ENJOYING THE OUTDOORS: THE RIGHT ANGLE VITAL TO KNIFE SHARPENING

When it comes to sharpening, some of us are dullards.

Maintaining a keen edge on a knife, the common instrument used by most outdoor recreationists, is something that confounds many.

Whether it's a pocket knife, fixed-bladed belt knife or a thin, flexible fillet knife, it ought to be sharp. A dull blade is a hindrance in any chore, and because cutting with a blunted blade requires more forceful effort, such a knife even can prove dangerous to its owner, He may find abruptly in mishap that it's still sharp enough to cut him if nothing else.

That's reason enough to learn sharpening. It's either that, take the knife to someone who has the ability or buy a new one when the old one dulls. The latter makes less sense than unloading a vehicle every time the oil needs changing.

What is necessary to resharpen a blade depends on how dull it has gotten. One that is only slightly worn may need just a light touchup with a fine abrasive rather than a major overhaul that by necessity will remove more metal.

Sharpening may be done with traditional stones, ceramics or diamond-dust impregnated surfaces. All are abrasives that remove tiny particles of metal. Naturally, the finer abrasives take off the smallest bits of metal, while the coarse abrasives cut larger particles. In stones the coarse may be related as "soft," while the fine stones are often identified as "hard."

A blade that is badly dulled or damaged may be a candidate to start sharpening with a coarse abrasive, then progressively worked with medium, then ultimately fine abrasives. A blade in average condition can be done handily with only medium and fine surfaces. One that's only slightly off par can be repolished with a fine abrasive alone.

On a standard bench stone sort of surface, sharpening is done by holding the blade at the desired angle of the edge and stroking the blade over the stone as if one were trying to slice off a thin sliver of it. What comes off with each stroke, however, are minute bits of metal from the blade, gradually re-shaping a cutting edge by alternating strokes on each side of the knife.

The vital factor, that at which many sharpeners fail, however, is the ability to hold the same angle -- not too little, not too much -- on each stroke.

"The major problem is maintaining the proper angle against the abrasive," said Arthur Lansky of Lansky Sharpeners. "It's a God-given gift, being able to hold a consistent angle. If you can't, what people do is limit their success in getting the sharpest possible edge."

One Lansky product is a cure-all for the wavering angle syndrome. The Lansky Knife Sharpening Kit is based on a clamp that holds a knife and allows hones of varying abrasive grade to be applied to the blade at any of four chosen angles. A rod-holding guide forces the hone at the same angle each stroke, the result being precise and fast shaping of edge.

With consistent-angle honing, anyone can reproduce a factory-quality edge.

The precise angle chosen in the first place is important.

"An angle in the 20- to 25-degree category is what is right for most knives," Lansky said. "Too fine an angle gives you a very fragile edge, one that's very sharp, but won't last. Too blunt and angle, though, and a blade won't cut well.

"In our kits, we go with angels of 17, 20, 25 and 30 degrees," he said. "We recommend 20-degree edges for kitchen knives and 25 degrees for general usage, including hunting knives. The 17-degree angle is a severe angle recommended for razor blades, X-Acto knives and similar tools. The 30-degree angle is for rough usage, like knives that are going to be used to cut cardboard or carpet."

With a consistent angle held, a minimum of metal can be removed to produce a keen edge, Lansky said.

"Sharpening isn't really grinding," he said. "It's polishing. If a blade isn't badly worn, a coarse stone might be the worst thing to use on it because it will give you ragged edge. To re-establish an edge, a fine abrasive may be all you need."

With hones, a few drops of light oil should be applied to the stone for the sharpening process.

"The oil is used to remove the metal particles. It floats them away," Lansky said. "Otherwise, the metal can clog the pores of the abrasive, and after a while it won't cut as well. That's why, after using a hone, the oil should be dabbed away instead of wiped across the stone. Wiping it will rub some of the metal into the hone."

For somewhat less precise, although effective sharpening, crock sticks are simple and fast. These are manmade ceramic abrasive rods -- in most kits, two of them that insert into a base to form a V-shape.

To sharpen a blade, it is held perpendicular to the base and slicing strokes down the rods -- one side, then the other -- are taken. The built-in angles of the ceramic rods fitting into the base take care of the angle of the honing.

Whatever the means of sharpening, the critical part is taking away what prevent sharpness and leaving what makes it with each stroke. It's when each stroke is different that the effort becomes self-defeating.

~Steve Vantreese is outdoors editor of The Paducah Sun.