free hand sharpening

D

Dewberry

Joined
Feb 13, 2009
Messages
252
i have a sharpening system and am getting poor results from it

i want to learn to free hand sharpen, i have nothing, what do i need to go from an edge i just put on with an angle grinder (dull) to a shave sharp
in this procedure i will need to "set the angle"

please suggest
 
How much money do you want to spend and how much time do you have? I can do what you describe on a carborundum stone that sells for under ten bucks at Ace Hardware. It only took about ten years of daily practice for me to get that good. ;)
 
I like sand paper. I started using it for just convex edges but I have found that by varying the thicknesses of the underlay, it works on all edges and is more forgiving when learning than stones are. It can be slow but it was a good way for me to learn free handing. I start with 250 grit or so and often go to 6000 grit to polish the edge. I can now do a pretty nice job with a fine diamond bench stone.
 
udtjim said:
I like sand paper. I started using it for just convex edges but I have found that by varying the thicknesses of the underlay, it works on all edges and is more forgiving when learning than stones are. It can be slow but it was a good way for me to learn free handing. I start with 250 grit or so and often go to 6000 grit to polish the edge. I can now do a pretty nice job with a fine diamond bench stone.
Click to expand...

hom many steps do you go through, and using what grits

i dont want to spend any more than $50 and i have all the time in the world to practice, but i would like to see some results in the next couple of months
 
You can get a knife shaving sharp on a coarse stone. Once you have the angle set, the rest is polish. Polished edges usually push cut better, while toothy edges slice better. I suggest getting a hardware store coarse/fine two-sided carborundum stone and practicing on an old kitchen knife first. The coarser the stone, the fewer strokes it takes to establish the edge bevel, so the fewer chances there are to mess it up. Unless you are using a guided system, your edge bevels will likely be slightly convexed from stroke to stroke variations in angle. The more practiced you get, the less variation in angle there will be.

It didn't actually take me that long to become proficient, I just tell people that so they won't expect perfection after a few minutes and become frustrated when it doesn't happen.
 
You can get by pretty well with 320 grit then 600-800 then 1000 and 1500 then 2000. Wally world has the all the sandpaper you will need. The fine stuff is in the Automotive with the body repair stuff. I just use a piece of 1x3 or 1x4 board and sheets of craft foam from Walmart. Even a piece of note book cardboard will work for backing. By useing sandpaper I can do all of my edges regardless of the grind. I could with a stone too but it is much harder for me, a couple wrong stokes and you take off everything you gained. To each his own. If I didn't do convex edges I would just get a Spyderco Sharpmaker.
 
Get your self an inexpensive coarse stone, then find a good Arkansas stone and learn with that set. Lowes (home improvement not grocery) sells smith's stones which are good for the money. There is alot of info on the interent about freehand sharpening, take some time to read it and then practice. A little patience goes a long way when sharpening.
 
For convex edges made with sandpaper on an old foam mousepad: 150, 180, 220, 320, 400, 800, 1000, and 2000 which all came from Walmart. Then I go to a green rouge charged (smeared) old leather belt. I use the back/unfinished side of the leather. But you could use the other side if it was smooth.

Good luck,

Doug
 
do you guys draw the blade with the edge trailing or push with the edge leading? i can't seem to find a definite answer on that, so i'm assuming it's a preference thing. so which do you guys do, and why?
 
I push, edge leading, on stones and pull, edge trailing, on sandpaper or strops.
 
As far as cutting with a knife, a convex edge offers no advantage. Get a bench stone or sandpaper, hold the knife at a 15-20 degree angle, and sharpen alternate sides until the edges meet. Simple as that.
 
Took me a few years but i learned free hand and its the only way i sharpen knives. Get a couple coarse stones, acouple dmt blue ones, and a couple orance ones wich are fine. I turned a buck strider from a spear point to a snaped of peice of metal jaged tips. i then reprofiled the tip to make it look like a sweet knife. I also used a course stone to turn my griptilian razor sharp.
 
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