Posted: 7/26/2007 2:30:54 PM EDT
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My son borrowed my good axe for a couple weeks of Scout camp and it came back with the edge pretty beat up. Looks like it hit soli stone more than once. I've seen a lot of sites on the web with sharpening instructions, lots of them quite different, so does anyone have a favorite or recommended method? The axe (Fiskar single-bit) still has an OK edge (for the most part); I used it to dismember a large fallen branch today, but it definitely needs work to get it back to the excellent edge it used to have. |
is a mill file a bastard? |
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| Ask a local lawnman where he takes his lawnmower blades to get done. We have a place around here called the tool shed that does an excellent job for $3 any knife right on the spot. I sharpened one of my Gerbers that I use frequently, and I didn't have to get it sharpened again untill recently(been 2.5yrs) |
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Personally, I convex ALL my blades. Spyderco, Microtech, Victorinox, Fiskars, Bark River....you name it. I had the same experience this weekend. I just bought one of the 14" Fiskars and my 18yo cousin got his hands on it while I was setting up my Hennessey Hammock. Needless to say, it returned to my possession with a chip near the top of the edge. Shame is, he just bought one just like it, but he decides to use mine instead!!! We had a serious discussion after that.....something about respecting tools especially if they don't belong to you! Well, I had plans of working on the edge anyway so it wasn't that big a deal. I started with my Sharpmaker stones until I got the edge back to smooth where the chips was. After that I began stropping. My setup right now is a rather thick wrist rest, the kind that lays in front of a keyboard, I got it for free from a company I used to work for. Anyway, it works well. I'm gonna order some leather and make a proper strop soon. With the "rest" laying flat on a table I start out with 180 grit. With each step up in grit make enough passes until you "feel" like the edge is just gliding along and no longer removing metal. Move up to 320, then 400, then 600, then 800, then 1200, then 1500, then 2000, then .5 micron. After that you're almost to the point of dry shaving your face and the edge is mirror polished. If you want to go farther (I personally don't with hatchets) you can step up to a leather strop charged with green polishing compound from Bark River Knife and Tool. After a few passes on that you're at scary sharp. To maintain the edge, just strop it a few times on the strop with green compound and you're good. If the edge gets really dull, you can go back to around 800 or 1200 grit and work your way back up to a mirrored edge. I'll try to get a picture up tomorrow. Many may disagree with me, but Bark River has made me a believer in the convex edge and stropping. YMMV. |
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Diamond stones do most of my work but now and then I pull out the files. Depending on the metal in the blade different files will work differently. I just go by feel since it does seem like some of my files work better on different axe heads. As far as damaged parts of the blade, I just sharpen as normal for the most part and as time and more shapening takes place the damaged parts will shrink. I don't try and turn a damaged axe edge into a perfect axe edge in one sitting or 5 sittings or 10 sittings. Give it a couple dozen sharpenings though and things generally look pretty nice. I do this with lawnmower blades and any large cutting edge. While the edge was damaged and that part won't cut well, the rest of the edge is there and I see no need to remove large amounts of metal to clean up the cutting edge. |
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Great big +1 on Convex edge. The Gerber is a pretty decent axe for the money, however the beveled edge is not all that great. Put a true convex edge on it and you will never look back. I use a craftsman 2 X 42 belt sander to do the rough work and finish edge with buffer to clean everything up. Axe will be almost shaving sharp and keep the edge much easier. After use, simply strop it, add a little oil to protect the metal and you are good to go. |
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I guess I'll be the 800-pound Gorilla... I use a 1" wide, 120-grit sanding belt on my Delta sander. Makes fast work of any sharpening, especially when FIXING a damaged edge, and the axe then gets finished off with a file. But I'm not Samarai about it... working an edge for hours. The lawnmower blades just get the sandpaper belt and cut grass nice and clean... The sander works great on cold chisels and all forms of edges not requiring a super fine edge. I use various grades of wet/dry sandpaper glued to a length of sheet glass for my super fine edges (wood chisels, plane blades, etc...), and it works amazingly well. Rmpl |
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Pics as promised. How I lug it around (I'm currently looking for a better leather sheath):  I wish I could have gotten a pic before I started working on it.  It was a pretty bad chip.  I'm gonna have to keep a light coat of oil on this blade. I can see a little rust starting. That's why they coat these blades I guess. Oh well, it's definitely worth what I paid.  |
