sword sharpening

[mack79]

What is the best thing way to get a razor Sharpe edge on a 24 in. Blade katana forged out of 1075 carbon steel.

 

[Ed E]

I just been using an older equivalent of the Gatco 6224 Super Micro X Sharpener

I do have diamond stones, but this works fairly well and is very easy to sharpen my 2 handed short sword:

 

[mack79]

Thx ed

 

[kevin -the professor]

Put the blade (carefully, with pads) in a vise. Take a good stone to the blade instead of the blade to the stone. Take some leather, and glue it to a nice hard, flat piece of wood. Then, rub green chrome polishing compound all over it. Use that to strop the edge. In a crisis, with chipped or rolled edged, you can use an old (new-old-stock) Nicholson or Simmonds smooth cut file, and then go to coarse and fine stones, and then leather.

water stones if you want to be traditional. But, for the sort of cutting most of us do, rather than competition, a good edge geometry, and shaving-polished edge, can both easily be obtained this way. Doesn't take 10 minutes, either. You can also use a slack belt on a grinder, if you have variable speed and good grinder mojo.

I use the same file-stone-strop technique for axes and hatchets, too. You will be amazed how fast you can do this. You just need to kiss the edge with the stone. If the geometry needs changing, that's why God made smooth cut files.

 

[ATJ999]

I use my Slimline machete/swords a lot, and sharpen them a lot. I can get them hair shaving sharp after a hard days use. I start out with a rough grit arkansas stone, a rough grit ceramic would do, then I go to my medium grit spyderco triangle ceramic rods, but I use them free hand, not with the sharpmaker guided system. First the edge of the triangle(sometime I will hold the ceramic up and run most of the blade past it, holding both in the air), I usually hold the blade down and run the ceramic over the blade. Then I switch to the flat part of the triangle. These are great for getting precise angles, they help a lot and they are not clunky or heavy. You can whip them back and forth pretty fast when you get the hang of it. It does take practice! Then I move onto the ultra fine grit triangle rod, same thing. I usually work like a foot at a time, but it is all blended together, organic, not set spaces, so it is an even edge and not different per foot. Sometimes between the two triangle rods I use a black surgical Arkansas stone, depends.
If you need major work, I hit the diamond first, then go to what I mentioned above. If I am sharpening a completely dull blade, like making a blade and starting an edge, I use a belt grinder with a makeshift angle guide.

I have tried bench stones, machines, guided systems, etc, and this method, FOR ME, is the most user friendly, easiest learning curve method I have used sharpening swords. And the fastest!
Everyone is different though.

Good luck!

 

[mack79]

Thx everyone for the tips!!