almost super sharp..not quite..i need to get there

S

steeltowninwv

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Jan 1, 2015
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201
I use a sharp maker....I get the knife 95 percent..if im holding the knife..edge up I run my finger across the edge...the left side of the edge is not as sharp as the right hand side........cant really seem to get it uniform...any suggestions...what side of the sharpmake should be I working to correct this problem?
 
I'm not sure I know what you mean. How can one "side" be sharper than the other?
 
lol..im a beginner so bare with me....I can tell with my finger when I have the edge pointing up...the right side seems sharper..than the left...when I try and shve with it...knife in my right hand shaving down my left arm..it shaves smooth...then trying to shave upwards on my left arm it struggles to shave.......
 
steeltowninwv said:
I use a sharp maker....I get the knife 95 percent..if im holding the knife..edge up I run my finger across the edge...the left side of the edge is not as sharp as the right hand side........cant really seem to get it uniform...any suggestions...what side of the sharpmake should be I working to correct this problem?
Click to expand...

Get rid of the sharpmaker, buy yourself a cheap Lansky system. This will put the correct precision angle on your edge.( On both sides)
Then get you a high quality finishing stone and learn how to use it. Once you learn to use it, your knife probably won't see the lansky again for a very long time.
But it will come in handy for re-profiling, when the time comes.

I have seen this problem over and over again, experienced it myself in the past.
I give you advice on eliminating the problem, completely.

Again, I am of the opinion that anyone who is into knives should learn the art of sharpening on a high quality stone.
And should own one. At least one.

umQd6Yi.jpg
 
Kyledf said:
I'm not sure I know what you mean. How can one "side" be sharper than the other?
Click to expand...

What I was thinking...

But it's probably a burr that's folded over to the side that seems to feel sharper.

IXLR8 said:
Get rid of the sharpmaker, buy yourself a cheap Lansky system. This will put the correct precision angle on your edge.( On both sides)
Then get you a high quality finishing stone and learn how to use it. Once you learn to use it, your knife probably won't see the lansky again for a very long time.
But it will come in handy for re-profiling, when the time comes.

I have seen this problem over and over again, experienced it myself in the past.
I give you advice on eliminating the problem, completely.

Again, I am of the opinion that anyone who is into knives should learn the art of sharpening on a high quality stone.
And should own one. At least one.
Click to expand...

Good suggestion but not much help for the immediate problem.
 
triangle-2.gif

Sounds like an asymmetrical edge. Try varying the angle you hold the knife at with respect to the thing you are cutting to see if you can find the apex on the flatter side. Otherwise, it sounds like your hitting the left and right sides at slightly different angles. I've never owned a sharpmaker so unfortunately I can not offer advice on technique.
 
singularity35 said:
What I was thinking...

But it's probably a burr that's folded over to the side that seems to feel sharper.



Good suggestion but not much help for the immediate problem.
Click to expand...

Nah, it's not a burr thats folded over.
You can feel a burr with a fingernail.

His bevel angle is not precise on each side. One sides longer than the other.

Oh yes, the immediate problem.
Ok well lets try to fix that.

Take the knife, sharpen it on one side until you can move your finger across the edge and feel which sides the sharper.
Then you know what side you need to work uniformly to get it sharp........uniformly.
 
klyedf..I think ur right that's what happening..i just need to figure out which side I need to change the angle on...and which way steeper or flatter?
 
Kyledf said:
View attachment 511479

Sounds like an asymmetrical edge. Try varying the angle you hold the knife at with respect to the thing you are cutting to see if you can find the apex on the flatter side. Otherwise, it sounds like your hitting the left and right sides at slightly different angles. I've never owned a sharpmaker so unfortunately I can not offer advice on technique.
Click to expand...


THIS

See?
 
Sounds like maybe the burr is still present. Can you take your finger nail and scrape it from the spine to the edge and does it catch on either side? Also you can use a Q-tip and run in perpendicular to the edge and if the burr is still there it will pull some cotton off the qtip.
Hope that makes sense.
 
Droptine5 said:
Sounds like maybe the burr is still present. Can you take your finger nail and scrape it from the spine to the edge and does it catch on either side? Also you can use a Q-tip and run in perpendicular to the edge and if the burr is still there it will pull some cotton off the qtip.
Hope that makes sense.
Click to expand...

It's not a burr.
You're not going to have a burr when you're sharpening both sides like hes been doing on a sharp maker.
 
IXLR8 said:
Nah, it's not a burr thats folded over.
You can feel a burr with a fingernail.

His bevel angle is not precise on each side. One sides longer than the other.

Oh yes, the immediate problem.
Ok well lets try to fix that.

Take the knife, sharpen it on one side until you can move your finger across the edge and feel which sides the sharper.
Then you know what side you need to work uniformly to get it sharp........uniformly.
Click to expand...

Really? so is a chisel sharper on one side than on the other?
 
singularity35 said:
Really? so is a chisel sharper on one side than on the other?
Click to expand...

I thought we were talking about knives. And why one side of his edge seems sharper than the other. I apologize. I didn't know we were discussing chisels.
I'm sorry.
 
IXLR8 said:
I thought we were talking about knives. And why one side of his edge seems sharper than the other. I apologize. I didn't know we were discussing chisels.
I'm sorry.
Click to expand...

A bevel is a bevel. So let's take chisel ground knives, say an emerson, will one side be sharper than the other?

I've been using and sharpening chisel ground bolos since I was a kid on my mother's coconut farm. One side was never sharper than the other if it was properly sharpened. Oh wait, bolos aren't knives too.

There.

sharpen103.jpg


see!
 
http://www.knivesnotforeveryone.com/custom-knives/edge-types/

Check out the diagrams on this web page.

Look at the edge of your knife one side at a time. Identify which side has the "taller" vs "shorter" edge. The shorter edge is at a more obtuse angle. Sharpen that side at a more acute angle and try to match the opposite side.

20150202_202530.jpg

Look at my edge here. The reflective bit, the edge, appears wider toward the tip because when I freehand I tend to flatten the blade toward to stone on the draw stroke. Near the back of the blade however is more narrow looking because it is at a slightly steeper angle. Look for those differences between the two sides of your blade and shoot to make them fairly consistent.


EDIT: To add to prior discussion. The issue is not one side being sharper than the other it is that the bevel is at a different angle and therefore requires the blade to be at a more steep or shallow angle to bite into a material. Evening the bevels simply makes the angle where the edge bites the same when cutting left handed or right handed.
 
Singularity has it right. The width of each bevel has no impact on sharpness. That's why chisel ground blades can still be very, very sharp. Look at a Yanigiba that a sushi chef uses. Chisel ground. SUPER sharp. Uneven bevel widths do not impact perceived sharpness when feeling the edge by dragging a thumb left to right or right to left.

The OP is describing classic burr or partial burr behavior. The giveaway is that it shaves on one side and not the other. The burr is on the side that shaves.

Brian.
 
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