i lost my knife sharpener...

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Ducking pool cues? Where were you in 1972. I was an ace.

I'm not sure my sense of humor has won me any friends at THR. As you remember, someone asked me about removing a burr and I wrote a treatise on getting the cork out of a bottle of Patron.

They have no one to blame but themselves. They ask me things like, "Chico, tell us how you came to excel at this."

And then they frown when I respond, "An old girl friend owned a liquor store..."

"No, no, the sharpening, the sharpening, you lout...!"
 
He does know I sharpen for living only, doesn't he?
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Of course I do smart@$$. :D. You talk about sharpening more than I do about shotguns :neener:

You do it for a living, I do it when my knives get dull, or a friend's knife gets dull, or a friend buys a cheap piece of crap only marginally harder than aluminum at a flea market and brings it to me to try to sharpen. Those friends get lectures on steel and buying quality.......

But wait, didn't I mention a 13.00 cheap chinese walmart knife that goes hunting with me? Yep, sure did. Works great too. I was pleasantly surprised.
I originally purchased it to use as a pattern to make one in a decent steel (I liked the blade pattern). Turns out I didn't have to it worked fine as is, been using it for 5 or 6 seasons now. Sometimes the chinese do turn out a good product.

I've been messing around the last few years with hammer, anvil and forge. I do a pretty good blade. Not pretty, but pretty good. I've got one in the vise now that's going to a CSF.com member once it's finished. Blade is forged and ground, steel's been normalized 3 cycles, now to harden/temper/sharpen and and she's ready for delivery. after some micarta goes on the tang that is.

I'm no pro, but a more than passable amateur...........;)
 
I've been messing around the last few years with hammer, anvil and forge.
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Chico,
He does shotguns too.

How you fixed on shotguns Chico?
Your not huh?
This is your lucky day. I can help with this.
I mean I like you, I care, and I wanna see your knife bidness continue to grow.

Not all clients are Black Betty Patrons ( yes, I am right proud of that pun, thank you very much! some prefer shotguns.

Clients that shoot competitions and awards include knives. Those that participate in fine gentleman and ladies Southern Quail Hunts.
Woodcock, Pheasant and Ducks.

Ain't nothing sexier than a fine shotgun being handled...

You need to holler at a buddy of mine, and let him fix you up!

Stay Sharp! - Will Fennell
 
Ducking pool cues? Where were you in 1972. I was an ace.
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Eleventh Grade.

It ain't hustling, some folks just pay money to learn how to do something is all - Mentors

Pool cues, ping pong paddles, parts off and items around a pin ball machine, shotguns...

I don't know what kind of raising Sarah Brady had, but I was having a Good Time!

*smile*
 
Ain't nothing sexier than a fine shotgun being handled...
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Indeed. I got to handle a fine example of an LC Smith side by side a few weekends ago. Being someone who usually uses a synthetic stock deep in the briars (shame to mess up good wood), I was almost scared to breathe on it much less shoot it.

Now I want one. Not good. Mrs. will not be pleased..........

Will have to check out the Fennell book (Edited: Oops a sig line, not a book, but enough posts to read to make a book probably :D). I have read several and have picked the brains of some local smiths when I have been able to.

Not really a business for me, more of a hobby. I like sharp pointy things and I like to learn, so..........

I figure by the time I'm well seasoned and ready to retire from the rehab game (25 or 30 years from now)maybe I can sell a few knives for ammo money every now and then :D.

Till then I'll hammer hot steel and fuss at friends who buy cheap crap knives from the flea market.
 
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I use DMT stones mostly for sharpening knives, usually the fine grit although I have a coarse and very fine DMT as well.

I don't recommend electric sharpeners for anything other than cheap kitchen knives that you don't care about. I did use my "Chef's Choice" electric sharpener on my 12" machete once. Takes a lot of steel off. The diamond sharperners work just fine on machetes and axes. The ones on the handle are easy to work with on long "utility" blades like the machete.
 
Only electric sharpener we ever had was the one on the back of the can opener when I was growing up. Many an Old Hickory was likely ruined with that old POS.

I've got a few diamond laps in various grits, a gerber steel (the kind that folds into a leather handle), a few homemade leather strops and an old ceramic block I got at a flea market (wasn't I bad mouthing flea markets a few posts back) about 10-12 years ago (I know I was married to a different woman then than I am now, so it was at least 10 years). That ceramic block works great. A few arkansas stones around and some other various and sundry rough things to rub metal on.

Need to get some of those fancy water stones I see Tourist talking about a lot. Those put a pretty edge on a knife. Of course I'm sure his skill has more to do with that than the tool. ;)
 
rantingredneck said:
I'm sure his skill has more to do with that
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...well, of course. Stay away from the carmalized stuff and drink pure agave. Then, don't try any fancy lines, just talk to her...

Oh, you mean sharpening again, don't you?

Call Ben Dale at Edge Pro. He has all of the stuff to get you going. In fact, I sharpened commercially for a few years using just his off-the-shelf products.
 
I have 2 stones and a 5" wideX3` long piece of leather. I enjoy sharpening by hand. I found stones on ebay for great prices. My favorite is an Arkansas stone. It really does the job and it was only 12 bucks. Just thought I`d add this tid-bit
 
the method of getting from point A to point B . . . . .

around here is fascinating. Sort of like the warp drive on the starship Enterprise. You just point her in the right direction, drop the hammer and suddenly you're on the other side of known space.:D Was that original post about an electric sharpener or an eclectic sharpener? In any event you should never use power equipment and tequila at the same time - it could be entertaining but you probably can't explain it to your wife. Just for the record, El Tesoro de Don Felipe, anejo will cure you of any desire for lesser expressions of the blue agave. Salut.
 
Actually, we simply uncovered the world of sharpening.

Contrary to what some will tell you, shaprening is more of a craft, and the skill of the tinker is as much a factor as the tools he uses.

If you are looking for a job that quantifies materials, and provides the kind of condition that may appeal to an engineer, this ain't the job.

It's an art. Either you are born with a certain type of hand-eye coordination or you're not. And you can usually pick out the guys who might be good simply by watching them adjust something--like the tension on a bolt. Some guys are good, most cannot even succeed with torque wrench.

And along with that artsy-fartsy way of approaching life comes a lust for other attributes of that life. Yes, we joke about tequila and charming a woman, but the fact remains that you'll never sharpen a knife to a scary edge if cannot become the life of the party.

On KF/KS we have a very sincere individual who tries to re-invent my methods and the art of my hand instead of simply defying convention to become his own polisher. He will often lament that he cannot achieve that final, last lick of sharpness. He remarks that he is 99% there.

Say what you like, but in many ways I was born to sharpen, ride a bike and talk your wife into dumping you. Call it "la dolce' vita," or the gift of gab, or "kissing the Blarney Stone," but if you do not have it as an intrinsic part of your character, you will never attain it.
 
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