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Freehand Sharpening, Alternating Hands?

mrdeus said:
To me, alternating hands seems more ergonomic. I also seem to get a more consistent angle with my left (weak) hand, since I tend to push more with my right.
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I've started to notice this in my own habits as well. I've always been right-handed, but it seems my 'touch' is sometimes a bit better with my left. My right hand is literally stronger (grip strength, etc.), but the fine control or finesse sometimes seems better with my left hand. All the more reason to keep developing use of both hands. :thumbup:


David
 
I've been sharpening for almost all of my life primarily as a righty with both Swedish and Finnish traditions and a lot of time in the bush. So about 30 years; but, I did it the traditional ways for most of that time. I mean, I come from a spit-on-the-stone kind of background and I never really knew much about grits n' stuff except for course and fine etc. Then, I got into Blade Forums and a few other forums quite a few years back, but what happened to my learning curve was exponential. I basically started out on a stone as a kid and hit BF as a mature buck, learnt about sandpaper, mousepads, angles and grinds; I bought all the sharpening equipment known to man and now I'm back to the stone and I insist on ambidextrous sharpening to a fault. Learn it. I wasn't ambi at first, but now I shoot firearms IPSC-style with extreme precision and sharpen just as well with both hands. It's all in the mind. Some dudes will have made a career out of sharpening with one hand, but just imagine what they could have done with that same career had they just realized that they had another arm at their disposal. In the land of the blind the one-eyed-man is king, but the two-eyed-man is a god...
 
I switch hands and sharpen with the edge into the stone, not trailing. I usually use both hands so I can apply a bit of pressure to the tip as I start the stroke.
 
Yeah dude switching is much more comfortable, I just worry about getting water and stone crap in my pivots and lock on a folder, or staining nice wood on my Jap knives with traditional handles, so i'm trying to learn not switching hands, its tough!
 
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