How often do you have to sharpen your knives?

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yepimonfire

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Nov 7, 2013
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How often do you have to sharpen if its used on a regular basis? Just curious. Seems mine might need a touching up on a weekly basis used daily.
 
Touch up edcs weekly. Sometimes more often just because I enjoy sharpening and maintenance, strange as that may sound
 
A few (5-10) passes per side on stropman green chromium oxide for 154cm, vg10 and s30v
Just a few really light strokes per side on 2000 grit wed dry every week or two for s90v
I love to sharpen and fear that if you don't use it you lose it. Practice makes perfect.
 
My work knives get polished daily so they don't see much actual sharpening.

Pocket knives get sharpening about twice a month and a weekly polish
 
My work knife gets a strop treatment every other day and a visit to the Lansky every couple of weeks.
My EDC gets it every couple of weeks.
 
I'm one of those weirdos that love knife maintenance/sharpening so it's more like... How often do you GET TO sharpen your knives?

My EDC (BM 154CM 58-60 HRC) A few passes on a dry 3,000 grit stone every few days. Have not owned it long enough to determine the time needed for a full sharpening session. However... when i got this knife it had the factory edge, had obiously been used A LOT and for a long time. It wasn't a butterknife but it sure couldn't cut much... took a very long time to sharpen but given the circumstances... understandable.
My Neck Knife (Cheap S&W 990TA Sites say 440C... not sure) A few passes on the same stone every 3-4 weeks. Has never needed a full sharpening. (I should add that it has a chisel ground blade)
My backup (Ontario RAT-1 AUS8) A few passes on the same stone every week or so. A full sharpening every couple months (depending on use of course)
Given the above, I do not strop my knives with compound and leather anymore as I find it is not necessary. After a few uses i give it a few "strops" on my jeans before sliding it back in my pocket. Takes a couple seconds and really helps with edge retention over time. (In my opinion)

I'd like details on the certain knife/blade steel you are using, otherwise we can't tell you whether your sharpening patterns are normal or not.

As you can see, my cheapest knife with the worst steel is sharpened less... that is not because it's a beast that holds it's edge when batoned through sheet metal... it's because it doesn't get used or carried often.

Point is, Needing to sharpen your blade isn't something that can be scheduled. It all depends on blade steel quality, heat treatment, your sharpening methods and experience, and overall, how much you use said knife.

Hope it helped and just out of curiosity... what knife are you referring to, OP?
 
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I used to want the polished edge more often than not. So every weekend or every other weekend.
But with more knifes in rotation and more focused on a worked edge than polished edge; that time has expanded.

Last knife I sharpened was the ZT 0562CF; not sure about the one before that.
 
For me, there is no set schedule and all the knives are sharpened as needed. My heavier work knives like my RAT1, Kershaw Tremor, my Utilitac II, etc., are sharpened sometimes after just a couple of days on the construction site. Sometimes they go a week to ten days.

I almost always carry two knives, on large and one traditional pattern. The traditional only gets sharpened about every two weeks.

On the other hand, I cook a lot. I cut and chop pounds of vegetables at a time, butcher meat, and other kitchen tasks that take a lot of cutting and chopping. I sharpen my chef's knife every single time I pull it out to use, without thinking about it. For that knife, the sharper the better.

Robert
 
I used to sharpen my knives the moment it stopped push cutting phone book paper or snagging on single hairs. That was a huge issue because I would oversharpen and waste away the knife's life. Now I try to sharpen only if my knives get a roll or a chip. Between sharpening sessions I maintain the edge by stropping over glass. So I guess I do a full sharpening maybe once a month or less.
 
I love maintenance also but as said above, a lot of unnecessary blade wear happens. I also use my edc daily and sometimes quite hard. I try and keep any grinding down to once a month or less but if it needs it, it needs it. I do strop almost daily. But I do refuse to spend the kind of money many of us spend on these and not have it scary sharp. No need for these amazing steels we have now if I'm going to carry a dull knife anyway. I have been a knife freak for a long time and I know my personal "needs hit" line and with a quick feel on the thumb side of my left index finger I know as soon as I feel it what if anything needs to happen. But let us not forget that the point of this beautiful steel revolution we are in that the point of these steels are to take more abuse and stay sharp longer. There are many tasks I look at and think F that I'm not touching that with my knife. I use a very robust folder also but some things are better left to a Stanley razor knife or screwdriver.
 
I typically re-profile a knife shortly after I get it using a Wicked Edge. After the edge is set and edge has the refinement I want, I typically touch up about every other month unless the knife sees heavy use. For example, I have a CRK that has a 17 degree (per side) bevel. I touched it up after two months using higher grits (1000, 1500 and 2000). Very, very little steel was removed. I know I got to the apex because of the burr and the Sharpie trick. It cuts hair no problem. I will strop in between if needed.
 
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