Sharpening

[TexasJack]

... If it says China, India, or Pakistan toss it, unless you need a small putty knife, scraper, etc.

Yeah, that's exactly right!

Japan, USA, Germany, England all produce quality steel. Taiwan is hit or miss. But the rest of Asia produces steel that barely qualifies as rebar. I don't care if it says "stainless" or if it shines like a mirror. They don't have the equipment to make good quality tool steel.

Really good steel is hard to sharpen, but holds a great edge. It's not just the composition of the steel; it also has to do with the heat treating.

You say your knife has the name "Hyde" on it. They're supposed to be a pretty good company that makes a broad variety of industrial knives.

Oh, there is one other thing. Some knife steels use vanadium. It helps make a very, very good knife steel. However, it also makes the steel very, very hard to sharpen. Very tiny quantities of vanadium nitride get on the surface as you remove the surrounding steel during sharpening. It is very hard and keeps the steel from coming in contact with the sharpening surface. Time, patience, and a good stone or ceramic will overcome the problem. But if you do have such a knife, the important thing to remember is to keep it sharp and don't let it get so dull that you spend all day sharpening.

[Mick]

Let me add just one more suggestion, . . . I have found one of the best materials for making a really good knife strop is the grey, thick cardboard that is often on the backs of tablets, and sometimes is used in shipping containers for separators of different products. It is kind of porous, . . . will load up well with rouge, . . . and will sharpen a knife to a razor's edge super quick.

I was taught this trick in a Tandy shop, . . . the teacher used it to keep his swivel knife blade sharp. Ummm, . . . yeah, . . . I use it for that too.

May God bless,

Dwight

that is what I use to hone my woodworking gouges/chisels.

[steelhawk]

Where do you get the white rouge. I have some dull tools as well.

[8thsinner]

I hadn't heard of Hyde before but it seems to me that they should be pretty solid blades with a good temper,

The only thing I can think on is that either your sharpening tools are not up to such a high quality blade.

I am currently looking for their rockwell ratings, if it happens to above 61 or 62 that would explain your problem. You will need extremely aggressive fast cutting mediums.

Either japanese wet stones, or perhaps the micro films that go down to .5microns.

Diamond mediums simply won't be able to handle a steel like that for very long.

Another issue could be an inconsistency in the angle you are using.

Oh, found it, they can temper blades up to 64 RC. That would hold a fantastic edge but also be one of the very hardest to sharpen, especially if your not used to such high grades.

Perhaps you should invest in a small rock well tester kit just to make sure.

That place looks perfect for making high end splitter blades.

[longtooth1313]

Thank you again for the great input. Mind is spinning. I have a Japanese wet stone and will try it . Will keep all informed. Thank you again.

[Thumper]

I use my Tormek to put an edge on my tools through about 1,000 grit. Used it on my swivel knife for the initial edge and took about 20 seconds to get it nice and sharp. Rouge and some cardboard got it really nice and sharp in about a minute.

Take your time when learning to sharpen. It's not a race your are looking to win....it's an edge that cuts cleanly and smoothly and I haven't seen an edge yet that is in a hurry.