Reply With QuoteMate if you can splash out and get yourself an electric knife sharpener. I got mine from King of Knives for about $120. I can not tell you how good of a job it does on all my knives. Money well spent!
G'day
Where's the best place to get some knives sharpened? Type (hollow)?
Have a good pocket knife and good filleting knife to get done.
Dave
Mate if you can splash out and get yourself an electric knife sharpener. I got mine from King of Knives for about $120. I can not tell you how good of a job it does on all my knives. Money well spent!
Hi
It surprises me of the number of people that can't sharpen a knife the good old way with a stone and steel. Takes a little time to master but is worth it. I do all our knives from the filleting ones to the kitchen ones. Secret is kerosine and a good steel.
Ronnie
Yeah I am with you Ronnie. A good quality sharpening stone with either kero or liquid soap good quality steel, ie: F-dick. To hollow grind the knives I use a bench grinder with water to dip the knife in regularly to stop the steel in the knife from getting hot, (because you don't want to take the temper out of the steel in your blade), and just go very steady to begin with running the knife along the grinder just below the cutting edge of your knife. If you can keep it going in the same pattern across the length of the blade a small hallow will form making it easier for you to follow it. Practice is the name of the game.Originally Posted by Mrs Ronnie H
Cheers, Doug.
Love to use Preditek or Kingfisher lures or Viva Lures when I am out fishing.
some may not know the way to sharpen their knives.
after all, a blunt knife is not only dangerous because you have to force it to cut, but frustrating to use and is the main cause that buggers the fillets off your prized catch
sharpening is of course a basic skill, but if you don't know how and if you don't want to feel like a goose by asking (not that you should), this is how to do it.
this is my boat knife (swibo roughly 10yr old), and as you can see, it hasn't had much attention lately.
it is barely sharp enough to cut paper.
the first job is to clean the blade and remove all the rust etc, this is best to be done now while the blade is blunt, don't do it when it is capable of taking your arm off!
with the blade clean, next is to set the bevels
the bevel (or angle of the edge) determines how "sharp" the knife will be. the flatter the bevel, the finer the edge and the sharper it will be, but it will blunten faster.
the steeper the bevel, the knife will not be as sharp, but it will hold this level of 'sharpness' longer.
this bevel is about 6deg (or very flat just to demonstrate the sharpness) which is good for filleting knives, an angle of around 10deg is more suited to bait work etc where the knife cops a bit more abuse.
i will confess now that i have a bench grinder with a fine wheel and also a buffing wheel.
but these results are still possible with SS polish and a file (recommend using a "MILL" file where it only cuts in 1 direction).
CAUTION * if you use a grinder, don't blue (over heat) the steel, this destroys the temper *
the bevels need to be the same angle for the length of the blade and even on both sides
*note: a sushi knive has a bevel on one side only*
next, onto the stone (whether it be whet, oil or diamond), run the entire length of the blade (both sides) on the stone at the SAME ANGLE AS BEFORE and remove all the rough marks from the grinding (filing) process. start with medium pressure while the burr is thick, and lighten the pressure (untill it's just more than the weight of the blade) as the burr becomes smaller.
what is the burr? it is on the very edge of the blade, and it is the metal that you need to remove in order to get a sharp edge. you can feel the burr by lightly running your fingers from the back edge of the knife to off the front edge (the opposite way to which most people feel how sharp a knife is) one side of the blade will feel smooth, and the other side will feel rough, that is the side the burr is bent towards. if you now run the blade on the stone with the burr side down, you will bend it to the opposite side. as you sharpen, you are effectively removing material and bending the burr from side to side untill it is fine enough to come off. this is when the knife feels smooth on both sides of the blade, and the knife is now 'sharp'.
close up view of the burr
with the burr removed, now you have a knife that 'feels sharp' with smooth even bevels on both sides of the blade. onto the steel
steeling the blade will make the knife twice as sharp. when the burr comes off on the stone, it leaves a minute rough edge (can be seen with a magnifing glass). the steel is effectively a finer grade stone and the principle of using it is the same as before, but change the angle slightly (1 or 2deg) so you are steeling the edge only. make slow deliberate strokes (speed comes with practice) on the steel alternating from one side to the other on the blade. steeling should only take 3 or 4 strokes on each side, make sure the angle that you hold the blade on the steel stays the same
finish the sharpening process with a bit of a test.......the dry shave
wipe the blade down with an oiled cloth and pack away ready for use.
this process took me around 10min (power tools) because the knife had been neglected. if you keep your knives sharp and in good condition, it only takes 1 or 2min each time after you use them to keep them perfect.
cheers
grahame
S***fish & chippy
G'day
Wow.. what a response! Thankyou to all.... why don't I know how? Never been taught and want the swiss army knife sharp again for my travels just for a start.
Will follow the steps here as showed by Graheme.
Dave
Hi
Yes that step by step is excellent. I only know cause knew someone who used to work in a meat works and showed me. Now I don't use a grinder but the next best thing-- My Dremel.
Happy sharpening everyone.
Ronnie
Well explained Grahame, You have told it as it should be taught. Well done mate.
Cheers, Doug.
Love to use Preditek or Kingfisher lures or Viva Lures when I am out fishing.
Grahame,
That's a top "How to"... my Grandfather showed me how to sharpen a knife about 30Years ago and he was nearly blind and did it mostly by feel.
Only thing I can suggest is to get some of that draw non-slip material (rubbery feel to it), it holds the stone in place a lot better then the towel..
Cheers
Brett
my stone block (which i made as a 1st yr apprentice) has spikes in the underside to stop any movement, the towel was just to keep the boat seat clean.
another essential tip for a stone, use the entire surface every time to keep the stone flat. this is not as important on a diamond stone, but oil and whetstones it is a must.
(that is the only stone i have owned, and i am the only one who uses it. after 25yrs as a chippy sharpening plane blades, chisels, knives etc, it hasn't needed to be resurfaced or replaced. look after your gear and it will last a lifetime)
good sharpening takes a lot of practice to get it right, starting out tackling a heavy knife with little flex is the easiest, getting the bevels right on a filleting knife is a little bit trickier.
go steady steady, it's not a race, and you can always take a little more off, but you can't put it back if you grind/file too much away.
G
S***fish & chippy
x2 with what every one said, it is a skill and once you learn to properly sharpen your knives, you will use it for the rest of your life. Using the steel at the end I think turns the knife edge into a extremely fine saw edge which cuts better than if you just only use a stone to sharpen your knife.
Don't hollow your pocket knife, this reduces the life of the knife greatly.
Cheers
Ahh takes me back to my boning days in the meatworks,good memorys, still have my williams pipe steels but not as good as i used to be on the grinder anymore too old.
Top stuff Greame.good name too
Graham
I am the first to admit being almost useless when it comes to sharpening anything, be it knives, chisels or any other cutting instrument, I am a rub it on the concrete path, or use a bench grinder type, however my wife is really good at keeping knives sharp, and now and then I will bing in one of my better knives and wimper and sook and carry on untill she sharpens it for me, because if she doesn't I will take one of her knives and use it, and she will never allow that!
My old man taught me to sharpen a knife, he was a tool maker by trade and an engineer by vocation. If I ever touched a knife on grinder in front of him I reckon he would disown me!! I have seen the knife sharpeners do it at inghams, and seen the boners do it at the meat works. His reason was simple, any amount of significant heat will destroy the edge. Even when it came to certain tools he did not like the grinder, and for drills etc it has to be an aluminium oxide grinding wheel IIRC.
I sharpen a knife by sight, not by feel. I am 35 and my eyesight is still pretty sharp, but I am finding it harder and harder all the time. I pretty much need full sunlight now to see the edge, I cant do it even in a well lit room inside the house.
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