at last easy sharpening - RAZOR SHARP - khuks

ghorka

ghorka

Joined
Jul 7, 2002
Messages
140
HEYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH at last easy RAZOR SHARP khukri"s:) :) :) :) :)
i have spent the last3-4 days slowly getting my khuks blunter:mad: .
i tried several ways even bought a rubber sided sanding block,2 differant dowels wetand dry differant grits ect, to no avail.
THEN AT LAST. i went down to my local hardware store to look for a last ditch effort to find somethin to sharpen these khuks.after about 10 mins BINGO i spotted a little pen like object amongst all the gadgets and gizmos,its called EZE-LAP from carson city. nv.
well i paid my $26 australian a little dubiously .about $13USA and headed home.right out came khuk no one 15inch ang khola, i held the kuke with the sharp side away from me and started experimenting, stroking straight across and then down long ways being very carfull to not slip onto the blade. well to cut a long story short i found the best way was to just do a 3-inch section at a time blade held with sharp away from me then proceeded slowly figure of eight stroking at a nice flat angle to the blade, when i say flat i mean laying the flat section of the sharpener onto the blade as close to the original angle allready there,then backwards and forwards in a figure of 8 like stirring a cup of coffee sort of, about 7 figures of 8 then move up the blade to next 3inch section and same again till you finish at the point of the blade, then swap hands turn blade over do same to the other side. then test edge gently with thumb, finish of with a couple smooth slow strokes to each side of the blade, wipe with cloth oil and bingo ready to put away. or use. what a great little gadget. it is semi round with a groove on the top for sharpening hooks ect, and on the bottom its flat the flat side is what you lay on the blade with your index finger on top to steady . and just go slow so you have total control. AS I SAID I COULDANT SHARPEN ANYTHING.this little beuty makes it easy, and you can have your blade as sharp as you want.and whats more it clips nicely on your pocket or on the side of your scabbard frog. :) :) :) NOW THE EXPERTS HERE ARE GONNA BE SHAKIN THERE HEADS WITH HORROR, BUT IT GETS EM NICE AN SHARP AS MY ARM CAN TESTIFY I HAVE ONE VERY BALD FOREARM AFTER SHARPENING 7 KHUKS AND A KAGNESS KATNE AND ALL THERE KARDAS. plus it took me approx 60 mins to do the lot once i got the hang of it. good luck just go sloww till you get the hang of it.;)
 
Yeah, I have an EZ lap. I prefer the stone. If I were out in the field the diamond hones might be good, though hard steel hones work fine for me.
I have only begun to get the hang of sharpening. I am doing as well now as when my father taught me years ago, an ability I'd lost in frustration fighting the 'new improved steels".

I think you'll quickly learn the knowledgeable people in this forum have owned about everything, made most the mistakes possible, and have excellent advise.

munk
 
THANKS MUNK I AGREE I AM REALY JEALOUS OF THE GUYS WHO CAN SHARPEN SO WELL, BUT FOR ME THAT LITTLE DIAMOND EZE LAP SHARPENS THESE ULTRA TOP GRADE STEEL HI KHUKS,SO EASILY EVEN FOR A DOPE SHARPENER LIKE ME THAT I WILL STICK WITH THE EZE LAP. IT GETS THE KHUKS ALMOST RAZOR SHARP IN MINUTES,AND THEY ARE PROBABLY TWICE AS SHARP AS THEY NEED TO BE TO GET ANY JOB YOU"D CARE TO HANDLE DONE.I HAVE GONE FROM A DISSAPOINTED KHUK LOVER TO ONE WHO NOW KNOWS THESE KHUKS ARE READY TO GET ANY JOB DONE.ALL I CAN SAY IS ANY NEWBIE OUT THERE WHO WANTS A GOOD SHARP KHUK IN NO TIME AT ALL,GO FOR A SMALL DIAMOND SHARPENER.AN YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU ANYWHERE.:cool: :)
 
..if it's not broke.

Ghorka, my problem now is when I establish a burr getting the two sides even without using a strop. I can get my Khuks sharp enough, though the 'razor' edge part not as frequently.

munk
 
EZE-LAP is an okay tool, but I like the DMT Duo-Fold better. There's several advantages to the DMT Duo-Folds of which having a real handle when you unfold them is the least but probably the most important.
The longer handles keep your hands safer and IMO give one better control.
I hate these edges the khuks have these days and much prefer the older and traditional convex edge.
The convex edge is no doubt harder for some newbies to sharpen, but there's many, many reasons to prefer the convex edge.
Besides left to a man's natural ability's he will eventually wind up with a convex edge as straight lines are abhorent in nature.
 
Yvsa, can you show us a close up of a properly sharpened convex edge?

Thanks
munk
 
Originally posted by munk
Yvsa, can you show us a close up of a properly sharpened convex edge?

Thanks
munk
Click to expand...

Munk I know you can see a one sided convex edge on a search in the Busse Forum as Busse has a special grind he puts on his knive's.
The claim is that it's easier to sharpen in the field, but I made both of my Busse's into a convex edge since the convex edge is not a problem for me.
The convex edge is simply two arcs that meet together in a sharp point. If you could put the parentheses marks right next to one another you would have a double edged convex edged knife or sword,().
Joe Talmadge (sp?) says that to perfectly sharpen a convex edge you need to send it back to the maker if you don't have access to a slack belt grinder, but many of us know that's not entirely true although it is easier.
You can do the same thing with a piece of sandpaper and a piece of styrofoam or leather, mousepad or any surface that gives a little in a similar way.
The most important thing is still to get a burr all along one edge first!!!!!!!!!!!
Then all along the other side, from there it's just a matter of stroping the burr off clean.
There's nothing sharper than a finely sharpened convex edge nor nothing stronger in all of the edges possible!!!!

Here's the 3rd page of the sharpening FAQ's found at the top of any page in BF.com under the heading of......TUTORIALS / FAQ's ...
http://www.bladeforums.com/features/faqsharp-differently.shtml
 
ghorka,

Sounds good to me if it works for you.
At the first sign of dulling, try using the chakmas with the same motions. Try a few chakmas, some seem to work considerably better than others. It's taken me a while to be able to (almost!) always improve the edge with them, but it is worth it. I "polish" the edge with the sides gradually decreasing the pressure until just about only the weight of the chakmas is applied. The "edge" can be used if there is a roll or wave in the edge, then finish with the side. As good as it feels to get them sharp, it feels even better to keep them sharp without removing a lot of metal!:)
 
Yes, all my knives eventually have some convex edge qualities..as you say, it is natural. I don't understand why someone would say you have to send it back to the manufacturer.

munk
 
Originally posted by munk
Yes, all my knives eventually have some convex edge qualities..as you say, it is natural. I don't understand why someone would say you have to send it back to the manufacturer.

munk
Click to expand...

Munk, Joe is probably better than I am at sharpening a knife quickly and accurately, but I don't know for sure since we've never met.
I do know that most people say Joe is an expert so I have to respect that and concur.:)
I think the reason that Joe said what he did is because so many people want dead on angles or dead on lines on both sides of their blades.
I could maybe see that on a high end custom, but I doubt it if I was gonna use it. Sorta like some people thinking the YCS is too pretty to use.:grumpy:
Now if it was a knife I bought just to look at I might want everything nice and even, but then the point becomes moot because the maker would put the perfect edge on and without use it should stay sharp for a long time as long as it was protected fully from any corrosion.
Carbon steel loses it's edge if it becomes corroded which is why Grandpa's old pocket knive's weren't always sharp when he went to use it.
But using a slack belt is the easiest way to sharpen a convex edge and me having my Grizzly Industries Knife Grinder gives me a great advantage in sharpening my khuks as well as all my other knives.
I'm pretty sure all of my using knive's have convex edges, but some haven't been used in a year or three so I may be missing a couple in my mind.:rolleyes:

Originally posted by firkin
Sounds good to me if it works for you.
Click to expand...
Firkin when it comes to the bottom line you've nailed it dead center.:)
What works for one doesn't always work for another, but in the end if a man wants a sharp knife in a hurry it will eventually become convexed using conventional methods of sharpening.
EZE-LAP makes a pretty decent product in most cases.
I have a 6" EZE-LAP that I like middlin' well. The problem I have with them is that their diamond hones aren't perfectly flat.
It looks to me like they're using lengths of flat bar stock such as 1018 and impregnating one side with the diamond.
Flat bar stock isn't flat unless it's been milled or ground flat and so has little valleys and hills on the surface. That's not something that would be good to sharpen a high end wood chisel on AFAIC.
 
Yvsa, what did that knife grinder cost?

you know, once you got the two sides of the edge perfectly aligned, in use they would become 'unaligned'. I've said over and over again I am not a knife guy; I just like Khukuris. But I know the pursuit of perfection because the same madness runs in the firearms fraternity.

munk
 
I think the reason that Joe said what he did is because so many people want dead on angles or dead on lines on both sides of their blades.
Click to expand...

I guess you need exact angles if you use a sharpening jig--the same angles as the jigs.

Doesn't a full, smooth convex grind up to the spine or fuller make both of these moot? No lines, and a small angle difference is invisible.

But you need to worry about the whole side of the blade if you want polish.

Kinda seems to be a fashion fad, thick blades with deep concave grinds is "in" now. For many, the uglier the knife, the better, kinda like athletic shoes.

I think a simple graceful blade shape with no visible grind line is prettier, but I'm rarely in fashion.:)
 
That comment in the Sharpening FAQ is outdated. Joe is in the process of updating the FAQ's now. The knowledge on the forums now is many times greater than it was just a few years ago.

Here is an actual full dual convex profile with a top sharpened edge :

http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/images/edge_profile_valiant_golok.gif

A khukuri doesn't have this profile, it is usually convex / hollow / convex like an axe. Or convex / hollow / flat.

-Cliff
 
Thanks Cliff.
It does seem like I read somewhere that Joe was updating the FAQ's.
There's been an influx of a bunch of new steels and other materials as well since Joe's FAQ's were originally written.
 
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