"scary sharp" – a how to video

[Clay Hayes]

#5042

[David Petersen]

#37511

Thanks, Clay. You do good work. Now, if only my arms were as hirsute as yours, I too could be a good broadhead sharpener. 😛 Good hunting to you this year. Dave

[strait-aero]

#37637

Thanks a lot for the tips and the video of doing it,Clay! Wayne

[Clay Hayes]

#37729

David Petersen wrote: hirsute

I had to look that one up:o

[handirifle]

#38094

Clay Hayes wrote: [quote=David Petersen] hirsute

I had to look that one up:o

OK so you left the rest of us hanging huh? 🙂

Nice video, very informative. Question on that vice, never saw one with those long arms under it. What are they for?

[David Coulter]

#38693

Clay,

I enjoyed your video, so I took a look at your website. Very nice. Good, clear, instructions. I’m starting one of your articles now, too. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. dwc

[JodyS]

#40541

Clay

Thanks for the video! It is very helpful.

Jody

[Clay Hayes]

#40575

handirifle wrote: Question on that vice, never saw one with those long arms under it. What are they for?

It’s called a leg vice. The long leg fits into a little hole in the cement floor to stabilize the vice and prevent it from torquing. This type of vice also opens and closes faster than a standard benchtop.

[Ben M.]

#54288

Gotta echo what you’ve already heard: good work. Sharpening is a skill… one I’m impressed that you can do on the edge of a pickup window. Here’s giving you much deserved respect,

Ben

[tailfeather]

#55194

Great video, Clay…..I’m going to single bevels next year. Had to laugh when the rooster started crowing in the background….everytime I get on the phone at the house, they start up raising all kinds of hell.:lol:

[WyoStillhunter]

#56490

Nicely done video. My grandfather had a little meat market and my father became a professor of meat science. Everything you showed about the sharpening process jives with the knife sharpening of those two great men in my life. Thanks for bringing the old ways into the light of day.

[Clay Hayes]

#59345

Thanks guys. I really wanted to put this one together. Hopefully it’ll help answer the “how sharp is sharp” question. I see guys all the time hunting with broadheads that are just semi sharp. A fine edge makes all the difference. There’s more instructional vids on my website.

[Rogue]

#10244

Great video, I am one of those sharpening challenged type people and cant wait to try this. I looked at your other video’s and you sir are a true craftsman.

Thank you for the info.

Bill

[David Coulter]

#10460

Hi Clay,

What is that clamp from? Thanks, dwc

[handirifle]

#17995

Well after viewing this video (several times to let it sink in) and reading up on my book of sharpening, I have managed to get mine to about the second level of sharpness, he showed. Even with that I am tickled. Haven’t been able to do that consistently, on anything before.

One thing I am learning, is that being left handed, most (all of the ones I have) files are really cut for right hand use. It makes a difference!

I tried it with a sharpening guide (Smiths) that I have had a long time, but actually did better, when free handing like he did in the video. Very happy with that, cause now it will be easier in the field to touch up, if necessary.

FWIW, I tried the same method on my pocket knife, that is a copy of a Buck 110 folder. It will now shave the hair on my arm.:D

Thank you Clay, for the informative video.

P.S. I also really enjoyed the video on making fletching from full feathers. I have a bunch I have been saving for years.

[Clay Hayes]

#26677

David, the clamp is from a knife sharpening guide someone gave me years ago. It’s just one of the pieces. It comes in handy so I just scavenged it:D

If I ever get my hands on a good macro lense, I’ll try’n show what the bur looks like. Mostly you can just feel it though..

[David Coulter]

#26755

Thanks, Clay. I’ll look forward to more of your videos. best, dwc

[Leo Carrisalez]

#29444

I appreiate the video. Your method really works. What I’d like to see is a how to video on how to maintain the tanto tips. Ive tried and tried and always round off the tips eachtime I attempt to sharpen. Do you have any tips on this or would it be to much to ask, to make a video inluding the sharpening tecniques you use while sharpening the tips

[handirifle]

#32380

Clay,

Just wanted you to know I have used your info and techniques and combined that from what I learned from John Juranitch’s book, to become very good at sharpening everything with an edge, at least around my house.

Everything from scissors to kitchen knives, to hunting knives and broadheads, and got them all “scary sharp”. One thing I gleaned from his book, on knives, was the importance of creating substantial “relief” from the edge. In his book he does it slowly with a course stone, but i used some of your method, and used a file.

My wife now uses her butcher knife with extreme caution, It cuts tomatoes without pressing down on them.

she commented these knives are sharper than when they were new. That is an understatement. thanks for all your hard work.

[jpcarlson]

#45527

Clay,

Good video and advice. I had never seen the window trick, but it makes sense. I’ve a couple of questions, problem I’m dealing with.

I have been sharpening things for years with good results while working as a professional woodcarver/worker. I’m used to some hard tool steal. So I went at some 300 gr Tuffheads/single bevels the same way I usually do which is quite close to your method. I start with a coarse diamond stone, them medium, then a hard arkansas stone, then a power straup with honing compound. I’m having problems getting them shaver sharp. Any ideas why? It may be from trying to sharpen the whole 25 deg bevel and not tilting my stones a bit.

Hope you have some ideas!

Jans

[handirifle]

#45541

After watching the video several times, and re reading my book on sharpening, it finally hit me, AS THEY MENTION (caps for my benefit) the key is getting that little burr along the entire edge. If the coarse stone isn’t doing that then it would be one of two causes, based on personal experience.

One, and this is probably the most common, is NOT keeping the angle of the blade in constant contact with the stone. The entire surface of the bevel MUST contact the stone. If not you are recreating the angle each time. Once you get that right then number two comes into play. If the correct angle is being kept at all times, then the stone may not be hard enough.

I started finding that was my issue (well that AND number one) and ended up using my flat file with the blade or head, whichever you are working on, and using that till I got the “burr”. Once you have the burr along the entire edge, then you can proceed to the next step.

By the way, I usually do mine in this order.

File till a burr shows,

Then run file slowly along the back side flat with the flat side, to remover burr,

Then run edge slowly over medium stone, bevel only,

Then I run mine over a granite counter top I have (don’t have glass), slowly, both directions,

then finally strop it over a polishing paste covered leather. On MOST things I have sharpened this works with excellent results. my wife is flat amazed at how sharp her cooking knives and scissors are now.

IMPORTANT insure that same angle is maintained always! Put some ink on the bevel to make sure its all being cleaned off.

If you cannot do it free hand, then by all means get a sharpening system.

[jpcarlson]

#45728

Thanks, I thought I was doing it right by keeping the bevel. I have considered hollowgrinding on my wet wheel as it sure speeds up the process of sharpening really hard steel with hand stones. I’ll try my flat file for the my first step before I get to the diamond stones. Thanks for the tips.

J

[Clay Hayes]

#47958

Hi JP, handirifle gives some good advice. I’ll just say again that I raise a bur with a course stone or file before cutting it off and proceeding to the next step. Really, after the bur is cut off, the blade should shave, but it’ll be a little rough. Moving to a finer stone, the truck window in my case, just serves to refine an already sharp edge.

If you raise a burr and cut it off before going any farther I think you’ll get things shaving.

[Ben M.]

#32259

I thought this one was worth bringing back to the top again.

I didn’t realize my blades were only so-so sharp before I watched this video. Clay inspired me to take a little more pride and care in the quality of edge I put on my tools. It’s a pleasure to use a well-made, well-maintained tool.

Thanks, man!

[Author]

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