Sharpening The Fairbairn-Sykes Commando-Dagger

Recently a customer of mine asked Me if the Gerber Knife Sharpener I sell would be suitable for sharpening the Fairbairn-Sykes Dagger.

The following reply may be of interest:

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To be honest I have never tried this sharpener on the Fairbairn-Sykes,even though I kind of doubted that it would work very well on a dagger.
Well I tried it and the angle of the sharpener is for a single-edge type of knife.
A single-edge knife will commonly be anywhere from a 20 to 35 degree angle too the stone approx. and it will take a razor or hair cutting edge pretty easily.
A true dagger like the Fairbairn-Sykes uses a much more blunt angle for several reasons:
1) It will not be dulled so easily as it is stabbed past bone.(Remember it is Primarily a stabbing instrument!)
2) A dagger uses a less than razor edge because a wound made with a scalpel like knife will close and stop bleeding;Whereas a more blunt blade angle of a dagger will not close as easily and will bleed freely.
Ok, history behind us, I will use a commonly available butcher steel too true up the edges if it is not actually dulled.
If it is truly dull,(as in you can easily see the edge) then you will have too stone it first.
When using the steel or stone hold the dagger at a 40 to 45 degree angle too the stone. Hone one side at a time,on the stone until the edge is not easily seen.
Then switch too the steel and true up the edge until it feels "KEEN" too the touch,it will not be Razor-Sharp.
Practice makes perfect and you will now have a true Dagger Edge!

Please feel free too visit My new website at http://lancesknives.myshopify.com/ and the start of My new Blog at http://lancesknives.blogspot.com/

Oh,and I will have stones and butcher steels available within a couple days. Best,Lance