http://oi209.photobucket.com/albums/...ket/001_64.jpg Can't figure out how to post just the pic but here's an example of
the work the guy I mentioned up above.

Thanks again everyone . I was expecting a couple of posts , but this got a lot of people to voice their opinions . Nachogrande , yeah I could probably find a better way to gauge sharpness . I got it from my dad , who said he had got it from his dad . Good enough for me . And sharpening knives class must have been the one I missed . Marines are more of a sharpshooting branch of the military . We are trained to shoot , and shoot well , not sharpen knives , thus this post .

I assumed how to care for & sharpen it would be basic boot 101. Just like how to clean/maintain your rifle. Not to mention being a part of basic survival skills.

I've got a Smith Set similar to a Lansky somebody bought me as
a gift. I carry small lite, one blade pocket knives. This outfit works well for these small 11/2"-2" blades. But for bigger knives
I use bench stones. I was taught as a kid on them. You just have
to stick with it until you get the hang of it. The correct brand of
Tobacco spit helps, Red Man is the best.

my dreamshot honing rig would be an Arkansas stone 4 inches wide and 10 feet in length

A 2x72 belt is the same as a stone that never ends and you don't have to walk. Just place the blade on at the right angle and maintain that angle as you take blade across belt lifting the tip off before the edge of belt. Run the belt speed at about real slow. You can get belts that 4000grit.

Some guys use a setup that clips on the spine and has a level bubble and the angle is adjustable so they can hold the exact angle they want.

Bayonets are stabbing weapons, not cutting weapons. A sharp bayonet can cut into bone and become stuck. The only bayonet I have came on a Chinese SKS and is a multi-sided spike with a sharp point, no cutting edge at all. Does the military even issue fighting or utility knives?

I was in Army in RVn. We had the Utility Knives that looked like
they were made of tread plate with stainless blades. They were
heavy and didn't hold an edge, nobody carried them. They would
give us one of those 5" blade survival knives with stone in sheath
The steel in them wasn't much either. They weren't made by any
company like Case or Kabar. Some mil contractors name was on
blade. The Marines had Kabars and some Army elite outfits. We
didn't have them in our outfit. Only thing everyone had was m16
bayonete. You either got a Kabar off Marines or had a knife sent
from home.

I use a Spyderco Sharpmaker. I try not to let my knives get too dull, so usually I end up making a dozen or so passes each on the fine and ultra fine stones, followed by a half-dozen or so passes on a pre-loaded stropping block I bought. I'm no expert, but I've gotten my Delicas hair-popping sharp with this method.

I like using stones. first is a soft wa****a, next is a hard arkansaw and the next is a black hard arkansaw. However if the blade is really bad then I actually use one of the carbrundom (yeah spelling) fine stone to get the blade geometry set and to remove and chips and nicks. then proceed to the soft stone than to the hard arkansaw and finally to the black hard arkansaw. Maybe sit with a CD with some real music and listen while I sharpen some knives. Usually don't charge anything but when I get started and the phone calls start coming in they do get charged. Never more than 5 bucks. Leave me alone to do what I have to do. I'n happy and you'll be happy. Frank

I have very good luck with a Spyderco system. It takes me about two minutes to sharpen my Spyderco Paramilitary 2 with S110V steel on it.That steel is very hard to sharpen but I just brought mine back to the out of the box level of sharpness in less than two minutes. It's just a matter of holding the right angle on the knife.

I've used lots of methods to sharpen stuff. Grinding wheels, belt sanders, plain old whetstones and better quality whetstones that were bigger and easier to use, and I even use one of those el-cheapo v-shaped sharpeners you can get at Wally World for about $3. Those things sharpen my tools razor sharp like my machete and my briar ax. The thing about tools is you have to cut them down to get the right angle then you can sharpen them extremely sharp. I generally use a diamond rod for cutting a new sharpening section these days. The thing about powered sharpeners is you can eat away your blade very quickly if you aren't very, very careful. Using a fine grit helps of course but even my belt sander with extremely fine grit belts can eat up the part of the knife you need to sharpen very quickly. It almost burns it off.

I've sharpened knives that appeared to be completely worn out by just cutting down the steel to the point of being able to put a good edge on it. Most of a blade is too thick for such things. Knife makers start with steel that is completely flat and work it down where it needs to be cut down. Then you can sharpen with a tool that will give a fine edge.

I've been sharpening stuff for so long I do it without thinking about it usually. I have learned what systems work with various knives and tools and I've learned how to get just about any steel ready to take an edge. People are very surprised when they see how sharp my machetes are. They slice through 1/2" branches like they were nothing if you hit them right. There's a trick to everything and different trees take different strokes to cut the limbs.

But to just sharpen a knife right now I'm only using the Spyderco system. I would likely be using my 12" whetstone if I could find it. I just moved recently and i can't find anything right now. Except my Spyderco Sharpmaker and it does a great job on everything I've tried it on.

If I want a super sharp edge I will go with a strope and some lube for it but I usually don't need an edge better than what the Sharpmaker will put on my knives. That includes kitchen knives, an S30V Kershaw Blur, the PM2, my Uncle Henry knives made back when they were a good brand, Case knives, Buck knives and just about anything I can think of. If I needed to cut down steel that had the sharpening part worn away I would use the diamond rod most likely. Or possibly the belt sander. I know where it is.

This is a Solingen blade. I made the grip out of a pick handle a long time
ago. My Dad said it's not much for looks but Hell for strong.
It is very sharp. Here's how I sharpen it: Get in my car and drive over
to Chris Reeve's shop. Only about a 10 minute trip. Four or five bucks
and they put an edge on it that I could never do.

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In Omnia Paratus

I've heard a lot of good things regarding paper wheels. For major sharpening/re-profiling I use my Wicked Edge Sharpening System. For general touch up and moderate sharpening I use my Spyderco Sharpmaker followed by a loaded strop. At work I touch up using the back of a yellow legal pad.

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BCCI Life Member #2068

I was never taught how to sharpen a knife, OK maybe I was but it didn't stick. In owning a knife since I was about 5 years old, this is what works for me.

I take a spit stone, or Arkansas stone, either use gun oil or saliva, sharpen and "feel" by hand as I am working the metal...hard to describe but I can tell when it is as sharp as I can get it, no resistance, then I put a small amount of flitz polish in a old cloth shirt or blanket and use that to buff, similar to stropping. Some blades work better than others. I like Benchmade don't get me wrong but it seems I get better edges on Spyderco knives. You can't even test them on your finger because it cuts you and you don't realize it. Shave paper or arm hair...no problem.

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Rather be outdoors

I use a belt sander, leather belt from the woodworkers store, and green polishing compound. Bought my sander from Harbor Freight. Wish I'd bought a better belt sander.

Wandering around the web one day I ended up watching how Japanese sushi chefs sharpen their blades and thought I'd try it. I've been using Japanese water stones for years in my wood working shop until I changed over to the scary sharp method so I had the stones. Using an edge guide available from Amazon I was shaving newspaper when I was done with my wife's kitchen knives. I was using 800, 1200 and 6,000 grit water stones and a friend gave me a 12,000 grit stone which I added to the method.

My father taught me how to sharpen when I was a little kid. He was a picture framer and made his own mat cutting blades from hacksaw blades he ground down to shape. He knew how to sharpen. I used his techniques of arkansas stones and oil. Can't hold a candle to this Japanese method.
There are several You Tube movies of the Japanese technique that you might take a look at to improve your sharpening of things like kitchen knives that work in the 15-20 degree range. They are really razor sharp. After several resharpens on the water stones my wife's major knife now lasts 1-2 months before I have to touch it up.

Stu

If I have a really dull knife I just tightly wrap a piece of 400 or 600 grit sandpaper around my Sharpmaker sticks and hold them with common metal binder clips from my office and from there work up to the finer sticks as needed.