crook knives

[Gurthang]

what kind of sharpening tool is required for sharpening a crook knife or spoon knife
any help with would be great.

[ZDP-189]

Wow, that is a challenge.

If you are sharpening a spoon knife and it's a chisel grind with the rim as the sharpened edge, you can treat it as a regular curved chisel ground blade, and a whetstone will do. No need to worry about sharpening accuracy - if you made it as sharp as my latest dagger, you wouldn't contemplate putting it in your mouth.

If you are dealing with a recurve, you will need either a stick or a V-sharpener, depending on whether you have a double or single bevel.

[Gurthang]

just to clarify is that a V-sharpener for a recurve with a single bevel

[ZDP-189]

As long as you don't mind it no longer being a true single bevel, you can use a fixed V like a Gerber sharpener. You actually won't remove much steel - just enough to bring back the keen-ness.

If you have to do some real heavy sharpening, a Spyderco 204 may work, otherwise it's loose Spyderco stick or Lansky crock stick.

Post a photo and describe the state of the edge, if you want a more certain answer.

[Martyn]

Wet n' dry paper, various grades, wrapped round a pencil. ;)

[Gurthang]

Thanks for the help guys I havent worked out how to post pictures yet but as for a discription of the edge: Its still pretty good but just lost it's "keen-ness" and I just need to restore it

[Martyn]

Use the tube of sandpaper described above, to hone the inside curve of the crook knife. If it's just a quick touch up, then a fine grade paper would be fine. You dont have to use a pencil, use dowel or any tube, with a diameter that works to gently hone that inside curve. You may find something bigger than a pencil will work better.

[stonehard]

of course you could go to a woodworkers shop or axminster http://www.axminster.co.uk/default.asp?sub=157
http://www.axminster.co.uk/default.asp?sub=157
and buy a carvers slip stone these are shaped for gouges meaning they are good for the internal surface bevel. You sharpen the bevel till you have a "wire edge" and then with the flat side of the slip stone remove the wire by rubbing it flat on the non bevel side, then . A wire edge is what you get if you keep sharpening on the bevel edge of a spoon or crook or any chisel or plane iron. A wire (burr) will form right along the edge of the blade. I get a real buzz from getting this wire as I know I have done the sharpening correctly and it will be very sharp. It will work on a double bevel as well.
you can also buy felt stropping wheels at axminster that keeps the edge razor sharp whilst working by polishing.

[Gurthang]

I was just about to sharpen my crook knife yesterday planning to use the paper round a pencil method when I had an idea: if the paper wraped round a pencil would work how about one of those thin circular cross section file for sharpening chainsaws, I tried it and it really did the trick I used a relly fine file to but the "keen-ness" back on its edge.