honing a puma knife

[north1]

Just ordered a tormek t7 and have a specific question.  Have a puma white hunter which was abused in a former life.  Blade is pitted, and scratched.  Former user did a horrid job of hand sharpening on stone(s).

Could one use the regular honing wheel and contoured honing wheel to buff out scratches and pits on the blade?  Want to get the former polished look returned.  I am a knife user, not collector and don't wish to preserve its abused former existence.

I beleive pumas have a convex edge which I would like to return it to.  Don't know what the heck its edge would be considered at present.  Would I be able to reprofile edge on stone and then knock off shoulder on honing wheel ending up with a convex edge?  If so what intial edge degree should I shoot for on the stone of the t7?  Thanks in advance for any and all info.  Just about forgot, it is a pre 1964 with carbon steel blade.

[Jeff Farris]

The honing wheels will indeed restore the blade to its former luster. You can do it with nothing else, but if you have a brass bristled brush, using it to remove the loose scale will speed up the process and keep your honing wheel cleaner.

In my opinion, you're on exactly the right track regarding convexing the bevel. I would do it with the honing wheel only. It will break the hard line of the bevel sufficiently to create a smooth transition.

[Jeff Farris]

Forgot to mention...

A pre-1964 carbon steel Puma? I'm green with envy! Folder or fixed blade?

[north1]

Thanks for the info Jeff.  You truely are a wealth of knowledge and know your stuff.  This is evident by your posts on this site and your very instructional videos on the t7.

The Puma is a fixed blade made when they used pumaster carbon steel.  It doesn't have a date code and a stamped rather than etched blade which makes it a pre 64 and thats why I picked it up.  Like I said previously though, it is surely a diamond in the rough.  I am confident with the help of the tormek t7 I can bring it back to life.  Thanks again!