I Sharpen My Mora Companion Only To A “Working Edge”

If I'm wrong, please comment. I am not offended by good advice. I welcome it.
Today I wanted to show you how I sharpen my Mora Companion Stainless Steel with a Smith's Diamond Stone to a "working edge" not a razor's edge. Then I use a gnarled, knotty, crooked piece of Red Oak to make feathers, scrapings, shavings, and batonings for a quick ignition with my little bayite keychain ferro rod.
Please follow the LINKs below and SUBSCRIBE. Thank You!

Ferro Rod Playlist
How To Sharpen A Knife's Spine And Create A Super-Scraping Burr
Make Your Knife's 90 Degree Spine Into A Super Scraper... in just seconds!
Grinding The Stainless Steel Spine Of My Mora Companion To A SHARP 90 Degrees And A Burr
My EDC Knife, Stanley 10-049, Blade Change, Spine Burring, Scraping Fatwood and Ferro Rod Fire

[DavidWestBgoodppl]

If I'm wrong, please comment. I am not offended by good advice. I welcome it.
Today I wanted to show you how I sharpen my Mora Companion Stainless Steel with a Smith's Diamond Stone to a "working edge" not a razor's edge. Then I use a gnarled, knotty, crooked piece of Red Oak to make feathers, scrapings, shavings, and batonings for a quick ignition with my little bayite keychain ferro rod.
Please follow the LINKs below and SUBSCRIBE. Thank You!

Ferro Rod Playlist
How To Sharpen A Knife's Spine And Create A Super-Scraping Burr
Make Your Knife's 90 Degree Spine Into A Super Scraper... in just seconds!
Grinding The Stainless Steel Spine Of My Mora Companion To A SHARP 90 Degrees And A Burr
My EDC Knife, Stanley 10-049, Blade Change, Spine Burring, Scraping Fatwood and Ferro Rod Fire

[swampdaley]

Great advice as ever. No need for razor sharp for general work.

[IAMMarilynMonroe]

You're absolutely right. If you get it too razor sharp it's likely to chip or break.

[garys_shave]

Bob Loveless's partner was asked if he could put a razors edge on the knife and he said "I could, but then it wouldn't be any good in the field".

[ronaldbrown]

instead of using the cutting side of the blade, use the 90 degree spine and save your sharp blade.

[galenmullenax]

Just use a sharpening steel to dress up the edge. Some will spend too much time on a stone taking away metal and usually in that case the edge has been dull for too long. A sharpening steel rod will straighten the edge after use.. Thanks David again ! May God bless!!

[MikeSmith-jdnn]

Great video David, keep'em coming.

[richardsolomon]

I agree David 👍🏻the only 2 knives that get special extras are my meat processing blades. Everything else gets stone finish, ruff sharp and lasts well.

[zw]

Have several Mora's including the Companion. Working edge is just right for these knives. I really like the Eldris which I set up to be a pocket carry on a lanyard. Just simply good, useful knives.

[jeremymoses]

Save yourself a lot of trouble if you get a honing rod rather than taking it to the stone all the time; especially if youre just after that "working edge". Unless you out right abuse the edge, the largest portion of percieved dullness is not because its blunted/rolled or what not, its because the edge is out of alianment. While it maybe imperceptable, picture the edge as wavy rather than perfectly straight. Honing rod will fix this right up. Best part, youve probably got one already.... in the butcher block on your counter that most folks have

[sylvesterstewart]

I just got my MC and it's scary sharp. (I wear cut res gloves with it.) It is true that a dull knife is a dangerous one but you dont need to shave with it.

[augustoramirezdiaz]

I get what You Say David, a working edge is many times what You need. In my house, being they only one that sharpens the blades we all use, I understood that different people require diferente edges for what they do. A working edge is faster to achieve too. Best regards.

[davidmcneil]

I think you said the most important part more than once: “Works for me.” I don’t see the return on the investment in going for razor sharp for these types of use cases. It’s gone too quickly but still holds that good working edge plenty long enough. I use a similar knife, the Mora Fire Knife. Love it.

[W_H_K]

Zero scandi grinds are fragile and not actually an authentic Scandinavian grind. Authentic Scandinavian grinds - in Scandinavia - do have a tiny micro bevel on them as this significantly increases edge strength. Edge stability is paramount.

Stropping is questionable and doing so on anything other than diamond paste loaded hardwood most often increases the apex degrees to suboptimal. Leather has give and thus the apex will be altered. Stropping should be extremely light and low angle to prevent this.

The type of apex one goes for should be dependent upon what one intends to cut. An ultra fine razors edge is good for fine wood carving but a less refined edge with some bite is better for cutting abrasive materials or materials with abrasive particles on and often in them, such as anything picked up off the ground in the natural environment. One tiny particle of quartz, silicon, or iron etc is going to destroy a true scandi edge upon contact. I’ve experimented significantly with knife edges and the results speak for themselves.

The best advice I can give anyone on sharpening and all the nuances and minutiae involved, short of writing an essay long reply, is to refer people to the late Cliff Stamp’s YT channel, website, and old forum archive. Everything one could ever want to know about sharpening is contained within these sources.

Cliff was a Physicist and applied the scientific method, with which he was well versed, to his experiments in sharpening.

[brianandersen]

I think your right to use a "working edge" around the yard and shop but when I go fishing I will put a razor edge on it... Makes quick work of a salmon...
No need for most jobs and dangerous for some...
Love your videos David... Thanks

[omadon]

Cheap knives have advantage of being easily replaceable, so sharpen them however you like.
Personally, I have a few of them (Companion or alike), and some are with zero Scandi grind, for when I need that extra sharp edge (carving and fine work).
However most my EDC knives are with secondary (or micro) bevel. It provides better edge retention and faster re-sharpening to working condition, with less material removed from the blade.

[sully]

I'll bet if your wife's not happy with you cleaning off stone with shirt 😂😂 thanks

[alicarroll]

Oh happy day to you my dear friend. Outstanding video as always stay safe and God Bless

[realgoshawk]

In my view there's no right or wrong in sharpening knives. There are good ways and less good ones. If it works for you it's fine.
I personally sharpen knives different depending on the grind and my knives usually split hair...
What you should never do is giving a scandi a konvex shape bc you're losing the best feature of the scandi....

[timvest]

I don't see the need for razor sharp unless you're a barber. Lol