Edgepal new member

[Edgepal]

Hi, i become a member here today"
My name is Thomas, my aka are edgepal. I make my sharpening tools by hand in Sweden where I live in parish Jamtland in the middle part of Sweden.

You can look at my homepage here:  http://www.edgepal.com/english-5444885

I am 70 years old and it is my hobby to invent, construct and make sharpening tools.

I have use knifes and other edged tools for 60 years - and of cause sharpen them. The first 40 years by freehand, later with sharpening tools I made my self.

I have live long times outdoors above the arctic circle in the Swedish high mountains and lived with the Sami people there during the 60 and 70:ties, sins 30 years back i live out in the Forest with miles of Forest around my house.

From that experiance I am interseted of knifes and edges in use all over the world.

[Ken S]

Welcome, Thomas. Your website and sharpening tools are fascinating.

Edge tools play such important parts in our cultural development throughout the world. Maybe that is why we find them so fascinating.

Ken

[grepper]

Yes, Welcome Thomas.

Methinks you are a far hardier soul than I.  I complain, whine and cry like a baby over Michigan winters!

Did you start getting into sharpening while living with the Sami people?  I would imagine that was a pretty primitive environment back then, and there really was not much in the way of sharpening "equipment".

"...miles of Forest around my house"

Sounds beautiful!

[Edgepal]

Welcome, Thomas. Your website and sharpening tools are fascinating.

Edge tools play such important parts in our cultural development throughout the world. Maybe that is why we find them so fascinating.

Ken

Thanks Ken,

If I remember correctly, you have seen my tools before

Yes, axes and knifes was humans first tools and our obsidian knifes was the sharpest knifes humans ever have used, 1 molekyle thick cutting edge... And we started to grind them,mthey was to sharp and to thin - so we learneded how to grind them so that the edge become more durable and more useful.l

[Ken S]

Thomas,

You are correct. I saw them on Steve Bottorff's website, http://www.sharpeningmadeeasy.com . High praise, indeed!

Ken

[Edgepal]

Yes, Welcome Thomas.

Methinks you are a far hardier soul than I.  I complain, whine and cry like a baby over Michigan winters!

Did you start getting into sharpening while living with the Sami people?  I would imagine that was a pretty primitive environment back then, and there really was not much in the way of sharpening "equipment".

"...miles of Forest around my house"

Sounds beautiful!

 Hi Grepper,

I enjoy the years different seasons a lot. The change of seasons are very nice. Now I am longing after the summer and daylight 24/7. In the end KF the summer I am longing after the winter, fire in the fireplace and lamplight. 

No I could sharpen before that time - but I learned a lot about sharpening when I lived there - and how sharpen edges on natural stones when I have forgot my sharpener at home... But it was there i learned that a edge shall only be as sharp it need to be for its purpouse. It was also during rhis rime I started to think about how a sharpening tool must look like that can shatpen both flat and convex edges with dull control shall be constructed. Those thoughts are EdgePal sharpening Tools today.

Primitive? That depends what you compare with. Where I lived was wilderness - but I lived veey comfortble in my Hogan when I was home - and in tent when I was in other places. Somerimes under the sky, in a cave or just below a rock. I liked that way of living then, today am I older and I prefer my waterbed...

Today a moose bull with great antlers stand outside my house and eat from the bushes. We have wolfs, bears, lynx, deers, foxes, beavers in the area, sometimes outside the house. This is normal for this area of Sweden. 
On my homepage is a video about beavers, made from a window of the second floor of my house. For me is living like this, high life quality.

Thomas

[Ken S]

Interesting post, Thomas. I believe the allure of sharpening has at least two aspects. It is a practical, everyday skill and, it may be an echo of past ages and have deeper meanings.

We need both the quest for greater sharpness and a good feeling for what degree of sharpness is necessary for different functions.

Keep up the good and interesting work.

Ken

[Edgepal]

Interesting post, Thomas. I believe the allure of sharpening has at least two aspects. It is a practical, everyday skill and, it may be an echo of past ages and have deeper meanings.

We need both the quest for greater sharpness and a good feeling for what degree of sharpness is necessary for different functions.

Keep up the good and interesting work.

Ken

Ken,
In my experiance 99,99 % of knife owners are happy with a sharp knife - and they have not a clue about what degree the edge on there knife have. They have only learn how to get the edge two surfaces to meet properly to a sharp edge...

On forums the members are to 99 % citypeople with city peoples need, and knowledge, of knifes and edges. They have never seen how outdoor people carry 3-4 knifes and use them for different purpouses    When they work.

Citypeople slice and cut modern materials and they need edges up to 40 degrees total - that have traditionals on choppingaxes... Traditional edges holds around 26 degrees total, and they never used for chopping or batooning. If I need to chop I use my chopper or an axe.

When living outdoors for 6 month tells you a lot of things about your sharpening skill. The dirst thing you notice is that all edges will be convex - and the skill needed is to not let the convex sphere grow to large, if it do, the knife do not work for you any more, you need more force when using the knife - and that is not a good thing  when it is 3-4 days walk to get help.

[Ken S]

Thomas,

Your points are very well made. My own background is mostly what you would consider city people. However, there are two things in my background I consider non city. I spent two summers at the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School ten miles off the Maine coast, one as a student, and one as an Assistant Watch Officer. Back then, Outward Bound was a twenty six day survival course originally set up for the Welsh merchant marine in World War II. The training included seventy two hours alone on an island with only the food I found.

The second life experience was much of a thirty five year career as a rural telephone man working alone.

Neither of these experiences were as rugged as your earlier life, however, they gave me a taste of non city life and an appreciation of non city life skills.

My favorite sharpening book was written by the late Leonard Lee. He grew up on a small family farm in Saskatuwan, Canada, and knew logging with axes intimately. His book reflects that knowledge.

I believe there are city people who want to expand their life knowledge to more back to nature experience. I count myself among them. I hope this forum will be a source of knowledge and inspiration for all interested folk, even city people.

Keep posting.

Ken

[Edgepal]

Thomas,

Your points are very well made. My own background is mostly what you would consider city people. However, there are two things in my background I consider non city. I spent two summers at the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School ten miles off the Maine coast, one as a student, and one as an Assistant Watch Officer. Back then, Outward Bound was a twenty six day survival course originally set up for the Welsh merchant marine in World War II. The training included seventy two hours alone on an island with only the food I found.

The second life experience was much of a thirty five year career as a rural telephone man working alone.

Neither of these experiences were as rugged as your earlier life, however, they gave me a taste of non city life and an appreciation of non city life skills.

My favorite sharpening book was written by the late Leonard Lee. He grew up on a small family farm in Saskatuwan, Canada, and knew logging with axes intimately. His book reflects that knowledge.

I believe there are city people who want to expand their life knowledge to more back to nature experience. I count myself among them. I hope this forum will be a source of knowledge and inspiration for all interested folk, even city people.

Keep posting.

Ken

Ken,

There is nothing wrong with city people

Knifes and edges has allways been developed to different purpouses, that is why we have hunting knifes and razors - and thousends other different knifes.

My point is not against city people - it is more about forums where city people talk about how good there 40 degree, razor sharp Bowies, work outdoors.... No outdoor people agree with that description bexouse it will not work at all for them.

Internet is dull of videos that shows how people made their knifes so sharp that they can shave with it. What they really have done is thatvthethat have change the purpouse of the knife. A good knife have been change to a razor - and it is not a good knife any more, it is a razor instead.

My point is that knifes develops out of use, and that have allways been like that. City people develop knifes, and edges, that works for the life in yhe city. That is perfectly ok - and also necesarry. in the same time, traditional knifes so not change becouse they are often veey old.

Do you have a ordinary cheep Mora knife? Look at the blade design. That design is about 2-2500 years old. Millions of people during have use that blade design - and they was real knife users. It is a perfect design - for outdoor people. the vikings use that blade design for their beltknifes! But - it is a design used in Scansinavia, with our climate, our sorts of wood, our games and our fish. It works perfect here - but not in Sebiria or in India. They use other blade design - and that design work perfect for them.

What I se today more and more are knifes that se are designed by deskhunters, people that never have used a knife. Their knifes looks good, exelent design, beutiful knifes - but more or less crap to use outdoors - and also in citys. But people by them becouse they look beutiful - and that is why they are designed as they are...

Thomas