primitive blade edges

[ChrisCraft]

recently, ive been trying to get back to our oldskool roots more and more, and integrating some classic, tried and tested stuff into my mind & kit.

i came across a slight dilemma when i tried to sharpen a scandi edge knife with a stone that i found by the river. i came to the conclusion that unless you have a straight, as well as flat stone, its not really going to work, and will change the edge to a convex hybrid. those kind of stones are not so easy to find, and will probably have to be made, using harder stones, to re-shape them.

has anyone some knowledge on primitive edges of blades ?

was a convex edge used on most things over here ?

how old is the scandi design ? ... how long has it been on english soil ?

[MongooseDownUnder]

Personally I would not imagine that blades would have been defined by the edge as they are now. I envisage a sharp blade being the most important consideration.

[FishyFolk]

To polish up an edge my grandfather used a sharpening stone that was so old it was completly rounded off. His jnives where all so called scandi-edge. He had the knife in one hand and the stone in the other, and used it more or less like a chef would use a knife steel. It does not have to be perfect, it just have to be sharp enough to do a good job...

[ChrisCraft]

mongoose - i think your right, people didnt over-think, and analyse so much back in the day, they just got the job done. so ' very sharp ' woulda been good enough

fishy - im happy with how it came out, it was sharp enough to do what i wanted.

i was just curious, as almost all stones i found were shaped more-so for a convex edge.

im gonna try again sometime, with my axe, as those river stones seem perfect for that.

[MongooseDownUnder]

On a side note I have sharpened a knife on a concrete curb, it wasn't flash but it was sharp (probably a bit serrated too) and got the job done. Could you crack a river stone in half and then rub it on a large rock to level it off?

[ChrisCraft]

yeah, could do that. might take hours, but once its done, its a piece of kit in your pack, that will last a good while.

ill have a play with whatever i find. i wont spend hours, but ill see what happens.

[SteveW]

I can just remember, my grandparents sharpening knives on the back door step of the house. It was slate and they got a fine edge with a bit of spit as lubrication.

[saxonaxe]

When I was a 16 year old Deck Boy I learned from the older AB's who sharpened their knives on the steel wire standing rigging aboard ship. Many carried a 'Green River' knife with carbon steel blade and they would just sweep it down the steel wire a few times each side. Once the Bosun decided I could be trusted to use a knife without losing fingers I used the same method on my Green River for years.

[Whistle]

I can just remember, my grandparents sharpening knives on the back door step of the house. It was slate and they got a fine edge with a bit of spit as lubrication.

Back in the dark ages when we used to hand sharpen our microtome blades we used to have slate beds

to which we added oil for lubrication and different grades of medium , fine

and very fine carborundum powders ...

The carborundum powders would provide more "bite" than the relatively soft slate alone ...

different grades were used depending how badly your blade needed sharpening from just renewing an edge

to grinding out a nick or worse damage ...

The blades were then " finished " on a leather strop with a coarse side of rough waxed canvas

and a fine side of chromed leather treated with jewelers rouge ...

but very heavy damage meant the blade had to be sent away to be re-profiled ...

Cheers Whistle

[Whistle]

On a side note I have sharpened a knife on a concrete curb, it wasn't flash but it was sharp (probably a bit serrated too) and got the job done. Could you crack a river stone in half and then rub it on a large rock to level it off?

Yeah ... a lot of sand stone types , being sedimentary in origin , have natural "cleavage planes"

and often split along the layers quite easily ... many of the sandstones in the Orkney Isles can be split

and examples can be seen in Neolithic dwellings and turn of the 18th / 19th century "roofing tiles"

Best bet would be to look for some sandstone with obvious banding or layers ... should cleave easily then !!!

Cheers Whistle