How do i get a razor sharp edge?

J

Jaben620

Joined
Aug 23, 2009
Messages
40
Here are the knives that i want to put a Hair-shaving edge on. And i mean hair-shaving! I want to be able to shave with them. All of them. All the knives listed have sharp edges already with no damage whatsoever. But i want them razor sharp.

SOG Seal Pup
Buck 110 Folder
Buck Omni Fixed Gut Hook
Gerber Paraframe folder
Gerber Evo JR folder
Gerber Profile
Gerber Big Rock Camp Knife
Kershaw Storm folder
Sharp fixed blade skinner



I have a small compact diamond sharpener, a Gerber Diamond stick sharpener, a course/fine sided stone sharpener, and a ceramic stick.

Which would be the best sharpener to use to obtain the edge i want? And how would i do it.

Thanks in advance for any help!:thumbup:
 
A_Blade_Afficionado said:
Paper wheels, check richardj's thread in the maintainance forum.
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:thumbup:+1 on that.That would be the fastest,most effective way to get the edge you desire.


If that's not possible for you,you may want to get a Spyderco Sharpmaker.You can find them for around $40-$50.

Also get yourself a good strop.mr2blue sells them on the exchange.I won one from him in a contest & it works great.I can't believe I went so long without a strop....didn't know what I was missing.


Oh yea,Welcome to BF :)
 
Talk to knifenut about sharpening, he's highly regarded as the local expert. From what I've seen, a vast array of diamond stones and stropping compound is the key to razor edges.
From your materials, I'm not sure what can be done, it's tough to know what results can be yielded from unknown grit stones. If we could get info on the different grits it would make it much easier on us.
To make it clear, paper wheels are the quickest way, but if those aren't an option, go with the DMT stones if you need a razor finish.
 
It's not possible for a knife to obtain a razor sharp edge. Razors are full-hollow ground with extremely thin blade thickness, and the edge itself is about 7 degrees per side on average. They use low-alloy carbon steels that can obtain an extremely keen edge and wears smoothly (although I do have a stainless 440C razor that develops tooth as it wears).

Knives can shave and split hairs, but try shaving your face with it and it won't be as effortless and irritation-free as a razor.

If you want them as sharp as you can get them, just use freehand on a set of Shapton stones. Finish on newspaper loaded with 0.1 micron diamond paste. Use zero pressure, only the weight on the knife itself.
 
I would never suggest power tools to someone that thinks a factory edge is sharp (no offence). Understanding edge angles and how to follow the curve of the edge are two very important parts of using powered sharpeners and one wrong mistake could = a ruined knife. Learn to walk before you run.

First I would suggest a DMT aligner with the complete set of stones or if you want to take the big leap all at once the aligner tool and the 8x3 benchstones. Second would be the sharpmaker with complete set of rods. You are probably asking why he keeps saying complete set of stones. The reason for this is because factory edges are not stright or even and sometimes several angles on just one side. When using a system with set angles your first sharpening will be the one that sets the new angles on the edge. You need a coarse enough stone to do this and a fine enough stone to finish it off, none of the good kits come complete so you need to buy the extras.

Regarding what you have, forget the diamond stick and ceramic rod, round sharpeners and flat edges don't mix. What kind of coarse/fine stone do you have?
 
you can get basicly any half decent blade sharp enough to cut hair (but then it becomes issue retaining edge ) but different blade types ( straight, curving, serrated ) have their own tricks.

I like basic fine grade honing stone + honing oil combo. But diamond or ceramic rods also server their purpouse. I really love my ka-bar honing stone which is made from fine grade oilstone. With patience and effort you can made really sharp blade with it.

But on the otherhand I've always favoured the traditional ways over new modern sharpeners like Spyderco sharpmaker, Lansky's similar system... But each person has their own method of sharpening. IMHO nothing beats good honing stone and steady hand.

p.s. There's good reason why you need a strop for razor and why stropping your straight blade "throat cuter" is really critical.
 
its more complicated to sharpen freehand that with the wheels. i used to sharpen freehand since first learning back when i was 13-14 years old. when i bought the wheels i was geting them shaving sharp right off like most guys here but i practiced sharpening a hack saw blade for about a week until i felt i was ready to sharpen a knife. most guys who have never used the wheels always seem to have a different opinion about them. look at my vids and you can see for yourself how sharp i get knives on the wheels. http://sites.google.com/site/richardjsknives/ i put the very first edge on 241 folding knives in about 17 hours. some were single blades and some had 2 and 3 blades.
 
knifenut1013 said:
I would never suggest power tools to someone that thinks a factory edge is sharp (no offence). Understanding edge angles and how to follow the curve of the edge are two very important parts of using powered sharpeners and one wrong mistake could = a ruined knife. Learn to walk before you run.

First I would suggest a DMT aligner with the complete set of stones or if you want to take the big leap all at once the aligner tool and the 8x3 benchstones. Second would be the sharpmaker with complete set of rods. You are probably asking why he keeps saying complete set of stones. The reason for this is because factory edges are not stright or even and sometimes several angles on just one side. When using a system with set angles your first sharpening will be the one that sets the new angles on the edge. You need a coarse enough stone to do this and a fine enough stone to finish it off, none of the good kits come complete so you need to buy the extras.

Regarding what you have, forget the diamond stick and ceramic rod, round sharpeners and flat edges don't mix. What kind of coarse/fine stone do you have?
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None taken. Because it is not a factory edge.:thumbup:
 
I don't know anything about paper wheels, but it sounds like you're going to want a strop. Before safety razors came along, people regularly stropped their straight razors, that's just how it was done (and still is, for barbers or old-timers who carry one)

But as someone mentioned, it may be a little difficult to get the same edge on a pocket knife. Razors are usually much thinner and have a sharper edge angle. Different steels too.
 
I really recommend the Spyderco sharpmaker for the novice like me, but there is a lot more to it than the DVD it come with shows. You have to know about burrs and be able to determine the original grind angles, and what you are actually doing to the edge.

I had a couple Gerbers that never seemed to get sharp. I finally tried the sharpie trick and found the original angle was maybe 50 degrees. I wasn't removing any metal from the edge when I sharpened. It took me almost an hour on the Course sharpmaker stones just to get the edge to 40 deg, before I could even start sharpening the darn thing.

I will also mention I had this same problem on one side of a NIB spyderco Rookie. I was only sharpening one side and removing shoulder on the other and therefore creating a large burr and the knife was in fact getting duller the more I sharpened. :eek:
 
the paper buffing wheel takes the place of a strop. its a lot faster and does a better job. you can get a strop to use out in the field.
 
Except for the guthooks and serrations of the knives you list, the equipment you have will give you a hair shaving edge. It likely wont shave your face, but should be able to shave hair off your arm without any trouble. Start with the coarse stone, then the fine, then the ceramic stick. If any of the knives listed have recurves, then use the diamond rods followed by the ceramic stick. Find a way to help you hold a consistent angle, like making a wood holder or lock the stone in a vice with some padding so the stone doesnt break. I use a wooden block to hold the stones from 12 to 22 degrees from vertical, then hold the knife vertical and cut down like you're cutting bread on a cutting board. You can also hold the knife horizontally and block up one end of the stone to the desired angle. Raise the end of a 6 inch long stone 2 inches for a 20 degree angle, and raise an 8 inch long stone 2.75 inches for 20 degrees. The exact angle isnt all that critical, just be consistent. I make 20-30 strokes per side, and feel for a burr. When I get a good burr from both directions, then I go from coarse to fine and repeat, 20 or so strokes per side, feel for burr and flip to the other side. I then raise the angle a little bit and remove the burr with the ceramic or whatever the next fines hone is. Typically this gives a hair shaving edge and I'll have little bald patches on my arms for days. You can cut it down to 2 steps and just use the coarse/fine stone, and with some practice you can get hair shaving edges that way too. Just raise a burr with the coarse side, then flip sides and raise the angle a little and remove the burr with the fine side. Remember to remove the burr with alternating strokes, one per side, not the 20 or more you used before. This goes for the ceramic stick as well. Burr removal alternates sides every stroke.
 
stay away from the daimond stick, that thing is coarse and takes off craploads of material real fast. Soak your rough/fine stones in a soup can, then have at it working in a circular motion from tip to tang and in a general direction back from the edge to pull all burrs/shavings away. Getting the correct angle is an art form that you will achieve with practice. until then I hope you like convex edges ;)
 
Because of the high speed, the paper wheels system is prone to microchipping the knife edge, visible through a 100x microscope. Might be ok for some steels, but it's not as versatile as sharpening by hand. I'm not accusing the sharpeners who use the system getting microchipped edges, just saying that the system itself is more prone to it than other techniques.
 
PayetteRucker said:
stay away from the daimond stick, that thing is coarse and takes off craploads of material real fast. Soak your rough/fine stones in a soup can, then have at it working in a circular motion from tip to tang and in a general direction back from the edge to pull all burrs/shavings away. Getting the correct angle is an art form that you will achieve with practice. until then I hope you like convex edges ;)
Click to expand...




Your advice is inaccurate.

Read this http://mse.iastate.edu/fileadmin/www.mse.iastate.edu/static/files/verhoeven/KnifeShExps.pdf
 
it's not inaccurate at all, seeing as how my knives are still sharp... you get your sharpening methods from a PDF document on the internet...
 
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