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Crk&t K.i.s.s.
- Thread starter Munky
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2002
- Messages
- 9,948
My brother had one of those knives. With a little patience, they can be easy to sharpen. Just raise a burr on the left side and strop the right side flat or almost flat against a fine abrasive. Almost flat is better so you don't scratch the bead-blasted finish.
a good tutorial for sharpening chisel grinds is at www.emersonknives.com.
FWIW i prefer to use a norton india stone at the appopriate angle and raise a burr and then to strop the opposite side with a gerber steel (or a stiff piece of cardboard, or even the bench stone).
to keep from scuffing do as thom said or use some masking tape, or live with the scuffs lol.
FWIW i prefer to use a norton india stone at the appopriate angle and raise a burr and then to strop the opposite side with a gerber steel (or a stiff piece of cardboard, or even the bench stone).
to keep from scuffing do as thom said or use some masking tape, or live with the scuffs lol.
Cliff Stamp
BANNED
- Joined
- Oct 5, 1998
- Messages
- 17,562
I spent a lot of time sharpening chisel grinds with soft steels awhile back, AUS-4 and similar. They can be very frustrating, I would NOT recommend stropping the back on cardboard, wood, steel, etc. . It is an edge like any other and needs a stone, once you realize this then it becomes much easier.
The biggest problem is usually that the front side is massively obtuse, usually 30-50 degrees as it is basically the entire angle so most people often just sharpen the shoulder and nothing happens until a lot of metal is ground off.
-Cliff
The biggest problem is usually that the front side is massively obtuse, usually 30-50 degrees as it is basically the entire angle so most people often just sharpen the shoulder and nothing happens until a lot of metal is ground off.
-Cliff
Ahhh memories of my old timberline speckwar…… no longer with me. I’ve also had a kiss, a stiff kiss and a CQC7. Sharpening a chisel grind is a lot like, well, sharpening a chisel, if you know how to do that. The difference is, on these knives there are several bevels. Cliff is right, the bevel is A LOT more obtuse than you’re used to, so find the right bevel using the marker technique or looking to see the scratch pattern on the edge, also feel for a burr. If you’re progressing in grits, make a few passes flat on the back side before switching to the next grit to get rid of the burr. These knives are a bit soft (and cheep stainless:barf: :barf: ) so I often found it necessary to flip sides (still keeping the back flat) a couple times in finishing to totally get rid of the burr.
Sharpening the point of the “chisel ground, tanto point” knife has always been a challenge for me. Getting the perfect angle is hard; keeping the transition line between the main edge and the tip edge crisp is also hard. What I find works best is to sharpen the point with a different technique, I hold the knife like I hold a chisel when sharpening, one hand on the handle with my index finger on the blade, the other hand grasping the blade close to the point (on the dull side of course) with my first couple fingers lined up as far down the blade as I can get them comfortably. This gives me more fine control of the angle, and I also check the angle often (with a marker if necessary) to see if I’m getting it right.
Holding it at a slight angle for the back? It will work if done right but will make your geometry more obtuse, sometimes quite a bit more. I tried this when I was first sharpening chisel grinds, but I only got a really sharp edge by laying it flat (had to grind away my previous attempts form the bevel side). Also as you know the reason these knives are chisel ground is so they lay flat on the single slab handle, start sharpening the back at an angle and you may end up with the edge far enough away form the slab to cut you. I say deal with the scratches or polish the back on finer stones if you want (waterstones are good), chisel ground knives shouldn’t have coatings on the backs anyway. The Japanese chisel ground knives I have all have a hollow in the back to facilitate this, it helps a lot because you’re then just flattening a small amount of metal around the edges of the blade, same with Japanese chisels, ingenious really.
Sharpening the point of the “chisel ground, tanto point” knife has always been a challenge for me. Getting the perfect angle is hard; keeping the transition line between the main edge and the tip edge crisp is also hard. What I find works best is to sharpen the point with a different technique, I hold the knife like I hold a chisel when sharpening, one hand on the handle with my index finger on the blade, the other hand grasping the blade close to the point (on the dull side of course) with my first couple fingers lined up as far down the blade as I can get them comfortably. This gives me more fine control of the angle, and I also check the angle often (with a marker if necessary) to see if I’m getting it right.
Holding it at a slight angle for the back? It will work if done right but will make your geometry more obtuse, sometimes quite a bit more. I tried this when I was first sharpening chisel grinds, but I only got a really sharp edge by laying it flat (had to grind away my previous attempts form the bevel side). Also as you know the reason these knives are chisel ground is so they lay flat on the single slab handle, start sharpening the back at an angle and you may end up with the edge far enough away form the slab to cut you. I say deal with the scratches or polish the back on finer stones if you want (waterstones are good), chisel ground knives shouldn’t have coatings on the backs anyway. The Japanese chisel ground knives I have all have a hollow in the back to facilitate this, it helps a lot because you’re then just flattening a small amount of metal around the edges of the blade, same with Japanese chisels, ingenious really.