Insummary;-DoubleLHoofKnives.docVIP

The Secret World of Sharpening Summary from section 1; The new space age steels offer us blades that are tough enough for normal usage and will hold an edge very well while standing up to corrosion under normal conditions. Lesser grades of stainless steel will not hold an edge but are used widely in kitchen knives because of the lower cost. The plainer carbon steels offer us blades that can be sharpened to a very keen edge, can be heat treated to withstand battle conditions, are easy to sharpen, will hold a good edge but requires care to prevent corrosion under normal conditions. I have made many blades from the high tech steels in the past years and they have performed admirably. Nowadays I prefer to spend much more time with the simpler steels pushing the performance to new high standards through superior heat treating and I also like to make pattern welded blades (Damascus). Section Two Sharpening OK, let’s get started. Edge angle as stated previously is dictated by what you plan to use the knife for. There is no set rule as to what angle you have to sharpen your knife, but a good guide line is sharpen most of your working knives at about 20 degrees on each side of the blade to give you about 40 degrees. This will give you a durable edge for most chores. The straight razors were sharpened at a very thin angle and were made with the sharpening guide built into the design of the blade. In other words the back of the razor was forged thicker on the very spine of the blade so that the blade could be laid down flat on the sharpening stone with both the edge and the spine touching the stone. The spine held the edge at the proper angle to the stone for sharpening. Slick huh? This feature is not incorporated into most knives, as it would create a problem or obstacle with most slicing and cutting chores. A sharpening guide that temporarily clamps on the back of a knife works in the same way and makes a very good sharpening system. There are other systems used in holding