Little Bird... advice on gettin' her SHARP?

[NoBite]

I received a Little Bird for Christmas. After seeing this knife in a mag, I wanted it. Now that I have it, I am having second thoughts. Oh, it's a cute knife. But, I have never had a knife quite like this. The blade is thick (5/32") and not too sharp. Now, if this baby was razor sharp, it would be very nice. Here's a picture:

My sharpening abilities are in dire need of improvement. Basically, I suck. :banghead:

No, I'm not going to send you the knife. Yes, I realize you'd gladly take the problem off my hands!

Any tips for sharpening this Little Bird?

 

[Don Gwinn]

If you want it to be truly sharp, you're probably going to have to reshape it to a thinner profile. This will be time-consuming with stones, but it's a small edge.

It'll be easy to screw up that finish, though. Just make sure you choose an angle and stick with it. If you have access to something like the Lansky or Spyderco sharpeners, that control the angle as you work, this will work a lot better. It could be done much faster on powered equipment like a belt grinder or sander, but that would be almost certain to ruin the knife if you don't know what you're doing.

Also, on a blade that small, you might want to remove those grips before you mess with stones at such acute angles.

You are giving up a little strength for the edge, but in a knife that size, I don't know what the thickness was supposed to accomplish. Are you intended to pry locked doors open with this thing? Are you SURE it's not a really nice hot-cut chisel?

 

[NoBite]

Impressive Offer!

Don, I always enjoy your posts and you didn't disappoint me with the one above!

Upon checking my email, I discovered a message from Ranger Knives. I had sent them an email similar to my post here. Though I do feel like a doofuss asking the manufacturer what they had in mind with their knife, they went to great pains not to make me feel uncomfortable. Then, they offered to thin out the blade a bit so I can put a razor edge on it! So, Don, your advice was spot on and now I've got an offer from a pro to do just that!

With customer service like that, it's no wonder Ranger Knives are well thought of.

BTW, I (finally) noticed your location. We are practically neighbors!

 

[hso]

NoBite,

Do you have a sharpener like the Spyderdo Sharpmaker or Lansky or Gatco sticks?

 

[NoBite]

hso - Yes, I have the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpener. I tried using it on the Little Bird, but the angles are all wrong.

Justin at Ranger Knives made me a great offer. I'm going to let him put a thinner edge on it, then I plan to use the Spyderco to get/keep it sharp.

Right now it is really too thick and the angles just not right to use the Spyderco. At least, with my abilitites, that is!