Hones DMT or Razor-Edge

pahl

pahl

Joined
Feb 23, 2002
Messages
1,088
Hi,
I'm just learning the correct way to sharpen. Thanks to getting a copy of "The Razor Edge book of Sharpening". Befor reading the book I got some DMT stones and tried to sharpen without much luck. Then I seen a copy of the razor edge book on ebay and bought the book.
The book helped alot.
Been doing my sharpening by hand till last friday. In fridays mail i got the cub razor edge guide.
Now befor using the guide I could get a preaty sharp edge on my knife all the time but only about half the time could I shave the hair from my arm with it. Now using the guide the last four knives i have shapened with the guide will shave the hair off my arm.
Love the guide!
Anyway it still was not sharp enough to shave my face.
Is this because I'm using the DMT stones? I have a blue,red and the green one.
I wanted to get the guide for the larger then four inch blades so i ordered the razor edge kit with the six inch coarse and fine stone that also has the larger guide in it.

Will I get the razor edge on a knife that will shave my face after using the razor edge fine hones?

Should I be able to get a knife sharp enough to shave my face using the DMT stone?

What do you guys think?

Interesting forum, see i have lost more reading to do :)
Thanks,
JP
South Dakota, USA
 
bttt = back to the top

King Grinch did that so that this thread wouldn't die too fast.

You should be able to get a shaving edge with the fine stone. The DMT, while very high quality, seem to be a little more coarse than the Razor Edge or other natural/ceramic stones.

Read Joe's sharpening FAQ, lot's of good advice!

While the guides are great in theory, I was never able to use them as well as I should, had problems clamping them on the exact same place on the blade. I have no doubt that others could use them better than I.

I use an Edgepro, and am able to get blades sharper than I ever thought possible.

Shaving your face is difficult, and also has a lot to do with edge geometry. Shaving the neck is easy, shaving the chin is the ultimate test, in my opinion.

Of course, a couple of cuts through sandy hemp rope, and you won't be shaving much of anything, but that's a whole different story....

Good luck!
 
I have a Razor's Edge Pro kit. The fine stones are great. If you still can't shave your face, get or make a strop. All you need is a strip or two of leather (2" by as long as you want, mine is 8") and a hard back, like a piece of wood. Get some compound. I hear the green stuff from Lee Valley is very good. A few strokes on a strop will round of any corners and polish the edge to a face shaving edge.
 
Sound great!
Can't wait till my razor edge stones get here.
Will work on getting some leather and making a strop.
Were did you get your leather for your strop?
Thanks,
JP
 
I have a razor edge kit with the large stones and some DMT pocket stones.The DMT's are in black[220],blue[325],and red[600].For grinding out chips or thinning a blade I usually use the coarse razor edge stone which seems to be identical to the coarse side of a coarse/fine carborundum stone.I used to finish on the fine razor edge stone,but I have gone back to the blue and red diamond hones because I end up with a finer edge.My DMT hones are several years older than my razor edge kit and are smoother than when they were new.After the fine hone I stroke the edge very lightly on the razor steel until it feels sharp enough or can shave well enough to suit me.How well a knife can shave at this point depends on how thin it is and if I kept a steady hand and did a good job.I use the razor edge tester sometimes, too.At this point I can usually shave my face a little on the sides and slice rope pretty well due to the fact that when cutting rope I push cut down and slice across at about the same time.This is a good overall edge in my opinion because it is fine enough to shave and still have a little agressive bite to it.To get an even finer edge I strop it on an old belt hanging from a clothes rack in my closet.I try to keep the belt pretty tight and strop backwards with a shallow angle to keep from rolling the edge.This gives me a very sharp shaving edge but doesn't slice coarse materials very well.This type of edge makes arm hair fly and works well enough on the face to leave a very noticeable bald spot.
I can get a better edge on most knives with the angle guides,but I like the challenge and satisfaction of sharpening freehand better.This is something that I've been practicing for a long time and I keep learning more,especially since I started reading blade forums.
I plan to buy some large DMT hones in the future in all four grits and a leather strop from Hand American,but for now I'll make do with what I have because I am experiencing a personal recession.
I don't know what's more fun collecting knives or sharpening them.Some people just can't understand this madness!It's good to know that I'm not the only knifenut in the world.
I'm usually a lurker and not a chatter box.I don't know what's come over me.Hope this helps ,and sorry for being so long-winded.I'll shut up for now.
 
DMT coarse whetstones are not intended for knife sharpening.

JP, why should you shave your face with the knife? Is it the problem to do it with razor?
If seriously – this is the question if edge geometry, not only of formal sharpness. Knife sharpness, axe sharpness and razor sharpness are not the same.

BTW, welcome to the Forums!
 
pahl,

You can get leather from a saddle maker or any other leather worker type in your area. Tellt hem you need a couple of pieces 2" by 8" for a strop and they will be glad to sell you some.

By the way, I think the Razor Edge fien stone is great because it isn't a super fine stone. A somewhat polished but toothy edge seems to be the best one for the work I do, and for this the Razor Edge fien stone is great. If I need a more polished edge, I strop.
 
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