1. Sharpening tools where the knife are fixed on the grinding table and tye sharpening angle are locked give 100% flat edges if a straight guide rod are used, it CAN not be anything else then flat, the law of fysics rules.
2. If the knife is not fixed in its position, or, if the angle is not locked - it do not give a flat edge. The edge WILL be convex and the cutting edge WILL not be straight.
These are facts.
In this thread freehanders and tool users have write about both freehand sharpening and sharpening with a sharpening tool.
Freehanders have write that it is impossible to hold a constant angle by freehand and that they varius in angle with, at least, 1,5 degrees per side = 3 degrees total.
I am a tool user and I say that the wobble cant come below 3 degrees becouse 34 joints innthe human body are involved innfreehand sharpening.
Freehanders have told that to be a good freehander omlott of experiance are needed = many years of freehand sharpening - and - with that - it is atill impossible to make a 100% flat edge.
With a sharpening tool, where both the knife and the angle are locked - any one can make a 100% flat edge the first time they use the this tool.
Internet is amazing. Anyone can clime anything - and it is very hard to control what is clamed...
So, to end this never ending discussion about how good freehandsharpener people are - a demand is necesarry (in my mand). When a person clime that he, or she, can hold a constant angle, or, can come below 3 degrees wobble, they have ro prod it with a video with the laser toll I show a drawing of earlyer in this thread. Without this video their clime is only a clime = it is not a fact. With showing it on a video with the laser pen - the clime will be a fact - and facts are allways interesting to discuss becouse from facts can we learn.
I have discuss on forums thins 15 years back in time. There is many myths in sharpening - and not so many facts. I am interested in discussing facts - not myths.
Convex edges have been discussed long time and they was seen as superial all other types of edges by a lot of people, today, after about 10-12 years discussions are convex edges back to fakta again, it is only a type of edge along other types of edges, good dor some things - and bad fo other things - ans that is exactly why we have different types of edges. No edge type is superial other edge types. This discussion took 10-12 years - and sometimes this discussion was really hard.
Freehand sharpening means wobble. i say tyat you cannot come below 3 degrees wobble - please, prove me wrong with facts - not myths. Show a video where you prove that you can come below 3 degrees wobble = where you are in the video, the sharpener and knife are inthe video - and the fd point are innthe video, all in the same time - and where the red dot stay in the horisontal line on the target. THAT is a prof of your skill - and a fact. Everything else is only a clime...
Let US not mix facts with myths.
All over the world, humans have, for thousends of years, search facts, from facts canntake innovate things. Precision is needed everywhere - the only thing where precision is NOT needed is in the sharpening process

People even dis not know that their forefathers use both guides and sharpening tools and that we can tra k them back at least 6000 years.
In most forums freehanders clime how good they are and that they wobble "just a little" (for 10 years ago many clime that they did not wobble at all and that their results was better then what sharpening tool can perform).
Then - i have no problems with freehand sharpening. I did that during 40 years - and I was happy with the result, it worked fine for me, then.
As I have wrote before in this thread - if you are happy with your edges - keep doing what you are doing, dont change anything. You fullfill your needs.
Accept that other people are other needs. Dont write that higher quality is bit needed - write that YOU dont need higher quality.
the three most important things in sharpwning and knfe use are: edge angle, edge angle and edge angle.
Sharpening skill for me is to be able to give a knife the edge angle I want the knife to have and to balance the sharpness with the wanted retention so that the knife hold its sharpness as long time as possible.
I can discuss this things with very few people becouse most people today sont have a clue what edge angle they have on their knifes... They are happy that their knifes are sharp....
The next thing is that in the west world 90% if the population lives in citys, on forums 99% if the members lives in citys. City people edges holds around 40 degrees total. Traditional edges holds around 20 degrees total. That is perfextly normal with both edge Nikes bexouse city people Alice and cuts in harder material then traditionals do = the edges have developed out of needs abd out of use, harder materials needs steeper angles.
But - traditional old knife knowledge have not survive in citys.
This can be explained best with a new type of knife: the survival knife

A survivel knife shall be tough,nit shall hold ro chop with, batoon with, bend with, been used as a throwing knife ans hold to be used as a spearhead - and of cause hold to make up fire with.
In reality: if you ever come in a survival situation you really need to take care about yiur knife becouse your life depends perhaps on your knife abd that your knife works and that your knife are sharp. NEVER chop, throw, batoon, bend with your knife. Use your knife to make tools you canbchop, throw, batton and bend with. Uf thise rools broke, use your knife and make a new tool. If your knife broke - you probebly will die.
Was that a understandble explanation?
So, today we have two big knife developing lines, the traditional line and the city living line - and they are veey different needs in this two lines.
Go back a few deccades, as hunting knifes folders was never used. Today, city hunters use folders as hunting knifes - traditionals never use folders as hunting knifes.
IF a folder are used as a hunting knife this dolder needs to be taken apart and it must be cleaned and then boiled in at least 20 minutes - all parts. If this is nit done - I will never eat anything this folder have been in contact with. Still, folders are today used as hunting knifes...
I dont know how many times people have explain for me how good their knife are or how fantastic quality its steel have "I have use this knife for 20 years and it is the best knife in the world" they say (or similar). When I read the blade I can se that the fakturie edge is still there = this knife have never been sharpened = this man have carryed this knife in his belt for 20 years - but never use the knife... This is very common...
A used knifes blade are more or less grinded away after some years use. All traditionals knows this - few city people do. Traditionals can read a blade and se how it have been use, often ro what it have been used - and how many times it have been sharpened. When a knife is used it gets dull - and it need to be sharpened, every sharpening take away material from the blade - and the vlade gets more and more narrow.
When I lived innthe mountains a knife hold for me 5 years, after 5 years the blade was so much sharpened that I did not trust the knife - and it was time for a new knife.
When People come to you and talk about how much they use their knifes, read the blade, in normal use for me about 1 millimeter of the blade width are grinded away per year. You can se this where the blade go in to the handle. The where tells how much the knife are used - not the knifes owner...
If the owner climes that he have use this knife a lot - you know how much...
I think what I have just wrote can be seen as provocative. It is NOT written to be provocative at all, it is written becouse I like to be able to discuss facts - not Myths and climes. Read it with a positive mind please.
Thomas