Speaking of hooks...

[BADFISH]

Dont know if this is close enough to fishing topics to be on this part of the board, MODS please move if needed.

on to the thought. I was thinking how to sharpen hooks. I know you can buy sharpeners at the stores, but I have never really heard the proper way to use them.

Do you sharpen toward the point or away from it? do you sharpen more than one edge of the hook? If so, should those edges be next to each other or on opposite sides of the point?

I was just wondering if it is better to have the hook be more like a wedge shape, or more like a sharp stick. if that makes any sense....[crazy]
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[fishnate]

I'll take a stab at this. I like to have a needle point hook but short of having a special sharpener I can't make one one, but I can get close. I take the file and hold the point of the hook toward me then pull the hook to me. It only takes a few strokes to make most quality hooks needle sharp. I do this on the three sides I can access, can't get in the gap too well. Be careful not to make the angle too steep or too shallow. A steep angle won't penetrate as well and a super shallow angle will cause the point to roll over too easily. Test the sharpness on your thumbnail by touching the hook with light pressure and trying to pull the hook across the nail. If it catches easily you have a nice sharp hook. If it goes across the nail without catching try a few more strokes on the sharpener. Hope that makes some sense.
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[fishermen777]

Its odd that I hear so many people testing sharpness on the thumb nail. THis is actually a very poor way to test it. With all do respect I only say this because I played hockey for many years. We all used to test sharpness of your skates with the nail. It turns out that fingernails are so soft that even a dull piece of metal can easily scratch/catch on the fingernail.
Just my two cents.
Tight Lines
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[SmokeOnTheWater]

Nice avatar BadFish, who's your photographer? Do you charge a guide fee to find slab crappie and jumbo perch like that? [cool]

What are you fishing for that requires sharper hooks that from the factory? Save yourself the hassle and just buy good hooks like Gamakatsu. Extremely sharp!

[url "http://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/img/products/original/1126608_1.jpg"][/url]

A diamond hook sharpener like this one works well to touch up the hook point with only a few strokes. It has a diamond coated groove as well as a flat side. If I must sharpen rather than replace, I hold the hook at the bend and draw the hook toward me with the point trailing behind. The only problem with this is that severe sharpening may cause the thin point to curl slightly upward. Once again, buy good quality hooks!
[fishin]
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[skeeterfishn1]

Its gamakatsu for me. They are harder, stay sharp longer but a little hard to sharpen. I also pull the hook toward me and sharpen two sides to give minut knife like edge. The needle piont method is sharper but dulls quicker. I like the flat file for the job.
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[BADFISH]

I dont charge a fee SMOKE, I just keep the "luck" to myself...it runs out fast in a sea of dinks. LOL
My photograper on that particular occasion was a great guy with a good sense of humor, allthough he did keep talking about his "Feminine" side. But he knew how to work the cell phone camera and thats what makes it count. I am sitll looking forward to meeting up on the water again with him sometime.

I agree with all of you when you say to buy quality hooks. I am more thinking about "on the water" applications, such as a spinner bait or other lures you can not easily replace hooks on. I have had some lures that when I buy them I put a better hook on before I ever even cast it out, others just seem to dull a bit after use especially when they get pulled over weeds or a rocky shoreline on each cast, I like to bump bottom alot with my fishing to tease fish into thinking my lure is something foraging along the bottom.

In those cases I have had need to sharpen a hook as it was not feasible to switch hooks without swapping lures especially when it is THE lure that seems to be working at the time converting the "fishing" into "catching" LOL.

I just was wondering what the proper way to use the file was, sharpen to ward the tip (I can see this casue "rolling" of the point) or to sharpen from the tip toward the shank (I can see this "flattening" the point at a bad angle).

I dont use the fingernail to test them, I use my flesh on the tip of a finger, if it easily begins to penetrate the surface of skin and feels "pricky" then I think it is sharp enough to stick in the flesh of a fish fairly easily.

thanks for the thoughts.
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[skeeterfishn1]

The guys at fish teck say to pull the file from the bend to the piont but i always file from the piont toward the bend. The guys at fish teck have never steered me wrong though. Any way if there sticky to the finger tip or the nail I think they will stick to fish. Good luck to ya.
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[rockdoc]

In knife sharpening you shape the edge by sharpening from the edge back, but the final step is strapping the edge with leather, dragging the blade along the leather so that the edge trails. This puts the very fine, almost microscopic burs along the leading edge of the knife which contributes to its sharpness. However, these burs are delicate and bend back easily, so you have to repeat the strapping every few uses to keep the edge ultra sharp.

If we extrapolate that to the question of the fish hook, then it would seem that if you have the habit/discipline to resharpen the hook often while fishing, your advantage is to sharpen toward the point. If you are not going to renew the point frequently during use, you are better off sharpening from the point back toward the curve so that the microscopic burs do not bend back and decrease the cutting ability of the point..
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[skeeterfishn1]

Thanks man thats interesting info. I always wondered about the leather thing? If I get the right point it usually last for a lot of fish which is usually not very many stokes of the file if I get it right. I really like my hooks sticky.



GAMAKATSU
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[BADFISH]

So that is why my Barber has a leather strap for his straight edge razor that he gives it a few strokes every so often as I get the old fashioned shave!! I did not realize that! I thought he was keeping his blade "polished" or clean so it moved smoothly, but i guess the sharper an edge the more smoothly it cuts too. very nice. thanks for the info. [cool]
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