Sharpening hunting knives
Every hunter, regardless of skill level, must carry a knife. After all, it is a great helper in performing various tasks. This article talks about how to properly sharpen a hunting knife, as well as some rules for its care.
How to sharpen a hunting knife
Both natural and artificial grinding stones are used for sharpening hunting knives. Also, when sharpening a knife, a dedicated grease is used. However, this does not apply to diamond and ceramic stones, because they can work both with and without liquid. Regardless of the material, sharpening methods are varied.
Sharpening tools
Different tools are used to sharpen different knives. The main difference between them is the grain sizes. Available tools:
* Sharpener Lansky. Designed for small and medium-sized knives. It is convenient because it allows you to choose the sharpening angle yourself. When buying a Lansky, the kit includes oil for lubrication.
* Galandimo juosta. Ji naudojama rimtiems įvairių ašmenų defektams ištaisyti, nes yra skirtingo grūdelių dydžio.
* Professional machines. Used in industrial companies. Differs in the highest precision of sharpening and grinding. They have a wide range of grain sizes. Intended for professionals, as a small mistake can severely damage the sharpening material.
* Musat. A small file with a handle to keep the blade sharp. Not suitable for intensive sharpening.
* Mechanical sharpener. Applies to kitchen knives only. It is distinguished by fast sharpening of the object, but of low quality.
* Electric sharperner. It is used to sharpen various knives, including hunting knives. Automatically selects the correct angle. Suitable for repairing many defects.
Hunting knife sharpening angle
To get the optimal sharpness of the knives, you need to monitor the main parameter - the sharpening angle. If it is formed incorrectly, it is possible to chip the cutting edge, as well as damage its integrity or landing.
Different knives may have different sharpening angles. For example, when roughly cutting a carcass or deboning its parts, the knife should be at an angle of 30 degrees, for smaller work, knives with a cutting edge of 15 degrees are used, and the most common and versatile knives have an angle of 20 degrees.
To independently determine the correct angle of the edge, you need to divide the size of the blade in half. The resulting result will be an ideal solution, since the sharpening should be the same on both sides.
Sharpening with a grinding stone
The advantage of stone is its availability, as it can be purchased at a regular hardware store. For sharpening a hunting knife, it is better to use a wide and smooth rod with a fine or medium grain.
Damascus steel
In order to preserve the integrity of the Damascus steel knife, sharpening is possible only by hand, since the composition contains hard and soft alloys.
To check the strength of the metal, the sharpness of the edge is determined immediately before sharpening: the sharper it is, the harder the steel itself.
Also a feature of the process is sharpening, which is done only along the blade. At the beginning of the work, a fine-grained grinding stone is used, all work is performed only on a wet rod. The process starts with coarse grains and ends with fine grains. After that, we switch to "velvet" sandpaper.
Hunting knife maintenance
Basic rules for hunting knife maintenance:
* Regular professional sharpening of the knife is necessary to keep its edge constantly sharp.
* Over time, knife blades loosen and sometimes rust. To give them shine, they need to be cleaned with steel wool impregnated with a special oil. And in order to remove rust, their surface needs to be treated with polishing paste.
* If the handle of the knife is made of wood, then it requires special care. Due to possible drying out of the wood, it is recommended to keep the knife away from stoves, warm radiators or open sunlight. If the handle of the knife is made of leather, it can also be treated with special tools.
