What do you use for sharpening?

This area is dedicated to balisong (also known as butterfly) knives, and to the fine art of using them.

Moderator: The Motley Crew

Forum rules
There are a few things you should know before posting in these forums. If you are a new user, please click here and read carefully. Thanks a lot!
Post Reply
baliguy
Posts: 39
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2007 11:19 pm

What do you use for sharpening?

Post by baliguy »

Hey guys, With all the sharpeners, stones, systems..etc. What does everybody use and which are good and which should be avoided? I would prefer to get a nice sharpener that will put a shaving edge on my blades when they need to be sharpened but will not mark up the surrounding metal with scratches or clamp marks..etc What are the good systems? Thx for any help you can give me..
User avatar
Vagrant
Self Appointed Authority
Posts: 25715
Joined: Fri May 24, 2002 10:07 am
Location: Live Free or Die
Contact:

Re: What do you use for sharpening?

Post by Vagrant »

Virtually any sharpener will work well. But, almost all of hem depend [in varying degrees] on the skill with which you use it :idea:
Clamps are usually aluminum and should not affect steel unless there is some type of grit/debris on them.
Scratches from the sharpener mean you have the angle wrong.
baliguy
Posts: 39
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2007 11:19 pm

Re: What do you use for sharpening?

Post by baliguy »

Well sure, all must work to varying degrees. What I mean is which system do people find the best? Which give the best edges and have ease of use etc? Which system is the best? I am looking for something quick and simple that will give a shaving sharp edge when used....Just looking for opinions from others with sharpeners for balisongs.
User avatar
Vagrant
Self Appointed Authority
Posts: 25715
Joined: Fri May 24, 2002 10:07 am
Location: Live Free or Die
Contact:

Re: What do you use for sharpening?

Post by Vagrant »

baliguy wrote:Well sure, all must work to varying degrees. What I mean is which system do people find the best? Which give the best edges and have ease of use etc? Which system is the best? I am looking for something quick and simple that will give a shaving sharp edge when used....Just looking for opinions from others with sharpeners for balisongs.
The easiest ? A beltsander BUT, unless you practice on LOTS of scrap 1st you will ruin lots of blade before you "get it right" :idea:
It is VERY easy to "draw the temper", especially at the tip :!:
The best ? Arkasas stones but practice needed, to get good.
The best EASY way ? Lansky or Gatco [no preference].
tpyke
Posts: 175
Joined: Sun Jan 16, 2005 2:40 pm

Re: What do you use for sharpening?

Post by tpyke »

Gotta agree with the belt sander. Sharp AND fast. Jerry Hossom (check out his website and his knives if you haven't already) posted a thread once upon a time about this.....here I found it for you:
Get it Sharp and Do it Fast.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I decided I'd just put this up here so I can talk about it without needing a link. IMO (and others) it's just the fastest, easiest and best way to get a knife super sharp. It's especially useful for the 99% of the people in the world who couldn't use a whetstone if their life depended on it - like me!


This assumes you have a 1x30 or 1x42 belt sander. They can be had from discount equipment suppliers such as Harbor Freight or Enco for as little as $40. Get one. You'll find a lot of other uses for the sander so the money is well spent.

Now go to Lee Valley Tools for sharpening belts. http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=...,43072 I'd suggest the following to get started. (Started as in these will probably last you forever.) Understand that you don't use all of these on all knives or steels. It usually depends on how bad the edge is and if it's tool steel or high alloy stuff.

Aluminum Oxide Belts: 180, 320, 500, 1200.

15 Micron SiC belts (get two, you'll probably use these exclusively after you get your knives sharp to start with.)

Leather Honing Belt. This is what makes owning a belt sander worth it. It's basically a power strop and can put a fine polished edge on a blade in no time. You might want to get two. Use one with compound for polishing and keep the second one clean for just stropping.

Then go to

http://www.popsknifesupplies.com/compound.html

Buy the 525 white compound. It should last you for the rest of your life. You might also want to get some of the HF1 compound which is finer, and for very fine edges on small knives could be a good choice. While there, brouse around. There are many other ways to spend money, including getting your own Bader BIII Variable Speed Grinder.

Start with the finest belt first and move to more aggressive belts as you get a handle on how they cut. If you have some cheap kitchen knives, they're great for learning on. Once you get a feel for this you'll be starting with a belt that's close to what you need for each kind of knife and how dull it is. 500 grit, 1200 grit then 15 micron is probably good for most knives. If the edge is in pretty good shape, jump right to 15 microns and be done with it.

What you are going to be trying to do is to raise a fine wire edge along the blade, holding the blade at about 20 degrees to the belt (edge down). You'll know what a wire edge is when you first see it. It will look like the edge is falling off, and in a way it is. Use a light touch until you see how each belt cuts, and gently press the edge into the belt with the edge held on the belt in a slack portion just below the top idler wheel or above the platen at the bottom. (Oh yeah, throw away all the safety shields; they just get in the way.) You want a slack belt, but not too slack so stay near where the belt is supported or has backing.

In all cases, except with the leather polishing belt, take one pass of the edge across the belt, then dip it in some water (a bucket is nice) and wipe dry. Repeat. This will be a drag when you get started, and when you get a feel for how the heat builds up on the edge you can probably take 2-3-4 passes before dipping. But DON'T let the edge get hot. DON'T let the edge get HOT!! This isn't all that difficult or threatening to the blade; you just need to be aware of heat build up.

Once you have a wire edge with the 15 micron belt, put on the leather belt and apply some white compound, not too much. Strop the edge against the leather belt - at the same angle. This will polish the edge and strip away most or all of the wire. If some wire is still there, you can remove it with a wad of paper towel run along the length of the edge.

Play with angles as you see fit. depending on the type of knives and whether you want hair popping sharp and seriously tough. In either case you will get a convex edge which is inherently tougher than flat bevels.

Have fun!


Maybe you could practice on a couple M4's..... :idea:
HOW FORUMS WORK:
Image
User avatar
cardoso5fr
Posts: 1140
Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2006 1:30 pm
Contact:

Re: What do you use for sharpening?

Post by cardoso5fr »

I use the spyderco 204 sharpmaker or two arkansas stone in function of my humor. And my balisong are no exception, i use the same thing for all the knive
baliguy
Posts: 39
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2007 11:19 pm

Re: What do you use for sharpening?

Post by baliguy »

I don't have a belt sander to use anyway but thnx for the procedure, I like reading info such as this. I am looking at the Lansky systems and Gatco units. I remember my father using a lansky "V" system when I was younger and he said they are great. I will continue my research thnx for the help guys.
User avatar
Vanagas
Posts: 1528
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:29 am

Re: What do you use for sharpening?

Post by Vanagas »

Recently picked me up a Smith's Sharpening System. They have them at Lowes. Also seen one the other day at Meijer.

Works good for me, but still playing with it. Some skill is being developed and edges are improving. I posted some pics and stuff in the General Discussion Forum: http://www.talkblade.info/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10415

If you look around there are a couple other threads about knife sharpening I started. I had bought a bunch of gadgets and wasn't getting that really sharp edge I wanted. Much happier now. :D
Mike
User avatar
tr4252
Special Agent Oy Oy Seven
Posts: 3764
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2003 9:21 pm
Contact:

Re: What do you use for sharpening?

Post by tr4252 »

I like the Lansky, in principle. It's a good idea, just a little light weight in its construction for my liking. The Edgeco unit looks similar, but is a lot more expensive.

A Lansky will do a pretty good edge, you just have to get your blade clamped securely, and learn to set it up right.

Tom
Is it...Tomorrow....Or just the end of time?
balibalistic
Posts: 140
Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2004 12:32 am

Re: What do you use for sharpening?

Post by balibalistic »

I use a worn 220 grit belt to establish the main edge bevel,then move to stones.followed byv a light strop on a leather belt.when done correctly this will produce a scary sharp edge.

I've tried all the quick fixes..,belt then buff.belt to leather 2x72 belt ect! but find that a good hand finish far exceeds my machine shapening.any angle sharpening system will do the trick..,just learn how to use it,or go free hand!
8thsinner
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2003 8:46 pm
Location: Belfast
Contact:

Re: What do you use for sharpening?

Post by 8thsinner »

My personal preference is to go free hand for a few simple reasons.
Theoretically any stone can be made to sharpen to different degrees.
No need for electric
Jigs are large and awkard often times, (I know small ones exist) But still...
I find it much more rewarding to take a friends knife, and sharpen it by hand, it's just more personal.


My own kit boxed in an otter box, base camp size is basically..
1000, 4000, 8000, Japanese slip stones
Nagura stone
Flat diamond file
Semi round diamond file
Round diamond file
Leather strip
Polishing compound, Not sure which one.
Small vile of non toxic oil
Rust remover (Ski buff)
SLurry removing J cloth

I also have a permanently set strop with compound at the ready.

4inch mini steels are available and good for roughing up a blades edge if you are intending to cut a lot of rope in the near future.

In addition I keep a bag of wet and dry, and mouse mat bits for convex edges at home. But in the field the kit does everything I need it to and water is easy to store in the box when needed.

I prefer the polished edge like a mirror.
Doing the right thing is bleeding for the cause.
User avatar
tr4252
Special Agent Oy Oy Seven
Posts: 3764
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2003 9:21 pm
Contact:

Re: What do you use for sharpening?

Post by tr4252 »

I may be switching to something new; I think I'll try what the Chinese use - slave labor. Trouble is, the only slaves I can afford are cats, and they're so hard to train.

Tom
Is it...Tomorrow....Or just the end of time?
User avatar
Vanagas
Posts: 1528
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:29 am

Re: What do you use for sharpening?

Post by Vanagas »

tr4252 wrote:I may be switching to something new; I think I'll try what the Chinese use - slave labor. Trouble is, the only slaves I can afford are cats, and they're so hard to train.

Tom
I'll have some of what Tom's smoking. 8)
Mike
--J
Posts: 343
Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:58 pm

Re: What do you use for sharpening?

Post by --J »

--------
Last edited by --J on Wed Dec 29, 2010 6:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
8thsinner
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2003 8:46 pm
Location: Belfast
Contact:

Re: What do you use for sharpening?

Post by 8thsinner »

hehe, perhaps I am more afraid of my friends using them than yours are...
Doing the right thing is bleeding for the cause.
Post Reply