Home-made sharpening jig

hiwa

hiwa

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Jun 7, 2009
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After looking at all the sharpening jigs on the market, I got this idea to make my own that could work on any flat surface, with any bench stone or mousepad, at any good knife angle ( 20/25/30 degrees etc.) I came up with this today;it's just a prototype and it allows me to tilt my knife to do the belly of it and the tip as well.:

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I used 1/8" by 1" flat bar, tapped a hole for the height rod , and came up with a basic clamp system. I have a few bugs to iron out still. It all comes apart for travel , and works on any height benchstone I have. Thought I'd share my idea.
 
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Interesting. Recurves would still seem to be a problem with that design though. Did you add some kind of padding on the blade clamp?
 
Not yet. That is my next step actually.( That's why the beater kitchen blade.)
I might glue some rubber or something between there.

I will put stops on the rod also on either side , so I can flip the unit over , and have pretty close to the same angle to do the other side of the knife.
Total cost with tap: $20.

We all know recurves are the odd-ball out ! I just do mine with a diamond rod free hand.
 
How do you adjust the angle without one side becoming a different length than the other?

cbw
 
cbwx34 said:
How do you adjust the angle without one side becoming a different length than the other?

cbw
Click to expand...

Good observation. I realised this and came to the conclusion I have to flip the knife over. That part of it I don't like.

My wife stole the camera, but I tried it out on a Bucklite FB , and it did a pretty good job actually. I'll try to post pics when I get my camera back. Not too bad for an afternoon project.
 
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You could thread two rods instead of the single rod you have now. That way you can adjust each rod length individually, allowing you to adjust each angle of the edge. Setting them at equal lengths will enable you to flip the whole jig to sharpen the other side with the same angle.
 
That is a great idea. I am going to think of some other ideas as well.:thumbup:
 
Using a longer piece of metal for the knife holder bar, cut the bar off about 3 or 4 inches from the adjusting rod. Then overlap the two ends about 3 inches and fasten together with two well spaced screws. When you want to sharpen the other side, just flip the holder bar over. If you use wing nuts, washers, and slots instead of holes, the flip over time would be reduced.
 
One of the best things you could do is buy 2 coupling nuts and 2 jam nuts. coupling nuts are nuts that are about 2" long. If you install the jam nuts first, then the coupling nuts, and cut off some of the threaded rod, you will be able to get a lot of adjustment and be able to do both sides of the knife without taking it out and flipping it over.

As for the "padding" I would recommend a product called Plasti-Dip, sold at most hardware stores.

Also, try to keep both sides of your clamp parallel, with a slight bias toward the narrow end toward the blade. What you have now is almost too much, and will tend to mark the blade, as well as allow it to wiggle in a way you don't want it to.
 
eKretz said:
One of the best things you could do is buy 2 coupling nuts and 2 jam nuts. coupling nuts are nuts that are about 2" long. If you install the jam nuts first, then the coupling nuts, and cut off some of the threaded rod, you will be able to get a lot of adjustment and be able to do both sides of the knife without taking it out and flipping it over.

As for the "padding" I would recommend a product called Plasti-Dip, sold at most hardware stores.

Also, try to keep both sides of your clamp parallel, with a slight bias toward the narrow end toward the blade. What you have now is almost too much, and will tend to mark the blade, as well as allow it to wiggle in a way you don't want it to.
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I kept them parallel when I drilled through them, but as you suggest, I will remove some washers between the rear screw , so the clamp part is more flat. I couldn't find plasti-dip , but will look for some covers for the ends at Home Depo.

If I get you right about the coupling nuts ( long nuts)., I would cut the centre rod shorter, centre it in place , add the coupling nuts, and cut two short lengths to attach to the coupling nuts per either side. Great Idea if I understand correctly.
 
Yep, you've pretty much got the idea. just don't forget the jam nuts so you can lock everything up tight
 
So am I correct that you are using a LEFT-RIGHT "Sweeping" motion to sharpen?
I have always wondered if this is ok to do when sharpening? I mean, is there any advantage to pushing the blade forward on the stone, perpendicular to the edge, as opposed to doing it the way you have shown?
I am very interested in jigs used for sharpening, and I like your little project here. Might make up one of my own.
 
I go in a sweeping motion , and tilt the handle of the knife up as I near the belly. This way, the tip gets sharpened evenly. Something like a woodwork plane blade , yeah, I would keep it perpendicular because it's square, but I think you need a sweeping motion on most knifes because of the belly ( keeping in mind to lift the handle as you approach the tip.)
Hope this helps.
 
hiwa said:
I go in a sweeping motion , and tilt the handle of the knife up as I near the belly. This way, the tip gets sharpened evenly. Something like a woodwork plane blade , yeah, I would keep it perpendicular because it's square, but I think you need a sweeping motion on most knifes because of the belly ( keeping in mind to lift the handle as you approach the tip.)
Hope this helps.
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Follow the curve, but don't "lift the handle." You'll end up rounding the tip of your knife. I still kinda do that, and I can't kick the habit.
 
If you follow the curve, you must lift the handle or you will have a much narrower included angle on the curved tip of the knife than the rest of the knife.

That being said, the pictured knife has only a very gentle curve, so it will not be necessary to lift much, but on a knife that has a pronouncedly curved tip, you must lift the handle considerably when working toward the tip.
 
eKretz said:
If you follow the curve, you must lift the handle or you will have a much narrower included angle on the curved tip of the knife than the rest of the knife.

That being said, the pictured knife has only a very gentle curve, so it will not be necessary to lift much, but on a knife that has a pronouncedly curved tip, you must lift the handle considerably when working toward the tip.
Click to expand...

This is exactly the conclusion I've come to. After keeping blades flat , I've noticed too much metal coming off the tip ( ie. narrower angle)

I made another post asking folks what their experience is with this freehand.
 
Did you now?! heh, I can say First! on this post for that one and not feel like a total douche, lol.:D
 
eKretz said:
If you follow the curve, you must lift the handle or you will have a much narrower included angle on the curved tip of the knife than the rest of the knife.

That being said, the pictured knife has only a very gentle curve, so it will not be necessary to lift much, but on a knife that has a pronouncedly curved tip, you must lift the handle considerably when working toward the tip.
Click to expand...

I suppose you do lift the handle a little bit. I just don't like the term "lift the handle" because it's not as much about lifting the handle as it is getting down to the tip.
 
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