First Sharpening (Cheap Material)

[ffp]

I have this small and cheap auto knife that i edc with my keychain and recently i bought a two side sharpening stone.
After reading and watching a LOT of threads and videos i began to sharp this knife. It was my first sharpening atempt and i think it went good.
The knife was very cheap (like5-10$) and the stone too (10$). The knife was completely dull. After a lot of time grinding i got a "razor sharp" edge in this knife, which was what i wanted.

I spent hours and hours to get this edge and initialy i saw that there were results of different angles on the edge, but i think i got it correctly now.

The problem is, i think i can get it better. It cut arm hair with a little difficulty and cut nice through paper, but i can't easily shave arm hair neither push cut paper.

So i want to know if that's the best i can get with this cheap material, and if isn't what can i do to get better cuts.

Pictures of the blade:

And here is the stone:

I know that the edge is smaller closer to the handle, i'll try to fix that.

If necessary i can show a video of sharpening or cutting with this blade.

 

[nopyo]

Did you do anything after using the stone? Honing and stropping may further refine the edge.
My experience with cheaper steels is that they will take a sharp edge, they just can't hold it.

 

[Jason B.]

Cheap knife and cheap stone often = cheap results. Best you could do to improve is keep a more consistent angle, besides that you are reaching the limits of your tools.

 

[ffp]

I stropped with a belt, but i think ill try with newspaper or cardboard too.

So, thats the best edge? No push cut into paper?

 

[yoda4561]

The stone isn't the limiting factor, work on your angle control and pressure and pushcutting newspaper is possible even with that knife and sharpening stone.

 

[ffp]

It's possible to damage or dull the edge due to over sharpening? I mean continue to sharp the blade even after the edge have it's max sharpness?

 

[OHALLUM]

It's possible to damage or dull the edge due to over sharpening? I mean continue to sharp the blade even after the edge have it's max sharpness?

Only if you are stropping the edge away by rounding the edge off. If you create a good burr along the entire edge of the knife, and remove it properly, then your knife will be sharp. If you are getting a "foil" looking burr, but not a discernible burr you can definitely feel with your finger tips, then you need to continue until you can get a better burr. Sometimes with cheap foreign stainless steel, you will get a flip flop foil edge before you get a good burr. After you get a good burr, then carefully and with light strokes abrade the burr off as good as you can without creating another burr, then lightly strop with about 4 or 5 strokes on each side. Your knife should then be hair cutting sharp.

Go slowly and observe what each process is doing to your blade. Use a good bright light to inspect each action and don't be afraid to experiment on your relatively inexpensive blade. Practice and more practice will pay off in the long run when you move up into better steels and more expensive knives. You are already hooked, or you would not have asked about your knife in the first place.

Blessings,

Omar

 

[ffp]

You are saying that i should sharp one side of the blade till i get a tangible burr and then correct the burr sharpening the other side? What side of the stone should i use to do that?

I will strop on a cardboard box.

 

[OHALLUM]

No, sharpen both sides of the blade equally until the burr is formed. You should be able to continue on the finer side of the stone, since you have the basic edge profile done. When you get your tangible burr formed, then start using light pressure still on both sides to remove the bulk of the burr. When this is done, then use your cardboard as a final step to refine what is left of your burr. Your blade edge looks fairly even in the pictures, so you are making good progress. Just refine what you have done. Be careful when stropping and use light pressure and a constant angle matching your grind pattern so as to not round the edge apex. Think of it as more of a cleaning motion more than a grinding motion when stropping.

Blessings,

Omar

 

[ffp]

After spending a LOT of time grinding (i think i got a constant angle this time) and stropping on cardboard, the edge seems a little sharper, but i still can't push cut paper. I can shave arm hair without much difficulty.
Now, i don't know if i should go back to the stone and try to grind more, or should just stay stropping on cardboard, or both. I know that i can get a better edge, i've seen better edges on youtube...

 

[OHALLUM]

I would go back to the stone and raise a burr again, using light strokes without grinding away very much steel, and then try the blade before you strop it to see if it will cut paper. Try lightly dragging the edge thru the end of a piece of soft wood (pine, etc) and then strop if it needs it. Sounds like you are almost there. It just takes some practice to get where you want to be.

Blessings,

Omar

 

[HwangJino]

I have that cheap stone too. My mom thought with all my stones that this stone would be a nice gift.

I ONLY use to fix, it will eat a LOT of steel.

use seldomly and light pressure.

what yiu need is a cheap $30 stone of 1000 grit.

congrats on wanting to freehand, few will decide to tackle freehand.