How/ when do you touch up your knives?

[FlaMtnBkr]

I can get most of my knives tree topping/ hair whittling sharp through various methods so getting knives decently sharp is not a problem. I am curious how most people touch up their knives after they start to get dull. If I use a knife a little I can bring the sharpness back with a diamond loaded strop. But if I have to use a knife a lot one day or I have a super steel knife that I want to use for an extended period of time to see how it holds an edge, a simple stropping isn't enough. On almost all my carry knives I thin the edge bevel with an Edge Pro. Is the best way to sharpen a knife that has gotten fairly dull, just to put it back on the EP and do a full sharpening? Or is it better to use something to put on a micro bevel and just quickly touch it up at a steeper angle?

On some knives I have been using a V ceramic stick sharpener. It works good and I use this on my Gayle Bradley a lot but the only problem is it has a 45 deg inclusive angle. When I thin the edge bevel down to around 25 deg inclusive, I would rather not put on a 45 deg micro bevel. So right now for me the best thing to do is put it back on the edge pro to get it sharp which takes a bit more work. I have on my to do list, to make various blocks of wood at different angles that I can put my edge pro stones on and use like a Sharpmaker. For a 25 deg edge a 30 deg micro bevel seems much more fitting.

So I am curious what others use to 'touch up' their knives when they aren't nearly as sharp as they want yet not really dull and in need of a full sharpening yet? Thanks for any input on the subject!

Ryan

 

[sinsanity]

When my knives are not as sharp as i like and do not have any chips or damage to the edge I just strop them. It gets my edges back to silly sharp.

 

[richard j]

i give mine a few passes on the slotted paper wheel to get it back to shaving sharp.

 

[Frostyfingers]

I just strop when they get a little less than sharp. Full sharpening will wear out the blade sooner by removing more metal than necessary.

 

[ty_higg]

What is stroping? If y'all don't mind me askin never heard that term before

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

For knives that don't quite respond to simple stropping, I often 'strop' on some wet/dry sandpaper, over firm leather and/or hardwood backing, usually in the 800 - 2000 grit range, depending upon how much work is needed.

I've also gotten a bit better with my ceramic hones, so I'm spending more time touching up on those lately. Usually strop afterwards, on balsa or hardwood, with compound.

 

[Christian]

How- I use my Sharpmaker with the appropriate stones (Coarse, medium, fine, extra fine)

When- my knives quit shaving, or once a week, whichever comes first.

 

[rayban]

I just strop when they get a little less than sharp. Full sharpening will wear out the blade sooner by removing more metal than necessary.

Totally agree.

 

[singularity35]

Yep. stropping for me too. Back to the stones only when the strop can't get them back to hair whittling.

 

[Ben Dover]

What is stroping? If y'all don't mind me askin never heard that term before

Basically, stropping is what your barber does to his razor. When stropping knives, the leather should be glued to a flat piece of wood or plexiglas. (I personally prefer plexiglas)

Plain leather works well, but for the more advanced sharpener, various abrasive compounds are available to treat the leather.

Advanced stropping is a rather involved process, with a somewhat complex learning curve. Basic stropping, for the average user can be learned quickly with just a bit of practice.

 

[Ankerson]

Strop on a SIC loaded strop or a few strokes on a ceramic rod.

 

[diff_lock2]

Stropping or Ultra fine ceramic rod. Diamond paste works really fast, especially coarser grit around 5u. Easy to move down a strop progression 5u, 2u, 1u, .5u.

 

[stitchawl]

Stropping for all but my kitchen knives. (The get a weekly touch-up on a Spyderco, and daily with a borosilicate glass rod) My pocket knives get stropped on leather with either diamond or chromium oxide, then finished on a bare horsehide strop. I can keep them hair-whittling sharp with just 20-30 seconds of touch up.


Stitchawl

 

[Cynic2701]

I usually strop on a one micron diamond paste loaded strop. If this doesn't bring it back after around 20 strokes per side, I start free-handing on a coarse Spyderco stone, and transition to the fine, then the ultrafine, and then the strop once again.

 

[Taonari]

I usually strop on a one micron diamond paste loaded strop. If this doesn't bring it back after around 20 strokes per side, I start free-handing on a coarse Spyderco stone, and transition to the fine, then the ultrafine, and then the strop once again.

I do pretty much the same thing. Since I have gotten some good practice freehand sharpening I will use my bench stones if stropping won't restore the edge. I start with a coarse DMT diamond stone and move to Spyderco profile rods medium then fine, and finish with a Spyderco ultra fine bench stone, then strop again.