Penknives and the sharpening thereof

[tim_n]

Received a Mora which was sharp, but not that sharp. Seeing as it's dark and cold outside, I thought I'd have a go at sharpening it. I now have bald patches from both moras I own. The three penknives I have in my possession however just won't get that sharp. I almost have trouble cutting paper with them without tearing it. Any ideas? Plus I definitely need to replace one of the blades on my Mauser... Any ideas how expensive that is?

 

[tim_n]

Turns out my Mauser stopped being made in the 1980s and is apparently a popular collectors item... Doesn't look like I'll get that spare blade. The previous owner was not good at sharpening and made a complete hash of the 2nd blade.

 

[Waldganger]

sharpening any knife is all about repetition and consistency. same angles over and over

If it is rubbish to start with, start out coarse and work your way down.

Get a permanent marker and mark the edge, you will see where you are removing metal, you may find that you aren't removing enough metal to begin with.

 

[tim_n]

Thanks, I've got the edge to a good consistency, but I can't easily blacken the edge because its so damn small, but I'll give it a try!

 

[mace242]

I get the better edges on my smaller pen knife sig my DC4. Something to do with sharpening stainless I suspect, thoough I can get the kitchen knives pretty good on waterstones. They are about all I use the DC4 for nowdays.