The links on the page is dedicated to others, fellow knife makers, teacher, and others. On the bottom of the page will be information that people ask for.
This is a program my family supports and donates to. Simply fill a shoe box with things for children and they will give them to those in need.
Mr. Griffin is a maker of very fine knives.
Echoes is held in July at Willamette Mission State Park just north of Salem, Oregon. The workshop is a collection of classes that teach these early living skills. Participants enjoy 5 days of learning a broad range of skills from the times of our earliest ancestors to the present day.
Sharpening Knives
I get asked all the time how to sharpen knives, be it friends or customers I tell them the same thing every time. I have been a big believer EZ Lap diamond stones. I would start with the medium stone to get the edge going, some stainless steel pocket knives I have had over the years I would also stop here because this would leave a micro serrated edge so the knife could saw it's way through work. But most knives I would take up to a fine EZ Lap stone and if it was stainless I would stop here no matter what. For high carbon steel knives I would then switch over to my fine surgical black Arkansas stone. All knives were stropped to remove the bur no matter which stone they stopped with. This method has worked for me for many years and if you are good at it there is no reason to change.
However about a year ago I started using the Lansky sharpening system. While I believe I can do just as well by hand as I can with the clamp on system there are two man reasons I plan on sticking with it for the foreseeable future: one it is faster in my opinion at taking a dull edge and making it sharp then I can do by hand and time is money in making knives; two I like being able to tell a customer your edge is set to 20 or 25 degrees and the flip side of that is that on custom orders they can ask for a fine (20 degree) edge up to a very hard core chopper (30 degree) edge and I can give them what they want. Now it is as simple as clamp the jig on, sharpen until there is a bur running full length, flip it over and repeat, then switch to a finer stone. Once done remove the bur.
Also now I have switched from stropping the edge to buffing the bur off. I believe I get a better polished edge from this meaning it cuts with less drag longer.
I hope this helps and fell free to drop me a line if you have any questions.