Problem when sharpening my knife...

[Law]

Hi all, I need a little help. Here is my knife, a mora companion -

http://i.imgur.com/XsWKC7E.jpg

The area I have circled I just can't seem to get sharp. The rest will sharpen fine but this part just refuses to sharpen. Is there any special knack or way of targeting this area of the blade? Would appreciate some advice.

The Mora is stainless steel, and I'm using a little fallkniven field sharpener that I clamp down.

[Durham Bushcrafter]

I have the Mora survival.....if you can try a slicing/paring action while sharpening...sort of like a 'curved' stroke..its kinda hard to explain what i mean....
but once you get it.......you will know..take it about three strokes per side till you are satisfied, then strop gently on leather, jobz a gudun!

[Bernie]

What technique or action are you using at the moment? As Durham Bushcrafter said, if you have a consistent slicing action that presents the rounded edge to the stone as you move it along the stone, you should eventually reach the cutting edge and it will become sharp.

Another method I used on mine was to hold a small diamond file in one hand and rub it along the blade (handle to tip). Although this isn't the ideal direction to sharpen a knife, it worked for me. Just make sure your hand is BEHIND the blade because you're making an ideal cutting motion with this technique.

[Ranger]

I use Mitch's method on YouTube called "getting a knife scary sharp" where he uses the dc4 and a nagura stone and moves the stone up the knife while holding the knife firmly against your chest. It works great for me and my knife is indeed "scary" sharp :P

[jbrown14]

I have a Mora #1; it's the first scandi-grind knife I've ever owned, so I was a little hesitant about touching the edge up last time I broke the stones out for a touch-up.

I found Ray Mears' technique in THIS VIDEO gives you an excellent idea of the "slicing" motion to use in order to sharpen that curved bit. Skip to 3:47 to begin that section.

Good luck!

Josh

[Law]

Thanks all, some good info. Am I right in that stainless steel are more difficult to sharpen than carbon? Is a small fallkniven field sharpener even adequate to sharpen a stainless steel blade?

[OakAshandThorn]

Not really...it all depends on the hardness of the steel. Stainless is usually softer than carbon, so it should be easier to sharpen. Mora carbon steel is around the 58-60 Rc mark...their Sandvik stainless is 56-58 Rc. Then again, Sandvik stainless is pretty hard compared to a lot of carbon steels out there, considering that it's the same range of hardness that Gränsfors Bruks tempers their axes to (56-57 Rc).