Can't Get Rid of Cloudy Edges

[unit]

Yes sir! I'm a newly retired guy and can now enjoy indulging myself in time consuming projects that bring me a lot of pleasure. One guy might want the nicest lawn on the street. I want to learn to free hand sharpen respectably. I'm not poo pooing the use of belt grinders & power tools. It's just very enjoyable to me to hand sharpen.

I really understand this. You will get there, but I might recommend setting everything down for a while and coming back to it in a few days. The more you try...it seems the more those little muscles get tired and it becomes a losing battle. Sometimes you just have to rest mind and body and then things seem to work easier.

Also, "respectably" is relative. I submit that your ability to spot imperfections will improve as fast or faster than your pace of improvement (at least that is how it works for me!) Thus the perpetual desire to improve.

Enjoy your retirement my friend!

May I recommend whittling also? It is another pastime that has me struggling to improve and loving every minute of it!

 

[cziv]

I really understand this. You will get there, but I might recommend setting everything down for a while and coming back to it in a few days. The more you try...it seems the more those little muscles get tired and it becomes a losing battle. Sometimes you just have to rest mind and body and then things seem to work easier.

Also, "respectably" is relative. I submit that your ability to spot imperfections will improve as fast or faster than your pace of improvement (at least that is how it works for me!) Thus the perpetual desire to improve.

Enjoy your retirement my friend!

May I recommend whittling also? It is another pastime that has me struggling to improve and loving every minute of it!

I thought about a lot this summer and lord knows we have lots of trees live branches & dead limbs to choose from. I can google what I've got as the best to use for whittling but I'm extremely challenged artisically and don't have a clue what to whittle. I decided we have enough ugly spoon pics here floating around so I'd want to whittle something else. Maybe I can google that too and find out what experts advise to learn in terms of both wood types and project types.

I suppose I'd need a special knife. The best slicers I have are CS Voyagers VG-1 (I think?) but they probably don't hold an edge very well. I have an Endura 4 G-10 with VG-10 blade and a Military S30V which are darn sharp too - the Military sems like it would be way too big though. Maybe an Endura FRN ZDP-189 would be a good whittler? I have a Random Leek S30V framelock revers tanto that might work - sharp as heck.

 

[zyhano]

I thought about a lot this summer and lord knows we have lots of trees live branches & dead limbs to choose from. I can google what I've got as the best to use for whittling but I'm extremely challenged artisically and don't have a clue what to whittle. I decided we have enough ugly spoon pics here floating around so I'd want to whittle something else. Maybe I can google that too and find out what experts advise to learn in terms of both wood types and project types.

I suppose I'd need a special knife. The best slicers I have are CS Voyagers VG-1 (I think?) but they probably don't hold an edge very well. I have an Endura 4 G-10 with VG-10 blade and a Military S30V which are darn sharp too - the Military sems like it would be way too big though. Maybe an Endura FRN ZDP-189 would be a good whittler? I have a Random Leek S30V framelock revers tanto that might work - sharp as heck.

Let me know if you want to really pick it up. I'll send you a book on whittling i have with some examples and stories and techniques

 

[cziv]

Let me know if you want to really pick it up. I'll send you a book on whittling i have with some examples and stories and techniques

Thanks zyhano. I'll do some online research first and let you know if I get interested in it. I whittle my wife toothpicks all the time from our apple & pear trees. I've become quite accomplished and can whittle many styles of toothpicks.

 

[unit]

It is all relative.

You do not need anything you don't already have to get started whittling. However, getting results that look really nice....well, the right tools for the job...

Basically, you can have a lot of fun with whatever you have on you, and you can appreciate the results relative to what created them. It is like polishing blades...it is a lot easier with some tools, but perhaps not as fun.

You have your whole retired life to figure it out too

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

If you haven't already, you might take a look at the 'Workshop' sub-forum here on BF (link below), for inspiration. Lotsa whittlin' threads in there.

The Workshop: Projects, Tools, Techniques and Ideas

 

[Tripton]

Yes sir! I'm a newly retired guy and can now enjoy indulging myself in time consuming projects that bring me a lot of pleasure. One guy might want the nicest lawn on the street. I want to learn to free hand sharpen respectably. I'm not poo pooing the use of belt grinders & power tools. It's just very enjoyable to me to hand sharpen.

Paper wheels are definitely connected to a power tool, but it isnt like a kitchen pull through power sharpener. Like hand sharpening, paper wheels require a technique and a steady hand. Essentially, they ARE hand sharpened, but its just like your stone/strop is really really long and it is moving, instead of your hand.

I can sharpen with stones too, but MAN is it nice to throw an edge on in 15 seconds, and yes, sharp enough to whittle hair and the like. No matter how long it takes you to put that edge on, its still going to degrade under use at the same rate.

 

[eccvets]

Paper wheels are definitely connected to a power tool, but it isnt like a kitchen pull through power sharpener. Like hand sharpening, paper wheels require a technique and a steady hand. Essentially, they ARE hand sharpened, but its just like your stone/strop is really really long and it is moving, instead of your hand.

I can sharpen with stones too, but MAN is it nice to throw an edge on in 15 seconds, and yes, sharp enough to whittle hair and the like. No matter how long it takes you to put that edge on, its still going to degrade under use at the same rate.

+1 ; as newly retired guy, I would want to spend as much of my time doing fun stuff as your time on this earth is running out (it is for everyone but just age wise, you got less then most of us which still gotta go to work)... That and most retired guy have worked a hard life and the hands of a real man have been used up. some have athritis and I'd figure you'd want to find an easier way to do things. BTW: using a belt sander or paper wheel does require some technique and it is still a freehand method of sharpening but like i said its your time.

 

[eccvets]

Thanks zyhano. I'll do some online research first and let you know if I get interested in it. I whittle my wife toothpicks all the time from our apple & pear trees. I've become quite accomplished and can whittle many styles of toothpicks.

theres more then one style of toothpick?

 

[cziv]

theres more then one style of toothpick?

Oh heck yeah, just like looking in the toothbrush section. I do different lengths and some goose-neck jobs for hitting tough spots for use w/o having to move the main toothpick around etc. I'm really quite good. If you have a particularly tough spot you need picked, let me know and I'll toss a couple of custom apple wood toothpicks in an envelope for you.

I would want to spend as much of my time doing fun stuff as your time on this earth is running out

My hands are quite supple and strong - 100% pain free. I have done Okinawan karate since 1973 which has a whole hand mobility regimen built into the "joint and tendon changing" portion of hand conditioning. Very advanced and only passed down from Master to newer Master instructors. I can roll/flip a quarter up and down my hands with ease.

We're all going in 2012 - didn't anyone tell you that yet? you younger guys should feel cheated out of many years of life. Sorry about that one - cruel luck of the draw for you guys.

 

[Noctis3880]

Power tools indeed get the job done faster, and as funny as it might sound, I don't botch up my knives with stray grinds as much on my WorkSharp. However, there's something strangely gratifying about hand sharpening a knife to a near mirror finish, as well as looking forward to the day when you obtain an edge that looks similar to something off the Edge Pro or Wicked Edge, freehand style:thumbup:.

Besides, you can't rely on power tools in the coming apocalypse.

As well, I don't think it's about getting that sharp edge. A razor sharp edge is just a guideline of where you'd like to be. This is about putting time and effort into something and appreciating the fruits of your labor. At work you work to please your supervisor. With sharpening as a hobby, you need not please anyone but yourself(and perhaps impress fellow knife nuts). It's also about taking time to enjoy what you do, not being rushed or hurried by anything. In that regard, power tools don't let you savor the moment enough.

Me, I like to have both. Power tools to get the job done. And DMT diamond stones when I really want to kick back and enjoy my day off:thumbup:. The only real problem thus far is that I'm not willing to take my $100 knives to the stones, yet I don't want the cheap chinese crap in my kitchen to touch the stones, thus leaving me with only a select few knives in the $50-ish range with no recurves with which to practice with, and those simply don't dull fast enough.