How to sharpen my knife?

[nutellarise]

Hi guys. I'm not really sure how to sharpen my knife, I've seen some stuff on here about using ceramic rods etc. What should I use?

 

[2Dead]

I'm not an expert but I'm happy with my edges. There are others here who are better at explaining and teaching how to sharpen a knife. Your thread might get moved to the Maintenance section where others will help as well.

Do you have any sharpening stones or something like that already? If so then practice with that before buying anything else. With traditional knives, you can usually just use a common sharpening stone or even a coffee mug as Carl demonstrates here. He hits most of the issues people have, common methods, and a very inexpensive way to get your knives sharp.
[video=youtube;SEMLu8e34ck]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEMLu8e34ck[/video]

 

[jc57]

Everything you need to know and a whole lot more is in this forum:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/794-Maintenance-Tinkering-amp-Embellishment

Short answer - I use some diamond bench stones if I need to do some significant re-shaping of the edge, and then a Spyderco Sharpmaker to finish it up, and a leather belt for a strop.

Once I have that initial edge, it's very easy to touch up.

 

[mrjefe2u]

For a little fun, search youtube for virtuovice.

I was taught to use an old mouse pad and wet/dry sandpaper and finish with a strop.

Search youtube for Turley Knives and find the sharpening vid.

 

[knarfeng]

There's a whole passel of folks who just live to talk about knife sharpening. They hang out in the Maintenance and Tinkering Forum.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Hi guys. I'm not really sure how to sharpen my knife, I've seen some stuff on here about using ceramic rods etc. What should I use?

First question: What steel are you sharpening? If not known, the make/model of the knife would likely be helpful as well. Depending on which steel, the recommendations for sharpening it could be extremely simple and inexpensive, or not. Very high-wear 'supersteels' may benefit from more pricey hones, like diamond. Most mainstream carbon (non-stainless) and middle-of-the-road stainless steels can be sharpened with a much wider range of options, many/most of which won't cost much to obtain.

Another factor to consider: Are you just touching up, for the most part, or will you need to completely re-grind bevels on your knives? Some sharpening tools will be better for lighter maintenance sharpening (ceramic rods, for one), and others will be more useful, or even essential, for re-grinding bevels on blades. Coarser bench stones will be best for this type of work.


David

 

[Magnaminous_G]

Get a Norton combo India stone and a bottle of Lansky honing oil. Read all the stickies, watch all the vids, and practice, practice, practice.

 

[nutellarise]

Well I mostly want to sharpen a 1095 steel knife: http://greateasterncutlery.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/661210j-yellow-rose21.png

Can I just pick up a japanese waterstone at my hardware store and use that?

 

[StevieWunders]

You have a hardware store that carries Japanese water stones? How cool is that? Not doubting you; just inquire carefully. If they're black or charcoal gray, they might be silicon carbide stones and, thus, oilstones. Perfectly fine for high-carbon steel with a sound technique, but not worth a JWS pricetag. Learn to sharpen on your stone and then look into this:http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1094680-Washboard-Sharpening-System-for-sale
Easier than you would imagine to take that sharp edge up to "braggin'" levels. No need to break the bank to sharpen a small number of knives, right?

 

[nutellarise]

Haha, It's awesome I know. Sadly, I have the problem of having to internationally ship knives I buy, so it sucks.

(temporarily living in asia)

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Well I mostly want to sharpen a 1095 steel knife: http://greateasterncutlery.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/661210j-yellow-rose21.png

Can I just pick up a japanese waterstone at my hardware store and use that?

1095 makes it real easy, in terms of choosing a sharpening solution. It grinds & hones very easily. Pretty much anything can work for it, and pricier solutions aren't really necessary. A simple silicon carbide or aluminum oxide bench stone, or wet/dry sandpaper (usually the same type of abrasives, in SiC or AlOx) will handle it easily. So-called 'natural' stones (Arkansas) can work, though there's a very wide range of variability & quality in those. Norton's Crystolon (SiC) and India (AlOx) stones are popular, and you could even use Norton's inexpensive 'Economy Stone' (SiC) on 1095, priced around $7 in the US (Home Depot). Ace hardware also carries an equivalent stone under their own brand, priced similarly. I realize, if you're in Asia, some of these may not be available to you, but just wanted to emphasize there are many options for the steel you're sharpening. Don't have to spend much cash to find something that'll work well, or even excellently.

My preference for 1095 is wet/dry sandpaper. I like anything from 320 thru 2000 grit (depending on desired edge finish), used with edge-trailing strokes on a hard backing like hardwood or glass. Green compound (chromium oxide) is perfect for stropping 1095, on leather or wood (balsa works very well).


David

 

[jackknife]

GEC's 1095 is so easy to sharpen. For most all my sharpening these days, I've using my old boy scout carborundum stone, what we called the silicone carbide stone in the old days. A few minutes and it's hair shaving sharp.