This is a very simple but effective tool that show how many degres you wobble sueingvfreehand sharpening on an benchstone. 

I have use a piece of brass 15x3 mm, a strong magnet and a laser pen fixed on the brass part with a rubber band. The brass part have a angle of 10 degrees, make that angle about 15 degrees.

I also made a "target" for the laser dot. The target shall be 54 cm behind the cutting edge = 1 degree = 1 cm on the target.

Do as you are use to do when you sharpen a knife. Mount my tool on the blade. Put the target behind the sharpener 54 cm from the cutting edge. Adjust "zero" on the target where the red dot are when you sharpen. Now, can you hold a consitent angle the red dot will stay on the zero line...

1 cm up, or down, you wobble 1 degree.

Use a video camera and do not look at the red dot, concentrate on the sharpening process and to hold a consitstent angle. Then, look on the video 

I think you will be amazed 

Thomas

Born from key influences in Dietmar Pohl's lifelong passion for knives, the Prepper One combines the hollow handle survival knife concept with a traditional style 'straight' utility knife. By using modern materials and manufacturing techniques, Dietmar Pohl has avoided all the typical weaknesses of hollow handle knives and produced a super strong design that won't let you down. This review features the Prepper One Tactical (G10 and wood handle), but the range also includes the Prepper One Survival, and Prepper One Outdoor (plus wood handle options for these).

(Moderators, there is a reciprocal link at the end of every review on Tactical Reviews.)

I just finished watching a fascinating series, "Tales from the Stone Age". It reminded me of the excellent posts by Thomas about his life experiences with the Sami people. I was particularly pleased that this program treated our early ancestors as innovating, intelligent, and resourceful. There was no attitude of them being primitive or less developed.

The story traces the development of our species from hunter gatherers to the beginning of the iron age. The story begins in the Fertile Crescent and goes back and forth with Europe. It is very well supported with archological evidence. 

There are three episodes, lasting a total of three hours. It was produced in 2004 by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. I found it on Amazom Prime (free to members or no charge to guest members). It is also listed on youtube.

It makes me think and gives me a deeper appreciation for the legacy we have inherited. I plan to watch it again, at least once. I recommend it highly.

Ken

I just had another What Would Mike Do? experience. I needed to weigh two knife sharpening jigs quickly. Following what I thought Mike might do, I placed each jig on the uncovered digital scale of my trusty PT-50. My problem was solved in "no time flat" (English idiom for almost no time). One jig weighed 170 grams. The other jig weighed 320 grams. Once again, the Edge on Up crew saved the day.

Thanks, Mike.

Ken

Hey guys, I thought I would share an upgrade I just did on my Viel 1x42. I’ve always had a little trouble with the belt tracking on the Viel. The two screws on the top of the mast arm work fine for controlling the top of the idler pulley yoke, but there’s nothing to control the bottom of the yoke from flopping around inside the tube. So I decided to drill and tap two additional holes down 2 1/2” from the top of the tube. Now the belts track perfectly every time, because the yoke is now held in a perfect upright position. And of course you can still remove and install the belts easily. I’ll send pictures if I can figure out how to attach them. 
Garry Ordener 
Garry’s Knife Sharpening

It seems that discovery just breeds more questions. What's got us thinking this morning is this definition of hardness "Hardness may be defined as a material's resistance to plastic deformation."  We found the first reference to this definition in a 1890's patent application for a means of testing hardness. A very cursory search makes it appear that this definition is well accepted today. Another definition that can be easily found is one that describes burr formation as "the result of plastic deformation". The metal that makes up the burr has, apparently, been transformed. We think that this explanation might answer an old question posed by Grepper in a thread entitled "Why are burrs so malleable?" We think the answer to that question might just be "because the steel that composes the burr has been transformed into a much more ductile form via plastic deformation."

We all know that when sharpening a knife that burr formation (plastic deformation) is the initial goal. So here is our first question; Is a HRC 62 edge more difficult to grind than a HRC 55 edge simply because it is offering more resistance to plastic deformation? 

Here's the follow-up question that assumes you haven't developed serious disagreement with what we have proposed so far; Let's assume that we all would like to travel from point A to B. We elect to walk and you elect to ride your bicycle. We assume that you will arrive at point B before us and with less effort. But, in the end, we do all arrive at the same place. Could the same be said about edges whether they begin as HRC 62 or HRC 55?

This is a very nice pricelist when you make things for other people

Thomas

I added a few videos to my You Tube channel. They show the actual process of hardening the edge, by heating the edge with an O/A torch and quenching in oil. These blades are flat ground, and pretty thin, so it doesn't take long at all to heat the edge with a large welding tip adjusted to a quiet carburizing flame.

This is a normal example of a full size hunting blade;

https://youtu.be/JlUxGO3wt5c

This is the result. You can see that a little of the light scale has popped off, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of the way up the blade from the edge. This is just right, because more of the edge will actually be hard, as you will see after the blade has been etched.

https://youtu.be/6RoOZW9978g

Saw this on youtube today.  As a wood turner there has been an argument about whether the tool cuts better with a course grind, say 80 grit, vs a fine grind such as 180.  Some think the saw tooth edge cuts better on green wood.   Anyway I thought you might find this interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWh1k8qpAR0

Just for kicks, I thought I would share my monthly sharpening ritual, and hope to hear of others.

It is the last Tuesday of the month, and that means I get all my commonly used kitchen & pocket knives lined up for their new edges.


My deceased father taught me to sharpen on a stone when I was probably about 6 years old, and then after I became somewhat proficient at the task, I don't think he sharpened another blade, but instead outsourced it to me!

My sharpening ritual still reminds me of him and all of the good times we had.  Which is probably why it became a ritual in the first place; a purposeful task to honor this, and all things, that my father taught me.

For myself, on the last Tuesday (or Wed - if something came up), I sit down with a cold beer(s) and my 'course' and 'medium' DMT 'stones', along with a 20" long by 4" wide cowhide strop block -- and nowadays, with the strop block that Mark R. made for some of us out here.

A few drops of dish soap mixed in a few drops of water applied to the diamond stones seems to help keep them nice and clean.

I usually start with the worst looking edge first to get in the right state of mind and get that 'flow' that is necessary for a good edge.

I take my time with each knife, there are about 7 of them, sometimes a couple more or a couple less.  
Takes me a solid 2 hours, and I enjoy every minute of it!

Anyhow, most of the people around me think I am a bit looney about all of it, but, I figured if there is one group of people that can understand the more 'emotional' side of a good sharp blade, it is you folks!

Heres to no hair on your left hand/wrist/arm,
Cheers!
Wade