Help Getting Edge To Hair Popping Sharp

[rsw524]

So I am very new to the world of free hand sharpening right now I have a smiths fine stone-750 grit which isn't that fine. I know I should get a better stone. I just want to know what stones you use to get a hair popping sharp edge and what are the stone's grits. I am also on a budget. I've heard of the spyderco sharpmaker but I want to learn free hand sharpening. Thanks!!!

 

[Sadden]

Get the 3 piece Nubatama set at CKTG. 3 stones that should get you sending armhairs everywhere in no time. Also leaves you lots of room to grow. They arent throwaway stones. You can build a really nice set around them. They work well on both carbon and stainless knives.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

So I am very new to the world of free hand sharpening right now I have a smiths fine stone-750 grit which isn't that fine. I know I should get a better stone. I just want to know what stones you use to get a hair popping sharp edge and what are the stone's grits. I am also on a budget. I've heard of the spyderco sharpmaker but I want to learn free hand sharpening. Thanks!!!

What steel are you trying to sharpen? Hair-popping sharpness doesn't need a 'better' or more expensive investment in stones, necessarily. Finding an abrasive that well-suits the steel being sharpened makes most of the difference, and that could be as simple as sandpaper, on most mainstream, middle-of-the-road cutlery steels. Aluminum oxide or silicon carbide sandpaper is likely more versatile than any other sharpening solution, with a huge array of grit choices available, and it can be custom-paired with and used on a limitless variety of backing/substrate surfaces. And it's not expensive. This clearly isn't the only option, but only serves to illustrate it can often be done by very simple & inexpensive means.

This isn't to say that you can't get great results with more expensive tools. But they might not be necessary, and some might be overkill and counter-productive, if not well-matched to the steel being sharpened.

The flipside to that is, if you're trying to sharpen something like S30V on cheap stones, or natural stones (Arkansas), you'll likely be wanting for much more (like a diamond hone).

The usually 'safe bet' is either/both of aluminum oxide & silicon carbide bench stones, such as the offerings from Norton (India and Crystolon, respectively). Those can be very versatile as well.


David

 

[goodshepherdknives]

i agree with david above.
I use diamond and natural stones as well as ceramics, and sandpaper, and on one occasion a friggen rock, and i have been able to shave easily with all of them. i know both of the other uses who replied can whittle hairs, and we will all agree on one thing.
* consistent angle*

is the most important. i can shave with a broken in 220 grit abrasive. its really toothy for cutting, and not at all smooth, a stropped 600 grit has been a very good user edge as it grabs plasic fairly well, but still doesnt seem too bad on paper and such. i used the smiths tri hone on my sog seal pup in aus 6 and it worked well

 

[HeavyHanded]

The Smith's fine is a good stone. You might have better luck learning freehand on a Norton India stone or Norton Crystalon, they will have better feedback for freehand sharpening IMHO. They will leave a somewhat toothy edge, but still capable of shaving arm hair.

 

[StevieWunders]

Every such question/er should have answers to required questions: What kind of steel? What's its intended use? How much time (vaguely), money (specifically) do you have to devote to your new chore/hobby/obsession? The more specific your answers, the better advice you get. Don't take this as any kind of slam-I recently had to reassess my approach to hand sharpening and these are exactly the questions I had to answer. After 40 years of being very comfortable with high-carbon steels and 440C and Arkansas stones, all functioning in a high-use, very abusive work environment, I'm now retired and playing with "super" steels that I wonder if I'll ever need to sharpen twice. Harder steel, drastically reduced use, more time and money. All my answers changed, so my needs/wants changed. My old stones generate long-lasting, razor-sharp edges on old steels. For the new stuff, I have C, M, F, EF diamonds, UF ceramic, 4000/8000 waterstone (just for something new), and a Washboard strop. Total overkill. Just because I can. I have time on my hands and this is how I choose to use it. Again, that determines much of my decision-making. When I was working, it was all about sharpness, expense, and available time. Refine your answers to the beginning questions and your results will be much easier to find.
FWIW, even with the new steels, I could do very well with coarse and fine diamonds and a Washboard strop.