Sitting here watching the auction on EBay for my daughters car...bored to tears...so I decided to put an edge on my knifes while watching. Spent a couple of hours just running a steel and Fine Soft Arkansas Stone over them.



The first three knives are my Buck Omni Hunter, my skinner of unknown make (I made the handle) and my, umm, lets call it a Camp Knife.
All three have a razor sharp edge.

The three bayonets...M7, L1A3 and Buck Knife...are all in brand new condition, although again, they all now carry a razor sharp edge.

Only two hours to go on the auction...time to do some more honing.

Cheers, Vince

Vince, nice collection. I've got a Shrade here that could use some work... I've tried several times to get an edge on it and finally gave up. Dad used to do woodcarving and taught me to get a good edge on a knife. The Shrade has been replaced with a Buck.

Thanks Mike.

This is by no means all of my knives. I have another five folding knives, my Great Grandfather's sheath knife and a Leatherman Tool as well as another L1A3 bayonet. One can never have too many knives.

Its not all that difficult to put an adge on a knife...it all comes down to the right stones and steel to use and the correct angles. It took me a couple of years to get it just right, but now I can pick up a blunt knife and 10 minutes later have it razor sharp. My daughter is a Chef and I do all of her knives...plus the ones she brings home from work and says "Please Daddy...can you sharpen this for so and so".

Biggest thing is practice at sharpening. Always practice on a knife that you don't mind stuffing up the edge on so that you don't damage your good knives.

Cheers, Vince

Vince, have you tried the diamond hones or the japanese water stones?
I like both for carbon steel blades.

Not at all fond of stainless as I have yet to figure out how to get them to hone up nice and fast like you can with carbon.

twofifty wrote:

Vince, have you tried the diamond hones or the japanese water stones? I like both for carbon steel blades. Not at all fond of stainless as I have yet to figure out how to get them to hone up nice and fast like you can with carbon.

Not a real fan of the diamond hones....they tend to take off too much metal. I use a double sided sharpening stone (coarse/fine) to put the initial angle/edge on the knife, the a combination of a Fine Arkansas Stone and a very smooth sharpening steel to finish the edge.

Never tried the Japanese Water Stone, although I only use water on my Arkansas Stone. Another good finishing hone is a Ceramic "Steel"...does a beautiful smooth job, but they are too expensive for me. My daughter has a ceramic knife, which holds a beautiful sharp edge. In the months that she has had it, it has never needed to be resharpened...but again, too expensive for my wallet.

I've found that stainless, like any other steel, just takes a bit of practice to get used to honing it. My Buck Omni Hunter is made of 392-1 stainless and it comes up quick and extremely sharp. It also holds an edge well.
Do a bit of research on the various grades of stainless steel used in knife blades and you can then pick a knife with the type of steel that will serve you purpose, is easy to sharpen and will hold an edge. This is what I did before choosing my Buck.

The single biggest thing I have found that contributes to a knife having, and holding, a good edge is the angles at which you sharpen it, then getting used to sharpening at those angles.

Cheers, Vince

I form or shape my edges with a Washita stone and finish the edge with a hard Arkansas stone.

Both of my hunting or outdoor knives are Buck. One Special (119) and one Personal (118)...The rest of my knife collection consists of a Schrade/Walden Old Timer and a Gerber 3 3/4" folding. All sharp enough to shave with.

Putting a razor edged on a knife is next to impossible for me to do.
If I do get a good edge, I figure that it's just a case of dumb luck.

Nice collection Vince.
I'll send you my knives to you for sharpening when you get a chance.

Eric

Good to see you have good taste in Knives . I have a Buck 110 folding hunter , 105 BUCK ,Buck 301-1 stockman ...

WWhooooooa Vince, You guys actually allowed to have such dangerous weapons !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Nice collection

What dangerous weapons? In the hands of a skilled master they're only dangerous to the enemy!

Finally got this in the right place. What a chore...

If Vince can show off his cutlary...So can I. The Firestar M43 is for size comparison. These are all my belt knives...

Throw a Bowie knife in there and that would look just like my arsenal! In my old age (because they're too heavy), I only carry two or three knives at a time, along with a pistol and/or a rifle. Hey, you just never know when you might stumble upon a snake!! (Of some species or another) Those suckers are everywhere. I get tired of shooting them off the back porch.

Cary

Yeh...Kinda puts holes in the porch floor...

I carry one knife, one handgun and one magazine or 12 extra rounds for my revolver if I carry it instead of the semi-auto...

I got a few knives and only one of them do I keep a sharp edge on.

My 2 bayonets and my Gerber LMF II stay ether totally dull like baynets are meant to be or sharp enough to be a utility blade.

My Gerber LST II stays sharp though.

The LMF II is my newest.



Dimitri

chambered221 wrote:

:nono: WWhooooooa Vince, You guys actually allowed to have such dangerous weapons !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nice collection

Yep...allowed to have them...for now anyway.

'Mitri wrote:

My 2 bayonets stay totally dull like baynets are meant to be

The only one of my bayonets that is meant to have a dull edge is the L1A3. The M7 and Buck Knife are both classified as utility knives, that can be fitted to the rifle of course, and as such are allowed to have a keen edge.

Cheers, Vince