Hi everyone,
I need some help with keeping my blade sharp. I really loved the course on sharpening and it has helped me a ton but after I stropped the blade it only stays sharp for a few strokes and afterwards it's super dull again.
Any ideas on what I might be doing wrong?
I'm using a Japanese leather knife like this one:
Thank you so much!
Aline
And as a follow on, I got this French Edger from George Barnsley, UK. That company called it a skirt shave and trying to get it sharp is a bitch. Again, what am I doing wrong? I‘ve got diamond files, which I haven’t used. I’ve only used the strop as above and a slim strip of leather to run through the gap. Suggestions welcome.
Stephen
With respect to sharpening using the strop, I seem to be making a balls of things, as usual. Having foregone the leather strop in favour of the card variety, the compound seems to be flaking away at a horrendous rate. What am I doing wrong?
Comments welcome, please!
Related to a couple of responses above ... I have a chisel that had the same problem — the temper was bad at the cutting edge. After grinding off some steel and shaping a new edge, then honing, it now holds an edge fine. If you don't have a grinder, maybe try taking off some steel with coarse stones and work your way back to a good edge. Worth a try. Good luck!
@AlineSeiler If it's razor sharp and then suddenly not, it's an issue with the steel.
From time to time the hardening process can be incorrectly done at the factory and blades leave without proper heat treatment. It can happen to the best tool companies.
It seems the steel is too soft.
To add something that isn't in the course - as I didn't go in depth with Japanese knives. You can't effectively use a Japanese leather knife for skiving and cutting out, otherwise one job will be compromised.
Many Japanese crafters will have one knife with say, a 13-15 degree bevel for skiving and another with a 20-25 degree bevel for cutting out (often the same model of knife with a piece of tape to differentiate).
The less acute 20 degree angle will be tougher and stand up to direct pressure against a cutting surface, but you won't get super slick skives.
So perhaps re-profile the edge against a stone or diamond plate with a higher angle and use the knife for cutting out instead.
In the mean time, the best skiving knife for the price is the Blanchard HSS, it is designed to skive and nothing else.
Jack of no trades, grand master of one! Blanchard Knife
Hi Aline,
Agree with Fadi concerning the type of material in the blade.
I also have a japanese HSS knife like this and it’s quite difficult to have it well sharpened, however it remains sharpened for more time than my Blanchard paring knife (no HSS), for which I have to strop it all the time.
Hey Aline,
my guess would be the metal of the knife. And it also depends which leather you are cutting with it.
I got a few japanese knives (different metals) and a Blanchard HSS blade, i sharpen and strop them the same and every one stays sharp for a different period of "cuts". The best by far being the Blanchard because of the HSS steel.
Also, i am assuming you are cutting against a surface that would not damage the blade, right?