General Sharpening questions

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Wildernesswicca

Joined
Dec 8, 2007
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Hi, I have quite a few knives, and I keep them sharp, but when I sharpen them I feel like it's a bit of trial and error, and I get them sharp by accident rather than design. Also when I look closely, edges often seen rounded, or to change angles along the edge of the blade. Can anyone help? here are lots of question- all answer's are appreciated and hopefully it'll start off a long thread with lots of good info!

1) How are sharpening angles measured?

2) What's the best way to make sure you are sharpening at a consistent angle without rounding the blade?

3) What is the best grit fineness to use for the final honing?

4) Has anyone used a CRKT Slide Sharp and are they any good?

I think my main problem is that I let the knife change angle as I make my strokes, giving it different angles and rounded adges as I go along the blade, what's the best way to remedy this?

Thanks guys!
 
Sounds like you have it figured out about the rounded edges. Just practice and go a little slower. What I do is start on one side until you have a burr along the whole edge. This will help keep the angle the same since your not changing sides. Then I start on the other side until I have the same burr. Depending on how dull the knife is this is done on a coarse diamond stone. Then I move to a fine diamond stone and start on the side that has the burr and do the same for around five strokes on each side and finish with alternating sides with light pressure while I raise the angle slightly. Everyone has their own way but that's how I do it. Also my method is I sharpen like I’m taking a slice out of the stone if that makes sense. Sharpening angle is measured for both sides usually. I try to go for around 10 to 12 degrees for each side (20 to 24 totals) but this is done by eye so this is round about. As far as the best grit to end with I end with fine (625). I use my knives to cut with instead of slicing though. If you slice like you would apples and stuff it helps having the edge smoother I think.
 
here's a way to use coins to determine angle
http://knives.mylamb.com/calc.htm

jigs, angled bases, honing guides, etc. there are several ways to fix the angle, even putting your thumb on the blade spine can help with control

final grit depends on what you will be doing, you can shave arm hair at very coarse grit, 260+ micron, or polish down to a tenth of a micron abrasive

haven't used a slidesharp, but they probably weren't that great, they're on closeout at a lot of places that still have them.

you can tolerate a little rounding (convexing) without worrying about sacrificing sharpness. It's only if your control is so poor that you waste a lot of time/honing strokes working on the shoulder when the edge is already set.
 
Cheers for that guys, I'm still waiting for my slide sharp to be delivered, I'll stick a post on and let you know how it goes. I've got an ancient Gerber that was my edc 6 years ago, and has an edge with the same razor sharp cutting angle as a football, it's gonna be the slide sharp's ultimate test!
 
Hey, I got the slide sharp, and it did put a nice edge on the old dull knife very quickly, but it wasn't what I would call really sharp. I think it would be usefull to take a really, really dull knife and put a working edge on it in a couple of minutes, but you would need to do some freehand work to bring it up to a really decent standard. However, the rods are really nice, so I've built a wooden framework to hold them for use freehand sharpening, and that works really well.
 
those rounded edges were you trying to learn to sharpen convex..

that's the natural tendency of hand sharpening.

do that, till you love it best. you're there. get a loupe. get some junker carbon steel knives (ontario old hickory work good, or old carbon steel Case XX kitchen knives, but they're harder)..

when your knives get too sharp to let anybody else touch one, buy a better rock and move it up a notch.
 
1. with a protractor.

2. The best way is to use a fixture that keeps the blade angle constant throughout the process. Lansky and Edgepro are a couple of brand names of products you can consider

3. Different finishing grits will provide differences in performance. Some are better for some purposes and some better for others. Personally, I like polished edges so I finish with a 6000 or 8000 grit waterstone.

4. The slide sharp is OK for maintenance but not a good choice for grinding and restoring bevels. It's major weakness is that the bevel angle isn't adjustable. That means you would need to grind your bevels to its angles prior to using it.

The two mistakes beginners make the most by far are 1. they fail to maintain a consistent angle throughout the process. 2. They don't completely finish with each grit before going on to the next. I think using a fixture is the best way to solve #1 and learning to feel the burr and undertand what it tells you about the sharpening process is the key to #2. Good luck.
 
Wildernesswicca said:
Hi, I have quite a few knives, and I keep them sharp, but when I sharpen them I feel like it's a bit of trial and error, and I get them sharp by accident rather than design. Also when I look closely, edges often seen rounded, or to change angles along the edge of the blade. Can anyone help? here are lots of question- all answer's are appreciated and hopefully it'll start off a long thread with lots of good info!

1) How are sharpening angles measured?

2) What's the best way to make sure you are sharpening at a consistent angle without rounding the blade?

3) What is the best grit fineness to use for the final honing?

4) Has anyone used a CRKT Slide Sharp and are they any good?

I think my main problem is that I let the knife change angle as I make my strokes, giving it different angles and rounded adges as I go along the blade, what's the best way to remedy this?

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

I got the slide sharp. I will tell you that it is a great idea...I bought into the fact that it held the edge constant so all you have to do is push and it is perfect every time. Doesnt really work that well, though I just got it, the sharpening motion is choppy, and the guides that supposedly hold the knife at the perfect angle allow too much play. Overall I would give it a C. I need to practice some more with the thing on a cheap knife and maybe I will master it.
 
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