hand sharpening and maintenace help

[RescueRiley]

I've been getting reallyinto slippie lately, I'm having a good deal of trouble hand sharpeneing,,, I've been using a double sided 400 and 600 grit diamond plate... I've tried several differnt methods and can't get the edge I want scratch up my knives... I imagine the proble is in the angle, any help would be great....also any tips you can provide to help keep my user slippies going strong would be very helpful...THanks-RR

 

[udtjim]

Sharpmaker.

 

[siguy]

google sharpening tutorial, read the first twenty or so, and just practice sharpening on a cheap paring knife or a beater knife until you get the hang of it.

that's what got me started. i spent a week or two reading as much material as i could find, then just got busy. now i get hair popping edges no problem. i would also suggest picking up a cheapie stone at the hardware store to learn with, since based on what i have read, diamond plates can wear down pretty quickly, or they can last forever. it took me alot of practice to get the hang of it, and you don't want to wear out your diamond plates.

 

[yablanowitz]

The thing about diamond sharpeners is they will abrade steel with very little effort. Too much pressure just causes the diamonds to cut their way out of the plating used to attach them to the base, thus wearing out the hone. After twenty years of using them, I still have to fight the urge to bear down, especially on things like D2. Patience is the key. Let the abrasives do their work at their own pace.

Angle control will come with practice. If you have a hard time getting an edge, put the knife down and walk away for a while. A break and a fresh start can work wonders.

 

[Native Justice]

You're probably having problems maintaining your edge angle as you swipe your blade across the stone which still removes metal but rounds the edge.

Maintain your edge angle with a couple of quarters put at the corners of the stone (one stack at both ends that you sharpen the two edges of the blade from) and lower your blade spine until its right on top of the stack of quarters. Swipe your blade on the stone trying to maintain that edge angle. Use 6-10 swipes per side. Continue until you get a burr on the edge (a shiny wire all along the edge). Slide a dime on top of your stack of quarters and continue until the burr is gone. Flip the stone to the next finer grit and do the same thing. After you remove the burr, give the blade a few more nice clean but light swipes to finish the edge. You should be done.

NJ
Take your time and aim for accuracy not speed. Be patient and you'll get there