Need to sharpen a sword and a few axes

[thrasherfox]

I have a need to sharpen some very large bladed items.

Would like to get off as cheap as possible. was thinking of one of them old fashioned round stones that you peddel to turn the stone and then you can take your time and sharpen your sword with love and care.

I really enjoy taking my time sharpening my edged weapons but until now all I have had were small bladed weapons with the largest being 12 inches.

I have large enough stones to sharpen these edged weapons. but nothing for my sword. I have had my sword for a while and just recently from use became dull and I need to get it back to its razor sharp condition.

Figure I might as well sharpen my axes while I am at it.


Anyone know where I can get something like that cheap? or make one? (a peddel powered large round stone)


Anyone near California have one they dont use? or know of any good swap meets that might have something like this?

 

[SAMBUSA]

Arent they made of sandstone? Cant really help ya since you are on the wrong side of the country, but what's the sword used for?

 

[thrasherfox]

Arent they made of sandstone? Cant really help ya since you are on the wrong side of the country, but what's the sword used for?

What made of sandstone? the sharpening stones? not sure what it is made of. I know if push comes to shove I can allways use plain hardened cement to sharpen it up a little. But my sword is special to me and needs to be taken care of. It doesnt get dull that often so I have not really had to worry about it much in the past.

 

[SAMBUSA]

Yeah, the round stone is sandstone I believe.

 

[SAMBUSA]

Linky

 

[Pardini]

Jet and others (Harbor Freight) have power wet sharpeners. The Jet is very nice, about $400 you would have to construct a jig to support a sword. That pedel powered round stone is probaly more than $400 and wont work as well. Might also look into a belt sander. The 3 wheel bandsaw type that run one to three inch very fine grit belts. Varible speed is the way to go.

 

[Revlis]

Sounds to me like you have an axe to grind...

 

[Sannosuke]

What kind of sword is it? European, Japanese etc.? Modern or Antique? And really, what have you been doing with it for it to need a sharpening...

 

[Dino]

are you plan ing on a little crusading in the near future?
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Dan]

Check this out, foot powered grinding wheel that was converted to electric. I bet you could put it back. The only drawback is that it's in Rochester, MN.

 

[rubber2burn]

For the axe I would use a bench grinder that is how I always sharpened my axes. As far as the swords go I doubt that you want to sharpen a sword on the grinder. I would almost bet there is a way of doing it that would not damege the sword I would do a google search and see if there are any forums that might help

 

[Mr Bogus]

I have a round 18" sand stone... pretty crude...

break out the belt sander... they work great.. lock the item to be sharpened down or you can lock the belt sander in a vice.. easy to control and you can get a wide range of grits for paper.. I finish off with a regular stone..

 

[roadthing]

I would recommend a soap stone block. You can true them up after use, and you can also fix them into jigs to sharpen cutting edges to optimum angles.

If you get a few blocks, you can get them in different grades. That will allow you to use a coarser grade to remove nicks and other imperfections, and work your way to a super-fine grade to bring the edge to a polished state. With the fine grades, you can use a few drops of honing oil, or water to lubricate the stone.

I prefer to use soap stone because it is simply one of those "old school" tried-and-true methods that simply works. It gives you full control of the angle, shape, and quality of the edge. Since the stones are used manually, you do not have to worry about accidentally over-doing it, and ruining your edge angle, or worse, causing heat discoloration.

I also have some diamond and ceramic sharpening tools, but I only use them for serrated edges, and when I'm feeling lazy and need a quick edge dressing. I'd be loathe to use some modern sharpening tools on a legacy item, such as a sword.

 

[CTA_Busa_LE]

Find yourself an ex convict, those guys can sharpen anything to a fine edge

On a serious note, it's been mentioned already, a bench grinder works best to sharpen an axe. Belt sanders work great as well but I've only used them for smaller things such as wood chisels etc.

The sword, depends on how long it is and whether or not you want it scratched up etc. Appearance requirements could dictate how you have it sharpened. In essence it is just a large knife, sharpen it as such

 

[Spectre]

I have a need to sharpen some very large bladed items.

Would like to get off as cheap as possible. was thinking of one of them old fashioned round stones that you peddel to turn the stone and then you can take your time and sharpen your sword with love and care.

I really enjoy taking my time sharpening my edged weapons but until now all I have had were small bladed weapons with the largest being 12 inches.

I have large enough stones to sharpen these edged weapons. but nothing for my sword. I have had my sword for a while and just recently from use became dull and I need to get it back to its razor sharp condition.

Figure I might as well sharpen my axes while I am at it.

(if you are not already) get familiar with the differences between the angles of the sharpening for each item. knives, axes, and swords all have specific ways of sharpening because of the grain of the metal, temper, and purpose.

for the sword (if it is a Samurai) then take a look at this site:

Process of the polishing work.

if you are sharpening a rapier, Roman short sword, cutlass, kukri, or other sword/large knife then be sure to understand their usage (slash, thrust, hack, etc.).

usage determines sharpening technique.

 

[bigoltool]

I have a Spyderco Tri angle Sharpener that will sharpen anything! Due to the length of the sword it might be a two person job though.

 

[Spectre]

also check out Bugei Trading Company. they carry authentic sharpening tools for a samurai sword (still assuming that is what you were referring to).

i've seen their cutting demonstrations and their blades are quite nice. if you are into Iaido or Tameshigiri then i would recommend them.

(i just checked their site and they have some more vids up)