It's best to sharpen your hunting knife when you notice it lost the ability to cut properly. Try to cut something with it, like a piece of paper, and then you will remember the sharpness of your hunting knife. If the performance drops in time, then you need to take care of it with a hunting knife sharpener. Now that you have a frame of reference, you can test your blade before you use it on something that matters. Any time you see the paper is cut with crumpling, it's the time to use hunting knife sharpener.
Sharpening tools are made out of different materials and come in different sizes and manufacturers. And there are sharpeners that are made out of porcelain or ceramic, diamond and steel. But here we are gonna talk about just some of them, because we need to sharpen a hunters knife. Tools that matter are Arkansas stone, diamond and ceramic. There are plenty of others, that are used outdoors or in your kitchen, but we are gonna stick to these 3 hunting knives.
The diamond offers great durability and speed in cutting tool sharpening, since the chips are implanted in the surface of these tools. You use diamond knife sharpeners just like any other. Be aware that they are a bit more expensive since they are not so well known to the people, but they are worth it and are gaining popularity among hunters.
The oldest type here is the Arkansas Stone knife sharpener. It's been used for decades, by many hunters, and is the cheapest hunting sharpening tool. It's made out of a stone and therefore cheap, but it's still one of the best sharpener for hunting knives.
At last, the ceramic knife sharpener gives you a high durability which will keep these sharpening tools in your house for years and years. It can last you a lifetime, if you take care about it. It's best to use a ceramic sharpener for finishing the blade. So, if your hunting knife is dull, use something else to improve it first. You can also get yourself a small pocket knife sharpener that uses ceramic to sharpen your hunting knives. These are really small and are great for your hunting equipment for sure.
Now a word or two about the lubricants. You don't need it with ceramic sharpener, but you do on other two. Honing oil is best to use on Arkansas Stone tools, but a great quality oil of any kind will do. When it comes to diamond sharpeners for your hunting knives, a water with soap will be best. The point of lubricant on a hunting knife sharpeners is to remove the chips of steel that are there when you finish the sharpening.
Sharpening
Find the correct angle for the blade by looking at the existing angle. Try to imitate it and use that setting every time. Before you start sharpening your hunting knife, lubricate the hunting knife sharpener tool. Then simply draw the blade across the sharpener, slowly and without much force. Draw it like you are cutting into the surface. It is important to maintain the correct angle and draw each side of the blade equal amount of times. When you are satisfied with the sharpness, clean the blade with the rag. Then, clean your hunting tool with oil, and you are done.
Thursday
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)