AeroModeller – June 2018

23

long time before a replacement

is needed.

I have to admit that I have always used

“3-IN-ONE” or whatever similar oil I have

to hand with my oilstone, but again Will

‘s expert advice is:

“Use a 50/50 motor oil/paraffi n mix as

a lubricant although 3-IN-ONE or carlube

will do at a pinch. The thinner the oil

the better to get a decent “bite” on the

blade. Leave the blade in the knife for

sharpening.”

For those who want to avoid the

bother of mixing their own oil Will

suggests Tiranti Honing Oil, stock

number 305-520.

Now I admit that I stop at this point

and happily use the blade, Will though

goes on to “strop” the blade on his

simple home-made leather gadget.

“A piece of old shoe leather stuck onto

a piece of wood using contact adhesive,

smooth side up will do the trick. Work

a coat of “Autosol” (a metal polish)

or similar into the leather before use.

Then wipe the blade clean and fi nish on

newsprint for a nice refl ective

cutting edge.”

Again, for those who prefer to buy

rather than make, a “Buff hide leather

strop” stock number 990-040 is available

along with a special dressing, stock

number 990-042.

Finally Will recommends an occasional

strop between stonings to maintain a

super sharp edge. ■

Will’s plan for a box to hold

your Arkansas stone.

You will fi nd it easier to hone the blade for

sharpening if it is held in the handle. It will take

practise to consistently hold the blade at the

correct angle to follow the existing bevel. Little

and often is best rather than waiting until the

blade is dull.

You can buy cheap ready cased stones, but you

will not get the fi nish of Will Knight’s stone and

strop.

Where to Buy

Whilst I am sure there are a number of

suppliers able to meet our needs, Will

recommends arts and crafts supplier “Alec

Tiranti Ltd”, noting that as well as a web-

site they still have a good old fashioned

catalogue. (Tiranti’s is also worth looking at

for other interesting and hard to get items. I

use it for some moulding products – Editor)

They can be contacted at http://www.tiranti.co.uk

Or by mail at:

Alec Tiranti Ltd, 3 Piper Court, Berkshire

Drive, Thatcham, Berkshire, RG19 4ER

Phone +44 (0)845 123 2100

They also have a London Address:

Alec Tiranti Ltd, 27 Warren Street, Kings

Cross, London, Tel: 020 7380 0808

What to Buy:

Stock numbers for the items Will

recommends are:

Hard Arkansas Pocket Stone 302-430

Honing Oil 305-520

Buff Hide Leather Strop 990-040

Special Dressing 990-042

As the stone is a pocket sized one to suit

our small knife blades, unlike the larger

bench stones it does not come in a box. As

a perfectionist, Will naturally made a box

for his and sent me a drawing. Obviously

detailed dimensions will vary to suit your

particular stone and materials can be

changed to suit what you have to hand,

but I’ve included his drawing to give you

a starting point – Don’t forget to apply a

protective coat of varnish to the box before

getting the oil anywhere near it.

KNIFE SHARPEN.indd 23 26/04/2018 15:36