Swivel Knife

[Samalan]

17 hours ago, YinTx said:

+1 on all this.  I also use a bit of water with a couple of drops of dish soap for lubricant on the sandpaper.  Can take it all the way to 2000+ grit sandpaper, wet/dry 3M.  Finish on the 4000+ grit stone if desired, then strop for final polish.

also, I don't follow the roller back and forth, instead side to side, with the roller part OFF of the sandpaper.  It'll slide along just fine on the glass/granite.  This keeps the grain in the direction of the cutting action of the blade, and easier to control the burr for me.  I forget who I saw doing this but it was a game changer for me.

YinTx

I can't think who it was either but we must have saw the same thing because it was a game changer for me also that's funny we sharpen the exact same way and it's very fast and effective . I can get ten strops or more before going back to the stone, and at that it's just a quick touch.

[Squid61]

Kevin at SLC has a video in which he strops side to side but he free hands it, I haven't seen a video using a guide in a side to side fashion.

[Squid61]

Thinking more on this, it seems stropping to a polish should eliminate any drag due to striations from the sharpening/honing stone.  What am I not understanding?

[tsunkasapa]

27 minutes ago, Squid61 said:

Thinking more on this, it seems stropping to a polish should eliminate any drag due to striations from the sharpening/honing stone.  What am I not understanding?

You got it right. It doesn't matter which way you go, polishing takes care of the issue.

[chuck123wapati]

2 hours ago, Squid61 said:

Kevin at SLC has a video in which he strops side to side but he free hands it, I haven't seen a video using a guide in a side to side fashion.

Sharpening is a personal thing like leather work everyone finds their own best way. that's why so many opinions on how to do it. the end result is what is important not how you get there. The idea is a a straight, even on both sides, highly sharpened and polished edge. Of all the things i have cut in my life leather is right up there as hard to do, you need the polish or the knife drags and you need the sharpness or the knife doesn't cut its really that simple. Many overthink the process going from one way to the next but never really getting good at any one way they have tried. Pick a style that you and your hands and eyes can handle and perfect it. My self after the stones i use sandpaper spray glued to my pounding stone up to 2500. No need for the stones for a long time once the edge has been cut unless you nick or damage the blade. 

[oltoot]

S K's and horses: Take the time it takes; don't rush

[Squid61]

A bit of a rant:  Knife sharpening in general seems to carry a lot of anxiety for beginners, odd knives like a swivel knife seem the most intimidating.  Sites like this and more general knife forums do, or should, provide a boost both technically and emotionally to those beginners.  Doesn't help a bit to say do whatever works best for you to a beginner.  Back in the middle fifties when I first started sharpening a gas station grade pocket knife I had no advice to lean on, it took a long time to overcome mistakes that wouldn't have existed with a bit of advance knowledge.

Edited September 18, 2021 by Squid61
content correction

[YinTx]

4 hours ago, Squid61 said:

Thinking more on this, it seems stropping to a polish should eliminate any drag due to striations from the sharpening/honing stone.  What am I not understanding?

It does for the most part.  Not every effort is perfect, so in my mind little things matter.  But probably not.

40 minutes ago, Squid61 said:

Doesn't help a bit to say do whatever works best for you to a beginner.

Not sure I picked up on anyone saying that, really.  But I do get what you are saying.  Just note there is more than one way to do a job, and you just have to pick a way and try to get good at it.  If you just can't get that way to work for you, then try another, or alter what you are doing to suit your style.  Hopefully we have laid out a few techniques here that have worked for us, so a beginner should have enough info to start from.  I started freehand on a small oil stone.  That didn't work for me, I moved to other methods until I landed on one that did.  My final style is probably a bit different from everyone else, but it works for me.

YinTx

[Squid61]

No intent to single anyone out, just a personal comment that applies to all crafts be it leather, wood, welding or whatever.  I would have loved to have had the internet back in the 50's, what a great resource for learning.

[chuck123wapati]

18 hours ago, YinTx said:

It does for the most part.  Not every effort is perfect, so in my mind little things matter.  But probably not.

Not sure I picked up on anyone saying that, really.  But I do get what you are saying.  Just note there is more than one way to do a job, and you just have to pick a way and try to get good at it.  If you just can't get that way to work for you, then try another, or alter what you are doing to suit your style.  Hopefully we have laid out a few techniques here that have worked for us, so a beginner should have enough info to start from.  I started freehand on a small oil stone.  That didn't work for me, I moved to other methods until I landed on one that did.  My final style is probably a bit different from everyone else, but it works for me.

YinTx

yup i agree my daughter has a tee shirt it says" "i can explain it to you but i cant understand it for you" my twist i can show you every step but i cant teach your muscles memory you have to do that part.