# A tad bored, so I polished.



## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Being recently fully retired, I did not know how boring that might be. I had a yen to polish, so the nice part is that I could spend like a sailor, after all, it's my time and money.

Lately my favorite knives are the "miniatures." They are the size and shape of their their bigger brothers, are made from the same alloys, and instantly activate with a very snappy coil spring.

These little guys have a miasma of uses. For example, you can open packages at the coffee cafe' right out in the open. The price is moderate. They are easier to polish. Not meaning to be sexist, but you can loan one of these to a woman, and she will use it without complaint.

Last but not least, it's a great defensive tool. It comes out of nowhere, and despite its diminutive size, can open a femoral artery in zero-point-four seconds.

Just about every cutlery company has a similar style of knife. I'm retired, you're on your own--but you should buy one.

_Click on picture to enlarge_.


----------



## RubberDuck (May 27, 2016)

Still not sure about toast I bet it struggles 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


----------



## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

The Tourist said:


> Being recently fully retired, I did not know how boring that might be. I had a yen to polish, so the nice part is that I could spend like a sailor, after all, it's my time and money.
> 
> Lately my favorite knives are the "miniatures." They are the size and shape of their their bigger brothers, are made from the same alloys, and instantly activate with a very snappy coil spring.


Hey, Mr. Tourist, . . . also being retired, . . . I have a small leather business, . . . making belts, holsters, sheaths, and cell phone cases (mostly).

I have a 6 inch splitter that I need to get SHARP.

I've tried, . . . with a "kinda sorta" pile of results.

Any "words of wisdom" you would care to share, as I struggle with it at times when I have to split a thicker piece of leather down.

May God bless,
Dwight


----------



## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

dwight55 said:


> Any "words of wisdom" you would care to share,


I'll bet you a pocket full of posies that you are using the (*cough* spit phlegm) stones that came packaged with your fixture. Most times that means a 120, 220 320 and 600 grit of the cheapest road gravel the seller could find.

I threw most of mine away, except the pristine ones I'll sell.

I would call *Ken Schwartz at 209-612-2790*. He has direct sources with Japan and he can get the right stone for your needs. He also has a saw for cutting these rocks, and if you tell him the dimensional needs you have, he'll make it custom.

BTW, I wish I had a Gatling Gun that cycled as fast as a Jewish businessman just speaking! Oy, gevault, you're going to love the guy, buy way too much stuff and probably get to meet one of his unmarried cousins.

I've been robbed before, but it was never this much fun! Tell him "Chico" is your forum buddy. Once in awhile he lowers pricing.


----------



## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

When I'm bored I polish too. But something totally different than this conversation. 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


----------



## RubberDuck (May 27, 2016)

Sasquatch said:


> When I'm bored I polish too. But something totally different than this conversation.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


You ever do it with toast?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


----------



## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

Sasquatch said:


> When I'm bored I polish too. But something totally different than this conversation.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk





RubberDuck said:


> You ever do it with toast?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


----------



## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

RubberDuck said:


> You ever do it with toast?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


No but I've been toasted when I did it.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


----------



## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

The Tourist said:


> I'll bet you a pocket full of posies that you are using the (*cough* spit phlegm) stones that came packaged with your fixture. Most times that means a 120, 220 320 and 600 grit of the cheapest road gravel the seller could find.................
> 
> I would call *Ken Schwartz at 209-612-2790*. ...................
> 
> Tell him "Chico" is your forum buddy. Once in awhile he lowers pricing.


Thanks, Tourist, . . . I know my "box" has 400 and 600 in it, . . . supposed to be diamond, . . . great for run of the mill stuff, . . . zilch on my leather splitter.

Mostly all I've done to it is polish it with a 5 by 20 leather strop, . . . which made one heck of a difference from the factory edge, . . . but I'd like to take it up a couple notches.

May God bless,
Dwight


----------



## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

dwight55 said:


> but I'd like to take it up a couple notches.


Ken will help you do that. For one, there will be lots of new notches in your wallet, your retirement fund, and kids college educational fund. You do learn how to eat ketchup sandwiches and after the third month you even start to crave them.

But you will have the best abrasives on the planet. I have a 30K stone from Ken that polishes akin to to my glass.


----------



## Old SF Guy (Dec 15, 2013)

The Tourist said:


> Ken will help you do that. For one, there will be lots of new notches in your wallet, your retirement fund, and kids college educational fund. You do learn how to eat ketchup sandwiches and after the third month you even start to crave them.
> 
> But you will have the best abrasives on the planet. I have a 30K stone from Ken that polishes akin to to my glass.


I've tried man...I really have.... I can lay in a hide site for days....I can sit still forever and a day....but two things utterly defeat me. Painting and sharpening knives. Its like watching sloths ****.... I just can't stand it for to long and then its just a disaster.

So I have learned to deal with my two patience deficiencies....I cut harder....I slash harder...I stab deeper, and I hire someone else to do it instead of me.

and don't go trying to pimp me on some damn stones....I'd just lose patience and use them as bricks to level my trailer with.


----------



## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

I wish Tourist could teach companies how to sharpen razor blades. I put a new vinyl floor yesterday. Cutting the old carpet out and then cutting the new Vinyl was a total pain . Darn NRA knife has a sharper edge than the razors did.


----------



## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Old SF Guy said:


> I hire someone else to do it instead of me.


OSF, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship...

Edit: *@Smitty*, I'll be polishing full-time for the next few days. If you need a tune-up on your flooring tool, now would be the time, the stones were all flattened, and I'm not going anywhere--except the gym and the shrink.


----------



## Old SF Guy (Dec 15, 2013)

OK, I just have to admit my either complete lack of craftsmanship attention to detail...or this is fairly a waste of time. Someone explain to me, why in the hell I should spend 2 damn hours polishing the head of a hammer to then bang the shit out of it against metal and an anvil?

In the end, I guess its the minute difference a true craftsman would appreciate, but unless I'm working with wood....I just can't seem to wrangle any additional Fuqs to give....


----------



## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Old SF Guy said:


> Someone explain to me, why in the hell I should spend 2 damn hours polishing the head of a hammer to then bang the shit out of it against metal and an anvil?


Now, my dad made being anal-retentive an Olympic sport. He would say things like, "_A good craftsman never blames his tools_." Okay, that one did stick in my cranium, and I have a sharpening fixture that is +20 years old--all that has worn out is the blue painters tape.

Now, I just spent several hours making my own "honey-dew knife." You know the drill, guys, your wife wants you to do something--*NOW*--and you know it's going to take cutting, filth, and probably most of the Packer game.

So I took a cheap knife, polished it to +/-3 million grit, cut my own choil (to help make future polishings easier), found the blade wobbled so I had to find the right "two tooth" wrench for a "four hole" decorative nut--and yes, I had the exact one. All the internal mechanisms were lubed with Joyce's recommended "Quick Release" oil, and I slammed the activation button a few dozen times to help flow the lube to all points that touch. Final thing, I touched up all the scratches.

I could hand this knife to any craftsman or carpenter and he would comment on the keenness of the edge, the smoothness of the locking and unlocking, the response of the button and the proper tension on the pivot bolt.

So here's the moral of the observation, "_Always tighten your drive chain to the acknowledged and proper level of tension before you slam gears on the Interstate with all the drunks_." Capiche?


----------



## Old SF Guy (Dec 15, 2013)

The Tourist said:


> Now, my dad made being anal-retentive an Olympic sport. He would say things like, "_A good craftsman never blames his tools_." Okay, that one did stick in my cranium, and I have a sharpening fixture that is +20 years old--all that has worn out is the blue painters tape.
> 
> Now, I just spent several hours making my own "honey-dew knife." You know the drill, guys, your wife wants you to do something--*NOW*--and you know it's going to take cutting, filth, and probably most of the Packer game.
> 
> ...


Oh ABSOLUTELYl!!! Which is the answer to "did what Touist say just go right over your head?" I was talking about hammer heads...you came in with a knife, left on a motor cycle to ride with some drunks and yelled something at me in italian....


----------



## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

I can not hold the blade at the proper angle for each stroke on the stone. Each stroke is a little different so I get a more or less rounded edge. Not good.
Fortunately, about 30 years ago a custom knife maker hipped me into the Lanskey System.
A guide which clamps on to the blade to be sharpened which allows different angles to be put on the edge of the blade, a variety of stones, and guide rods which attach to the stones and ride in the guide.

All of a sudden, an inept knife sharpener like me can get an 18 degree angle for serious slicing, a general purpose 23 degree angle, or a 27 degree for heavy work.


----------



## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

*@RPD*, I read a blurb written by my friend and supplier, Ben Dale, the inventor of The Edge Pro.

He opined that even as a dedicated freehand polisher, he found his edges could be off by 2 degrees.

While some knives must be freehanded (and I use this on the obverse sides of some knives, like the CQC7), I stick to the solid fixture, The Edge Pro.


----------

