Glenn Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 I use the lansky sharpening kit too. It gets a shaving sharp edge every time, also use it for my broadheads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madk1w1 Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 glad to be entertaining, missus dont like me guns but doesnt kill my favourite pastime, drop me 204 into couple of roos for the dog last nite just cause we can. as for rattling cages didnt you notice the name!!!!!!!! lmao great to see we all have enough insanity to be more saine than most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juniorhunter Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 glad to be entertaining, missus dont like me guns but doesnt kill my favourite pastime, drop me 204 into couple of roos for the dog last nite just cause we can.as for rattling cages didnt you notice the name!!!!!!!! lmao great to see we all have enough insanity to be more saine than most. probably wanna edit that post mate, just for the other viewers out there Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getadog Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 fella, each to their own i say,i never shot a pig i my life and have only shot a rifle a handful of times ,and all pigs i have taken have been with dogs holding by the ears and then just flippin him , geta' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muscle_21 Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 thanks all for the offer on sharpening my knife....but id prefer to save everyone the trouble. might just take it down to the Chef King at the Sydney CBD, they are charging $20 for it to be sharpened. i went to one butcher today and asked if they can sharpen knifes. they said a guy comes in once a month in random and sharpens it for them, they said if i like i can leave it with them, when he comes in it will get done, but i dont want to take the risk of them loosing it or whatnot. i think ill pay $20 to getit sharp for my first official huntign trip in april, but from then on ill invest in a lansky kit... How difficult is it to use the lanksy kit, as i have no experiance in sharpening knifes im only 20 i have a $2 aluminium oxide shaprneing stone, doesnt work well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rono Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 How difficult is it to use the lanksy kit, as i have no experiance in sharpening knifes im only 20 They are pretty easy to use from what i have heard i will be getting one in the next few months with a bit of luck. I also use a Steel to touch up my knives while using them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madk1w1 Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 lansky POP guide has 4 angle slots on each side of clamp chose angle and stone -fine,meduim,coarse- work 1 side until feathering on other then work off feathering from other side and continue until happy with edge, i test by shaving arm if not effortless is not sharp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madk1w1 Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 forgot to say retail for approx $120 at king of knives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwennink Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 Hey, M.18... Before you go and outlay $120 at King of Knives for a Lansky sharpener, try this... Buy yourself a wax candle and a bottle of parafin and heat them together in an old pot or tin until the candle melts, and stir for a bit. Remove the candle wick. (NB: Wash your whetstone in hot soapy water first, if it's been used a bit. Then rinse it well in clean hot water, and leave it to stand on it's end until dry!) Now, take your '$2 whetstone' (assuming it's about 8" X 2", or so) and immerse it in the hot wax / parafin mixture...leave the whole lot on a low/med heat until the little bubbles stop rising from the whetstone. If you have a missus or a mum you live with, you might want to do this outside on your campcooker or BBQ...there is an 'aroma'...but not enough to evacuate the neighbourhood! Turn off the heat and leave to cool overnight. Next day, fish out the stone and clean off the excess wax / parafin. If you got the mixture about right (50/50ish), you now have a stone that is self-lubricating, and will not instantly suck up any oil you put on it! Before this exersize, hopefully you've made a wooden box or recessed platform for it to sit in, that extends about a third to halfway up the side of the stone, to stop it slipping about while you sharpen things on it! Put the stone coarse side uppermost in it's 'box'...put a little oil on it, to be sure... Leave your good knife in the safe, and get out some crappy old kitchen knife to practice on...even if you buy one from K mart for $10, and give it to the missus / neighbour when your done with it! It's an educational aid, and well worth it even if you wear it down to the handle! Holding the knife handle in your right hand, and with the fingers of your left hand on the back of the blade to help maintain a constant angle, put the heel of the knife on the stone at the left end, at about a 25% angle... less than a third of 90%, in other words. (reverse the above if you're a lefty). You will only learn the correct angle from experience...a very fine 'V' edge will cut extremely well, but won't last long before it needs a touch on the steel...a coarse 'V' edge will last much longer without resharpening, but take more effort to to use! This rule will also depend on the relative hardness and quality of the steel in the blade! Slide the knife across the stone from left to right, as if you were trying to take a fine slice off the top of the stone, starting with the heel and ending with the point at the end of the stroke. Take a couple of strokes, then turn over and take a couple in the opposite direction. Repeat, being as careful as possible to maintain a consistent angle to the stone on both sides. Find the balance point of the knife, usually around the junction of handle and blade, and holding the knife edge down, pull the edge lightly across the back of your thumb nail...carefully! If the knife is sharp, just the weight of the blade will make a shallow (and painless) groove in the back of your thumbnail. You will experience this by how easily the blade slides across the nail. The more blunt the blade, the easier it slides. Take another shallow stroke across the stone, and another reversed...try the blade on your thumb nail. Repeat until you can discern a sticky, cutting sensation across the nail, with the blade held lightly between thumb and index finger of the other hand. Turn the whetstone over so the fine side is uppermost, oil, and repeat the above until 'sharp'... Take half the $120 you were originally prepared to spend on the Lansky sharpening system down to King of Knives and buy yourself a $60(?) 10" Jewelstik diamond steel... Using the same angle and principle as you used with the stone, holding the steel upright in your left hand and the knife in your right, take a light stroke from the heel of the knife to the tip, downwards towards your left hand along the steel, down each side...test it on your nail... The 'sticky' cutting sensation should gradually become less 'hackly', as you slowly but surely remove the fine burrs and make the cutting edge keener and smoother... When your gut tells you it's right, try shaving the hair on your arm or thigh. Take another light stroke down the Jewelstik on each side...when it shaves well, take another really light stroke each side and put it away until you need to use it. Knife sharp, owner capable of resharpening as required... ! (The jewelstik can easily go bush with you, and touch up the edge of your hunting blade as you field dress your meat, unlike the Lansky system..) Over and out. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muscle_21 Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 Ed... thank you very much for your help... i will start practising on an old rambo knife i have and see if i can sharpen it well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rono Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 You have just sold me ed i was going to get one of those lansky kits but not now Thanks for the very helpful info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwennink Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 You are welcome, guys... Pleased to be of service! If you have any problems, feel free to ask...incidently, I have edited the original post, adding some refinements, so if you kept a copy of it, you might like to update it... (There's a few ex-butchers onboard, too, who probably know some tricks I don't...) Let me know how you go with the "Home Sharpening Course"! Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwennink Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Guys, Just as an add-on... Rather than going to King of Knives and spending $60(?) on a 10" jewelstik, I've just remembered I know a cheaper place to get 'em...E.O.Everten Online in Sydney! www.everten.com.au Go to 'Chef's knives by Type - sharpening steels'...the 10" Jewelstik is listed at $38.90...plus $5.90 postage Australia wide = $44.80 ! While you're there, check out the Dexter Russell knives...go to 'Processing knives by Brand - Dexter Russell' (not to mention the other well-known brands...) I use the #10101, 5" Sheep Skinner as my general purpose hunting knife... and the #5548, Backswept boner as my sticker cum field dresser... Cheers, Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rono Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 What stone do you recomend edwennink there are that many to choose from and i dont know much about them so what would be a good starter and how much are they worth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwennink Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Rono, I'm not an expert on whetstones, I must admit! Over the years I have read various articles by knifemakers extolling the virtues of one type of stone over another, but I can't honestly say I've been able to tell a lot of difference myself. Actually, on reflection, that's probably not quite true! You CAN feel the difference using an expensive stone and a 'cheapy', but it would be difficult for me to say what makes it so! I've always managed to get my knives sharp on either! They are not that expensive anyway...aluminium oxide will work fine, not only for hunting, kitchen and pig-sticking knives, but also for chisels, plane blades, etc. Just getting a decent size is probably more important...anything under, say, 200mm X 50mm X 30mm deep is not much good to man or beast, and the bigger, the gooder! I bought an Arkansas oilstone for US$3 at a gun show in California in '91 and thought that was dirt cheap...I still have and use that stone! I have another one that was in storage for ten years while I was overseas, and I still use it too (upstairs and downstairs whetstones! )...though I don't remember what I paid for it. ...guess I've had it for about 25 years, so what you pay for one today won't matter when you're still using it in 30 years time! Don't use a stone that has not got a nice flat, unchipped surface ( top and bottom), coarse and fine sides! Give it the treatment I described in my post and it will serve you well for years. Just don't make the box out of 'craftwood' or particle board because it won't last...the ideal is some native floorboard offcuts or similar, and make two, one for a lid to protect it! Use a router and/or chisel to inlet the correct sized recess. Hope that helps ya! Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rono Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Thanks mate this has helped alot My grandfather was a cabnet maker and i think my brother has go a few of his sharperning stones somewhere might see if i can get them for some practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwennink Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Rono, There's an interesting 2 page thread over on AHN about oilstones Vs. dry stones Vs. diamond stones, etc... Now even I'm confused! Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rono Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 Yes mate i no what you mean there are more ways than 1 to skin a cat and every body has there piont of veiws but i think i will stick to your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fizza Posted March 28, 2006 Report Share Posted March 28, 2006 steer clear of the oil stone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rono Posted March 28, 2006 Report Share Posted March 28, 2006 steer clear of the oil stone Why is that fizza? I need as much info as possibly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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