finally finally got back online after my computer caught the flu. and just in time too. after weeks of outdoor abuse i finaly have dulled out m blade to the point of wanting it razer sharp again. problem is that i can't quite get it as sharp as i want it... so im wondering if anyone has posted a how to sharpen the yard guard. i just cant get it to razer sharp... exspecially the curve towards the base of the blade... any help would be appreciated guys. i want to cut some more trees down. thanks a bunch


another question is where do you guys buy stones? i got the 22 dollar special from canadian tire and it works like crap on big knifes...

i cant type and my y button is on the fritz deal with it...

Other than a 1" x 30" belt sander, the best way I found to do that recurve is with a diamond coated rod. Then you can finish with a ceramic rod. Flat stones just don't work well on recurves except for the belly of the blade.

Yeah the round rods are the only way to get the whole edge because the edge wont lay flat enough on a flat stone.

If you want large stones for large blades check out the Norton Multi-oil sharpener here. www.butcher-packer.com .The stones work well with or without the base. Chickenplucker

You can also sharpen recurves by wrapping sandpaper around a dowel rod.

What Horn Dog and others said. You really need a round rod to sharpen the "convex" (indented) part of a recurve blade. A white ceramic rod should bring it to hair popping sharp. Just pay attention to the bevel angle.

A Lansky or sharpmaker system might be worth the cash. I have personally sharpened a HookGuard with a sharpmaker and even though I had to move the clamp to get both the recurve and front parts it worked well and is newbie proof. All you need is the cheapest 2 stone version. The local CO-OP here in Prince Albert has them so you can probably find them in Alberta.

If you really have trouble you can send it to me and I will put an edge on for you but you should probably learn to do it yourself. If you get a Lansky or Sharpmaker
you will probably find yourself sharpening all the knives in your house.

I also found a cheap set of 6$ loupes(magnifying glass) from lee valley tools really helps sharpening.

The best tips for sharpening if you have not done this much are to get a Spyderco Sharpmaker with the video on using it and if you can afford them get the extra diamond triangle rods as these remove stock from the blade much quicker and with hardened steel you will be suprised at how long it can take if you have allowed the edge to become dulled to get the right angle and stock removed to give you a razor sharp edge.

Get a black marker pen and magnifying glass and run the pen down each side of the edge before starting. This will help you see your progress with the loop as you begin the task of restoring the edge.

Use the 30 degree angle to remove stock from the blade edge and then the 40 degree angle to bring it to a sharpened edge....forget the flat sides of the rods and just use the rounded edges as this is much quicker. Once you have all the black removed from each side of the edge go to the finer triangles and finish the edge off with light strokes only being needed on the fine white triangle rods.

When it is razor sharp get a cheap computer mouse board and cut a strip about the width of a bench stone and same length and glue it to a wooden base. Wrap some wet and dry grit paper in the 400 then 600 then 800 grit bands around the board and strop the blade backwards like it was a leather strop. Use all the paper weights and colour the edge before beginning this as you just want to do this to blend in the 30 degree to 40 degree secondary edge so that you get a proper appleseed convex curve right to the edge.

This will probably lose some of the razor effect....restore this with very gentle use of the white rods and use the rounded triangle edge..when no black marker is on the edge you have taken it properly to the fine "razor" pinnacle you want.

This all takes time and hence why I suggest the marker as this will show you the progress you are making......otherwise you are easily convinced you are doing it wrong.

After the time spent restoring the edge like this.....you will become a fan of "topping up" the edge after each use of the knife. This takes a couple of minutes......reprofiling a dull edge to the right angles for maximum cutting ability ( a 30 degree - 40 degree convex curve ) can take hours if the edge was dulled badly.

Alternatively read Horn Dogs posts on edge profiling and sharpening using a belt sander and get one of these and practise before doing the good knives with cheap ones. This is quicker but don't let the blade get too hot because it will damage the temper of the edge.

Simple really.....seriously it takes a while to get good at this so doing a SAK or other smaller blade to begin with is a good idea...infact I would go this route with the sharpmaker as well.

HTH's.

Here's a great video on using the belt-sander sharpening technique:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLjFjT4vYsM

If you don't have a belt sander, though, the above Sharpmaker then stropping advice is spot on.

And just to toss out one more alternative - The soon-to-be-released Wicked Edge sharpener looks promising from this video:

http://www.wickededgeusa.com/demo.html

Spyderco Sharpmaker. It works great on recurve blades once you know how to use it. And +1 to the suggestion to use a marker to gauge your progress.

Whatever route you go the marker and the loupe/magnifying glass will help a LOT.
Some steels are hard to sharpen like S30V or CPM154 but the Sr77 in your Yardhook
is pretty easy.