Sharpening fleshing knife question

I thought I sharpen knecker knife todsy with 5 piece lansky sharper with angle guide, out hone oil, should I use water or wd40? Last season I sharpen knife an still had the bur on edge, is that normal that after sharpen that do not have to put new bur on edge blade ?

Lookup the wfsc beaver video , it shows how to sharpen a fleshing knife.

Use honing oil. WD40 and water are not oils. Unless you're using a waterstone and I highly doubt it.

I agree, get some more honing oil.

And how do you use a Lansky system on something the size of a fleshing knife? Seems like you would have to clamp at multiple locations, couldn't do the whole edge from one place. And can you get the right angle with a Lansky?

Go-to the 36 minute make and watch the next 15 mins or so...

Ship it to Lee he ain't doing nothing but twilding his thumbs

SNIPERBBB, Thanks for sharing that youtube video. Real good.
mac

That's good LOL..

Good video, if it isn't in the archives already maybe a good place to put it. Thanks for posting.

I don't get why sharpen knife an then take back edge of knife an run across sharp hard an put bur on edge to protect from cut holes pelt an ruin sharpness

wetdog, we may need your translation assistance on this one...

Exactly!

yes, please.

When skiving/shaving a skin,the edge on the knife has to be turned.

Speak Yoda he does not
Speak Ebonics he does, yes, confusing it is. Lol

First of all some that reply on this post, know what this bur that I talking about on knife is, others are not knowledgeable of fleshing knifes. U are supposed to have a bur on the angled part of knife on edge blade that u can feel with fingernail, to protect from cut holes in pelt, u use good quality knife an run back edge of blade on the fleshing knife an do it a few times an turn the metal over an make a bur. I sharpen it before with the lil honing oil I had an put new bur on it, after i done, what I asking is when doing this, make a bur, the way u make the bur, it almost has to be dulling the knife edge

Thank you for making me literally have my lemonade come out my nose. Tried to stifle the laugh. Didn't work so well.

Well I think everyone knows what the bur is. I just don't speak Chinese... or ebonics.

Basically you’re asking how to make the burr, and why, when I sharpen regular knives and tools on my tormek the burr is created just from the process of grinding and then I use the leather honing wheel to remove the burr except on scissors. On the scissors they claim it makes it sharper now on a fleshing knife I’m not sure why I think we need Lee to comment on this.

I never knew u needed the bur, until at nafa demo at nta convention 2 summers ago in Illinois, I asked an plainly show it to.me, he used a file to put bur on edge, say it fine if sharpen but to put bur on edge an if bresk off , to put a new one on. I took my knife to ita convention 2 yrs ago an person I pm an met, that was vendor, did it for me. I just still not totaly understand how keeps ftom cutting holes in pelt. An u would think it dulls the knife the way u put bur on

Probably as many ways to flesh a skin as there is to skin a cat. My knife has one side knife sharp and the inside curve dull. Knife sharp may be wrong but it works good for me. I shave off a beaver plew from the nose to the tail. Start in the middle and work to the nose then start in the middle and work to the tail. Shaving off a strip that is wide enough to reach into the fat on the sides. Then I start in the middle again only I push the fat off the sides pushing to the outside edge with the dull inside curve.

The guy sharpening the Caribou knife is doing it the proper way.

As long as you can keep the burr/foil edge on the correct side of the knife and you're using proper technique, the burr makes the knife sharper because you are presenting a thinner edge than you can ever make a knife if you take the burr off. The burr also keeps the knife from kicking into the house and causing a hole.

You have to realign the burr occasionally as it will roll under after a while. The rolling under causes the knife to feel dull.

great

I use my steel or back of my meat cleaver. I have one of Lee S. and have never had to "grind" it. I touch mine up when it needs it. Really not that often but then I am not hitting fur or bone either. LLL

Lee's knives have much better and harder metal than a necker.

grinder lol

Ya it hard to get used new knifes, I have had this knife for very long time, I did screw up angle in it years back but took to professional an went over it. The bur I put on is not on in middle section of blade for aways, for some reason, it not turn out there but i always use the left side for slicing an right sometimes. But not much, never anywhere in middle, but the way u put bur on it. Ur pushing against edge hard an forming an roll metal over, I used a lil wd 40 when made bur. I would think make bur in push hard against edge knife would dull it,

If you are pushing hard against your sharp side you knife is wrong or possibly the beam. By definition, sharpening a knife will give it a burr. The alignment of the burr is what's important. If the burr is rolled down it causes the knife to dig in or lift the pelt off the beam, if the burr is rolled up it gives it a dull feel. \When the burr or a better way to put it is the edge is in alignment with the cutting angle is the proper result. After us the edge tends to roll down creating the "burr" then it needs to be realigned so to speak. The way Mr. Howell demonstrates in the video is the proper technique to sharpen a single sided knife. Run your skinning knife or steel flat down the back side and then perpendicular down the edge, it's paramount whatever you are using to sharpen is harder than the fleshing knife.

I sharpen mine(a better term is realign) the same way.

Run my skinning knife flat down the back(my skinner is about as hard as they come) turning the burr that was created from use.


And than I run my knife perpendicular down the front. It seems counter intuitive but it's not.




If you paid attention to the sharpening demonstration he talks about wanting to be able to fleshing holing the knife on each side with two fingers. If it requires extra effort it's wrong. You should be able to cut with the whole length of your knife from right to left if you are right handed. If not either sharpen it or take it to someone who can. If you can't get it right or keep the edge it's the knife. IMHO neckers are too soft a steel, get a Caribou or one from Lee Steinmeyer.

That guy talks about fleshing beaver on average 3 to 4 minutes, unless you are doing it at those speeds and doing a 50 to a 100 a day. I suggest watching that video over and over and over and over and loose all preconceived notions you may have.

When I get old I'm going to teach myself to flesh over my knee like the Canadian.

Good write up 49 er
The Canadian is Jackey Worth from Alberta one of the important feature on knee fleshing he gives is " if you see blue coming up" ...you are going too deep and mom will have to patch your jeans. And you have to re-sharpen your knife as well.

The fleshing on the knee came in VOGUE when there was a limit on beaver you could trap Like zero- nill nothing- but at a months wage per pelt risk was worth it ?. You caught one and you prepared it on the spot and on the inside of your pants was a second layer the skin went into to advoid detection when you went by the Game wardens at the muskrat check stations on the big marshes in La Pas Area of Maintoba.

Very good information here boys, thanks.

Never had time to watch vid yet. Good information there, I used a Dexter triangle muskrat knife on back side to roll bur over like u did, that what was told to do but maybe used to small knife. An not heavy enough to get bur all way across, I don't think have ever used the whole surface of knife to scrape, either 1 side or other, usally left side

I am going to have to learn the sharpening method shown there and once learned go back to my beam and try a beaver (and everything else should benefit)on it.
But in the interim I have done just 1 beaver over my knee to date and that was enough to convince me that it is the easiest and best way of fleshing a rough skinned beaver,not expecting to go back to the beam at this point really.
I also want to teach myself to clean skin beaver just to have the skill and then stack that up against the knee and the beam?

Thanks again for posting the vid and making it searchable to include beaver and caribou fleshing knife,I had seen it before but had issues finding it again.

I never knew there was such a science to sharpening a fleshing knife......

Watching this great thread!

Moosetrot

Very good post. Thanks for taking time to put it together. It should be of good help to lots of people.

Obviously I've been doing sharpening wrong. Don't touch mine up much but will try what I've learned here and see if things are easier. There always seems to be a better way. Well at least I've managed for forty some years. Good thread.

That What I did like that. It still hard to understand what the bur does. An create it, would seem.like dulling knife , yes the metal on knecker is soft