custom knife sharpening

[wrenchhead]

http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/vv172/pisshark/IMG_1258.jpg?t=1261246220http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/vv172/pisshark/IMG_1254.jpg?t=1261246092

this is the custom knife i made a while ago. i used an old circular blade from a mill, not sure what kind of steel it is but is extremely hard.
to drill the holes for the tang i heated the spot where i drilled red hot and drilled right away and it seemed to go though pretty easily.
to hold the handle halfs on i epoxyed them and then put brass rods though and mushroomed the ends with a center punch.
the wood is birdseye maple from a burle i found.
i used a polishing buff on my bench grinder with different compounds to get the shine.(makes a huge mess, bits of fabric everywhere.)

the one thing i am wondering is how do you knife maker fellas take the heal down on the edge? i was using a stone with some success but with the steel being so hard its taking forever. will a fine stone on a bench grinder heat it up too much?

[Ddog]

so basically what you need is an electric water sharpener, crappy tire sells them for about 60 bucks, they are a great to put an edge on hardened knives and you can put an exact degree then go to a lansky type sharpener and finish with those stones, the electric water stone leaves a rough edge so thats why you go to the other stones when finished.
i would stay away from using a grinder on a hardened blade, at least a grinder that you are talking about will heat the blade and possibly wreck the edge. feel free to ask me any other questions in a pm or on here.

[sparkes3]

looks good

[Blacktail]

nice lookin blade
I have made some from old circular blades years ago when I worked in a sawmill
As was said previous...stay away from the grinder or you will pooch the edge

Use a wet hone and follow up with a set of stones:wink:

[wrenchhead]

thanks ddog, i spent a couple hours on it with the lansky already. but like i said the 'heal' i think thats the right word, above the edge i would like to flatten out.
so this electric water stone you mention is like a benchtop kind of a unit?

[Ddog]

ya thats right,, its a bench top unit and it does a great job, takes a little getting used to, i usually put a thin piece of plastic over the little metal table (i use an ice cream bucket lid cut into the same size pieces as the table) this is so i do not scratch the actual blade, only the blade section should be flat against the table the handle will not fit and you will not get the proper degree if you put the handle on the table. you will see what i mean if you pick up the unit. great little unit to, i use it for all axe heads around here as well as my machete and my lawn mower blades to.

[Brew]

i really like the burl handle. looks great all around