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Free Style sharpening, a dying art?

C

Carney C

Joined
May 29, 2009
Messages
475
Was taught as a boy how to freeystyle sharpen from my Daddy, GOD rest his soul. Better I use diamond rods, whetstones, ceramic rods, leather stropping, or any combination. And I get them Sharp
Funny, all my life working until I was disabled I saw the old cats with there freeystyle sharpened knives & as the years went by you saw ot of the younger gen. buying what I call disposable knives. They used them & when they finally got to dull to cut they throw em away or gi e them to someone & buy another.
Now people on this forum are the exception.
But how many of you still free style?
 
Cynic2701 said:
If you mean free hand sharpening, that what I do.
Click to expand...

Yes sir that's what I mean. Calling it free style because while free handing you definitely invent your own style . I have been convexing and didn't know it even had a name till a few years back
 
And nothing against the tools designed to hold angles and all, but I believe you need to learn how to freehand, cause one day you may have to, & again Free Stylin is a slowly fading away, so it keeps the art alive;)
 
Free hand sharpening is a very rewarding experience. My grandpa and my Dad showed me how when I was little. My dad even made me my first block to hold the wet rock he gave me. I've been hand sharpening knives my whole life and still to this day when I am standing in front of that stone I learn something new. It's my "therapy." I enjoy sharpening as much as I love knives. I am a firm believer that to get a sharp edge its 97% technique/skill and 3% what you are using and that skill or technique comes over time. I think some of the new sharpening devices today make the sharpening process easier but to me they are not as rewarding. Either way though there are few things better than a "stupidly" sharp edge.
 
I freehand all my edges. I may touch them up on a sharpmaker once in a while, but the primary edge bevel is always freehand. Freehand sharpening is a much more rewarding experience and I happen to really like the slight natural convex freehand sharpening puts on an edge. You are not alone my friend, you are not alone.
 
I freehand most of my knives. I'm not amazing at it yet, but I can at least get it to shave my arm, which is "good enough" for now.

I do have a lansky that I picked up before I got really "into" knives, but its mostly used for reprofiling right now.
 
I've never owned one of those gizmos that hold a knife to be sharpened. Never will. Stone in left hand and knife in the right. Strop on the back of an old work belt. I'm too damm old to change now.

Carl.
 
I've tried Lansky oil stones and diamond, Sharpmaker and other devices, but find myself always coming back to free hand sharpening. Still experimenting and trying various combinations but find freehand on Japanese waterstones most satisfying.
 
Freehand = free to sharpen anyway I want, a rewarding way to attain skills & knowledges.
 
Freehanding skills are great because wherever you go, they are with you. Many times I needed to sharpen something and used any old hone I could find or even the bottom of a ceramic mug. Skills are not only more portable but more versatile than specific tools.
 
I freehand. Stones, diamonds, ceramic rods, sandpaper, leather strops, etc. Systems don't work well for me.
 
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