Freehand Sharpening

I have always used soft arkansas stones exclusively. They're just what I learned on. I know they say it's wrong, but I use a circular motion, working from base to tip and get freaky sharp edges. I remember the day I taught myself, I sharpened my LST Magnum for hours before a Boy Scout camping trip, and suddenly I just got it. I was so stoked, I shaved my arms bare and cut everything in sight, including every finger.

I would like to learn to strop my edges.
 
I only have a steel and a stone with one side rough, one side course, and I have sharpened a Swiss Army Knife, Leatherman Kick, and Buck 503 to be able to shave, but it took some time getting used to sharpening freehand.
 
I use the circular motion to reshape a dull edge then slicing motions to finish on the flat angle and for the steeper angle on the fine edge. One of the surveyors was showing me his big CRKT folder and the edge was just round it was so dull. I brought my old stone in today and re-profiled and sharpened it for him. Now there are tiny strips of memo pad paper all around my chair. Yes, sharpening a blade around 'sheeple' tends to make them nervous but they don't tell you to stop when you've got that insane grin on your face as you grind away! :D
 
For INFI I learned to freehand with a Crock stick then to Strop easiest knives to sharpen that I have ever owned.

For my Murray Carters I needed to learn to use Water Stones and a particular tech. Tough to learn to keep sharp the "Right way" before the Murray Carter knives I thought that a knife that would clean shave easy was a sharp knife, till I used one that I had sharpened and would clean shave with almost no effort and compared it in use in the kitchen to a new Murray Carter that He had shapened.

Live and learn.

I learned to sharpen free hand on an older Gerber Folding Sportsman II and on a Case three bladed Stock Man's knife with a Gerber Sport Steel maybe 35 years ago.
 
papathud said:
For INFI I learned to freehand with a Crock stick then to Strop easiest knives to sharpen that I have ever owned.

For my Murray Carters I needed to learn to use Water Stones and a particular tech. Tough to learn to keep sharp the "Right way" before the Murray Carter knives I thought that a knife that would clean shave easy was a sharp knife, till I used one that I had sharpened and would clean shave with almost no effort and compared it in use in the kitchen to a new Murray Carter that He had shapened.

Live and learn.

I learned to sharpen free hand on an older Gerber Folding Sportsman II and on a Case three bladed Stock Man's knife with a Gerber Sport Steel maybe 35 years ago.
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I just got this method down pretty good. Crock stick and my leather belt. Good call bro. :thumbup:
 
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