freehand sharpening help..

S

steeltowninwv

Joined
Jan 1, 2015
Messages
201
I wanna tackle learning to freehand......as of now I pretty much suck....I need to know im getting the angle correct...is there anything out there to buy to help u get the angle correct while free handing?..i have a eze lap diamond stone..ive been tinkering with not much sharpness
 
What kind of knife, are the sides flat like a kitchen paring knife, or angled?
Do you care if the sides get scratched up?
Do you know the existing angle?

For my freehanding , because my kitchen knives have flat sides, I use a ~15 degree paper wedge (its covered in tape)
since I put the wedge on the stone, the size is in centimeters/millimeters ## angle( 15.00* ) >>>run ( 05.60 ) |||rise ( 01.50 )
i put it on the stone, lay the knife on the wedge, and that is my angle that i want

The other way I freehand is use the sharpie permanent marker, and then go finding the existing angle , basically try stroking at some angle, and see if you're removing most of the sharpie ... if you aren't change angle ... then that is your angle ... then I go make a little paper wedge for that knife :)

you can also find angle by touch, you start stroking with low angle, and keep increasing angle until you notice the blade bite into the stone, then back off a little and thats your angle, but like sharpie, you gotta keep doing it over and over and over every time you life knife off stone... paper wedge makes this easy

similar to wedge you put on the stone, you can put the stone on a wedge/incline, then the stone is at an angle, and with your knife you simply stroke/slice horizontally

thats it for freehand angles , just make sure you look at where the blade is contacting stone to make sure you're making contact ... its funny but if I don't i'll start doing all kinds of weird wobbling moves

if you want to not scratch your knives, cover the sides with tape, or go really really slow :)

so basic sharpening procedure (not burr based)
1) remove the fatigued metal , cut into the stone, now look at knife edge, it should reflect light (use flashlight if you have to)
2) then you put on wedge and stroke until light stops reflecting (or starts to stop reflecting), then slow down and do slow careful strokes... try slicing newspaper, pretty soon you'll be able to slice newspaper, when you can stop
3) raise sharpening angle 5 degrees and lightly lightly sharpen one two strokes per side, and you're finished

this gets me slicing effortlessly newspaper ... also scrape shave a little or a little more ... people on the internet report this can get you to push cutting sharpness but I'm not that good:)
 
bucketstove said:
similar to wedge you put on the stone, you can put the stone on a wedge/incline, then the stone is at an angle, and with your knife you simply stroke/slice horizontally
Click to expand...

thanks, now i feel totally retarded for never having though of that. :D i even wanted to make one of these sharpmaker for wetstones diy projects once.
 
steeltowninwv said:
I wanna tackle learning to freehand......as of now I pretty much suck....I need to know im getting the angle correct...is there anything out there to buy to help u get the angle correct while free handing?..i have a eze lap diamond stone..ive been tinkering with not much sharpness
Click to expand...

Hey steel town, are you anywhere in WV that borders Maryland? If so, I can teach you in about 30 minutes to freehand. There's no rocket science to it, and contrary to a lot of info on the 'net, themnore you think about it the harder it is. With freehand you feel it like instinctive archery. Over thinking screws it up.

Forget about angle, it won't matter of it's off a degree or two. Put your blade on the stone at 90 degrees like you're going slice it in half like a loaf of bread. Then without moving the blade, lay it over half of that angle. TRhis its you 'about' 45 degrees. Now cut that angle in half by lowering the bale again. This will put you in the right neighborhood. This is where I begin honing on a diamond stone in small circles, starting at the base of the blade and moving slowly up toward the tip. Take a minute or two to get there. Then do it on the other side of the blade. Repeat as many times as needed. Finish up on the back of an old belt and you'll be able to shave with it. Iuse the red (600 grit) DMT hone or an old boy scout silica (used to call them 'carborunum' stones) stone.

It takes some practice, but once you develop the feel for it, you'll be able to sharpen your knife anywhere, at anytime, in just a few minutes.
 
jackknife...I wish I was close....im not near the border....im in alderson wv...I would love to get with someone who knows how to freehand....ive tried the method u speak of in the above post.....its very frustrating...I guess its just practice..practice practice
 
steeltowninwv said:
jackknife...I wish I was close....im not near the border....im in alderson wv...I would love to get with someone who knows how to freehand....ive tried the method u speak of in the above post.....its very frustrating...I guess its just practice..practice practice
Click to expand...

Practice on Goodwill or garage sale knives, this will dramatically lower the frustration level. Think of it as any other form of removing material to make a new shape - if you had a regular piece of sandpaper and a hardwood shim, you could probably form a reasonable knife shape in a few minutes time. Is no different with steel except the steel will form a burr opposite the side you are grinding on once you reach the edge.

Using a Sharpie helps a great deal. Learning to correlate the sensation of the edge moving across the abrasive surface with the shape of the edge (how it feels when grinding on the shoulder, flat bevel, edge) is the IMHO the true way get best result freehand. Looking at your hands and the knife as it moves to see how much its wobbling and effecting the shape of the edge is also very important. You want to reduce any visible wobble.

I use a short scrubbing motion to minimize the degree of corrections I need to make as I work.

I sell a sharpening block through my website linked below in my signature. I have a few videos and an electronic copy of the user's manual that are applicable to most freehand sharpening - you might find very helpful even if you have no interest in buying one of the blocks, especially the first video.

Is not rocket science, but like any handwork that requires precision there are some principles one needs to understand. Not everyone can cut in cleanly with a 1" sash brush, but most can get by with some practice and understanding the materials. No practice and no understanding you better get some painter's tape and a wet rag...

Martin
 
vilePossum said:
thanks, now i feel totally retarded for never having though of that. :D i even wanted to make one of these sharpmaker for wetstones diy projects once.
Click to expand...
:) its not an original idea

I also wanted to make stuff before I tried freehand without any help, I wanted to make one of these "jumbo" lansky type jigs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3lekSIV1iM but I felt kinda bad about spending more on making a jig than I paid for my stone ... once I actually tried sharpening the idea of jigs faded from memory ... knife is a wedge, all you need is wedges :)
 
jackknife said:
Hey steel town, are you anywhere in WV that borders Maryland? If so, I can teach you in about 30 minutes to freehand. There's no rocket science to it, and contrary to a lot of info on the 'net, themnore you think about it the harder it is. With freehand you feel it like instinctive archery. Over thinking screws it up.

Forget about angle, it won't matter of it's off a degree or two. Put your blade on the stone at 90 degrees like you're going slice it in half like a loaf of bread. Then without moving the blade, lay it over half of that angle. TRhis its you 'about' 45 degrees. Now cut that angle in half by lowering the bale again. This will put you in the right neighborhood. This is where I begin honing on a diamond stone in small circles, starting at the base of the blade and moving slowly up toward the tip. Take a minute or two to get there. Then do it on the other side of the blade. Repeat as many times as needed. Finish up on the back of an old belt and you'll be able to shave with it. Iuse the red (600 grit) DMT hone or an old boy scout silica (used to call them 'carborunum' stones) stone.

It takes some practice, but once you develop the feel for it, you'll be able to sharpen your knife anywhere, at anytime, in just a few minutes.
Click to expand...

Very kind offer. Excellent form!
 
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