How we check the quality of sharpening

[Blues]

HeavyHanded

Considering that you're able to bring your edges to a highly refined and sharpened state, where do you normally bring those you intend to actually work with or EDC as a rule? (Grit / Finish)

Feel free to differentiate between, say, an EDC pocketknife vs. something intended for the kitchen or perhaps field or shop.

I think this sort of info from accomplished individuals like yourself, @Jason B. and several others would be useful for those either starting out on the journey or trying to decide what works best from a practical standpoint in the real world, and not simply the "laboratory of what is possible".

 

[HeavyHanded]

HeavyHanded

Considering that you're able to bring your edges to a highly refined and sharpened state, where do you normally bring those you intend to actually work with or EDC as a rule? (Grit / Finish)

Feel free to differentiate between, say, an EDC pocketknife vs. something intended for the kitchen or perhaps field or shop.

I think this sort of info from accomplished individuals like yourself, @Jason B. and several others would be useful for those either starting out on the journey or trying to decide what works best from a practical standpoint in the real world, and not simply the "laboratory of what is possible".

Almost all of my utility sharpening is done using two step primary/microbevel.

The finishing stone, depending on steel type, is almost always a Suehiro Rika G8, a Norton 8k, or a diamond/resin jointering stone that makes about an 8k finish. I will lay in only three or four passes if the edge needs to be more for offhand slicing, 10 or more passes if it needs to be more of a fine slice/pushcutter.

The primary stone will be pretty coarse for a utility edge- 220 or so for a kitchen utility knife. I might go as high as a 600 grit or 1k for a Chef's knife. For a user's edge on most pocket knives 400-600.

On a belt grinder I stop at 120 Norton Blaze for most, a 220 Norton Bluefire if I want a finer edge. The Bluefire gets used a lot less than the Blaze. These are still finished the same as a hand-ground primary.

Its tough to say what these edges might be as a single bevel conversion since they don't really perform the same, probably about 400-1200 ANSI depending. Have been using this approach for quite a while now, its fast, QC is minimal, the edges can treetop some or a lot of leg hair depending. They last a long time in use, to where I do very little between sharpening maintenance anymore, even on the kitchen knives.

 

[Blues]

Excellent info, HeavyHanded . Thanks. I love the coarse / fine combo.

(I've been doing something similar in a fairly casual manner, calling it "done" when it meets certain standards like some of those you outlined.)

 

[HeavyHanded]

Excellent info, HeavyHanded . Thanks. I love the coarse / fine combo.

(I've been doing something similar in a fairly casual manner, calling it "done" when it meets certain standards like some of those you outlined.)

Yeah, If I'm in a hurry I might just lay in a single bevel using a Crystalon stone, or literally grab the two closest stones where one is coarse and the other a good bit finer, grind an edge, deburr, micro a few passes, done.

If I take time to use a guide, is about a 2° shift for the micro. By hand maybe 2 but probably closer to 4 or so. I tend to grind the cutting bevel at 24-26° + the micro. Only if I'm dealing with a really thick primary will I intentionally use a single cutting bevel to avoid it being less acute than is best for performance. If it starts out at 35° and the plunge line won't allow a more shallow angle w/out a regrind I'll just use a single bevel and run it up to about 800-1200 ANSI.