Got an education on knife sharpening

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Wallyl

Joined
Sep 15, 2013
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Take a look at this long article...with pictures. Seems some knife sharpening techniques are not as good as many think...two tidbits from the article: A plain leather strop is not all that effective, as is a strop with ceramic oxide...and diamond sharpeners tear up a blade more than whetstones (both being of the same grit)....the articles shows micrograghs to prove this.

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/downloads/pdf/knifeshexps.pdf
 
Interesting (and long) read. I appreciate its opinions and the SEM scans are great but I also know you have to be cautious telling people their long used method, which produces a more than razor sharp edge, is wrong. There are many alternate methods of getting a blade extremely sharp and well refined while arriving there very differently, to say someone's method which they have practiced and refined over years "isn't as good as the" think" probably won't bode well. I'm always open to learn new things, but that doesn't necessarily mean my current way of doing it is wrong, or not as good as any other...

I have to wonder why it has two sections on specific products while the other sections are more generic, on "stones" and "steels" (yes they do state the exact stone being used, but it just seems weird the two specific systems have their own sections while the rest of the testing is done more blindly. I see its from a prof. at Iowa State (reputable I'm sure) but I have to wonder who, or what company funded this research / experimenting / report / advertising.
 
Cereal killer..I agree...as I was one of them! It is pretty difficult to get a real "for sure" technique for determining sharpness. Also, some knife steels may "react" differently to sharpening methods. However it looks to method the Japanese methods (waterstones) may indeed be the best, however I am not about to go buy the expensive whetstones. However the buffing method lost its' luster to me. I am very intrigued in one of the "latest" methods (Sharpknifetools) ...

I have four 2 x 4 x 8 inch Arkansas whetstones Washita~Black Hard Arkansas that have served me well, however this "latest" method is so much faster and I dare say may be just as good.
 
Yeah I got some comments about my advice on water stones.

ive had old wise head chefs sharpen knives so sharp you could not touch the edge without skin splitting (3 finger sticky would just not work, sorry).

Ive bought a few strops with sprays and such, they work well, just not as well as what ive been doing for nearly a decade, waterstones.

if I used strops for a decade im sure id be good at it.

do what works for you and stick with it, or have an arsenal of methods.
 
Wallyl said:
Take a look at this long article...with pictures. Seems some knife sharpening techniques are not as good as many think...two tidbits from the article: A plain leather strop is not all that effective, as is a strop with ceramic oxide...and diamond sharpeners tear up a blade more than whetstones (both being of the same grit)....the articles shows micrograghs to prove this.

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/downloads/pdf/knifeshexps.pdf
Click to expand...


This is a rather old and well discussed article, one I would recommend you read again for clarity. It gives excellent insight to what happens during sharpening but a few of the points have been argued more than a few times.

I use a bare strop on knives and razors with very noticeable and positive effects so to say it does nothing is a incomplete conclusion with incomplete testing to back the results.

Diamond sharpeners will tear up a less wear resistant steel like most carbon and low alloy stainless and that's because diamonds are for high wear resistant steels with very hard alloy where the effect is different. The aggressive nature of a diamond sharpening tool is too much for "softer" alloys and this is something often discussed today when someone asks for advice on sharpening tools.

We have come a long way in understand sharpening and why some tools work better than others. The "Experiments on sharpening" was one of the great insights to sharpening but not the final word.
 
knifenut1013 said:
This is a rather old and well discussed article, one I would recommend you read again for clarity. It gives excellent insight to what happens during sharpening but a few of the points have been argued more than a few times.

I use a bare strop on knives and razors with very noticeable and positive effects so to say it does nothing is a incomplete conclusion with incomplete testing to back the results.

Diamond sharpeners will tear up a less wear resistant steel like most carbon and low alloy stainless and that's because diamonds are for high wear resistant steels with very hard alloy where the effect is different. The aggressive nature of a diamond sharpening tool is too much for "softer" alloys and this is something often discussed today when someone asks for advice on sharpening tools.

We have come a long way in understand sharpening and why some tools work better than others. The "Experiments on sharpening" was one of the great insights to sharpening but not the final word.
Click to expand...

I will do so...I read it quickly and the type was not as clear as I would have liked. I agree that it is not the final word...
 
There is no one right way and right stone to sharpen or strop. The more I learn, the more I use different stones/compounds depending on the steel and HT. What works very well on A-2, may not work at all on S90V.

Just like any other endeavor, there is no magic bullet. It's a matter of studying the processes and learning. There's no shortcut.
 
Thanks for linking that article - I haven't read it in a year or so. Many points are very interesting to think about.

In my experience, steels react differently to different sharpening methods - and finding that right balance for your usage patterns is key. For instance, I don't like reprofiling high-carbide steels with diamond stones. The huge diamonds seem to tear out chunks of steel along the carbide boundaries. Quick, but brutal - and it makes for a lot of work to smooth out the damage.

TedP
 
TedP


I have a set of Arkansas stones....the Puma & Buck knives that I have seem to "skate" on them when sharpening...the Schrade Pro Hunter and pockets knives don't, all because the steel is not as hard. I thought it might be a good idea to use a belt sander with a very fine belt and strop just to touch up the edges. I can use the coarser belts to sharpen my lawn mower blades.
 
TedP


I have a set of Arkansas stones....the Puma & Buck knives that I have seem to "skate" on them when sharpening...the Schrade Pro Hunter and pockets knives don't, all because the steel is not as hard. I thought it might be a good idea to use a belt sander with a very fine belt and strop just to touch up the edges. I can use the coarser belts to sharpen my lawn mower blades.
 
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