VOL.39 • ISS. 18
>
Hunting
knives, pocket
knives and
fillet knives.
Here we see
a selection
of author Cal
Kellogg’s
knives and
sharpening
tools,
including
stones and
steel.
Get That Knife Sharp!
^
A USMC Ka-Bar,
waterproof matches and a knife
sharpener are centerpieces
of Cal Kellogg’s back country
survival gear.
The KFBK OUTDOOR SHOW
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Fishing • Hunting • Destinations
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<
A dull knife
isn’t only
inefficient,
it can be
dangerous,
so it makes
sense to
keep all
your knives
and cutting
tools keenly
honed.
^
Stones don’t work well
when dry. Some stones are best
treated with water, while you’ll
want to employ a quality honing
oil if you opt to use an oil stone.
3819
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Saturday
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5 am to 8am
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HOW TO...
FISH SNIFFER
HOW – TO
by Cal Kellogg
August 21, 2020
A Keenly Honed Blade…
A
dull
knife is a dangerous
knife.”… When I was a youngster
this old saying confused me. In theory,
how could a dull knife be more dangerous
than a sharp knife?
In practice the answer is
simple. With a sharp knife
you can perform jobs with
minimum pressure and
maximum control. A dull knife
requires more pressure and
it’s that increased pressure and
resulting loss of control that
causes accidents. The harder
you have to push a blade to
make it cut the higher the
possibility that you’ll slip and
cut yourself. This is just one
of many reasons to keep your
fishing, hunting, kitchen and
utility blades keenly honed and
razor sharp…
These days I meet quite a few sportsmen
packing high-end knives that have no
idea how to sharpen a blade once it dulls.
I’ve met quite a few guys over the years
that are so intimidated by the prospect of
sharpening a knife that they continue to
buy new knives when the one they are
currently using becomes dull.
Other guys, not wanting to purchase
new steel all the time actually send their
knives back to the factory for sharpening.
Both of these scenarios seem absolutely
crazy to me.
When I’m using a knife heavily it
may need to be sharpened daily. When I
process a deer in the field I’ll sharpen my
knife at least twice before I’m finished.
You can’t get anything done if your knife
is back at the factory getting sharpened.
Growing up I was fortunate to find
myself in the company several old timers
that knew the secrets of knife sharpening.
This isn’t to say that they taught me to
sharpen. They would just shake their
heads and give you the stink eye if your
knife wasn’t keenly sharp. And of course,
I saw how they sharpened their knives
using Arkansas stones.
By the time, I hit my teens I was
obsessed with knife sharpening. I picked
up a small 3.5 x 1.5 inch hard white
Arkansas stone and a can of WD-40 at
Ace Hardware and went to work on my
pocketknife.
Sharpening a blade using a stone looks
pretty simple, but looks are deceiving.
When I first started, it seemed my efforts
were actually dulling the blade rather than
sharpening it.
Practice makes perfect when it comes
to using a sharpening stone. Gradually I
got that pocketknife shaving sharp and
I learned to replicate the process. These
days I can sharpen a knife using a variety
of tools including things as simple as a
leather belt, sand paper or even a strip
of corrugated cardboard. With a little
practice, you can do the same and the old
timers will smile down on you!
Let’s Sharpen!
There are like 10 million gadgets you
can buy to sharpen a blade and the vast
majority of them work. I know that
doesn’t help you much but hang with me.
In my experience, there isn’t a one tool
sharpening solution. Instead I rely on
a few different tools that represent my
sharpening system. What I’m going to do
here is outline the system that works for
me.
Two different stones are at the heart of
my sharpening system. One is a soft/hard
6 x 2 inch Arkansas stone from the Robert
Larson Company. It’s a quality stone
and it cost less than $25 complete with a
wooden storage box.
5
The other stone is an EZE Lap 6 x
2-inch fine diamond stone.
Beyond these stones, I utilize an old
leather pistol belt, a Hunter Honer
sharpener that makes use of
crossed steel rods and an EZE
Lap fine Diamond Hone. The
Diamond Hone is basically a
6-inch piece of plastic with a
¾ x 2-inch strip of diamond
grit attached to it.
Here’s how the system
works along with some
philosophy. Think back to
grammar school. When you
first learned to do math, you
did it long hand without a
calculator, because hand
calculations are the corner
stone of everything to follow.
When it comes to knife
sharpening using a stone is the place to
begin. This is where you learn the rules
and develop your distinct style of working
the steel.
What I found when I began was that
finding the correct blade angle in relation
to the stone was difficult and my hands
felt awkward. Yet as I continued to
practice my hands developed confidence
(muscle memory) and the pocketknife’s
blade got broken in. Suddenly I could
“feel” the correct groove and the blade
made a sweet steady hum as I moved it
along the oiled stone. That feeling and
sound are just like riding the proverbial
bicycle. Once you get the feel you never
forget. Practice makes perfect!
With the ability to sharpen a blade using
an Arkansas stone in my back pocket,
here is how I utilize my system. When I
get a new knife I’m seldom happy with
the factory set blade angle. In my opinion
factory blade angles are almost always set
to steeply.
Once a knife starts losing its factory
sharpness I break out my large diamond
stone and go to work establishing the
12 to 15-degree angle that I prefer. The
diamond stone is much harder than steel
and it removes metal quickly and efficiently.
With the diamond don’t add any
water or oil to the stone. Just clean the
surface regularly with a dry plastic scrub
brush.
My fishing knives get the shallowest
angle while my hunting blades are set
steeper. The shallower the angle of your
blade the sharper it will become and
the easier it will cut, but it will also dull
quicker and the edge won’t be super tough
in resisting nicks and chips.
Steeper angles don’t get as sharp, but
they retain their edge better and are more
resistant to chipping when cutting wood or
when coming up against hard bone.
Once I get the edge angle I want on the
fine diamond, the blade will be reasonable
sharp. Polishing the edge will make it
super sharp.
I start by putting a nickel size drop of
Hunter Honer honing oil on the soft side
of my Arkansas stone. The oil keeps the
microscopic fissures in the stone from
filling with steel waste.
After spreading the oil, I start working
the blade. At first the blade with feel
rough against the stone, but as you work
it gets smoother. Soon you’ll be able to
“feel” the angle and the blade will be
making that sweet hum. About this time,
you’ll note that the oil is becoming dark.
It’s steel you’ve removed from the blade
that you’re seeing suspended in the oil.
Now it’s time to flip the stone and go to
work on the hard side.
Once again, you’ll want to apply honing
oil. The edge will feel rough against
CONTINUED ON PG 13