“Surely sharpening a knife can’t be that hard” one might think, as they destroy the edge on their pocket knife by flailing it wildly against a whetstone of indeterminate grain. In reality, knife sharpening is as nuanced a practice as virtually any other field, and getting a quality finish is much harder than it seems. It also gets increasingly complex with different blades, as [Turbo Conquering Mega Eagle] shows with is customized knife sharpening jig.
The hardest part in any blade sharpening is getting the proper bevel angle. A heavy angle is good for heavy-duty tools like axes, but for fine work like shaving a more sharp angle is required. Usually, a table-mounted jig is required but due to production constraints, a handheld one was used. It’s made with push rods and a cam follower from an airplane engine (parts are plentiful since this particular engine breaks all the time) and can impart very specific bevel angles on blades. For example, machetes have a heavy angle near the handle but a finer point towards the tip, and this tool helps streamline sharpening many knives quickly.
If you want to try your hand at another project that’s not as straightforward as it might seem, you might want to build a knife from scratch before you make an attempt at a sharpening tool. It’s just as nuanced a process, but with a little practice can be done with only a few tools.
Aaah, Brits in their workshops … I love the healthy disregard for ‘elf-n-safety’, Safety gloves – nope; eye protection – nope; hearing protection – nope; breathing protection – nope; body protection – nope! Shorts and white socks … Sir, you are a cad and a bounder!
Keep up the good work my man.
okay… now that was a bit harsh. During the welding he did use his welding cap.
But seriously, although I get your drift, it isn’t totally fair to state that “the Brits” don’t like to use normal safety gear. Sure there is that guy Collin F. who uses a “safety tie” but that more for “shits and giggles” I would not be surprised if he actually hurt himself once with that thing. I’m pretty sure that there are lot’s of Brits who do use their tools with respect and do honor the safety protocols and do wear the proper protective gear. But I’m also pretty sure that these are not the people who promote their actions onto youtube, unfortunately.
PS: regarding the white socks… @3:54 I could clearly see that he wasn’t wearing them, he used the blue ones. And we all know that blue is much safer then white because on blue socks you can hardly notice any bloodstains.
Notice the burn spots on the ends of the blade? Ruined the temper he did. I’m no longer impressed
No one grinds a tempered blade. It’s not great for the steel but as long as you’re not chasing the bleeding edge it’s not a huge deals.
He said,” this bit of mild steel”