Thread: How do you get a swiss army knife razor-sharp?

Originally Posted by Sticky

It takes a while to learn to freehand it, well worth learning though (then you can sharpen a knife anywhere). I usually stop at 1200 grit, except for the very finest knife steel. Sometimes I sharpen them up to 8k or even 12k. I also strop a knife after sharpening it.

Or use one of the clamp systems like DMT, Lansky, Smith, etc.

there we are.
i knew someone had the right answer.

just observe and practice. I'm not a great knife sharpener but that's all i do

The best there is.

That Ezer-sharp looks awesome! Unfortunately it is about 10 times as expensive as my knife, so it will not happen.
I think I am going to go with free-handing, it IS a good skill to have.

Hi Flyboy,

One thing you can do to get a consistent angle is to place the blade with a too-shallow angle. Notice that there is a dark line of shadow between hone and the blade's edge. Carefully raise the back of the blade with the front still in contact and watch for the point when the shadow disappears and "meets" the edge. That's the angle you want. Swipe the blade slowly and carefully while keeping your hand and wrist locked, moving only your elbow or shoulder. It might help if you imagine trying to "shave" a wafer-thin piece off the surface of the stone. Replace the blade on the opposite side using the "shadow trick", and make another pass. Continue this procedure, starting with moderate pressure if necessary, and gradually press lighter and lighter on the stone until you are making feather-light passes. With practice, a fine-enough stone and some stropping, you can get a swiss-army knife blade sharp enough to shave with.

Cheers,
Jeff

Originally Posted by flyboy

That Eze-sharp looks awesome! Unfortunately it is about 10 times as expensive as my knife, so it will not happen.

It is awesome (I have one) and it is quite expensive. However, it's worth it in the long run as you are not tied to proprietary stones like the Edge Pro. When you can use up to 9" x 3" stones from anywhere the options are myriad. It's made from simple components and built like a tank. I also got a very wide flip for it so it can take very long blades. I have one chef's knife with a 14.5" blade and it's dead easy to keep sharp.

Looks like there's a place in the States that carries both and prefers it too.

I would propose considering: 1.) drawing or stroping on stone or trailing the bur. This may be difficult on a flolding kniife so hold appropriatly. this tends to leave a bur which can be removed when stroping or the old way of cutting a piece of wood. You can push the edge but for some reason I like drawing it, maybe one is water stones are softer and can actually chip or pit 2.) a convexed or apple seed edge as opposed to a v edge. This is easier to do hand held. A convexed edge is because of more metal at the edge more durable. A razor is more of a v and technically sharper because it is less resistant when it cuts but for most pocket knives the diffrence is moot. Probally it will be only semi v which I suggest is a valid edge. A true v is for one thing more difficult to grind.

I say this because I am often sharpening knives comericially on a belt sander. Mostly what I do on a belt sander is develop a bur on both sides (usally at about 200 grit) then debur. I'll be able to shave hair with most kitchen knives which is what customers want when they pay someone but I question if a knife really needs to be that sharp or ...stays that sharp.

Alternatly the various clamp on devices hand held mentioned do a fine job.- Rod