Can we have a stickied sharpening thread?

S

sircantaloupe

Joined
Jan 29, 2009
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At any given time it seems half the threads are sharpening related, whether a frustrated cry for help or discussion about particular sharpening methods.

So why not make a general sharpening thread and consolidate all the info and opinions in one place? Maybe have the first post full of helpful tips, like the videos from nozh2002's thread, and a FAQ.

I bring it up because I've seen the concept used with great success on other forums. It might work here too.
 
plus if done right it will clear up the forums a bit and make room for other discussions. Good idea
 
sircantaloupe said:
At any given time it seems half the threads are sharpening related, whether a frustrated cry for help or discussion about particular sharpening methods.
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Yes, but just looking at these threads IMO shows that sharpening can be an extremely complicated topic, and there are so many different techniques, tools, and factors to be considered that almost any "sticky" or additional "howto" would be either grossly oversimplified, or horribly complex.

Not that your suggestion isn't a good one. I've wondered about how this could be dealt with many times. Sometimes I've thought that part of the problem has to do with the fact that not all BFC members are given search privileges ... but then, almost any search on sharpening is going to bring up countless threads, and there is Google after all.

The only thing that's ever seemed to me like it might be workable would be a sticky that was comprised mostly of links to the very best posts and discussions on sharpening. A number of times I've mentioned Jeff Clark's technique for removing a wire edge, for example; that's the kind of thing to link in the sticky.

But I think it's something where you'd have to set some boundaries to keep it from blowing up and becoming so huge and leviathan-like that no one would ever read it when they had a sharpening question, and they would instead just start a new thread.
 
1-convex 1-freehand 1-gizmos, while a fair amount of info will be required, hardly horribly complicated. All methods require the applications of the same principals. Perhaps links to you tube where some from this forum put together comprehensive videos going over in detail these principals.
 
Maybe break the sharpening threads into categories? Would that help to sort things out? In other words, separate threads for different systems or techniques? Or would it be better to create a sharpening Wiki and just link to it from here? Allow people to edit it and add information along and along. I wonder how many would be interested? That would reduce the clutter here and still allow for questions.
 
winbag338 said:
1-convex 1-freehand 1-gizmos, while a fair amount of info will be required, hardly horribly complicated. All methods require the applications of the same principals. Perhaps links to you tube where some from this forum put together comprehensive videos going over in detail these principals.
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Outstanding! I assume we have a volunteer for this project, then? :D

.
 
Sir, I think your right . Learn, I've noticed we go over and over this same topic . I've even seen the answers to some questions just posted if they'd only read on down in the threads . Yes, we've needed to do this for sometime . If we can manage to keep it simple . An introductory method something to get them started . Then should they encounter some odd examples we can handle those on an individual basis . Hopefully this will help alleviate some repetive posting . DM
 
David Martin said:
I've even seen the answers to some questions just posted if they'd only read on down in the threads. Hopefully this will help alleviate some repetive posting . DM
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I am a member of over half a dozen forums and I think this one is the most likely to have the same question asked over and over. This is also the only forum I belong to where members (even ones with thousands of posts) can't use search to find answers unless they pay money for the privilege. Being unable to search MUST lead to more new threads being created!
 
winbag338 said:
1-convex 1-freehand 1-gizmos, while a fair amount of info will be required, hardly horribly complicated. All methods require the applications of the same principals. Perhaps links to you tube where some from this forum put together comprehensive videos going over in detail these principals.
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winbag338 Hell no, way to complicated.
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And that's the problem, I could talk for weeks on end about sharpening by hand and even then we would only be half way through it. Just the act of grinding steel is complex enough, then you must factor in the steel and the type of abrasive, the amount of pressure.......... its almost never ending.

I do think we need some more sticky's though, we just need to figure out what ones to make.
 
I'm currently writing a sharpening guide. I haven't decided whether I'm going to format it in HTML or BBcode, but if you have anything you specifically want to see covered email me and I'll see to it. Maybe if I make it comprehensive enough and easy to read, it would work?
 
knifenut1013 said:
And that's the problem, I could talk for weeks on end about sharpening by hand and even then we would only be half way through it. Just the act of grinding steel is complex enough, then you must factor in the steel and the type of abrasive, the amount of pressure.......... its almost never ending.

I do think we need some more sticky's though, we just need to figure out what ones to make.
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I for one would like to see you give her a go. I think with some strategic thought and well placed words, coupled with the power of you tube this could be ground breaking. Most of the vids now are a mix of misinformation and nebulous thought processes sprinkled with "look at me good intent", and of course some truth. We need rock solid foundations of information and cinematic greatness.
 
Vivi, Give it your best shot and remember its not rocket science that were doing here . Just basic knife sharpening that anybody can do . DM
 
Regarding the search function: I'm not sure why the owners of this site limit that. It might be because searching is extremely resource intensive (it is) and they want to limit that to paying members. It might be that they want to make people *want* to become paying members so they can search. Maybe (a small incentive?).

But you don't need to be a member to search this site. Google has indexed everything here and will happily search it for you, very quickly. All you have to do is tell google to limit it's search to bladeforums.com. For example, if I wanted to search for "diamond, lansky, grit", I'd type this into google:

site:bladeforums.com diamond lansky grit

I hope this isn't "giving something away for free". If so, I hope a moderator will just erase my post. Otherwise, maybe it will help someone do searches on something instead of starting a new thread.

Brian.
 
bgentry said:
Google has indexed everything here and will happily search it for you, very quickly.
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But how many new threads will be started by people that don't know that? On another forum that I am a member of there is a search option that anyone can use - and it is actually using google, not the sites own servers.
 
So obviously a megathread for all sharpening discussion isn't gonna work. But it does seem like a solid FAQ/tutorials/little questions thread could do a lot of good.
 
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