Advice on Sharpening

Leo Greer

Leo Greer

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Dec 30, 2021
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877
I recently purchased several knives in m390 and one in n690. I also have no clue how to sharpen them. There's a local sharpening business that charges very reasonable prices, but I'd like to at least know how to sharpen my knives myself if it came to that. My only experience thus far has been using the carbon-rod sharpeners from Academy on beater knives, and I'm aware enough to know that m390 is a beast. Where do I need to start?
 
A good place to start is reading the stickied threads here in this subforum
 
If your local guy is any good, he can suggest options and help you troubleshoot your process. I’ve done that for a few people around here, key is showing enough interest to make him want to keep talking with you.

Sharpening for yourself, you’ll probably start out with manual methods, as power sharpening gear can be expensive. It also allows you to ruin expensive knives quickly, sometimes instantly.

Parker
 
Leo Greer said:
There's a local sharpening business that charges very reasonable prices,
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they use powered rotary machines to get the job done fast. the machines consume a good amount of steel, no problem with kitchen knives.
but if you have an expensive valuable folder with thin blade stock, better watch live how they sharpen it.
 
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Catspa and Kreisler--both good pieces of advice. I hadn't even considered watching out for the sharpening method they used. Good thing I didn't give them anything really expensive yet...

What's purportedly being used are a series of 1x30 sanders, with a progression of 400/600/800/1000 grit belts.
 
Invest in a good set of diamond hones (I have had good experience with DMTs) and learn to sharpen freehand. Lots of advice is available on these forums, and there are some excellent books on sharpening.
 
Alberta Ed said:
Invest in a good set of diamond hones (I have had good experience with DMTs) and learn to sharpen freehand. Lots of advice is available on these forums, and there are some excellent books on sharpening.
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"Power up the Google"

*frantic typing noises*
 
Alberta Ed said:
Invest in a good set of diamond hones (I have had good experience with DMTs) and learn to sharpen freehand. Lots of advice is available on these forums, and there are some excellent books on sharpening.
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Any particular brand/style you'd suggest offhand? (going to do research, but just seeing what you'd recommend)
 
Starting off is always difficult because you want to make the best purchase possible but, you don't know what that is. It usually gets worse once you buy a stone too, you start to think... I wonder if stone _____ would do better. Then you fall down the endless rabbit hole of sharpening until one day you emerge with a random rock a knife and no hair on your forearms...

I would avoid a business using a 1x30 and a progression of belts, good things rarely come from it. That's not to say machine sharpening is bad but it can quickly turn that way. If you really like your knives they will never get machine sharpened...

So back to the question of where to start. With the steels you have selected you run the very edge of needing diamond abrasive due to the alloy content and wear resistance of the M390. The N690 is more sharpening friendly and pretty much any stone should handle this steel. With that I would get a DMT Coarse, a strip of balsa wood and some 1 micron diamond spray or paste. This keeps the process simple and will allow you to learn the basics without having to also learn a bunch of tools.
 
If their 1x30s are running at high speed, they need a light touch on the finer belts or they risk overheating the thin edge and creating soft spots. If that guy was sharpening for me, I’d ask him to stop at 600. I slow my belt sanders down and/or mist cool them to avoid overheating.

But freehanding on stones or diamond plates is a great skill to learn. You’ll establish your desired angle early on, then it’s just a matter of touching it up from time to time. Unless you abuse it, then you’ll be repairing damage.

If you go that route, practice on a handful of cheap beater knives from yard sales or thrift stores. Have your local guy sharpen one as a baseline example, and experiment with others to find your best technique. Then work on your new knives. Best of luck!

Parker
 
Jason B. said:
Starting off is always difficult because you want to make the best purchase possible but, you don't know what that is. It usually gets worse once you buy a stone too, you start to think... I wonder if stone _____ would do better. Then you fall down the endless rabbit hole of sharpening until one day you emerge with a random rock a knife and no hair on your forearms...

I would avoid a business using a 1x30 and a progression of belts, good things rarely come from it. That's not to say machine sharpening is bad but it can quickly turn that way. If you really like your knives they will never get machine sharpened...

So back to the question of where to start. With the steels you have selected you run the very edge of needing diamond abrasive due to the alloy content and wear resistance of the M390. The N690 is more sharpening friendly and pretty much any stone should handle this steel. With that I would get a DMT Coarse, a strip of balsa wood and some 1 micron diamond spray or paste. This keeps the process simple and will allow you to learn the basics without having to also learn a bunch of tools.
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Thanks for the advice!
 
If you go the freehand route, I recommend getting a lower cost knife of decent steel - AUS 8 or better. But avoid D2 (or 'D2' from questionable companies in China).
This lets you practice without worrying about scratches. You want a decent steel because cheap steels can need coarse stones, have wire edges that don't strop away easily, etc.
 
Ourorboros said:
If you go the freehand route, I recommend getting a lower cost knife of decent steel - AUS 8 or better. But avoid D2 (or 'D2' from questionable companies in China).
This lets you practice without worrying about scratches. You want a decent steel because cheap steels can need coarse stones, have wire edges that don't strop away easily, etc.
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That makes sense. I can definitely find something in AUS 8-10 that doesn't break the bank and I don't mind practicing with.
 
For a beginner I normally recommend a Spyderco Sharpmaker. It is dead simple to use and you can buy additional rods. There are ultra fine ceramic rods available as well as diamond and cubic boron rods.

I am not saying that the Sharpmaker is the best piece of sharpening equipment out there but it is pretty easy to use, does a good job and is versatile.
 
Atoma diamond plates are really great.

Personally Id probably just pickup a Naniwa Chosera 800 (perhaps Shapton glass 2000 or Atoma 1200 if your worried about cutting that hard of steel) and just get to know it really well. You can go up or down in grit from there as neeed. Keep it simple but your getting one of the best.
 
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Sharpmaker is a great place to start. Add either the CBN or Diamond rods to it and you have a good system. It will help you get sharp edges with less frustration. Jumping straight into freehand can often be extremely frustrating, as there is a very steep learning curve to get started.

Once you start learning the basic concepts of finding angles, apexing an edge, and deburring, it's all about practice. With freehand there is a lot of experimenting to figure out what works for YOU to get good edges. There are many roads to a sharp edge. Just have to find out what way is most consistent for YOU.
 
If you just want to touch up knives that that never really get too dull in the first place, get a sharpmaker. The sharpmaker is very easy to use and you can keep your knives sharp with less risk of damaging them.
 
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