ncrockclimb
Gold Member
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2014
- Messages
- 2,378
I don't think I really "got" sharpening until I used a guided system (KME). Having the constant angle took my lack of skill (not maintaining a constant sharpening angle) out of the equation and allowed me to actually do the things that people talk about here (create a burr, remove the burr, refine the edge, etc). Without the guided system, I would not have been able to do any of these things.
Maintaining a constant sharpening angle is hard... REALLY HARD. IME, it takes a lot of time to develop that skill and without it you are not going to be able to get a knife really sharp freehand. With that in mind, I think that starting with a guided system is the way to go. Guided systems are far from foolproof; you really have to know what you are doing or the guided system is just a wast of $s.
I am not sure if freehand or guided produces the "best" edge, but I think that a skilled sharpener with a guided system could produce the best edge. However, I think that the difference between a guided and freehand edge when done by a really skilled sharpener would be negligible.
I am now diligently working on my freehand technique. It is slowly improving. I guess that I could have skipped learning how to sharpen with the KME. But now, when I work freehand I KNOW what I need to do and how the process works. I just need to develop the skills that will allow me to do it without a guide.
Maintaining a constant sharpening angle is hard... REALLY HARD. IME, it takes a lot of time to develop that skill and without it you are not going to be able to get a knife really sharp freehand. With that in mind, I think that starting with a guided system is the way to go. Guided systems are far from foolproof; you really have to know what you are doing or the guided system is just a wast of $s.
I am not sure if freehand or guided produces the "best" edge, but I think that a skilled sharpener with a guided system could produce the best edge. However, I think that the difference between a guided and freehand edge when done by a really skilled sharpener would be negligible.
I am now diligently working on my freehand technique. It is slowly improving. I guess that I could have skipped learning how to sharpen with the KME. But now, when I work freehand I KNOW what I need to do and how the process works. I just need to develop the skills that will allow me to do it without a guide.