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Post by DavidW on Aug 6, 2011 15:13:20 GMT
Now I know a lot of people are against the accusharp, but honestly I don't have the time to do proper sharpening because I'm still a student. I read on Cold Steel's FAQ that all of their swords have cantled edges which seems to be what they call a secondary bevel. So in this case, could I use an accusharp to sharpen my cold steel gim and grosse messer?
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SanMarc
Senior Forumite
Posts: 3,193
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Post by SanMarc on Aug 8, 2011 5:55:53 GMT
Yes in a pinch, but you wont like how they cut.......SanMarc.
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Post by ineffableone on Aug 8, 2011 7:42:49 GMT
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Post by DavidW on Aug 8, 2011 11:49:16 GMT
I just moved to Switzerland, so I don't have the room to put a belt sander. Plus, the neighbors might complain about the noise. In Switzerland, most people live in apartments and no noise is supposed to be made after 9PM. Because I'm living in an apartment, there's no room for a workshop where I can get stuff messy. Will using an accusharp ruin the geometry of Cold steel swords?
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Post by Elheru Aran on Aug 8, 2011 12:06:19 GMT
The answer to that is "it depends"... many CS swords already have a less than ideal geometry to start with. Will an accusharp'd blade cut? Yes. Will it cut as well as a more traditionally sharpened blade? Now that's the rub; it might, it might not-- depends on how good your technique is.
That belt sander Ineffableone posted doesn't need much room, it's hand-held actually. No idea what the noise level on it is though, but I don't imagine it's all that much and most people probably won't care if you just use it once or twice in the month before 9PM!
Honestly though, sharpening with file and sandpaper really doesn't take all that much time. You can just leave the blade clamped down to a board in the corner, and when you have time to kill, just grab it, put it on the coffee table and sharpen away...
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Post by chrisperoni on Aug 8, 2011 13:41:39 GMT
Should you opt for a accusharp be even and gentle with your passes across the blade.
The 2 most common errors with an accusharp are:
1. exerting too much pressure down onto the blade and thus gouging pieces from the edge. -Just lay it onto the edge and gingerly draw it across the sword, get a feel for how it bites into the steel. Remember results will be better with repeated light passes, also any mistakes will be easier to fix should they happen.
2. being unsteady, wobbly, starting/stopping during each pass. -Hold the accusharp firmly but not forcefully, make one long even steady pass at a time. Accusharps are meant for much shorter knife blades so on a sword mistakes from being unbalanced tend to be more prominent. Count your passes and do an equal number of passes on each side if it's a double edged sword.
Other stuff to think about. -it might take only a couple passes to fix the edge so test your work often. -be consistent and conscious of the amount of force you use, the speed, angle etc. -Also if it is double edged sword and it's going to take many passes on each edge, work just a few passes on one side, then go to the other. Do not do one side in full then go to the other as you are more likely to do each side differently- in part from getting better at it and also just the natural way your arm will tire some (even if it's not enough for you to notice, the work on each edge might end up different)
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Post by DavidW on Aug 8, 2011 15:27:46 GMT
Yeah I have an accusharp and I've used it for my dark sentinel, which cuts pretty well. I'll keep in mind the number of passes and such. Thanks for the advice!
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Post by DavidW on Aug 8, 2011 15:33:06 GMT
Haha yeah, thats a good point. I guess my real worry is that I might mess up the sharpening, since I've never used a whetstone or sandpaper to sharpen in my life. How do I measure the angle at which I'm sharpening? I was planning on buying this:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00062BIT4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER along with my next order of knives and swords so I can get better edges, and as far as I know, when you sharpen a blade, you sharpen it at a specific angle. What would be the ideal angle for the swords that I mentioned, and how do I ascertain the angle at which I'm sharpening?
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