switch sides after a decent amount of grinding. For me, on stones, I usually go for about a minute or so, and then switch. You could probably go for longer; maybe 2 to 3 minutes, and then switch. As the previous poster said, you can off-center your edge if you grind too much on one side.

I'm happy to hear that you have enjoyed the Seven Secrets; I hoped it would help people out.

Good luck with your project. Be sure to let us know how you progress.

Brian.
 
Bgentry: yeah, I tried sharpening it on a work sharp and it doesn't come out sharp. Granted, I didn't put as much effort into investigating why it wasnt coming out sharp, but still. Also, powered sharpeners like the work sharp put a convex edge on (as you know) so it's hard to then go to a stone.

I've tried sandpaper around the rods on a different karambit (120 grit) and I had the same problem. I kept grinding and grinding, but it kept removing marker mostly from the shoulder. I ordered diamond rods which are even more aggressive than the cbn rods, so maybe that will work on this karambit. And I'll keep going until I get a burr.

That's another thing. I haven't cleaned my rods in a while. Thanks for reminding me! I will do that before I use them next and I will report back to you guys when I try again, which might not be for a few days but maybe sooner.

Thanks,

Bo
 
Hey guys, just an update... I haven't had much time to sharpen my karambit but I seem to be making a bit of progress. The apex seems to be getting thinner to the point where I can barely see it. But I'm still not getting a burr. I've done 700 strokes on 60 grit per side. I took some wood dowlings, taped sand paper to them and taped them to the rods. It works really well if you also tape it in the middle and leave it for a few hours. The sand paper kind of molds to the rod a bit.

So guys, should I expect to get a burr soon, since the apex is getting close to forming?

I should note that sometimes I remove material from the shoulder and not the apex(at first), and sometimes I remove steel from the whole edge. Anybody know why this is happening? (I'm pretty sure it's not because I'm shaking, I'm pretty steady, but who knows)

What do you guys think?

Thanks,

Bo
 
Bo-dacious said:
Hey guys, just an update... I haven't had much time to sharpen my karambit but I seem to be making a bit of progress. The apex seems to be getting thinner to the point where I can barely see it. But I'm still not getting a burr. I've done 700 strokes on 60 grit per side. I took some wood dowlings, taped sand paper to them and taped them to the rods. It works really well if you also tape it in the middle and leave it for a few hours. The sand paper kind of molds to the rod a bit.

So guys, should I expect to get a burr soon, since the apex is getting close to forming?

I should note that sometimes I remove material from the shoulder and not the apex(at first), and sometimes I remove steel from the whole edge. Anybody know why this is happening? (I'm pretty sure it's not because I'm shaking, I'm pretty steady, but who knows)

What do you guys think?

Thanks,

Bo
Click to expand...

Wobble doesn't mean you're shaking,
it just means you're a few degrees off the angle
3-5 degrees is common "freehand"

If you can barely see the flat on the apex you're getting close
(which you ought to have an idea about already),
Now might be a good time to switch to the cbn or diamond rods
 
Bucket, okay I'll do a few hundred more strokes on P60 then move up to the higher grits, just Incase I'm not as close as I thought. I'm pretty sure I know what to look for as far as a flat spot on the apex goes.

Thanks,

Bo
 
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