How Sharp?

Deweyknives

Deweyknives

Joined
Nov 29, 2006
Messages
1,097
There's sharp, shaving sharp and just down right SCARY sharp. I don't have much problem getting a good shaving sharp edge [close shave,not just a few hairs], but I want scary,dangerous sharp. Anybody have any tips?

I've tried about every way I can think of w/ what I have and this is what I've come up with;

wire edge on a worn 320 belt [edge down, already 0 edge]
remove wire edge w/ medium hard stone
alternating strokes on a fine hard stone [3 or 4 strokes per side]
strope on leather impregnated w/ emery compound and a few drops of oil
[oil helps keep the emery from clumping up]

J Nelson posted a video clip a while back that looked super simple but he used a leather belt instead of a strope, I don't have any. Someone else just mentioned cardboard [or paper?] wheels [richardj maybe?] Any info on that?

How sharp do you get'em, what's your method?
 
Randy,
Tim Zowada had an article in blade a month or 2 ago on this very subject, you might want to check your back issues or see if a friend has a copy of that issue.
Thanks,
Del
 
If you search around on You Tube you'll find several sharpening videos, including one by Murray. There are some videos out there for purchase also. But the stuff on You Tube was impressive, including some of the "knife tests."
 
I still do it by hand on filthy old oil stones. In an extreme case such as a first sharpening I'll start with a wet grinder. Then an assortment of large high quality oil stones, finishing on a smooth hard Arkansas I've had for 20 years, then a few passes on a loaded strop. I go from quite dull to quite sharp in 5 to 10 min.

When you can cleave a grape by dropping it on the edge it is freaky sharp. When you can float it through the hair over your skin and it pops them off in mid hair, that is freaky sharp. And the edge is still a bit toothy if it isn't over stropped.

Richard has these paper wheels that are supposedly a fast way to get really really sharp, but I've been doing it the way I do since I was a little boy and I just can't change at this point.

Recent quote than I'm proud of:

rprocter said:
and SHARP, yep, tree tops my arm hairs, the only knife i have ever received that will do that.
Click to expand...

So the filthy old oil stones do work. It is funny when you consider all the gadgets I use that I still do this part by hand...



*Edit*

Edit to add: I'm not advocating the backwards way for sharpening that I use. If I were smart I'd try one of the systems or Richards wheels or something. The way I do it took me a long time to get acceptable results.
 
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Practice Practice Practice...... You will find your blades will become keener with practice. Also edge geometry is very important. If you want a freaky sharp blade you will need a thinnish edge. It may not be good for heavy use but it will scare the hair off your arm. Check out Tai Goo's web site. He gets into some scary sharp procedures.
 
Stropping is what got me to scary sharp. But instead of leather I use maple boards about 4"x12" long. I deburr by slicing the top of a board (pine works great) with the grain a couple of times and start stopping with 4,000 grit a few passes then 9,000 grit than 11,000 to finish. A total 4-5 minutes tops and that is me doing it very slowly and deliberately. Tree topping sharp for sure.
 
To me, the way to a scary sharp edge is to "snap" the wire edge off. I develop a wire edge, tilt the blade to 35 degrees to the stone a make one pass across the top of the stone. The wire edge breaks off in one motion.
If you check it at this stage you will see what I mean.
I love scary sharp, Fred
 
Getting a 10X jewelers visor has made a big difference in my sharpening. I thought I was good at sharpening. A few minutes and I could scrape hair off my arm. Then I started looking at the edge under 10x and higher magnification. What I was doing before was sawing hair off. When I looked at the edges I could see micro-serrations, but they were also very brittle and the edge didn't hold up. now, I spend more time polishing the edge out on very fine water stones. and a lot more stropping. The finished edges seam to last twice as long.
 
I use my Bader grinder with a blade clamp similar to the one you find on a Lansky system to hold the blade and a jig bolted to my combination arm with flat platen, the angle then is constant. I run the bader at about 10% of speed starting with a fresh 120 J-Flex belt to produce a wire burr, then go to 600 grit for a few passes, you can see the wire burr get smaller, then I switch to a worn 600 grit loaded with white buffing compound, that removes the burr and polishes the edge. I will be getting a felt polishing belt to use instead of the worn 600 grit for the polishing. this works really well for me.
 
ask cjpgeyer about the wheels and how sharp it can get a knife. there is a difference in the paper used and the results you get from the paper. the white wheels dont give as good an edge as the dark paper wheels. i have both and i like the ones i get from razor sharp. chuck posted a picture of his scotch dispenser and a hair he split with it over in the busse forum. check out this post i made about the wheels http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=578787
 
another nice thing about the cardboard wheel is it wint polish out your hand rubbed finish like a cloth wheel.

I can get a blade to shave but before I ship a knife I have Matt Cucchiara
do his magic. Its hair popin sharp.
 
you should get a set for yourself brian. in the time saved by using the wheels there is more time to do more important stuff like make another knife :D i have to sharpen a samurai sword today for a friend that runs a dojo. i'll work up a burr on my belt sander then finish it off on the paper buffing wheel. the sword has a false edge and i'm not even sure if its good steel but i'll find out.
 
I've been sharpening w/ stones for 30+ years. Always got a good edge, just not quite that 'cut yourself just talking about it' edge. I'm looking for "so sharp that when I go fishing, I just show the knife to the fish and it falls out of it's skin!!" :D

Thanks for the ideas and tips. I played 'till wee hours of the morning trying different things. Both arms are about shaved bare, gonna start on the dog today. :eek:;):D

The quest continues.............................................
 
i like to zero grind a knife and simply polish the edge up. muslin wheel and jackson lea (white) comp.
 
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