DMT aligner and freehand sharpening

counting strokes is not only important to make sure you are symetrical. i found that gradually decreasing the amount of strokes per side helps reducing the burr more consistently. it's been part of my sharpening routine for long on japanese kitchen knives where the angles are often very low and burrs very stuborn. in those situations i usually work the blade by sections, and once i have an even burr all along i switch to heel to tip alternated series of strokes. usually 15/15, 12/12 ..... 4/4, 4/4, 3/3, 3/3, 3/3 ..... then about a dozen of alternated strokes.

if the bevels/blades are assymetric (almost always) i adapt hte number of strokes to keep the assymetry.
 
pwet said:
counting strokes is not only important to make sure you are symetrical. i found that gradually decreasing the amount of strokes per side helps reducing the burr more consistently. it's been part of my sharpening routine for long on japanese kitchen knives where the angles are often very low and burrs very stuborn. in those situations i usually work the blade by sections, and once i have an even burr all along i switch to heel to tip alternated series of strokes. usually 15/15, 12/12 ..... 4/4, 4/4, 3/3, 3/3, 3/3 ..... then about a dozen of alternated strokes.

if the bevels/blades are assymetric (almost always) i adapt hte number of strokes to keep the assymetry.
Click to expand...

That's another perspective, on reducing burr size as you go. As opposed to counting strokes, I've done it by lightening pressure, as I progress through the grits. Even with the coarsest hone, I make a few passes at lighter pressure, after I've verified the burr, to gently take it down a bit before moving to the next hone. And, as always, closely inspecting the edge after every few passes (3 to 5, or so).

A different path to the same goal. That's what's very interesting about the whole art of sharpening, so many ways to get it done. No such thing as a 'right' or 'wrong' way, assuming the same end result.
 
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I'm bringing this thread back to life to update my personal experience and ask for some tip.
So, in the end I got the DMT aligner and started using it as I was suggested on this forum. It does work. No magic, no thrills, no miracles, but, as David (and others) had told me, it's a very nice system to help develop my freehand technique, and improve my feel for a consistent angle. I've been using it with both sandpaper and diamond stones, and I'm happy with the results. I was able to reprofile a couple of blades I had, and overall I feel that my skill has improved even when I'm not using it (like when I'm trying to convex an edge).
Lately I stumbled into a little problem, and I hope you can give me some help, since I'm sure I'm not the first one experiencing this.
When I'm dealing with a narrow blade, and I'm willing to put a good angle on it (let's say 40° inclusive, or even less), I'm in trouble cause the clamp will touch the stone/sandpaper during the stroke. This is especially a problem with narrow knives with relatively thick spine.
One solution I had found is to find something (I thought of a small thin metal or plastic plate) to put in the clamp, that allows me to keep the blade in a more distant position from the clamp, and avoid the problem. But I guess I may lose a bit of grip on the blade.
Or, sanding down the clamp itself, to make it thinner. But I don't know how far I can push this.
Any tip on this? Any alternative way?
Thank you

:cool:
 
Narrow blades do impose a limitation for the clamped guides, for the reason you described. I've used Lansky, Gatco and the DMT Aligner clamps, and they each have a little bit of the clamp scrubbed off, where it was touching the hone. Mostly, this has come from doing smaller blades. If not too much of the clamp gets rubbed off, it's not a big deal.

With smaller blades, I've resorted to using a higher angle setting on the clamp, to give sufficient clearance. I've noticed that there's not much penalty in doing so. So long as the bevel you make is very clean, even and completely apexed, in the end, that will make a big difference in cutting performance for the blade. I have used a 'shim' on occasion, behind the blade spine in the clamp, to just nudge the edge out a little bit further. So far, I haven't had to extend it further than an additional 1/16" or so. I used one end of a heavy paper clip, bent straight, to shim the blades for a Queen #49 Cattle King stockman. I used the paper clip because it closely aproximated the thickness of the blade spine. The same might be done with a piece of solid wire, or perhaps a toothpick. The blade width for that knife was around 1/2" - 5/8", give or take, and the paper clip was just enough to handle that one.

My Lansky clamp was always just a little better for small blades. I was able to do a pen blade on a Vic SAK with that one, but haven't been able to approach that with the Gatco or DMT clamps. On very small blades, the thin blade itself makes most of the difference in cutting performance, so a thicker edge angle doesn't penalize you too much.
 
For some mysterious reasons, I knew you would answer this...once more, thank you. :)
I had thought of sorting out some kind of "extension" of the clamp, from the very back of it extending 1/2 cm beyond the edge of the clamp, to get the extra reach. Some kind of aluminium/steel liner plate, covered in tape or rubber to give more grip and less scratches...but I'm not sure if I can make this work.
I know I could change the angle and sharpen to a more obtuse angle. But,I discovered that, on some knives, a relatively acute angle works better for me.
Thanks again

:cool:
 
quattromori said:
For some mysterious reasons, I knew you would answer this...once more, thank you. :)
I had thought of sorting out some kind of "extension" of the clamp, from the very back of it extending 1/2 cm beyond the edge of the clamp, to get the extra reach. Some kind of aluminium/steel liner plate, covered in tape or rubber to give more grip and less scratches...but I'm not sure if I can make this work.
I know I could change the angle and sharpen to a more obtuse angle. But,I discovered that, on some knives, a relatively acute angle works better for me.
Thanks again

:cool:
Click to expand...

I've thought about that too; building an extender into one or more of my clamps. But hadn't got around to trying it yet. It would be very handy, if it worked. Looks like I'm going to re-visit that idea. ;)
 
I will let you know if I end up sorting out something decent. So far, it's the only real flaw in the Aligner.

:cool:
 
I used my Aligner clamp & MagnaGuide to put a new edge on this Victorinox SAK. I used a piece of a zip-tie for a 'shim' of sorts, to extend the blade's edge out a bit further. Worked well, at least for the main blade on this knife. Extending the blade out in the clamp puts a premium on making sure it has a good grip. Make sure the clamp's inner face is flush with the blade's sides, as seen in 1st and 3rd pics. If it's not flush, the blade will rock back/forth or slip.

I may try something similar for the smaller pen blade. These pics were taken after I finished (I used the clamp angle setting as seen in the 4th pic):
 
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Nice idea David. I did try something like that once.
I'm willing to try to put a lower edge angle on some small/narrow blades (like SAK) so the idea I have on my mind is a bit more complicated.
I may have some time this week to try to make it, then I will let you know and post some pics.

:cool:
 
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