Sharpening Knives - XDTalk Forums - Your HS2000/SA-XD Information Source!

xd4life · 11-09-2007, 10:50 PM

I have heard there was a filament that is used in a certain light bulb that is excellent to sharpen knives. Anyone hear of this and know what bulb it is? i was thinking it was either a Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium.

rogerxd45 · 11-09-2007, 11:37 PM

well regular lights use a tungsten filiment which is very hard and heat resistant. now i dont think you can sharpen a knife with the tiny filiment from a lightbulb but a very large amount of knife sharpeners use tungsten

CajunBass · 11-10-2007, 05:46 AM

The best thing to sharpen a knife with is the same thing people have used for since Adam got thrown out of the garden. A hard piece of stone.

I use a "Lasky" sharpening kit. It comes with three stones, a course, a medium, and a fine. It has a little bracket to hold the knife, and guide rods to hold the stone at just the right angle. And a bottle of oil.

Ignore the bracket and guide rods. (I can't get a knife sharp with them anyway, maybe you can.) Put a few drops of oil on your stone. Hold the knife in one hand, with the stone on a table or a work bench. Hold it in place with the other hand. Then move the bladle across the stone like you you were trying to slice a thin piece of the stone off. I can't tell you what angle to use, it's a "feel" thing for me. One direction, then turn the blade over and come back. Repeat as needed. When you get it close with the coarser stones, move to the fine one. With practice you can get an edge that will shave the hair off the back of your hand.

I've never had to use the coarse stone. I suppose if you had a really messed up blade you might need it, but the medium and fine handle everything for me.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...=SearchResults

rogerxd45 · 11-10-2007, 07:32 AM

well as far as the angle goes when i was in culinary school we learned that the angle should be 22.5 degrees and to find that angle hold the knife at 90 then take half that and your at 45 now cut it in half again and thats 22.5

rtparso · 11-10-2007, 08:38 AM

Some old comercial quartz lights had a quartz rod in them about 4" by 3/8". Myself I use a sandpaper I have a 600 grit belt for my 4" belt sander.

So Flo · 11-10-2007, 08:48 AM

I have the Lansky system and could not get it right until I bought the table clamp/mount for it.
In addition, Lansky sells a small hand held sharpener with a steel 'v' on one side and a ceramic 'v' on the other, I use that regularly on my kitchen knives and it keeps them very sharp, extending the time between major sharpenings.

Tomcat088 · 11-10-2007, 07:07 PM

I use the lansky system and have had very good luck with it. It keeps the knives sharp and at consistent angle, which I like. Before I had the lansky sharpener kit, I used a wet stone and had a tungsten rod that dad had around for something to do with his welding. I would always use it to "finish" the edge and man did it really put a nice edge on it. I'm not sure that you'd be able to do this with a light bulb filament either, but I'd guess like others that they're talking about tungsten.

DTHW · 11-11-2007, 07:46 AM

To answer your question-high pressure sodium. Break off the glass and use the ceramic rod inside.

dfib · 11-11-2007, 09:59 AM

Keep the angle right and get it sharper, faster...

If you want to get a knife really, really, sharp try this --> http://www.shavings.net/SCARY.HTM
They are talking about plane blades, but I assure you it'll work for knoves as well.

Bill in San Jose · 11-11-2007, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogerxd45

well as far as the angle goes when i was in culinary school we learned that the angle should be 22.5 degrees and to find that angle hold the knife at 90 then take half that and your at 45 now cut it in half again and thats 22.5

If you go 90-45-22.5, you need to double that for the finished edge (45 degrees). I hunt and get knifes razor sharp, you need to lay them down flat, and then 'just' raise the back edge a bit. The low angle is not good for cutting wood, but for slicing through meat it's optimal.

I go to a guy who sharpens knives for a living, and let him set the angle and initial sharpening. I use a diamond impregrated rod to touch it up. A trick he taught me was to always hold the blade (not the handle) when you sharpen. That way the angle stays constant.

I have a Lansky, the longer I used it on my knives and archery broadheads, the duller they became. I know people who swear my them.

If you want a really sharp knife, and don't want to make a hobby out of doing it, get the Smith's yellow knife sharpener, it puts a very respectable edge on most knives.

11-09-2007, 10:50 PM	#1
xd4life XDTalk 2K Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Back in HOTLANTA Posts: 2,251	Sharpening Knives I have heard there was a filament that is used in a certain light bulb that is excellent to sharpen knives. Anyone hear of this and know what bulb it is? i was thinking it was either a Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium. __________________ "A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well." Rick Hebert "The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities.... It is best to win without fighting." Sun-tzu 300 B.C Bob Barr FOR PRESIDENT

11-10-2007, 05:46 AM	#3
CajunBass XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Chancelorsville, Virginia Posts: 255	The best thing to sharpen a knife with is the same thing people have used for since Adam got thrown out of the garden. A hard piece of stone. I use a "Lasky" sharpening kit. It comes with three stones, a course, a medium, and a fine. It has a little bracket to hold the knife, and guide rods to hold the stone at just the right angle. And a bottle of oil. Ignore the bracket and guide rods. (I can't get a knife sharp with them anyway, maybe you can.) Put a few drops of oil on your stone. Hold the knife in one hand, with the stone on a table or a work bench. Hold it in place with the other hand. Then move the bladle across the stone like you you were trying to slice a thin piece of the stone off. I can't tell you what angle to use, it's a "feel" thing for me. One direction, then turn the blade over and come back. Repeat as needed. When you get it close with the coarser stones, move to the fine one. With practice you can get an edge that will shave the hair off the back of your hand. I've never had to use the coarse stone. I suppose if you had a really messed up blade you might need it, but the medium and fine handle everything for me. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...=SearchResults __________________ For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)

11-10-2007, 08:48 AM	#6
So Flo XDTalk 10K Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Wellington, Florida Posts: 12,820	I have the Lansky system and could not get it right until I bought the table clamp/mount for it. In addition, Lansky sells a small hand held sharpener with a steel 'v' on one side and a ceramic 'v' on the other, I use that regularly on my kitchen knives and it keeps them very sharp, extending the time between major sharpenings. __________________ No Guns, Know Crime. Know Guns, No Crime! http://militarysignatures.com/signatures/member3984.png

11-11-2007, 09:59 AM	#9
dfib XDTalk Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Western Cheese-head Land Posts: 74	Keep the angle right and get it sharper, faster... If you want to get a knife really, really, sharp try this --> http://www.shavings.net/SCARY.HTM They are talking about plane blades, but I assure you it'll work for knoves as well. Last edited by dfib; 11-11-2007 at 10:31 AM.

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11-09-2007, 11:37 PM	#2
rogerxd45 XDTalk 3K Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: boise ID (its boy-see, not boy-z) Posts: 3,592	well regular lights use a tungsten filiment which is very hard and heat resistant. now i dont think you can sharpen a knife with the tiny filiment from a lightbulb but a very large amount of knife sharpeners use tungsten

11-10-2007, 07:32 AM	#4
rogerxd45 XDTalk 3K Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: boise ID (its boy-see, not boy-z) Posts: 3,592	well as far as the angle goes when i was in culinary school we learned that the angle should be 22.5 degrees and to find that angle hold the knife at 90 then take half that and your at 45 now cut it in half again and thats 22.5

11-10-2007, 08:38 AM	#5
rtparso XDTalk 500 Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: New Mexico Posts: 662	Some old comercial quartz lights had a quartz rod in them about 4" by 3/8". Myself I use a sandpaper I have a 600 grit belt for my 4" belt sander.

11-10-2007, 07:07 PM	#7
Tomcat088 XDTalk 500 Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Lubbock, Tx Posts: 688	I use the lansky system and have had very good luck with it. It keeps the knives sharp and at consistent angle, which I like. Before I had the lansky sharpener kit, I used a wet stone and had a tungsten rod that dad had around for something to do with his welding. I would always use it to "finish" the edge and man did it really put a nice edge on it. I'm not sure that you'd be able to do this with a light bulb filament either, but I'd guess like others that they're talking about tungsten.

11-11-2007, 07:46 AM	#8
DTHW XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Huntsville,Alabama Posts: 296	To answer your question-high pressure sodium. Break off the glass and use the ceramic rod inside.