How to sharpen knives

[cheung_victor]

Hi, everyone I have a few questions on knife sharpening. First when using steel am I suppose to make a new edge inside the bigger stock edge or make a new one. Second, when using a sharpening stone or and sharpening rod (the kind that looks like a pen) do I want to make a new angle use the old one. If for both of these questions, you use the same stock angle, how can I keep it when I am sharpening? I find it hard to keep the same angle.

 

[Rainmaker870]

Hi, everyone I have a few questions on knife sharpening. First when using steel am I suppose to make a new edge inside the bigger stock edge or make a new one.

The search function will probably bring you more information than you want on sharpening - give it a try for more complete information than my answers below.

Steels don't make edges - they don't actually take steel off. Rather, they re-align the tiny teeth that make up the cutting edge of the knife. When I use a steel, I do so with a trailing stroke - drawing the spine of the knife toward me, as opposed to "cutting" the steel with the knife. For me, that usually works best to re-align the edge.

Second, when using a sharpening stone or and sharpening rod (the kind that looks like a pen) do I want to make a new angle [or] use the old one.

That depends. Did you like the old angle, and is it suitable for your purposes? Lots of folks recut the angle of a knife-edge to better suit it to a given task.

If for both of these questions, you use the same stock angle, how can I keep it when I am sharpening? I find it hard to keep the same angle.

1) Practice.
2) Take a black magic marker and use it to mark the bevel/angle of your knife. That will let you see if you're at the right angle.
3) Buy a sharpening kit with a jig to provide the necessary angle; Lansky, Gatco, EdgePro.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Steels have to use a greater angle, with small rods you can keep the origional edge angle but it is *really* inefficient. In general it is more efficient to sharpen the edge with a microbevel which is more obtuse than the primary cut which only needs to be regound periodically with an x-coarse hone.

-Cliff

 

[cheung_victor]

What is a ,"microbevel? "

 

[Cliff Stamp]

If you raise the sharpening angle above the existing bevel you will hone a small strop of metal along the very edge and thus create a micro bevel which is just 0.1-0.2 mm in width.

-Cliff

 

[joedirt]

Check on convexing you blade. I have all on mine done and I find it is much easier to sharpen.