hey guys im looking for the best thing to sharpen a knive besides a wet stone its an 8 inch blade that did not have an edge when i got it and im trying to put an edge on it for my big camping trip

good thread Clifton - I am sure this will get some good feedback from some guys that know far more about putting a good edge on a blade than me... Horn Dog is the god of all sharpness. You seen the edge he put on the tan Scrapper 6 i used to chop up all that wood on the mountain with!!! HD did that

I don't own any fancy tools or high end stuff, but I get by pretty well with a mousepad and some automotive sandpaper. I like convex edges, though, so if you want to keep your edges straight you'll wanna use something else.

I definitly need some practice sharpening knives, to scared to start out on a Scrapyard knife.

I carry a sharp maker in the car on trips for around camp. For the pack I have some butterfly diamond stones (green, red, black and blue) and medium ceramic sticks. I some times carry a small Arkansas medium stone and some oil.

I also use a sharpmaker and it works really well. Spyderco makes it for like $50. Even has a DVD tutorial with it.

If you're trying to sharpen something that had no edge to begin with, I'd suggest getting a Lansky kit from your local hunting store, and a leather strop with green compound from Lee Valley. That's all I used to put the edge on this Dumpster Mutt LE..... It's one hell of a serious slicer now! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Looks good Pat! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Yep +1 <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

I have a lansky kit that I purchased from Cabellas. It does fairly well on the scrap yard knives, the steel is pretty tough so it usually works better on other brand knives.

ok this is an off brand knive that has almost no edge on it i got it before finding out about these knives

Thanks guys, I couldn't have done this a year ago. But hanging around with you guys, reading the threads, doing some research, and watching some instructional youtube vids, I'm starting to get the hang of the "Scary sharpening skills"! LOL! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Anyway, back on topic:

Big Clif, read the following thread we had a while ago on sharpening. Knife guy really laid out some useful info:

Knife Guys Sharpening thread

Get the kit I mentioned earlier, and start watching some youtube threads on sharpening with a Lansky style system and with leather strops. There is some good instruction there. Start on a cheap knife you're not worried about (I started on a $25 Cold Steel machete... I'd rather ruin a $25 machete, than a $100 SYK... Know what I mean? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />)

Also, when you're sharpening an edge that you don't know the angle of, use a black marker to color the edge. Then, you just have to sharpen the edge at different degrees until you find the one that clearly wipes away the entire marking. That's the angle of your blades' edge. I usually start a high angle, decreasing to a lower one, but that's just my personal preference.

Eventually, you'll want to start playing with convex eges, but it's always good to master these basic angle sharpening skills first.

And don't forget, you can always ask guys in the yard about specifics. That's what we're here for! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />