Sharpening the Ontario Air Force Survival Knife

[zhangmaster12]

Sorry for the crappy angle guys, I hope you can see alright. Better watched in Youtube. Windows movie maker put a retarded border around the video, I dont know how to get rid of that thing.

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Yes, the Ontario knife can get pretty sharp, but it takes some work. This knife has probably the thickest original grind I have ever worked with.

Ill redo the vid later, when I convex my SP5,SP10, and Regulator :rockon:
Part 1
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Part2

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[culpeper]

Good job. We sorely needed something on sharpening these knives. Most people get discouraged with trying to sharpen them on their own.

EDIT: You may consider adding that the tool you're using is affordable and the safety concerns without adequate experience for a few of your techniques like the orientation of the sander and being aware of the tip of the knife's location when moving the tip towards the belt. You wouldn't want anybody with no experience getting the knife thrown back at them without fair warning.

[zhangmaster12]

Good job. We sorely needed something on sharpening these knives. Most people get discouraged with trying to sharpen them on their own.

EDIT: You may consider adding that the tool you're using is affordable and the safety concerns without adequate experience for a few of your techniques like the orientation of the sander and being aware of the tip of the knife's location when moving the tip towards the belt. You wouldn't want anybody with no experience getting the knife thrown back at them without fair warning.

Woops! I didn't really mean this to be a tutorial, Ill make one today. Making these vids is really fun, a good way to blow off steam.

Heres a quick right up:


Safety:
You NEED a respirator. If you smell it, you're breathing it. A sharp knife is not worth cancer!
You NEED eye protection! A sharp knife is not worth going blind!
You NEED relatively flame resistant clothing. Some synthetics will burn right up. Wear a cotton shirt, jeans, and SHOES! Preferably an apron too.
You NEED LONG PANTS!! Gettin sparks on your legs aint fun. Also, theres a few times I liad a knife on the ground when i finished it and accidentally kneeled on it. Bam, you need stitches or steri-strips. Many times, you wont even feel the blade cut itll be so sharp.

I would get accustomed to sharpening by some other method before attempting machines. The Harbor Freight belt sander is EXTREMLY fast, it can mess up both the temper AND the grind in a heartbeat. But with some practice, its use becomes second nature.

I just buy 80 grit belts from HF
I buy 320 and 600 from pops knife supply, as well as buffing compound (stropping compound)
I buy micron grits and leather belt from LeeValley

Ive hear good things about Supergrit, EconAbrasives, Jantz.

On thick knives (3/18 and above) heat is rarely an issue, but its harder to keep a perfectly consistent grind. On thinner knives, heat is a big issue, dunk in cold water every pass.

Make sure you pull the knife towards a SLIGHT bit when sharpening the tip/belly. You need to do this too keep a consistent angle, Jerry Hossom has a great explanation on another "knife" forum.

The whole setup will cost about 70 bucks give or take.

Use the 80 grit for the rough reprofile. Grind about three or four passes per side until you get a nice burr.

Then switch to the 320, and do the same thing until you see that the 320 grit scratch marks have replaced the 80 grit scratch marks. The burr should also be much smaller now.

Now do the same thing with the 600 grit belt.

Those three belts (80,320,600) are the three belts where you really need to watch for heat buildup.

The 15 micron belt is a funny belt. It doesn't have x weight backing so BE CAREFUL! Stop the tip at the middle of the belt or earlier, or risk losing that point! Use this belt to polish both sides until the burr is gone or teeny tiny. Heat build up isn't a whole lot, but pay attention.

Put the final strop with the leather belt loaded with green or white compound. You now should have a very sharp, tough convex edge. Heat is really no problem.

Overheating a blade:
If the blade changes color, you now have a really cool looking butter knife.
If its too hot to touch, it too hot to cut. Dont let it get too hot to touch.
DONT USE GLOVES!! (I know ppl will shit on me for this, but oh well) You can't feel the blade with gloves on.

The most common mistake besides overheating a blade is accidentally grinding the tip off. This happens when you slide the tip of the belt, causing the belt to twist and grind off you tip. Xweight belts help stop some twist, but its still happens. At the farthest, stop in the middle of the belt, then lift the blade off the belt without pushing into the belt at all.

For touch ups, the micron belt and leather belt with suffice 99% of the time. Remember, to keep more metal on your knife, strop often and sharpen rarely.

A belt sander is a great tool. It makes sharpening large knives a breeze!

So, to recap:
Safety:
-Glasses
-Respirator

Usage:
-Keep blade cool and perpendicular to the belt.
-Edge toward you if your grinder is level, or edge down if you grinder is upright. You -want the belt "stropping" the edge.
-"The Tip:" Very little pressure!!! Stop at the middle of the belt! You can grind the tip off in a hearbeat, be careful!
-Quick, smooth movement
-Practice Practice Practice!


Now that I've probably scared all of you, time to help you regain your confidence and manly-ness:D

Although there may seem to be a lot of things to watch out more, most of these points are self-explanitory and obvious. The beltsander is very easy to use. For one, theres no need to worry about angle. The slack belt will convex itself. It takes maybe two hours of use to master. I bought the HF belt sander about a year ago with a bunch of belts. Although its better to use sharp belts, I still use the same belts as a year ago. Just be more careful with worn belts.

With practice, anybody can become an expert knife sharpener. Start out with a mora, yes A SCANDI GROUND MORA! Now, turn it into a full convex without grind off the tip and overheating the blade. Once you can do that, your already highly proficient with the use of the beltsander.

Good luck!!!:rockon::thumb:

[culpeper]

With practice, anybody can become an expert knife sharpener. Start out with a mora, yes A SCANDI GROUND MORA! Now, turn it into a full convex without grind off the tip and overheating the blade. Once you can do that, your already highly proficient with the use of the beltsander.


+1:rockon:

[fartingbadass]

Nice videos.

[zhangmaster12]

Nice videos.

Thanks man!

[kurodrago]

Nice machine:rockon:

[Stomper]

Wow man thanks a lot for the nice tutorial!!
Well done! You Rock!

[soapboxpreacher]

Is that a harbor Freight 1" x 30" belt sander...they have them for 49 bucks. Let me know. I want to put a convex on my kabar heavy bowie. Since the knife is the cheapest one I have and I banged it up I figure I can use it as my practice knife.

What angle are you holding the blade to the belt (estimate)? When you list 80 grit...I almost fell off my chair! I am assuming you start with it and work up to 400 grit then the leather and compound.

[soapboxpreacher]

Seems like a better faster way to go then a lansky or sharpmaker. As I believe I saw you on youtube saying you were wishing you would have done this 7+ years ago, instead of all the other sharpening kits you got. But you also mention you need to still know how to free hand. But Aside from that I think you are right about the belt sander, seems much much faster and easier.

[zhangmaster12]

hey guys, sorry ive been away for so long, real life caught up for a while :D.

Yes, thats a harbor freight 1x30, i remember i bought it for like 30 bucks because i found a 20% off coupon.

I dont think i remember saying anything about other kits, but i assure you, the sander is a great investment. Its great for sharpening larger and thicker knives.

As for angle, I have no idea. Usually with convex grinds you dont need to worry about the angle, because the convex works itself out. Generally, I just use a steep enough angle so that it can feather wood.

Where the sander really shines is touch ups. I can touch up any grind, on any knife any size in under a min. For scandis, use the platen and just put the bevel flat on the platen. Using the leather is like stropping by hand, use a little pressure and the same angle as sharpening.