Need hook sharpening stone for Western fish knife

[almyjmoore]

I bought this Western fish knife at a flea market yesterday. The hook sharpening stone is broken and much of it is missing. That's probably why it was only a dollar but I thought it was a great buy. If there is a way, I would like to replace the hook stone. Can these stones be purchased? Has anyone ever made one from a wetstone? How would you cut and shape a wetstone. I was able to date the knife to between 1967-1977 based on information I was able to find on Western knife forum [on this AAPK site], but what does the S-751 indicate. My quess is the type of stainless - does anyone know for sure. Thanks for reading.

[orvet]

Nice find. There is a need for replacement hook stones for fish knives.
I have moved them from one brand to another, even shortened one with another stone, but I have not made one…yet.
I don’t think it would be too difficult with a stationary belt sander and a good quality course belt. Even a grinder might work to shape a stone.

It you give it a try please share what works and what doesn’t.
That way we all learn something!


S-751 is the model number.
I see the knife in the 1968 Western Catalog as reprinted in the back of Harvey Platts’ book; The Knife Makers Who Went West.”
Knife Makers indicating the steel used in a knife, like BG-42, VG-10, ATS-34, etc, is a fairly recent phenomenon, not seen often until about 20 years ago or so.

[almyjmoore]

Thanks Dale. If I come up with something, I'll post it.

[Elvis]

Post the length and width measurements of the stone and I'll check to see if I have one. PM me with the results in case I lose track of this thread. Thanks.

[almyjmoore]

The stone is 1 1/4" x 1/4". I will PM this info to you but I first have to figure out what PM stands for then how to do a PM. Thanks for the reply Bob.

[Elvis]

Congratulations on figuring out the PM system. I don't check in every day and took a lot for granted on this one. Sorry. So far, my search has yielded one of the right dimensions, but it's got square, not rounded corners. It's from an old Kabar therefore the difference. I'll keep looking as there may still be one lurking around, but so far, that's what we've got.

[almyjmoore]

I custom made a replacement hook sharpener and it turned out to be cheap and easy. I have attached pictures. The first picture shows a neat, clean, well organized work area essential for the project. I found an chunk of whetstone and gently clamped it in a vise. A hacksaw was used to slice off a piece [ slightly thicker than is needed]. The whetstone cuts and grinds as easy as sandstone. Next, I rough shaped the piece on a grinder then fine tuned it with a file. A triangular file was used to make the hook slot. I used a couple of drops of clear glue to hold the stone in place. I thought that a whetstone would be as difficult to work with as a grindstone but it isn't.

[orvet]

NICE JOB!!!!
I didn't think it would be too hard, but you made it look easy!

Thanks for the pics!

[Miller Bro's]

Nice job

I need one for a Queen knife that I have

[almyjmoore]

My last post showed the hook sharpener just resting in the handle of the knife. The picture in this post shows the finished job. I sanded off the stone a little more to make it protrude above the handle the same as the original, then I rounded off the top edges to match the original.

[glennbad]

My last post showed the hook sharpener just resting in the handle of the knife. The picture in this post shows the finished job. I sanded off the stone a little more to make it protrude above the handle the same as the original, then I rounded off the top edges to match the original.

That looks just like new. Great job!

Glenn