I remember teaching myself to sharpen. Can be quite frustrating at times. I wrecked about 5 cheap knives before I finally got it. I would experiment, by intentionally sharpening at too steep of an angle or too shallow.(to find out what works and what doesn’t) This taught me where to hold my knife without the use of any guides. And a tip when stropping, drop the angle ever so slightly because the leather will conform to the edge of the blade ; if you strop at too high of an angle you will round your edge completely and will need to restart.
I love my victorinox, i have carried one since i was in the cubs and i use one at least once a day. Everyone knows i have one and everyone wants to borrow it. Thanks Ben, I have a great respect for your work since reading about you and Lois in the bushcraft and survival skills magazine. I made a very poor representation of a bushcraft knife that got a feature in the mag and it gave me all the more appreciation of your fine handy work and Lois impressive leatherwork. all the best from Mountain Bear outdoors
Great video man, thank you for taking the time! It was nice to “hang out” in nature for a moment, but back to quarantining I go. Thanks for the instruction and the reprieve.
Ben, I love that you have such a humble object as as Swiss army knife. I hate the thumb nail test, saw it coming this time - it always makes me queasy. This is well timed as I promised a friend I'd teach her how to sharpen her knife, but now we cannot get together, so I'll send her a link. Take care.
Hi Ben, great video, thank you. The idea with the wooden sticks covered in sand paper and a strop is so simple, practical and lightweight, that I really wished having thought of that myself. For camping trips and the likes, where I carry more stuff anyhow, I'm really going to try that. On 'shorter trips' I usually take the dual sharpener from Victorinox. It really works well with its stone part for sharpening and the small ceramic 'V' for honing. Brings back a sharp edge in no time on my Vics and is very easy to carry. For larger blades, this is obviously not as convenient due to its small size. Regarding the grinding angle of your Vic. Of course, you will have found out, what works best for you. :-) And, being good at sharpening, as you are, a sharp angle of 13° (26° cutting angle) is terrific for cutting. For me (and some of your viewers) the original angle of 20° (40° cutting angle) of the Vics might work better, though. Not only does it hold the edge much longer, while still being really sharp, it is a lot easier and forgiving when grinding 'free hand'. A 1° variation/error on a 26° cutting edge will be much more harmful, than on a 40° cutting edge. I have experimented somewhat in the past. But at some point I went back to the recommendation of the blade manufacturer (Vic) and guess what: apparently they do know better what works best with their steel and blade geometry, than I did. :-D Thanks again for the great idea and presentation.
hello Ben, took me back to my days in the scouts, I was shown how to sharpen a army jack knife using a wet stone with mineral oil.... can I ask about the symbol you have on the handle of your swiss army knife, all the very best "H"
Swiss army knives ! can’t bear ‘em ! (I do have two) you can get them quite sharp but they won’t hold an edge worth a damn, uncomfortable handle too, For everyday sharpening I use a DMT 600mesh diamond card that I have had for years.
I've had my Victorinox Pioneer since about 1986. My ex-husband bought two of them from the Army store for R3.75 each... I'd like to get a new one, one with a saw...
I've seen somone likening various honing pastes to various whet stone grains - is there a chance that, if you have used af fine grit stone say upwards of 2000 the using the strop with wax will actually be a step back?
If you use the chrome oxide (green) stick for the leather strop, you are using a far finer “grit” than 2000. Typically at that level, abrasives are measured at the particle size, which, if I recall correctly, ranges between half a micron (0.5μ) to 5 microns (5μ) depending upon the grade. That would be equivalent to something over 6,000grit (or even quite a bit more depending on the grade). So, no, do not worry about taking a step back. But do be careful with the strop and make sure you keep you blade angle consistent especially at the end of the stroke. It is easy to tilt up the back of the blade at the end of the stroke as you are lifting it away from the strop because you may be putting some pressure on it. First, do not press down so hard, and second, lift the edge of the blade off first. Otherwise you will have a rounded bevel and that would be bad.
@@bicparker1 Hey man - thanks for getting back to me about that. Yeah - I’ve gotten more careful with the stropping over time, and tend to go lighter and rather go too shallow on the angle than too steep until I get the feel. I do have a couple of small polishing stones alleged to be in the 8000 and 10.000 range. Feels like they do about what the strop does but maybe remove a little more material, which begs the question of their true grit. But the strop is gentler it seems when done correctly. The place where I got some honing compound was more like a leather-shop than anything knife-oriented and they seemed a bit confused so I ended up with both a white and a red compound for general polishing of different metals. I believe its a french make but I have been unable to establish the grit … cheers mate
Try the Worksharp field sharpener system, best system I have ever used. Gets my SAK shaving sharpe in minutes. Light and potable with every thing you need built into it , including a leather strop and angle setters👍
I love my Swiss Army knife but the Stainless blade doesn't hold an edge for very long. Although Stainless is rustproof. for me I prefer my Buck knife for holding an edge longer ~
Do you ever run into the problem that you run out of dull knives to show the sharpening process to people? :D Awesome kit! Next time In the woods I will carve a pait of those wood handles haha
I am learning to sharpen knives so i can sharpen my grandpas pocket knife so i can display it he passed not long ago i scratched it a little trying to sharpen it with a ceramic plate edge made it duller! Now i have to study up to fix it i feel stupid that i didn't but a proper stone or practice
13 degrees? Seriously? That steel is so soft you'd get one cut and its dull again. 17 or, preferrably, 20 degrees so the secondary bevel has enough strength to hold up for a while. They also make diamond field sharpeners that not only won't break, but allow you to properly form a bur and then clean it off, all in a 1"x5" package...with a second grit on the back side! You also don't need a strop that big 1" x 5-6" is plenty though I'd probably opt to put a little green compound on the inside of my leather belt and cover with a bit of tape. Then its always with you, as long as you keep your pants on.
It’s a 13 degrees on each side so 26 in total. I haven’t found that the steel is soft on my Swiss Army knife. Is yours a genuine one? There are lots of fakes out there. The main reason for this sharpening system is the curved edge for the carving tools too, which e flat diamond stones can’t do, plus I find they are very short and not so safe for sharpening axes and larger tools. Thanks for the comment
@@BenOrford 15-20 degrees each side according to this www.victorinox.com/medias/?context=bWFzdGVyfHNlcnZpY2V8MjkyMDQwfGFwcGxpY2F0aW9uL3BkZnxoODcvaDIzLzEzNDA4ODM0OTEyMjg2L1FkLTAwMDcyX0VOLnBkZnw4YzM1NjQ5NTQ5YWY5ODBmNzg0NmVkYzk0ZGY4ODAyZTIzZDgxYTlhZDQ3MTNiNGU2OGJlNGQ5YjAyZGNhMzg2
My loving dad was a scout master and past on his skills 40years ago .my bush knifes are ww2 and newest is 30years old .British Manchester with alligator on blade .do have Swiss blades as do ferreting so brambles and axes plus long 8feet chench blades to dig deep leather gerth strap for stropp and stone oil two types in leather holder with light machine oil in the leather strong overlapping top with heavy pressstud .
Using that sandpaper like that would be so uneven it’s not even tight this is very bad advice for the novice I have sharpening knives for 25 years and yes sandpaper works well but it has to be tight ang absolutely flat not loose and uneven like that
brilliant tutorial
I remember teaching myself to sharpen. Can be quite frustrating at times. I wrecked about 5 cheap knives before I finally got it. I would experiment, by intentionally sharpening at too steep of an angle or too shallow.(to find out what works and what doesn’t) This taught me where to hold my knife without the use of any guides. And a tip when stropping, drop the angle ever so slightly because the leather will conform to the edge of the blade ; if you strop at too high of an angle you will round your edge completely and will need to restart.
That's good advice. I'm sure I have a few beaters to practice on.
I love my victorinox, i have carried one since i was in the cubs and i use one at least once a day. Everyone knows i have one and everyone wants to borrow it. Thanks Ben, I have a great respect for your work since reading about you and Lois in the bushcraft and survival skills magazine. I made a very poor representation of a bushcraft knife that got a feature in the mag and it gave me all the more appreciation of your fine handy work and Lois impressive leatherwork. all the best from Mountain Bear outdoors
This is amazing Ben! Thank you so much for sharing this valuable information 😊
Great video man, thank you for taking the time! It was nice to “hang out” in nature for a moment, but back to quarantining I go. Thanks for the instruction and the reprieve.
Yeah that looks really convenient...
Good Stuff!!!!!
Brilliant advise I've watched this video a billion times to get it right
Great piece of kit, simple yet it works well.
Nicely made video with no-nonsense tips on keeping blade in shape.Really liked how clear you gave information.Greetings from Teeside🇬🇧
Please suggest grit size of both sandpapers.
Ben, I love that you have such a humble object as as Swiss army knife. I hate the thumb nail test, saw it coming this time - it always makes me queasy. This is well timed as I promised a friend I'd teach her how to sharpen her knife, but now we cannot get together, so I'll send her a link. Take care.
Impressive 👍👍
Direct, perfect demo, easy squeezy ham sandwich! Thank you Ben for your time and dedication......Aho....
Hi Ben, great video, thank you. The idea with the wooden sticks covered in sand paper and a strop is so simple, practical and lightweight, that I really wished having thought of that myself. For camping trips and the likes, where I carry more stuff anyhow, I'm really going to try that.
On 'shorter trips' I usually take the dual sharpener from Victorinox. It really works well with its stone part for sharpening and the small ceramic 'V' for honing. Brings back a sharp edge in no time on my Vics and is very easy to carry. For larger blades, this is obviously not as convenient due to its small size.
Regarding the grinding angle of your Vic. Of course, you will have found out, what works best for you. :-)
And, being good at sharpening, as you are, a sharp angle of 13° (26° cutting angle) is terrific for cutting.
For me (and some of your viewers) the original angle of 20° (40° cutting angle) of the Vics might work better, though. Not only does it hold the edge much longer, while still being really sharp, it is a lot easier and forgiving when grinding 'free hand'. A 1° variation/error on a 26° cutting edge will be much more harmful, than on a 40° cutting edge.
I have experimented somewhat in the past. But at some point I went back to the recommendation of the blade manufacturer (Vic) and guess what: apparently they do know better what works best with their steel and blade geometry, than I did. :-D
Thanks again for the great idea and presentation.
Amazing. Mr.Ben.
Thanks.
Tehseen Pakistan
Meeto😂😂
Cool
simplicity i really love this kind of thing...
Thanks for all the tips.
You carry that out and about do you?
Very helpful
Great video!
Thanks Ben your teaching is always, clear and easy to understand.
New subscriber here sir, nice and informative video. More power from🇵🇭🇮🇹
Can I have a longer pen knife over 3 inches in a tool box
Thank you
And also to know what equipment to buy for my survival pack
hello Ben, took me back to my days in the scouts, I was shown how to sharpen a army jack knife using a wet stone with mineral oil.... can I ask about the symbol you have on the handle of your swiss army knife, all the very best "H"
Swiss army knives ! can’t bear ‘em ! (I do have two) you can get them quite sharp but they won’t hold an edge worth a damn, uncomfortable handle too, For everyday sharpening I use a DMT 600mesh diamond card that I have had for years.
Awesome tips , I'm going to order one of those kits 👍
Thanks a lot for this interesting video!
I've had my Victorinox Pioneer since about 1986. My ex-husband bought two of them from the Army store for R3.75 each... I'd like to get a new one, one with a saw...
What grits are those other papers?
These were 240 and 1200 for the finer edge finish 👍
Very interesting and helpful. Cheers bud.
My trusty pocket knife for almost 12 years nox
Great Video! Ben's Hands really need a good moisturising
Sharpening knives free hand isn’t easy but once you’ve got it down, you’ve got it. Took me months to get really good
I've seen somone likening various honing pastes to various whet stone grains - is there a chance that, if you have used af fine grit stone say upwards of 2000 the using the strop with wax will actually be a step back?
If you use the chrome oxide (green) stick for the leather strop, you are using a far finer “grit” than 2000. Typically at that level, abrasives are measured at the particle size, which, if I recall correctly, ranges between half a micron (0.5μ) to 5 microns (5μ) depending upon the grade. That would be equivalent to something over 6,000grit (or even quite a bit more depending on the grade). So, no, do not worry about taking a step back.
But do be careful with the strop and make sure you keep you blade angle consistent especially at the end of the stroke. It is easy to tilt up the back of the blade at the end of the stroke as you are lifting it away from the strop because you may be putting some pressure on it. First, do not press down so hard, and second, lift the edge of the blade off first. Otherwise you will have a rounded bevel and that would be bad.
@@bicparker1 Hey man - thanks for getting back to me about that. Yeah - I’ve gotten more careful with the stropping over time, and tend to go lighter and rather go too shallow on the angle than too steep until I get the feel. I do have a couple of small polishing stones alleged to be in the 8000 and 10.000 range. Feels like they do about what the strop does but maybe remove a little more material, which begs the question of their true grit. But the strop is gentler it seems when done correctly. The place where I got some honing compound was more like a leather-shop than anything knife-oriented and they seemed a bit confused so I ended up with both a white and a red compound for general polishing of different metals. I believe its a french make but I have been unable to establish the grit … cheers mate
Oi, you `ave a loisence for that?
ever so slightly. thx 4 the vid
My father use a piece of smooth texture of wood for stropping
Hi Ben what grit sand paper are you using - I've got p400 set up and are you using a higher grade?
1200
Thanks @@barryirlandi4217 !!
Barry is right we used 1200 on this one 👍
Very simpel Good💞😂😂😂😸🐒👍23 Grad sharpened pro Side I think ist Good?yeah.Im a old Toolmaker.
hi Ben, your video tutorial is amazing! can i use sand paper p1000 to sharpen my victorinox?
Where can a get a bag like that 0:46
Try the Worksharp field sharpener system, best system I have ever used. Gets my SAK shaving sharpe in minutes. Light and potable with every thing you need built into it , including a leather strop and angle setters👍
I love my Swiss Army knife but the Stainless blade doesn't hold an edge for very long. Although Stainless is rustproof. for me I prefer my Buck knife for holding an edge longer ~
I am surprised as the AEBL they use is a great stainless steel. Maybe the angle is a little fine?
Victorinox pocket knives are hardened to 56 hrc. Buck hardens its standard steel to 58 and higher end steels 59-62 hrc.
Such an effort to sharpen a knife 😀
Why is all your stuff so clean?
As always.....great info and nice relaxed presentation. Thank you and be well
Do you ever run into the problem that you run out of dull knives to show the sharpening process to people? :D
Awesome kit! Next time In the woods I will carve a pait of those wood handles haha
Just dull the sharp knives
I am learning to sharpen knives so i can sharpen my grandpas pocket knife so i can display it he passed not long ago i scratched it a little trying to sharpen it with a ceramic plate edge made it duller! Now i have to study up to fix it i feel stupid that i didn't but a proper stone or practice
13 degrees? Seriously? That steel is so soft you'd get one cut and its dull again. 17 or, preferrably, 20 degrees so the secondary bevel has enough strength to hold up for a while. They also make diamond field sharpeners that not only won't break, but allow you to properly form a bur and then clean it off, all in a 1"x5" package...with a second grit on the back side! You also don't need a strop that big 1" x 5-6" is plenty though I'd probably opt to put a little green compound on the inside of my leather belt and cover with a bit of tape. Then its always with you, as long as you keep your pants on.
It’s a 13 degrees on each side so 26 in total. I haven’t found that the steel is soft on my Swiss Army knife. Is yours a genuine one? There are lots of fakes out there. The main reason for this sharpening system is the curved edge for the carving tools too, which e flat diamond stones can’t do, plus I find they are very short and not so safe for sharpening axes and larger tools. Thanks for the comment
@@BenOrford 15-20 degrees each side according to this www.victorinox.com/medias/?context=bWFzdGVyfHNlcnZpY2V8MjkyMDQwfGFwcGxpY2F0aW9uL3BkZnxoODcvaDIzLzEzNDA4ODM0OTEyMjg2L1FkLTAwMDcyX0VOLnBkZnw4YzM1NjQ5NTQ5YWY5ODBmNzg0NmVkYzk0ZGY4ODAyZTIzZDgxYTlhZDQ3MTNiNGU2OGJlNGQ5YjAyZGNhMzg2
Isn't it too much to bring all those tools with you on a field?
Ya think?
@@joebeamish looks like
Your WHAT oil, Ben? Camellia oil? Sounds expensive...
Great tutorial Ben, p.s. I love my hat, a birthday gift from my son, also called Ben, lol!
My loving dad was a scout master and past on his skills 40years ago .my bush knifes are ww2 and newest is 30years old .British Manchester with alligator on blade .do have Swiss blades as do ferreting so brambles and axes plus long 8feet chench blades to dig deep leather gerth strap for stropp and stone oil two types in leather holder with light machine oil in the leather strong overlapping top with heavy pressstud .
knife in the trouser pocket and a backpack full of abrasives ... the new everyday abrasives backpack carry (e-abc) ... 🙂
ベン！！
victorinox has a sharpener for its knives
I read that it suck
you would think a multi-tool would contain a sharpening file.
Some do but unfortunately if you can’t remove it from the tool you can’t use it on the blade for sharpening
@@BenOrford Ah, thats a shame but I guess you can always find a rock.
This is the first time I have heard the most important tip. Lock your wrist.
Using that sandpaper like that would be so uneven it’s not even tight this is very bad advice for the novice I have sharpening knives for 25 years and yes sandpaper works well but it has to be tight ang absolutely flat not loose and uneven like that
I’m not a big fan of sharpening Swiss Army knives