How do people learn to sharpen a knife?

Sharpie is good, but not needed. You can actually feel a burr on the edge. I go by the burr these days. I don't use a sharpie anymore. The burr tells you that you've reached the apex. I do one side of a blade at a time. Once I hit a burr on one side, I sharpen the other side until I hit a burr again.
 
Good reading to understand where it didn't work:
www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/963298-My-advice-for-newbie-knife-sharpeners-(freehand)
And
www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1014274-What-is-sharpening-a-knife-about
(the last one is sticky on this subforum)

Another good one, freehand sharpening demystified:
www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1029230-New-to-Sharpening-Need-help!
This is what you'll achieve, with the understanding (previous treads) and putting it into action.
 
Last edited:
Start with the sticky at the top of this forum by Magnaminous G:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1014274-What-is-sharpening-a-knife-about

Decide on what level of refinement that will get the job done for you. Maybe you don't need the beautiful polished edges, but it's OK if that is your goal.

You may not need the sharpie, but it really does help, especially at first. Also a small, cheep microscope with about 45X power. They cost less than $5 and you are able to see what scratch pattern you are getting from each stone.

http://www.amazon.com/SE-MW10087L-B...id=1361152706&sr=8-19&keywords=microscope+30x

Good luck,
Allen
 
I have made my own sharpner. I just pull my leek threw the sharpner and a way we go. I have been using this style of sharpner for
15+ years now.
 

Attachments

  • Knife Sharpener.jpg
    Knife Sharpener.jpg
    14.6 KB · Views: 18
It's a lot of trial and error. I am just adequate now, but I messed up a lot of knives along the way!!! You just need to start with some cheap knives and try something like a sharpmaker first that holds a steady angle. The angle and consistency is the key
 
What helped me a lot is watching a friend of mine sharpen knives. For me it was much better than watching a video.

You didn't put a location on your profile, maybe there is local member close by who could meet with you and help you out.

Ric
 
byteblock said:
I've watched probably every youtue video on the subject and I own...........let me count them real quick because they are laying around every where............12 different sharpening stones. Some are made of diamond, some are ceramic, some are arkansas and some are waterstones and I made sure each was a different grit from the other. After working on one knife for several weeks sometimes for a couple hours a day, an old Kershaw Blackout from like 2001 when I believe they were made 440A which I consider a mediocre steel so I don't care about ruining the knife, I still have yet to be able to shave hair or slice paper..........

So......what's next?
Click to expand...

If you're anywhere around the Washington D.C./Baltimore area, I'll meet up with you and sit down and teach you.

Carl.
 
I think he is from Washington Carl, but the one about 3500 miles from you. Great of you to offer though.

Blessings,

Omar
 
Ernie1980 said:
It's a lot of trial and error. I am just adequate now, but I messed up a lot of knives along the way!!! You just need to start with some cheap knives and try something like a sharpmaker first that holds a steady angle. The angle and consistency is the key
Click to expand...

Thats where I'm at right now I think, solid call on trying it out on some junk knives first!
 
OK thanks for the replies! I'll just keep working at it. If I look at it from a perspective of factoring odds, I'm bound to hit it eventually.
 
Follow the tutorials, and don't get discouraged. Rather than trying whatever hoping to play the odds, I'd find a tutorial from one of the recommended links and follow it - using the lightest pressure you can muster - until the edge actually improves. Actually, I tried stones and made a bunch of knives worse; then tried sandpaper onmousepads and didn't fare much better. I'm talking hours and hours on 420hc, 1084, unnamed stainless and S30v. Then I got a worksharp knife and tool sharpener. Then I practiced on about 40 knives of every imaginable style and steel. Improved the edge on every one, but some more so than others. Recently got a Japanese petty that would slice paper but not shave (blue carbon steel) did not want to sully the grind with my belted machine. 5 passes on a strop did nothing, so I prepped my wTerstones and made 5 passed per side at 400, 1000, 2000, and 6000 grit. Followed by strops black, green and plain. Now it sliced paper, hair, and mushy tomatoes.
I still use the wskts to re profile, to repair edges, or when I have a bunch to do. But it taught me how to hold an angle, and how little pressure to use. I could see immediate results, and that helped me to press on. I think that's why so many here recommend the sharp maker. Good luck, and keep trying. It feels good to restore something to use able. It feels great to improve a known-good "factory" edge.
 
I'll second what's already been said. I learned from TONS of practice. I ground away the best part of some really nice knives in my quest for knowledge. This website is a great resource and there are plenty of good videos on youtube but they will never be a substitute for hours at the stones. Watch the videos and read the tutorials to get familiar with sharpening theory then pick up a cheap knife, a stone and a sharpie and get to work.
 
Practice, and more importantly, patience.

If hours at a time are not producing results, the angle must be wrong.

It took me learning how to use edge trailing sharpening techniques with sandpaper, and a rubber backing to convex edges before I had that Aha moment.

I had a fixed angle clamp system for decades. And I always had hair shaving edges.

But now, I can do it with no system. Just by hand.

It also really helped my sharpening skills with a stone too!
 
The only real way to learn the correct way to sharpen a knife is to be tought face to face by someone that really knows what they are doing. (IMHO) The stone is really personal preference. Diamond to ceramic to strop is best, again IMHO. The most important aspect of sharpening is keeping the same angle, every time, with every stroke. Be careful not to scratch the blade or mess up the lines of the knife. With clip points you want to sharpen the blade point first starting at the begining of the stone (While keeping the same angle every time) and slide the knife forwards towards the opposing end of the stone while rotating the knife to change where the knife comes in contact with the stone..
It is a hard thing to explain how to sharpen a knife correctly through a computer.. :yawn: It really would be better to learn first hand.

Keep in mind a sharp knife is a sharp knife, as long as it pops hairs, it's plenty sharp (IMHO). In the end it just doesn't matter what you stick 'em with.
 
use a sharpie and mark the edge, give it a couple passes and see where you're hitting and adjust from there. if you cant feel a bur, then you arent hitting the apex of the edge and therefore it will never get sharp. the idea is to create a bur and carefully make it smaller and smaller. the more consistent you are, the better your edge will end up. if you always sharpen your knives the same way, you'll always get the same result. just some food for thought.

-Ian
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top