ironwolf-lotr-carosel.png

"stay sharp sword sheath"

by Quinn D'artanian Arthur

Well this is an idea i have had for a while now and is intended for custom or home made swords but the whole concept is a sheath that whenever you draw or sheath your sword it is sharpened becuase of little sharpening stone at the "slot" of the sheath where the blade is inserted, I first got the idea from looking closley at a kitchen knife case that i have, and whenever I drew or sheathed the blade i could hear and feel the "SHIIING" of sharpening stones and it just hit me that I could use it in a sword sheath!

You have to make this sheath though, becuase i don't have any for sale or instructions so you guys are on your own for that one! Sorry....any who that is my concept for sword care and easy sharpening.

Comments for "stay sharp sword sheath"

Click here to add your own comments

Issues when sharpening
by: Ace

For a kitchen knife this is wonderful, but when you're was serious about swords as I think you are, you might like to take into consideration that sharpening stones scratch the sword in order to make it sharp. When you're sharpening the sword yourself, the scratching takes place where you want it to, but I think you'd end up scratching the sides of your blade, making it a lot less aesthetical. Also, the only part that really has to be sharp on a japanese blade is the kissaki, the two inches at the end. The rest of the sword is mostly there for blocking and overall lenght.
It could work if you can solve this problems
by: Caleb

For swords, you get large knicks from damage. It requires your WHOLE ARM and COURSE stones to get them out, esp~ for modern, hard steels. Therefore, the small force required in sheathing/resheathing will not suffice. And course stones make a blade dull (compared to fine stones), so you have to have a ~progressive sheath~ where, at each pull, the sharpening is finished with the finer grits.

HOWEVER: if you can attach vibrators to those progressive grits, it might work: it can increase the force allowing larger knicks to be ground out faster, and applying more vibration to the finer grits ~might~ allow them to ground the courser scratches effectively.

I honestly think this could work; I am not making fun of you. Because, for my straight razor for shaving (my face), all I need to do is strop it, and i need to regrind it only occasionally. If you can find a grit that's course enough, yet just fine enough to achiever tolerable sharpness'es, and somehow give them some extra oomph (vibrators, diamond grits), you might be on to something here.
japanese bayonet
by: Anonymous

A friend had a Japanese bayonet that his father got "off a dead jap" (no offense intended), that had a sheath that had stones in it that sharpened it every time it was pushed in or pulled out. I'd guess it was about 18 to 24 inches long, and looked to be of ww2 era. Very well made, you could hear the stones singing along the blade, and it would sort of snap when pushed in all the way, almost locking it in. I've never seen another like it, except once in a museum.
I have seen this concept in used in machete sheaths
by: red anger

I have seen this concept in used in machete sheaths

I cant remember who manufactured it for sure (maybe Gerber ? )
Seems like it would work so long as one didn’t damage the edge too much (no super nasty nicks or rolls)
I Have a self sharpening machete sheath.
by: Anonymous

For the working blade of a machete it works just fine, its just a small "V" made from two bits of carbide, installed into the top of the sheath. Like the Sharpmate that is sometimes discussed in the forum only it is part of the sheath.

The carbide removes metal by peeling or scraping metal off the edge. It leaves a definite secondary bevel on the blade. This would ruin a katana type sword and I mean instantly. I personally prefer the apple seed shaped edge on all my heavy use blades including my sword, So unless their is some sort of special reason, I wouldn't want one on my sword.

There is also the fact that the metal removed during sharpening needs to go somewhere. On my machete that somewhere is down into the sheath. Not a huge deal on a thirty dollar machete but scraping up a three hundred dollar sword would be a bummer.

Now, if you came up with a method of using stones, and maintaining a convex grind, and keeping metal out of my sheath, Then I would be very interested! I think it is an Idea Worth Pursuing. Maybe Stones that you could remove to switch out grits? An oiled piece of wool to collect the bits of metal?
shaped stones
by: Anonymous

What about a system similar to an Accusharp, but consisting of interchangeable pre-shaped stones of varying grits? The stones would be shaped to reflect the desired edge geometry (appleseed, flat ground, etc.) and could be mounted in a handle.

A few things to consider
--unlike the tiny ceramic or carbind b;ades in an Accusharp, the stones would have to be of sufficient length/depth that they didn't become clogged after only a few inches movement.
--The width of the stones would be a major factor. How far up the hamon and into the ji would you want to go? Too far and you risk altering the geometry of the definition line between the hi and the ji, not to mention potentially scratching the finish.
--Unlike the blades on an Accusharp, i think the stones should be separated by at least 1cm ath the apex. That way, grit won't have a place to build up and potentially hinder your efforts.

What do you guys think? I'm also wondering about building a sharpening track in which a stone could be mounted on a sliding mount and simply moved back and forth on a track that would conform to the exact curvature of a blade. The mount would be completely adjustable, allowing for customized angle and pressure.
hmmn!
by: Anonymous

there was a British Army knife which had a self sharpening sheath many years ago. it was awful and constantly blunted the blade. In addition it wore down quickly.

I think its a great idea to know your sword is going to be sharp at every drawing, but dont know if it will truly work in practice.

Let us know how you get on!

out of intrest, how different is the "Accusharp" to the "anysharp" which vacuum clamps to a table? Reviews on this site say the anysharp is good, but it seems to me to be like the anysharp, which was awful! any comments???
Advanced "accusharp"
by: Astyanax

For some time I have like the idea of something similar to the Accusharp but more advanced for use on swords. They would need several different sharpeners of varying shapes and degrees of grit fineness. While there would be some swords that it would not work on, it could be made to do a good job on most blades.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Sharpening Techniques and Tips.

Buying Swords Online Can Be DANGEROUS!
Find the Best Swords in the:

Click here for the most reliable, honest and respected sword sellers
ezine-logo-large

The ONLY true free online magazine for sword enthusiasts. Delivered once a month on the 1st day of the month, no filler and no BS, just the latest sword news & info delivered straight to your inbox.