Knife sharpening

Hi

Wanting to try improve my knife sharpening and am looking for suitable leather offcuts to make a large stropping leather.

I currently have a Nirey belt sharpener which does a reasonable job but doesn't achieve a really good edge. I previously had a chefs choice 3 stage electric sharpener and that did a better job. I could achieve a shave quality edge with that, but it wasn't very robust and eventually the rather weak motor failed

So hoping someone might know where I can get some leather. ( I believe cowhide might be suitable)

Thanks

Eric

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elecy knife sharpeners

Mon, 2018-06-18 21:17

 elecy knife sharpeners ar ok , but its hard to get a better edge than using old school stone and a steel , i did buy a knife sharpener from a yank hunting mag years ago that you could put your knife in the suplied clamp and stone it with the 4 different stones supplied cant find it now but you could get a shaving quality finish on them

  

little johnny's picture

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Old school Eric

Mon, 2018-06-18 21:54

And very effective.i use wet stone. And very fine steel. Sometimes when stuck have used leather to take small imperfections out off blade. Certainly does work. Hard to get to a thick leather strop now days. I use my riggers leather belt .its about 4 mm thick , good quality leather .also carrys hunting knifes at all times. Multi use always with you. Try a trade shop or tool shop. There about 2.5 inches wide ( perfect).

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choise of knifes

Mon, 2018-06-18 23:03

 hey johnny what you choice of knifes ., me i like swibos for filleting , for gill and guting big dick knifes (yes that is a brand name)

Madmerv's picture

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Names

Tue, 2018-06-19 04:16

 Are you thinking of F.Dick knives. The german made knife from Friedrich Dick who founded his company in 1778?

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yeah

Tue, 2018-06-19 20:01

 sorry got it wrong

 

OOH YEH's picture

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Knife sharpening

Tue, 2018-06-19 02:59

Being a ex butcher I use good old stones and a flat steel and I find swibo knives are very soft and get a razor sharp edge very quickly.... my preference is the victornox harder steel and keeps a edge longer. 

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G'day Ericl

Tue, 2018-06-19 04:09

 Are you after some stiff leather for a hanging strop or softer leather for a block strop.

If you want the stiff leather that has been vegi tanned, the best for strops, then there is a place in Osborne Park that sells it for an arm and a bit of your leg.

If you are after some softer leather that can be glued to a wood block, my prefered stropping method, then i can sling you some nice kangaroo hide for free. NOR.

The difference in the 2 methods is that you can roll the fine cutting edge on a hanging strop very easy with a knife because of the width of the blade. A rasor that is less than 2cm wide can be done a lot easier.

I sharpen with a stone and using a block strop just means i have to keep the same angle as i sharpened the knife. The slight give in a softer leather has the same effect as a hanging strop but without the possibility of it folding around the blade to much.

Your other option is to go and stalk the op shops for a nice wide quality leather belt. Usually in the womens section. I got a nice english horse leather belt for $10 and it made 2 strops.

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sea-kem's picture

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 Just on steels, a mate of

Tue, 2018-06-19 05:53

 Just on steels, a mate of mine who's a butcher recently cleaned mine with very fine wet and dry. He said thye get clogged up after a while. The difference it's made is amazing, a few swipes and the knife has a good edge. It's a good quality steel that's why he did it for me, reckons it will last a lifetime.

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Knives

Tue, 2018-06-19 06:22

Hi Merv

Thanks for the offer of kangaroo hide. That will be great. I live NOR so will happily drive out to you when convenient. I am wanting to make a block strop so that will be great. I'll probably also visit an op shop and look for a decent old leather belt.

I do have a wet stone as well which is as yet unused. I think it is 400 and 1200. I have also ordered a Ruixin knife sharpener from Aliexpress which looks interesting and was pretty cheap, about $30.00 and looks like it can do various blade angles. I did have a Lansky (probably like Pete mentioned) that was a similar principal but was pretty small and the blade clamping not great.

Heading to Coral bay mid July so instead of just talking while barbequing, I'll talk and sharpen knives

My knives are

Old Swibo 30 years plus (marked wenger on the blade) and some newer Swibo marked Victorinox. I also have a Victorinox Block and steel as well as an eliptical diamond steel. The old swibo seem better than the new, and I also have a spanish knife from Toledo which is the hardest of all. A real bugger to get an edge on.

I'll post a pic of the Ruixin when I get it and mention the results

Knives are obviously close to everyones heart on this forum so thanks for all the replis

Cheers

Eric

 

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Sharp knives

Tue, 2018-06-19 11:04

 Get yourself a Spyderco triangle sharpmaker.

Razor sharp knives all the time when used properly. Been using them for over ten years and never looked back.

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Tue, 2018-06-19 11:17

 I have a victorinox knife in my draw, took it out once and slashed my palm with out any effort, put it back in its pack and put in back in the drawer where it’s been ever since. Gee, that knife was sharp.

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Madmerv's picture

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To Sharp

Tue, 2018-06-19 11:41

 You are not alone there in thinking a knife is to sharp to handle.

Personally i work the other way around. It blows me away that people work with blunt knives.

A knife is designed to cut, like a scalpel, with one pass. How can people then use one that has to be used like a hacksaw blade(exageration there).

Like i told my wife "If you dont run the sharp part of the knife across your fingers, then you wont cut yourself"

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 My friend who makes knives

Tue, 2018-06-19 12:14

 My friend who makes knives uses the below. I've used it a few times and is very easy to achieve shaving sharpness with it. If it wasn't so expensive I would but it myself...

wickededgeusa.com/collections/sharpeners/products/wicked-edge-field-and-sport-pro

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Tue, 2018-06-19 12:55

 Wow, it would cost you over a grand just get it here.

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I have done my time with a

Tue, 2018-06-19 14:00

I have done my time with a stone and steel and now use the Chefs Choice 3 stage sharpener. The time it takes me with a stone versus the cost of the Chefs Choice is a no brainer especially when my wife has no regard for the kitchen knives that regularly need sharpening also. If the Chefs Choice shits itself, I will happily purchase another.

Hard to beat Victorinox - I still have my boning and steak knife from 30 years ago, however for filleting I use a Dexter Russell carbon steel knife. Holds the edge a lot longer IMO.

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 I recently bought a Dexter

Tue, 2018-06-19 16:09

 I recently bought a Dexter Russell filleting knife, what a revelation. You are right I can't belive how long the edge stays on it.

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Dexters

Tue, 2018-06-19 18:10

Are the go. 

And also the Tramontina 24628/082 for skinning. 

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wife with no regard for the knifes

Tue, 2018-06-19 20:09

 i got home from work 1 day in k town and found wifey triming up our banana tree with my best filleting knife

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Failing the strop Eric, I did

Tue, 2018-06-19 19:27

Failing the strop Eric, I did some reading and found a good alternative for getting the knife shaving sharp. 

After I've got a good bur I run green josco polishing compound on a piece of cardboard and run the blade backwards over it 6 or so times each side to knock the bur off. Give it a lick with my super fine steel and she's ready to shave with.

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little johnny's picture

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My left arm always bald

Tue, 2018-06-19 19:41

Dexters and giesser fishing.old timer for hunting. All hold good edge for long time.

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HAHAHA...

Wed, 2018-06-20 18:47

 Yes, me too mate - hairless left forearm!

little johnny's picture

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Yep

Wed, 2018-06-20 20:05

Good test. Funny story when I first met my wife " be carefull of my knifes ,there sharp" got her to give me one of her hairs off her head . Watch this . Went to chop hair out my fingers ,ended up in hospital .lost end off thumb ,on way there lost end of thumb . True story , funny to this day. How to impress your future wife.

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 This is the machine i have

Wed, 2018-06-20 22:07

 This is the machine i have in my shed now, after watching a mates old man making his own broadhead arrows and getting them razor sharp i always  knew the mechanical wet stone was the way to go...

 

And it is!!

 

Fine 4000 grit wet stone on one side and the leather honing wheel on the other, very expensive for having around the place for sharpening knives ( and my missus like to remind me ) but she'll hopefully last a lifetime...

 

https://www.totaltools.com.au/109790-tormek-t8-sharpening-machine-t8?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIi-zc_LPi2wIVBCUrCh1mEwBeEAQYASABEgJWivD_BwE

 

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Serious coin

Thu, 2018-06-21 04:28

 That is some serious coin to splash out for a sharpening stone and strop. Would be worth it if you did knife sharpening for a living.

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 Yes, my mate the knife maker

Thu, 2018-06-21 08:11

 Yes, my mate the knife maker has one of these too, he used to you it exclusively but now uses the wicked edge tool quite a bit.

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Tormek

Thu, 2018-06-21 06:51

I have looked with great interest at the Tormek, but just the T4

If I take into account all the sharpeners I have bought, I could have (and probably should have) bought a Tormek

Lansky + Chefs choice plus Nirey plus replacement belts and one other complicated sharpener that I cant remember the name would have easily equalled 1 x Tormek plus knife attachments 

Oh well, Australia Post tracking shows that my Ruixin has arrived in Welshpool so hopefully will get it by tomorrow. Too late for the Dhuies I am going to catch tomorrow 

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 The Tormek 4 would be fine,

Thu, 2018-06-21 08:23

 The Tormek 4 would be fine, i was planning on going semi commercial but never eventuated....

 

It is a seriously good machine if you want ultra sharp knives of any angle....

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Timboon

Thu, 2018-06-21 09:14

Do you find they wear knifes down quicker. ( electric sharpeners) ?

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 stone and steel imo give a

Thu, 2018-06-21 12:22

 stone and steel imo give a better edge, depends on how much time your prepared to spend on a blunt knife. i have found electric sharpeners put too much of a shoulder on the blades which makes it harder to use. generally i wont anyone touch my good knives as they have been the cause of quite a few cuts over the years. 

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Leave a good knife where the

Thu, 2018-06-21 15:39

Leave a good knife where the Mrs can get it and you will struggle to cut a banana with it after one night

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 i know exactly what you

Thu, 2018-06-21 16:58

 i know exactly what you mean. my good knives are put away out of sight and for my hands only. even my bait knife on the boat is sharp enough to despatch and gut a shark.

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Its not an electric

Thu, 2018-06-21 21:06

Its not an electric sharpener, its a wet stone....

 

Incorrect use of a stone manually will scallop a knife, the Tormek you wont....

 

The Tormek is very easy to get an even adge along the whole blade with fuck all pressure, in fact i'd go so far as to say it goes the other way.... If you have a scalloped knife edge then the Tormek makes it easy to work on a particular area more should you need it.

 

If anyone is interested find out where they are sold and go get a demo,

 

Very good bit of kit!!