Knife #6 and Sharpness issues

RJ – well spoken. I’ve read many of your comments on sharpness and visited your site several times –Like many others in our neck of the woods, I have a lot of respect for your views on the subject.

A couple of your comments made me think – no, I haven’t been using the slack belt portion and, as such, getting full contact on every pass has been a problem …looks like I’ll have to give attention to those two areas

Rene – Last person I scared was my wife on our bike ride last weekend . She was riding on her own bike right behind my old FLH, but got concerned when I started throwing showers of sparks off the floorboards…. (really, I’m a conservative rider). Seriously though, while learning ( a never ending process) I want to work hard to keep the giving the "function" part of the form and function partnership as much attention as the form part.

Rhino, Ragnoor, and others – your comments are right on and like all the others, very instructive. This thread has taught me an awful lot –thanks for the help.

Bob
 
Have a look here for a good discussion.

I've found I get the best edge with the final touch being several strops on leather. I cut a 2" x 24" piece of sheath leather and glued it to a long board for ease of use. This will take the edge from just plain shaving sharp to where the hairs pop or jump from the edge vs. just getting cut off.
 
Southriv,

this may sound strange, especially based on my sharpness thread in this forum, but my favorite edge for doing hard work is about 22 - 25 degrees and is not scary sharp. It is however durable, easy to touch up, and has enough metal behind the edge not to chip or roll easily.

Do many of us like scary sharp - yes! I like it on small blades less than 4" in a folder or a fixed blade. What I really like on any blade though is an aggressive edge. Carbide matrix governs this, I think.

Anyway, my $.02. Really good looking knife by the way.
 
Tracy & Goede - Since I started this thread I've been able to try every suggestion and consider all the opinions. Everyone has contributed something useful - I will also be trying your ideas. I can now put an edge on that will "pop hairs" or a hard working edge. Even so, I know that either edge might not be everyone's favorite edge. Like steel and style, edges come in many forms, suitable for different jobs and preferences.

By starting with a variety of edge thicknesses and trying everyone's suggestions, I have now come up with with several different, but useful and durable edges. While I think this has also taught me that while everyone eventually finds a system that suits them best, I remain curious about this aspect of knifemaking and will always be interested in trying new methods. Thanks for your ideas.

Bob
 
if you want a really sharp edge (and disregard other things like risk of chipping and increased blade wear), get rid of those cantle and convex rolled edges and hone right along the primary bevel grind (in the case of flat-ground blades). this is why i like full-height hollow-ground blades. if you lay them flat on the stone, the edge and spine automatically form a bevel template for sharpening. but then, most will agree that a secondary bevel/roll is important for edge durability.
 
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