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The Hobbit Hole XIX: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1329893/posts |
Posted on 12/20/2004 9:01:36 AM PST by ecurbh
New verse:
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Upon the hearth the fire is red, |
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Still round the corner there may wait |
Home is behind, the world ahead, |
Was it a movie you couldn't refuse?
Yeah....and it's seasonal. They try to off Vitto while everybody's Christmas shopping.
Vitto, Vito....whatever.
I came. I saw. I did a little shopping...
Da da, da da, da daaaa....chaaaaaarge it!
hey, have you ever heard of satellite school? I think it's school via computer...it's sometimes offered for college level classes and now I believe they are offering it for k-12. Don't know much about it though.
I've heard Bob Jones was good...I really like Sunlight...just need to be more organized about it.
Mrsnad
Yea, I'm great at going with the flow and that's good...but it can also be a weak spot for me.
mrsnad
Warning! Warning! Knife-sharpening neep follows!
(ecurbh, you might want to consider this for another chapter in the Hobbit Hole knife story, along with the upcoming Hobbit Hole combat knife.)
Please forgive me, Jen, if I seem to go into mind-numbind detail.
The Hobit Hole CKRT isn't sharpened, since it starts out quite sharp. Instead, it's stropped. Stropping is "micro-sharpening" to get those last few particles of steel where you want them. This is done by using the mildest abrasive possible.
A strop is basically a piece of thick leather. Dirt has silica (an abrasive) in it. Therefore plants have silica in them. Therefore, cows, which eat plants, have silica in their hides. This is the strop I use, which is actually sold by a kitchen cutlery company, PCD (Professional Cutlery Direct).
The leather strop provides the final polish to the edge. A sharp edge should shine like a mirror. The CRKT folder, the Extrema Ratio, and the Camillus just need a bit of stropping so I know they are as sharp as I can make them.
For a bit more aggressive sharpening, the strop opens onto a piece of thick rough-out leather. A bit of 8000-grit (yes, that fine) aluminum oxide is rubbed in, and then the knife edge is again gently pulled along the leather. The dark color is the steel from other knives that needed a bit more aggressive sharpening than just the leather strop.
This is how a factory-sharp knife is made sharper. The next installation deals with what to do a duller blade, and no comfy workbench.
I can attest to the fact that you ain't been whupped until you've been beat with yer grandpa's razor strop...
We're exhausted just getting it set up right!
good night sweet thread...
Thanks! Will the local Knives'n'that have a strop I can use?
I'm not totally sure of the difference between stropping and sharpening, but I will try to figure it out.
Now we get into real metal-cuttin'. The harder the steel, the harder the sharpening material has to be. But you still want to do the minimal amount of metal removal, which means a light touch is still needed.
The thingie on the right is a $4 Fiskars ceramic sharpener. It has coarse (gray) and fine (white) ceramic rods set in a V. Just draw the knife through the slot. Hopefully, you only need the white (fine) part to keep your blade in shape.
Unfortunately, the Hobbit Hole knife has a chisel edge (sharp on one side only), so the V sharpener is out. It also won't work for thick blades. So other things are needed.
This isn't every single type of sharpener ever made, but it gives you some idea. The important thing to note is that they are all diamond sharpeners. They're all in the $30+ price range, but only diamond lets you sharpen the "super steels" without excessive work. A carborundum stone is okay for sharpening a power mower blade, but shouldn't be used on fine steel.
Use lots of water while sharpening, and work with the diamond just enough so that you can switch back to ceramic or a strop. A light touch is a must when dealing with diamonds.
To finally answer your initial question, Jen, keep the blade sharp with some stropping. It never hurts to sharpen a sharp knife. Beyond that, look for a flat (actually a bunch of ceramic rods fused together) white ceramic sharpener, because you need a flat surface to properly sharpen a chisel edge. If a ceramic can't restore the edge, you need more drastic measures. Send the knife back to me if that's the case.
As a final note, I just ordered a few different sharpeners in the $10-15 price range. I'll have to start sending out a sharpener with each large batch of knives, in the hope that someone will want to keep their Hobbit Hole knife in top condition. I'll report on the sharpeners after I get a chance to evaluate them.
Sorry if this was a case of TMI, but I was barely scratching (bad pun) the surface.
Have you read the book "The Well Trained Mind"? I don't follow it completely, but I like the idea of classical education, following events through history. If you go to their website, you'll see that they now have some books that help with the Grammar stage, which is what thegirl and theboy are in. Check it out HERE
Clare is using a curriculum based on the classical idea. It's called TRISMS, and it's designed for middle school and high school students.
If the sharpener you gets turns out to be worth it and you can get enough, let me know and I'll just buy one off you so as not to worry about it myself.
My blade is still quite sharp, but I do use it often (it's a great knife for at work) and if I ever need to disembowel someone I want to do that neatly, right? ;-)
Stropping is a gentle final touch on an already sharp blade. You want something in a VERY fine grit to keep your blade sharp. And it has to have a large, flat sharpening furface, because of the chisel grind of the blade.
Show them your Hobbit Hole knife. If they know what they're doing, they'll steer you to the right kind of sharpener. If you have doubts, freepmail me first.
Thanks for your advice, I will keep you posted!
I'm going to bed now. See ya tomorrow...
I think the Hobbit Hole has influenced you tremendously. ;o)
Dang! I put the thread to sleep and now I'm waking it up again!
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