How do I get a knife as sharp as possible?

L

lambman5

Joined
Nov 25, 2014
Messages
43
Hi Everyone,

I'm kind of a novice when it comes to knife collecting and I have a few questions. I recently learnt how to sharpen my folding knives using a whetstone. The stone I use is a 400 grit stone from Japan. It does the job quite well and my knives end up passing the "paper slicing test" and nail tests to some degree. I was wondering, what are your recommendations in getting a folding knife as sharp as possible? I know that edge retention is dependant upon things such as steel quality, amount of use, etc. I would just like to know your recommendations for curiosity's sake. If it helps, my knives have either AUS-8 or S30V steel. Please respond if you're able to.
 
Try a strop. I have some horse butt leather and some green compound I'll give you if you would like to make one.
If interested send me your address.
 
Oh my friend, you are starting a venture down a rabbit hole that has no end!!! It starts with stones and ends somewhere around baby kangaroo strops loaded with unicorn pee and pixie dust.

Seriously though, there is virtually no end to how sharp you can go. I have gone as far as .5micron paste on a strop. That will usually split a human hair. It gets crazy. :) Enjoy the trip.
 
"As possible" is pretty much impossible.
I'd describe "sharp as possible" as a one molecule thick/thin edge, completely even across the edge surface.
I don't think that level of edge is possible by us at this time but in the future? who knows.

To achieve the sharpest possible edge you'd have to work up the grit level of stones to the highest grit you can obtain, all the while achieving and maintaining the correct edge angle. At some point the grits will begin to polish more than "sharpen" but the higher the polish the more smooth the cut.

There are others far more knowledgeable than I who can explain the grit progression but the key is to work each stone to its' limit then move up to the next stone and so on until you reach the limit of the stones/hones/strops and your ability to maintain that consistent edge.

Good luck and keep us informed on your progress. For me I top off at 2000 grit ceramic hone and green Bark River strop compound but I'd like the opportunity to take it a bit farther and may at some point.
 
The greatest impact on the final edge's sharpness will depend more on fully apexing from the start (at the coarsest stage), and then fully utilizing each subsequent step to refine it. If the edge doesn't get fully apexed to begin with (form a burr along the full length of the cutting edge), all the subsequent steps will likely just polish & round off a blunt apex; and even worse if attempting to strop an edge that isn't fully apexed. Get as much from your first stone as you can, finishing by reducing pressure greatly with the coarsest stone, and the payoff will come in ease of refinement afterward. A 400-grit stone should usually be capable of some shaving sharpness at least, on it's own, so long as the abrasive is capable of abrading the steel in use (S30V won't likely grind easily or refine very well on natural stones, for example, but will respond much better to diamond or CBN abrasives).


David
 
If you're achieving a paper slicing edge off 400 grit, it sounds like you're headed in the right direction as far as properly apexing the edge goes. From there, it's simply a matter of managing the burr and refining the scratch pattern with progressively finer abrasives.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
The greatest impact on the final edge's sharpness will depend more on fully apexing from the start (at the coarsest stage), and then fully utilizing each subsequent step to refine it. If the edge doesn't get fully apexed to begin with (form a burr along the full length of the cutting edge), all the subsequent steps will likely just polish & round off a blunt apex; and even worse if attempting to strop an edge that isn't fully apexed. Get as much from your first stone as you can, finishing by reducing pressure greatly with the coarsest stone, and the payoff will come in ease of refinement afterward. A 400-grit stone should usually be capable of some shaving sharpness at least, on it's own, so long as the abrasive is capable of abrading the steel in use (S30V won't likely grind easily or refine very well on natural stones, for example, but will respond much better to diamond or CBN abrasives).


David
Click to expand...

This. Refinement won't do a durn thing unless the bevel is correctly shaped.
 
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