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PM me with your addy and I`ll send ya one. :thumbup: I have 5x, 7x, 10x, 14x, and 20x. Just let me know what power you want.
Cheers,
Dave
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I give up I cant sharpen $#!* 2nd update page 5
- Thread starter okbow68
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PM me with your addy and I`ll send ya one. :thumbup: I have 5x, 7x, 10x, 14x, and 20x. Just let me know what power you want.
Cheers,
Dave
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That's the kind of generosity that'll always look good around here. It's nice to see it.
:thumbup:
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Its all good brother.
Without a Sharpmaker, I couldn`t sharpen squat. I can get by with freehand sharpening, but not quite hair-popin` sharp.
In any event, using a jewelers loupe really lets you see your progress before you feel your burr, and like in my case, you can see a mistake before it happens. Plus, its fun to eye your edge up close, lol.
Without a Sharpmaker, I couldn`t sharpen squat. I can get by with freehand sharpening, but not quite hair-popin` sharp.
In any event, using a jewelers loupe really lets you see your progress before you feel your burr, and like in my case, you can see a mistake before it happens. Plus, its fun to eye your edge up close, lol.
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Hi, I'm not an expert like anyone here, nor do I have more than a few hours of freehand experience, but since I'm probably a lot nearer to your level, i'd like to offer my advice.
The biggest beginner advice that I learned was to stick with the coarse stone till you could shave hair. Doesn't have to shave it super duper, but it should be able to take hair off using pressure everywhere on the blade.
I have a smiths guided sharpening thing like the lansky, a cheapo i bought on sale for 20 bucks. I used the sharpie to reprofile an edge to 40 degrees inclusive and stuck with it till the coarse stone shaved. Then I moved on with the finer stones. The holes where the rods stick into have some play up and down. I hold and control my stones so the rod rides on the bottom of the guided hole. If you use pressure at the end of the stone, the rod pivots and lifts up and rides on the top of the guided hole. Definately a change in angle.
I bought a couple of diamond bench stones cause I wanna freehand instead of jig sharpen, tried on a bunch of different knives. Knives with good edge profiles are much easier to sharpen up such as my becker bk9 which was dull after chopping through hard wood. Followed the bevel and now its sharp enough (will shave at 50 degress). Got a pacific salt and the edge was crap from the factory. I don't have a coarse enough stone to reprofile it at the angle I want, but working on the fine stone long enough gave me a good enough edge for now. Shaved at fine stone before I moved onto extra fine. Whittled my first pieces of hair ever just 30 minutes ago.
Some people also pointed out that your blade steel makes a difference. I think it does too. My better steels sharpen easier than the 5 "Made in china" knives I obtained as a kid. Still, use the coarse stone till it shaves.
So, just want to say keep at it. Use the tools you have, sharpie, magnifying glass (I bought a 60-100x pocket microscope at radioshack for 15 bucks. Works awesome).
I guess thankfully sharpening actually relaxes me and I don't get too frustrated. I'm sure frustration can lead to hurry which can lead to dull blades
The biggest beginner advice that I learned was to stick with the coarse stone till you could shave hair. Doesn't have to shave it super duper, but it should be able to take hair off using pressure everywhere on the blade.
I have a smiths guided sharpening thing like the lansky, a cheapo i bought on sale for 20 bucks. I used the sharpie to reprofile an edge to 40 degrees inclusive and stuck with it till the coarse stone shaved. Then I moved on with the finer stones. The holes where the rods stick into have some play up and down. I hold and control my stones so the rod rides on the bottom of the guided hole. If you use pressure at the end of the stone, the rod pivots and lifts up and rides on the top of the guided hole. Definately a change in angle.
I bought a couple of diamond bench stones cause I wanna freehand instead of jig sharpen, tried on a bunch of different knives. Knives with good edge profiles are much easier to sharpen up such as my becker bk9 which was dull after chopping through hard wood. Followed the bevel and now its sharp enough (will shave at 50 degress). Got a pacific salt and the edge was crap from the factory. I don't have a coarse enough stone to reprofile it at the angle I want, but working on the fine stone long enough gave me a good enough edge for now. Shaved at fine stone before I moved onto extra fine. Whittled my first pieces of hair ever just 30 minutes ago.
Some people also pointed out that your blade steel makes a difference. I think it does too. My better steels sharpen easier than the 5 "Made in china" knives I obtained as a kid. Still, use the coarse stone till it shaves.
So, just want to say keep at it. Use the tools you have, sharpie, magnifying glass (I bought a 60-100x pocket microscope at radioshack for 15 bucks. Works awesome).
I guess thankfully sharpening actually relaxes me and I don't get too frustrated. I'm sure frustration can lead to hurry which can lead to dull blades
ssblood
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Don't feel alone. I gave up and ordered a wicked edge. My motor skills are screwy and I simply can not do free hand or any style of crock sticks. Sharpmaker = bad for me, diafolds with magna guide = bad for me. lansky = bad. Pain pills, bad shoulders, and just plain lack of a stable hand. I did finally see what paper wheels were at wood craft though. Have you talked to richardj about a paper wheel setup? The are not costly at all, cheaper than a sharpmaker if you have a grinder!
the paper wheels will save your hands a lot. i'm so glad my buddy art showed them to me.
they are easy to use and you can also sharpen scissors, sheet metal shears and the slotted wheel can maintain an edge just like a strop only a lot faster. anyone wanting to talk to me about the wheels can send me an email with their number and i'll be glad to call. i can only make (toll free) calls in the 50 states and canada.
they are easy to use and you can also sharpen scissors, sheet metal shears and the slotted wheel can maintain an edge just like a strop only a lot faster. anyone wanting to talk to me about the wheels can send me an email with their number and i'll be glad to call. i can only make (toll free) calls in the 50 states and canada.
Okbow, You need to listen to the posted who said "MICROBEVEL" you need to RAISE your angle a degree or two so your not just creating new burrs as you go stone to stone, and your actually grinding the burr off, leaving you a NEW FRESH METAL EDGE, not continuing to make your burr flip flop or just creating new ones as you go.
Youll get it brother, it will all click one day soon. For some, before they get the "click" or "lightbulb" moment, they go crazy buying stuff and then it comes after they have accumulated alot of sharpening gear. Some stick it out with what they have, and realize it is the HUMAN using the gear, not the GEAR using the human....
JC
Youll get it brother, it will all click one day soon. For some, before they get the "click" or "lightbulb" moment, they go crazy buying stuff and then it comes after they have accumulated alot of sharpening gear. Some stick it out with what they have, and realize it is the HUMAN using the gear, not the GEAR using the human....
JC
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:thumbup:
And it only took me about 20 years or so, before it all 'clicked' for me. If you can get through a similar 'learning curve' in just a few (albeit frustrating) days or weeks, you'll be WAY AHEAD of the game. The key is to just KEEP AT IT, don't give up or assume you just 'can't do it.' Pay very close attention to what's not working right for you at the moment, and keep thinking about ways to fix it. And keep reading what you can here on the forum (I REALLY wish I'd found this site a LONG time ago
).:thumbup:
And it only took me about 20 years or so, before it all 'clicked' for me. If you can get through a similar 'learning curve' in just a few (albeit frustrating) days or weeks, you'll be WAY AHEAD of the game. The key is to just KEEP AT IT, don't give up or assume you just 'can't do it.' Pay very close attention to what's not working right for you at the moment, and keep thinking about ways to fix it. And keep reading what you can here on the forum (I REALLY wish I'd found this site a LONG time ago
20 years is a long time to learn how to sharpen a knife!!!!
The way I see it, the learning process shouldn't take longer than a few sessions. IF YOU REALIZE that there aren't as many variables as you think. If it isnt sharp, your either not creating a burr, or not properly and fully removing it.... If you aren't properly removing it, you can still get a knife shaving sharp (one way usually) and the edge will wear easily. We are not curing cancer, or figuring out how to send rockets to mars here, just making a piece of metal have a sharp edge. When you start OVERTHINKING (many golfers do this) you do things poorly.
I hate to return to golf analogies, but if you can't break 100, ITS NOT YOUR CLUBS! I can break 80 with my girlfriends clubs, because I have good technique and make an athletic motion at the ball. Dont be stiff with your sharpening stuff, gotta have a loose feel kind of. Difficult to describe but IF YOUR HANDS HURT while your sharpening, your gripping too hard...
JC
Well I'm not nineteen or twenty years old, no offense younger fellows, and that is one of the things that gripes me darn it. But anyway I can get a burr with a coarser stone but still cani seem to get it to shave well. If I do get it to shave a little and then try to move to a smoother stone I dont know what I am doing it just seems to get duller. I have holding or attempting to hold the same angle as with the coarse stone, I dont know is guess thats why they say back to the grindstone, back to the grindstone again!!!
Don't over-stabilize your wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints
Just mention to keep angle and slide your blade with automatic adjusting
Smooth control is much more important than grinding power
From spine to edge, from tip to ricasso on both sides is my way
Petty knife with carbon steel might be better for first practice
Armhair shaving without strop is very difficult for me
Good luck
Just mention to keep angle and slide your blade with automatic adjusting
Smooth control is much more important than grinding power
From spine to edge, from tip to ricasso on both sides is my way
Petty knife with carbon steel might be better for first practice
Armhair shaving without strop is very difficult for me
Good luck
It took me about 50 sharpenings with a stone to figure it out. I used the sharpie method when i learned to make sure i hit the edge fully, and I still do from time to time if it is a real beat up edge.
What I have figured out is I lay the blade on the stone, and draw it very slowly with little pressure, and lower and raise the angle. When the angle is too low, the knife will sort of drag, when it hits the edge, the knife becomes smoother, and when its too high, the knife will drag again. When the edge is on the stone at the correct angle, it should be much smoother. People always tell you to use quarters, or use a specific angle, but no knife is ever at an exact angle, so freehand in my opinion is the only way to do it unless you are completely regrinding the edge at a specified angle.
I usually get a tiny tiny burr, but on some steels I don't. I use a strop and that takes the burr off relatively quickly. On my own personal knives, I like a polished convex edge, so I use a fine diamond stone to take any grind lines off the edge, and then strop with 1000 grit wet sandpaper, and then strop again with 3 more compounds. Polished convex edges are deceptively sharp, as sometimes when you run your thumb on them to feel the edge, they don't "grab" as much as a toothy edge does, but will whittle hairs.. Every night, i just run the blade a few times on the strop and its back to sharp. Easy maintenance!
If you have any questions, feel free to message me!
What I have figured out is I lay the blade on the stone, and draw it very slowly with little pressure, and lower and raise the angle. When the angle is too low, the knife will sort of drag, when it hits the edge, the knife becomes smoother, and when its too high, the knife will drag again. When the edge is on the stone at the correct angle, it should be much smoother. People always tell you to use quarters, or use a specific angle, but no knife is ever at an exact angle, so freehand in my opinion is the only way to do it unless you are completely regrinding the edge at a specified angle.
I usually get a tiny tiny burr, but on some steels I don't. I use a strop and that takes the burr off relatively quickly. On my own personal knives, I like a polished convex edge, so I use a fine diamond stone to take any grind lines off the edge, and then strop with 1000 grit wet sandpaper, and then strop again with 3 more compounds. Polished convex edges are deceptively sharp, as sometimes when you run your thumb on them to feel the edge, they don't "grab" as much as a toothy edge does, but will whittle hairs.. Every night, i just run the blade a few times on the strop and its back to sharp. Easy maintenance!
If you have any questions, feel free to message me!