Elmax - high end folder sharpening

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Jul 13, 2011
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Sharpened a LionSpy for a "customer" and made a vid of the process. Completely reprofiled the factory convex edge. I say "customer," but I don't actually charge--all sharpening I do is for my own enjoyment and practice. Hope you enjoy.

(available in HD)
[youtube]xQv4_KQTWGM[/youtube]

[youtube]IdcBoeOJ0QU[/youtube]

[youtube]BeD3rF1lJlI[/youtube]
 
In the 3rd video you said that you stepped down in hardness, from diamonds (referring to ceramic), but not by much.

I found that interesting. In fact it got me wondering... Could a chemical/abrasives firm like 3m, or Norton make a plate similar to a diamond plate only using aggressively shaped ceramic media? Ceramic is man made and inexpensive. There's gotta be a good reason why this wouldn't work...?

Thanks for the videos. It was technique vids just like these that got me to give up on trying to "slice a layer off the stone" which worked, but poorly. My technique is very similar to yours. ;)
 
In the 3rd video you said that you stepped down in hardness, from diamonds (referring to ceramic), but not by much.

I found that interesting. In fact it got me wondering... Could a chemical/abrasives firm like 3m, or Norton make a plate similar to a diamond plate only using aggressively shaped ceramic media? Ceramic is man made and inexpensive. There's gotta be a good reason why this wouldn't work...?

Thanks for the videos.


Thanks. Glad you like the vid. :D I'm not a pro, and I'm nowhere near the skill level of guys like knifenut or Murray Carter (they just have so much experience and technique), but I enjoy the art of sharpening, and I'm always improving. And I think making vids is fun, so I'm happy to share what I do know so we can all learn together.

Frankly, I think your idea is not bad. I've been using my ceramic stones forever, and at least from what I can tell, they haven't changed, at all. I mean, not at all. Which leads me to suspect that the right very hard and dense ceramic particles could theoretically be embedded in nickel, just like a diamond plate. But maybe we're talking nonsense and someone will come by and set us straight. :D


It was technique vids just like these that got me to give up on trying to "slice a layer off the stone" which worked, but poorly. My technique is very similar to yours. ;)

Definitely. For me, too, watching videos of other people sharpening is extremely instructive, as well as fun.
 
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I watched sections of these videos several times. It looks as if you're getting your angle from your right hand, IE you took several seconds to position your fingers on the handle. You got the pressure from your left hand? Or right hand? Or, are you using your left hand fingers to simply keep the knife in place by applying 'just enough downward force' to maintain contact on the plate?

How are you keeping the knife from rocking, IE slight changes in angle due to movements in your hands? That bevel looks really even. That means you're barely rocking.

That's my problem, if a bevel were hypothetically at 15 degrees I'm rocking between 14 – 17 degrees at different places on the bevel.
 
Hi Alfred,

You're right; my right hand mainly controls angle and stone contact. My left hand mainly controls pressure. The left hand fingers also keep the bevel contact with the stone, yes. I take several seconds to position my right hand fingers on the handle to loosen my fingers up and get a comfortable grip.

As for the rocking, it is inevitable, and every freehand edge will have a bit of convex to it. That said, the way to really keep an even bevel when freehand sharpening is to follow it in your sharpening strokes. Using your body to "sway" to make your strokes allows you to lock your wrists and fingers, lessening the amount of "rocking" you do with your hands/wrists. With practice, you will get more consistent, even, "pretty" bevels that are the hallmark of good stonework.

In the below vid, knifenut does sharpening passes for a few minutes one-handed to illustrate the importance of finding and following your bevel (watch 01:05 - 02:40). He then explains that you need the other hand for two reasons: A) to apply the pressure you need for the grinding you are doing (you can't do it with one hand), and B) to keep pressure contact points on the blade if it's a flexible blade, otherwise the blade will flex on the stone and not sharpen evenly along the whole bevel (watch 02:40 - 04:20). This is very, very important for a longer, more flexible blade as it becomes entirely a pressure and contact game.

However, even a slight bit of rocking isn't really an issue as long as you are hitting your apex evenly along the edge, which is the whole point of sharpening: forming a clean apex (and deburring, of course).

[youtube]XgOXvtJDm5E[/youtube]

However, for a knife as thick and hard as this LionSpy, the contact points are not an issue. The left hand just controls pressure (and adds steadiness, regulating contact). You can keep your fingers at any point that's comfortable to guide the bevel along the stone and keep even pressure.
 
You're right; my right hand mainly controls angle and stone contact. My left hand mainly controls pressure. The left hand fingers also keep the bevel contact with the stone, yes. I take several seconds to position my right hand fingers on the handle to loosen my fingers up and get a comfortable grip.

Which hand do you use to control the movement? I used to just use my right hand for moving the blade on the stone. I was messing around the other night and without paying attention i started using my left hand to control the movement instead when i sharpen with the edge facing away and swap when i do the other side of the other bevel. Granted, i don't usually use a bench stone on a bench so input from the more experienced in that area would be nice.
 
For a very thick and hard blade like this, I do push forward with the left hand to move it, along with the right hand. For a softer, flexible blade, I would concentrate on applying contact pressure downward with the left hand, moving it across the stone with the right.
 
Thanks for the insight. I'll be paying more attention to it now that i noticed the differences
 
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