Sharpening Question

KnotRight

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Not really into knifes but always wanted a 4" Damascus steel blade. When on another fishing website a guy was advertising custom built Damascus steel blades with stag handles. He also made a sheath for it. I was surprised at the weight of the knife. It was a little heavier than I thought it would be but balanced.

I have one of those Shopmate belt sharpeners with a 25 degree angle. That is what the guy said he put on the knife.

What would you use to sharpen a knife made with Damascus steel?
 
It depends on what the Damascus (or pattern-welded) is made of, but as a general rule, the same thing you would sharpen any other knife with; stone, crock stick, sandpaper, belt grinder, etc... All a pattern-welded blade is is multiple layers of more or less conventional steel. There is no magic to it.
 
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Sharpen it like any other knife, 20 to 25 degree. Be aware that Damascus can and will readily rust if not cared for regularly..
 
Not really into knifes but always wanted a 4" Damascus steel blade. When on another fishing website a guy was advertising custom built Damascus steel blades with stag handles. He also made a sheath for it. I was surprised at the weight of the knife. It was a little heavier than I thought it would be but balanced.

I have one of those Shopmate belt sharpeners with a 25 degree angle. That is what the guy said he put on the knife.

What would you use to sharpen a knife made with Damascus steel?
Wow, this is a late bump, but better late than never. Sorry. I don't recognize the Shopmate brand. I know of Shopsmith, but I doubt that's it. Maybe it's a clone of the ubiquitous Worksharp? That usually is a 25 degree sharpener.

It depends on what you want to do with it. If you want a general outdoor knife, yeah, 25 degrees is fine. Since you said you saw it in a fishing website, however, I'm guessing you want this more as a filet knife? If so, you want to make it more acute, say, 16-20. Probably need to freehand that. After you're done with that, get and old belt, add some stropping compound, and give it about 50 passes on each side.

As was mentioned, damascus is carbon steel and will rust. I like to apply CorrosionX to my blade. It's not "food safe," but you'd have to drink it to be dangerous, so I'm fine with it(https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3506051/Is_corrosionX_food_safe?). Carbon steel damascus(I'm guessing it's Alabama Damascus, might even be a premade blade that he just sharpened and handled) will take a wicked edge.
 
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