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To: 300winmag
I have one of those little suckers. I was always worried about being able to sharpen that odd angled blade but the damn thing must be made of forged unobtainium because it just will not lose an edge!
63 posted on 01/10/2004 11:35:17 PM PST by Axenolith (http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Au/key.html)
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To: Axenolith
I was always worried about being able to sharpen that odd angled blade but the damn thing must be made of forged unobtainium because it just will not lose an edge!

The AUS6 steel used in it is quite good. I mainly tweak the edge by stropping on a leather strop. With "super steels" it's best to keep the edge "in tune" with some light honing, than to let it get dull. That kind of steel needs a diamond sharpener if the edge needs serious work.

Perhaps that's another item that troops carrying good blades need to know. A pocket-sized ceramic hone will do all the "tuning" a knife needs. I like the leather strop because I can get a mirror shine to the edge, which is the true mark of a sharp edge.

Except, of course, blades made with CPM steels (Crucible Powdered Metal). They have a very high nickel content, rather than high chrome. They don't polish up as pretty as high-chrome blades because of the nickel. But a proper edge on one of those (like my Camillus) shows microscopic "serrations" in the edge when viewed under a high-powered magnifying glass. The steel doesn't look pretty, but it's wickedly sharp.

65 posted on 01/10/2004 11:47:00 PM PST by 300winmag (FR's Hobbit Hole supports America's troops)
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