Thread: can i use my barber hone to sharpen a knife

i recently got a colombia river knife and trail knife ( first knife i ever got worth more than 20 bucks, its an assistaded open knife and its one step belo a switchblade) anyay i was wonderign if i could hone it on my barber hone i have other knife sharpeners but i think a barber hone would put a better edge on t and if i can would i want to trat the hone just like my knife stones in terms of how i sharpen the knife on it

can anyone tell me how the edge would turn

One of my barber hones is an old Swaty that is in poor condition, I use it to polish out my knives and last week used it on an axe while I watched TV. I bring the knives to arm hair cutting on my carborundums and polish out with the Swaty. The axe does not cut hair, I'm not that good. I do like the smoothness of my knife edges after the Swaty.

thanks mines a laudy barber hone made in here in pa i found it at in antique store in the back and got it for 10 $ works great on razors dident know how it would work on a pocket knife.

i think knives tend to be softer then razors, and if you are just putting the finishing touches on an already good edge i think a hard fine barber hone works well.. ive also got a two sided barber hone, where the coarser side is a bit softer, so i try not to dig into the stone when i use it, but it cuts a bit faster, and leaves a slightly toothier edge which actually seems to work better. give it a try.

Don't go nuts on it or you'll damage your barber hone. There is really no need to bring a knife up to the polish level that a barber hone will provide.
If you have a really great edge already into the thousands of grits, you could use the barber hone to put the finishing touches on it, but be sure to do it like a razor - not a lot of strokes, and a really light touch.

I think knives are tools. Each one requires different levels of sharpness. My like my skinning knives to be sharp enough to cut hair, but i have found over the years that if I sharpen my pocket knives to the same level i end up cutting myself more than what I am cutting. ... Pocket knives are made for using as a catch all knife... Unless of course your other job is an assassain ninja, then it makes sense to have a blade that is surgical sharp.

if you want to polish edges I guess yes you can ,but to sharpen as in reset bevels and/or repair edges , you will need lower grit stone to start with.

Just give it a try and see how it works.

I keep all my knives surgical sharp...Almost...I dream of being an assassin ninja too . All jokes aside, I do keep my knives sharp to the extreme and I do it all up to no higher than 1000 grit. I carry a CRKT on me everyday (I own two) and I find that the steel used (in my two different models at least) is softer than many of my other knives.
I don't think you really need to go as far as using your barbers hone on a CRKT knife to achieve a great edge, but with a little care to protect your hone, I think it would be fine. If you can, invest in a Lansky sharpening system or something similar. 'Wicked edge' do a system that goes through quite a serious progression, right up to stropping stage I believe, it would probably be a better option.
I use a Lansky system, and I warn anyone who handles one of my knives for the first time to keep their fingers away from the edge. My friends all know, but even one of them still managed to cut something he shouldn't have, as the knife just cut straight through the coarse matting into the second layer with ease.


Mick

thanks guys i might get a wicked edge system or a lanskey system sometime, i have already used the under side ring on a coffe cup (cermic) to put a hair popping edge on knifes i like my knives to be scary sharp because i use them for alot of skinning and guttign and like clean cuts not hack jobs, i apperciate the input guys

Originally Posted by MickR

one of them still managed to cut something he shouldn't have, as the knife just cut straight through the coarse matting into the second layer with ease.Mick

Ok. It's been a really long week and I have a crazy imagination even on a good day, but does the above mean what I think it means?

If so, please convey my apologies to him. I wish his second layer a speedy recovery.