I cannot sharpen to save my life, help

[Kershaws]

I believe it's because of the thickness of the blade, with my Mora, I can get it from very dull to hair-poppin sharp in less than 10 minutes

 

[The Aflac Duck]

You've hardly just begun!!! Personally, the becker took me quite a while to reprofile too.

Look at your second picture, you can see where you started to remove the black coating from reprofiling but it doesnt extend all the way down to the actual edge. Trust me, you've hardly removed any steel, you should see what I did to my leatherman

Are you feeling a burr along the tip and belly when you're sharpening?

 

[Kershaws]

You've hardly just begun!!! Personally, the becker took me quite a while to reprofile too.

Look at your second picture, you can see where you started to remove the black coating from reprofiling but it doesnt extend all the way down to the actual edge. Trust me, you've hardly removed any steel, you should see what I did to my leatherman

Are you feeling a burr along the tip and belly when you're sharpening?

I've honestly never felt a burr while free-hand sharpening, I believe it's due to an inconsistency of angle that the forming butt keeps getting knocked off, again, i'm using a 3 inch diamond stone as my primary sharpener, when I sharpen, I dont set the stone on a surface, instead I hold it in my hand and sharpen there

 

[Kershaws]

This is how I mainly sharpen my blades, I do not own any knives longer than 4.2 inches so I never felt the need to get a larger stone, the diamond sits firmly and secure in my grip so it does not wobble when sharpening

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[Clang!]

I have a couple of techniques that really helped me. The first is to color the bevel with permanent marker. Not the rest of the blade, just the bevel. It will indicate which parts of the bevel you haven't sharpened yet.

The second is use 3-5 lbs of force to raise a burr along the entire edge. You can press down on the blade itself to get the necessary force. You will be able to feel the burr with first with a finger nail and then with the pad of your thumb.

The last is after you have the burr, polish it off using only very very light pressure. As in a few grams to 4 oz max.

The details of the polishing the burr are a question I recently asked here.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1198019-How-much-force-do-I-use-to-remove-the-burr

EDIT: Put the stone on a counter or cutting board before you slice your fingers while sharpening on it.

 

[The Aflac Duck]

This is how I mainly sharpen my blades, I do not own any knives longer than 4.2 inches so I never felt the need to get a larger stone, the diamond sits firmly and secure in my grip so it does not wobble when sharpening

When I freehand, I usually use a Fallkniven DC4 stone or sandpaper. My technique is similar to yours except I use my finger to guide my angles.

Like this
https://flic.kr/p/ofUrh3
https://flic.kr/p/nYAH2X

Other than that, I use a sharpmaker or paperwheels.

 

[HeavyHanded]

This is how I mainly sharpen my blades, I do not own any knives longer than 4.2 inches so I never felt the need to get a larger stone, the diamond sits firmly and secure in my grip so it does not wobble when sharpening

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Go with whatever works for you, but keep experimenting as you go. With a stone that size, I'd brace the knife on a countertop and bring the stone to it. You can get right on top of what's happening and see where you're at when grinding, and the stones tend to not load up as fast as some of hte swarf simply falls away (if used dry). Otherwise, even with a small Norton puck or 4" stone I always try to secure on a contertop or similar and bring the knife to the stone, holding with both hands.

 

[ksskss]

"when I sharpen, I dont set the stone on a surface, instead I hold it in my hand and sharpen there "

This is the problem. Although you feel you are consistent in maintaining an angle, the bevels tell a different story. You should strive for a FLAT and CONSISTENT angle. The bevels are rounded and not completely consistent. Either secure the stone on a countertop or the knife. Holding it by hand almost guarantees less control and the resultant excessive rounding resulting in a convex edge with the edge of the edge less acute than desired.

I would suggest a bigger stone or plate placed in a stoneholder and secured on the countertop. This will improve your technique a great deal.


" except I use my finger to guide my angles." If you do this -even on a fine diamond or stone, you will abrade your finger if it touches the stone. This is a common mistake that we have all fallen for initially. Eventually you will have to rely on muscle memory or proprioception or you will have bleeding fingers.

---
Ken

 

[The Aflac Duck]

"when I sharpen, I dont set the stone on a surface, instead I hold it in my hand and sharpen there "

This is the problem. Although you feel you are consistent in maintaining an angle, the bevels tell a different story. You should strive for a FLAT and CONSISTENT angle. The bevels are rounded and not completely consistent. Either secure the stone on a countertop or the knife. Holding it by hand almost guarantees less control and the resultant excessive rounding resulting in a convex edge with the edge of the edge less acute than desired.

I would suggest a bigger stone or plate placed in a stoneholder and secured on the countertop. This will improve your technique a great deal.


" except I use my finger to guide my angles." If you do this -even on a fine diamond or stone, you will abrade your finger if it touches the stone. This is a common mistake that we have all fallen for initially. Eventually you will have to rely on muscle memory or proprioception or you will have bleeding fingers.

---
Ken

So are you like the sharpening guru or something? I've been using a protractor and a stone for atleast 20 years and I've never "abraded my finger". My grandfather taught me to sharpen that way, and he did so for over 60 years! Maybe you just need to grow some calluses on them office hands

My angles are very consistent and my edges carve hair, so don't come in here trying to tell me how I should sharpen knives, this is about OP's technique, not mine. I was simply offering advice on what has worked for me.

I'm not a fan of sharpening method like the "wicked edge", but you don't see me telling other members that their technique is wrong...

Go somewhere else with that bulls**t dude...

 

[bgentry]

^ You might want to chill a tiny bit. Let's all try to play nice. Ken is a really, really good guy, a great sharpener, and is very generous with trying to help others out in sharpening.

What I think he was trying to say is, if you drag your finger across a coarse stone as a height measurement, you'll eventually rub the skin off of your finger. I've done this myself when pressing on the edge of a blade and overlapping my finger tips onto a DMT Coarse stone. Murray Carter will caution you against the same thing. It's not unique advice from Ken.

I don't doubt your ability to sharpen a blade. Maybe you don't actually touch the stone with your finger? Or maybe your technique is just really light so you don't ever rub through your skin. Either way you might try listening to Ken. He's certainly one of the good guys.

Brian.

 

[HeavyHanded]

^ You might want to chill a tiny bit. Let's all try to play nice. Ken is a really, really good guy, a great sharpener, and is very generous with trying to help others out in sharpening.

What I think he was trying to say is, if you drag your finger across a coarse stone as a height measurement, you'll eventually rub the skin off of your finger. I've done this myself when pressing on the edge of a blade and overlapping my finger tips onto a DMT Coarse stone. Murray Carter will caution you against the same thing. It's not unique advice from Ken.

I don't doubt your ability to sharpen a blade. Maybe you don't actually touch the stone with your finger? Or maybe your technique is just really light so you don't ever rub through your skin. Either way you might try listening to Ken. He's certainly one of the good guys.

Brian.

I agree with the sentiment, no need to get up in arms over some competing advice. Besides, they're both completely wrong anyway - the only way to get really good at freehand sharpening is by tactile feedback! Everybody knows that... :devilish:

 

[The Aflac Duck]

Ok Ok, I admit I overreacted, sorry Ken, but as I said, this is about OP's technique, not mine. I'm very stubborn (as you can tell) and when I know something has proven to work for me, I stand by it.

 

[flatblackcapo]

I agree with the sentiment, no need to get up in arms over some competing advice. Besides, they're both completely wrong anyway - the only way to get really good at freehand sharpening is by tactile feedback! Everybody knows that... :devilish:

Psssh, what do you know about sharpening anyway?!

 

[ksskss]

Didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. If it works for you and you're not bleeding, you're doing something right In less skilled hands, I've seen a LOT of bleeding letting a finger rub against stone. If you could share your technique in some more detail, I'm glad to learn from you.

I do understand your reaction and didn't mean to be personally critical or rub you the wrong way I do have a thick skin (pun intended), so let's let it all slide. Haven't been in a office in years


---
Ken