Doublereed Archive - Posting 000007.txt from 2006/10

From: "Ed B. Flowers" <flowerse@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [DR-L] Sharpening a Landwell
Date: Sun, 01 Oct 2006 15:16:21 -0400

List,

To answer my own question, I have discovered the Mohs scale of hardness
on Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardness_scale).

The relevant hardnesses seem to be (first Mohs and then Absolute Hardness*):

Medium Steel Knives ....................... 5-6 ? (Double
hollow ground Swiss knife and double hollow ground Charles knife, for
instance)
Hardened Steel ................................. 7-8 100
(Landwell knives are hardened steel, stainless steel knives are softer)
RazR-Steel ....................................... ? ?
(beast.voltztech.com/~razoredge/product_info.php?cPath=23&products_id=47&osCsid=b9d7ad8a94a6deab574d4178dc9b0ac4)
Burnishing Steels (Sharpening Steels) ... ? ?
(www.rogermillerrom4oboe.com/RogerMillerROMTOOLS.html)
Corundum (Al_2 0_3 ) ............................ 9.20 400 (The
brown rods in my sharpener)
Carborundum (Silicon Carbide, SiC) 9.25 400 (Dark gray
sharpening stones)
Boron Carbide (B_4 C)........................ 9.3 400 (?,
cutting tools for lathes, tank armor, bullet proof vests)
Ceramic Stones and Rods (SiO_2 ) ..... 9.5 400 (Either
Aluminum, 9.2, or Silicon dioxide, 9.5, in a ceramic matrix)
Zirconium Oxide .............................. 11.0 ?
(Kyocerea knives:
www.ikitchen2000.com/prod/db/prod.php3?prodNo=K02CSW18BK, $22.45)
Diamond (C) ................................. 15.0 1500 (See:
DiamondVee Knife Sharpener, below** and diamond "stones"*** )

A nice discussion of knife edges and sharpening techniques can be found
at www.worldknives.com/wkknifesharpening.html. I particularly like their
discription of how thicker and thinner blades cut.

I find the rod sharpeners to be superior in all respects and they are
rapidly becoming popular. You can either Google "ceramic rod sharpeners"
or see some of the entries in the footnotes below. These rods don't wear
out and they don't deform and don't deform the edges that they sharpen.
No lubricant or sharpening guide is necessary, and they're very
portable. (Razor Edge Products claims that all of the carborundum stones
sharpen better without lubricants.)

The most fascinating, new product is the DMT DiamondVee Knife Sharpener.
All of the diamond stones I've used needed a break-in period before they
began to feel "smooth," so I assume that these rods would also need a
break-in period--sharpen you steak knives on them before you sharpen
your reed knife. These sharpening rods seem to trump Kyocera's zirconium
oxide sharpening rod, because they're easier to use, cost less and are
harder.

I was surprised to find that my favorite knives are not made of very
hard steel. I like the Double Hollow Ground Knife by Charles best for
working on tips (charlesmusic.com), and the double hollow ground Swiss
knife best for working on the backs of reeds (forrestsmusic.com). You
can easily get a long-lasting burr on these knives with any of the white
ceramic rod sharpeners. The RazR Steel is useful for adjusting their the
burr without wearing out the knife. These knives have center-mounted
blades and comfortable handles and are easy to use and sharpen. Another
knife that shares these qualities and gets good reports is the double
hollow ground Chinese knife
(www.webreeds.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_reviews_info&products_id=431&reviews_id=4).

If you want a one-knife-does-it-all knife, I think the best one is the
Jende knife. It's heavy enough to work on backs and sharp enough to work
on tips. It is hard stainless steel--but not hardened steel--sharpens
easily with white ceramic sticks, and takes a long-lasting burr which
can be directed with the RazR Steel.

If you can afford a Landwell knife, you should get their medium hard
knife to see what a hardened steel blade is like. Reed making is a
sensual experience and this knife has an interesting "hard steel" feel
to it that sets it apart. According to the Mohs scale, any of the
sharpening products will sharpen this very hard steel, but some of the
sharpners sharpen the knife only very slowly. The knife has a dropped
edge so it's harder to use than my favorite knives, but it has a larger
than average round handle that helps, somewhat, with this problem. This
knife is so hard that I don't see the point in getting a hard Landwell
knife, and I don't think the extra length of the hard knife is very useful.

I like a sharpener-steel combination for fast sharpening without wearing
out the blade. My favorite combination for the softer steels is the
white ceramic rods, followed up by the RazR steel. This combo is
extremely easy to use and will adjust the burr beautifully.

Just for fun, I'm looking for a good sharpener-steel combination for the
hard Landwell knives. I think, from what a number of you have told me,
that the best combination is probably the DiamondVee Knife sharpening
rods followed up by using the AH burnishing rods (sharpening steels)
from Roger Williams. These burnishing rods (in two varieties) are bulky,
but they're beautifully made tools. They are very hard and have
microscopic grooves running along their mirror surfaces
longitudinally--just what you need for direting a hard, Landwell burr.

Edward B. Flowers (ob)
New York City

____________________
*Measured by a sclerometer (a "scratch meter"?).
**DMT DiamondVee Knife Sharpener at :
www.cutleryandmore.com/details.asp?SKU=4246, $34.95.
www.sharpeningsupplies.com/DMT-C24.aspx, $38.85.
www.ikitchen2000.com/prod/db/prod.php3?prodNo=K02CSW18BK (Kyocera
zirconium oxide rod sharpener)
***Eze-Lap (forrestsmusic.com), and DMT large diamond stone
(www.charlesmusic.com)
www.knifeart.com/cerspeedrod.html (9" alumina ceramic)
www.restreview.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=34 (both
carborundum and ceramic rods)
www.discountcutlery.net/en-us/dept_22068.html (similar to knifeart
sharpener)
www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=4929

Ed B. Flowers wrote:

> Shawn, Herb,
>
> Thanks, fellows. I think I get the idea. I actually have Miller's
> sharpening sticks (burnishers), so this may be my first use for them.
>
> Does anyone know which is harder, the ceramic (white) crock sticks or
> the alundum (brown) crock sticks? I've never used the alundum sticks,
> but if they're harder than the ceramic sticks, this might be the time
> to try them out too.
>
> Edward B. Flowers (ob)
> New York City
>
> Oboehotty@-----.com wrote:
>
>> Landwells: I used and still use an H Landwell. They keep an edge much
>> longer then most knives I have used, though I am very fond of the
>> Nielsen Wedge knives (and they are much cheaper too!) as well as the
>> Chudnow knives.
>> Anyhow, I sharpen on a Very Fine Diamond stone -- or rather, get an
>> edge, then refine on a metal sharpening stick. Typically, I don't
>> have to use the Diamond or my fine India stone very often -- instead
>> I just refine the edge with my metal sharpening stick, bought
>> through Roger miller out of Cincinnati. I use the Diamond stone
>> about once every two months or so on the Landwell. Hope this helps.
>> Shawn
>>
>> Shawn Reynolds Oboe Faculty, Wind Quintet, Chamber Music Coach --
>> Westminster College
>> Associate Director of Bands -- Liberty Local Schools
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
>
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