Can I get lazer sharpenss with what I have...??

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getridone

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I have in my possession the following:

800/4000 waterstone
DMT duofold coarse/fine
Lansky med ceramic rod

I think I get knives pretty sharp, (I always freehand,) but not what I know they can be, am I missing something in my selection of sharpening tools? I pretty much want to stick with non power tool options, and not even sure I want to go the sandpaper route. Is there one other thing I should add to get my desired sharpness, or can I create what I need out of what I have? (my knife uses are limited to - bushcraft, animal skinning, wood carving, vegetable/grain harvest). If I could add one other item to really make my edges pop, what would you guys recommend?
 
it depends on what you mean by sharp and what you mean by getting your edges to pop. for my standards I'd say no, you dont have enough equiptment. then again not everyone wants to spend 300 bucks on a single 30000grit glass water stone. if you wanna stick with stones, you can easily spend over a grand on various water stones. it takes forever though and does require some skill.

is there any reason why you dont wanna go with a motorized system? they provide much faster results and just as good as any stone system, better in most cases!

BTW: lazers are not that sharp. Have you ever tried cutting things with a lazer? I have with a few laser scaples and even a wicked lazer artic 3 and they really dont cut as well as you might think.
 
Hey, OK, if lazers aren't that sharp I can accept than and move on to another analogy :>

No motors for me is personal preference/philosophy. I prefer to adhere to a strict measure of non motorized objects as much as I can, ESPECIALLY in regards to tools and their related accouterments.

For under $100 is there something I can add to my assemblage to really dial my knives in, that meats my luddite preferences?
 
Get the spyderco double stuff pocket stone and some 2 micron diamond paste. This is enough for insanely sharp edges. Use these after your diafold coarse/ fine.
 
a 4000 grit waterstone by JIS standard is 3 micron abrasive. You could easily get a fairly comfortable shave from a knife/razor sharpened on it. Add aloaded strop with a finer abrasive if you like, but it isn't necessary for utility/daily use.
 
Your setup is similar to mine. I have 320, 400, cheap (3$ from Daisho),and 400/1000 grid synthetic waterstones (better quality, 13$). Add to this 1000 & 1500 grit dry/wet sandpaper, self made (thin cardboard + MAAS metal polish) strop.

Last night I tried slicing to a hanging hair and could split it. Not all edge long, certain part of it.

To me, my setup is enough for my use. :)
I shave daily with my knives.

It is not enough to get the beauiful polished edge like some experta shown here, but good enough for my EDC.
PS: I also sharpen free hand.
 
Have you reviewed the scratch pattern left by each of your sharpening implements? If you can find what your grit steps are and start from coarse to fine, I think you will achieve the best results of what you have can produce. For example would your steps be:

DMT duofold coarse
800 waterstone
4000 waterstone
DMT duofold fine
Lansky med ceramic rod

or

DMT duofold coarse
800 waterstone
Lansky med ceramic rod
DMT duofold fine
4000 waterstone

or is it some other order? Once you have your order, I think if you add a leather strop with some compound on it, you should be able to get some at leaste hair popping edges. My strop is an old leather belt loaded with green chrome rouge/compound.
 
Coming off that 4000 grit stone should be a fairly sharp edge - armhair, crosscut newspaper, facial stubble, etc. If you don't want to keep moving up in waterstones, just get some white buffing compound from Sears or local hardware store, put a light rubbing on some newspaper and wrap it around your stone - strop away, a dozen passes or so - experiment. Toss the paper after you're done and whip up a new "strop" every time. You'll get noticeably sharper edges albeit a touch less toothy. It should be popping hairs and maybe treetopping a few. You're at the point where finer grit stones (water or otherwise) start to cost quite a bit more for incremental edge refinement. Max out the stuff you have and if you really have to dabble in the more polished stuff, start saving your coin. A 4000 grit King is under 30 bucks, so is a 6000. An 8000 jumps to 70 bucks and Kings are about as inexpensive as they come.

You need to define "laser sharp" for yourself before spending more money. Much above the level you're at, and the edge starts to loose drawcutting efficiency in exchange for better pushcutting. You could actually begin moving away from your ideal edge characteristics.

Try some different strop/abrasive combinations and experiment with slurries/mud on your waterstone.
 
People have been shaving with razors since the bronze age. If folks could get bronze sharp enough to shave your face with their limited technology I'm sure you can too. It just might be tricky.
 
Forgot to add - a big part of how well any knife cuts is edge geometry - you could also start experimenting with more acute edge bevels. Most steels can go into the mid to upper 20 degrees (inclusive) and hold up well - you'll see a big improvement in cutting ability.
 
I have to ask what waterstones are you using? Reason I have to ask - a buddy hooked me up with a Murray Carter video and I've been experimenting as faithfully as possible how he demonstrated his methods. I'm using an 800 grit King and finishing with a 4000 grit King - I have the 6000 but prefer a slightly toothier finished edge. Just got done putting a fresh edge on a Bark River necker and a Jarvenpaa puukko. Both will shave my face, the Bark River can swat TP cleanly without using the tip and cut it with just the slightest bit of draw cut to get it going. The Puukko passes the TP swat test with a bit more speed needed, and can only stab and pushcut the TP till it hits the perf for the next panel and it chokes. I attribute the difference in performance between the two to blade geometry. The Puukko has a bit of a convex to it and now has to stuff a fairly broad backbevel behind the cutting edge. The Bark River has a lot less steel behind its cutting edge. If the puukko were restored to a full Scandi grind they'd perform identically or the Scandi might even do a bit better for this type of test.

Thought I'd share a quick example of what can be done with the tools you might already have - not superhuman but pretty good for not stropping or anything after coming off the stones (compound on newspaper would make them "better" but less toothy, so not really "better" just different) - and a bit of what I meant about grinding thinner, not just the apex, but the back bevel as well. Edge geometry cannot be overlooked when it comes to better performance.

Experiment on cheap knives and Have Fun

HH
 
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