I need a good way to sharpen.

I

Inebriated

Joined
Jul 5, 2012
Messages
153
So, the day has come for me to re-vamp the way I sharpen. Right now, I give my knives to a friend to sharpen, he does a good job, but I need to quit being a bum and do it myself. I figure the best way to get good information is to give good information, so here goes.

Steels I've got;
S90V is the main blade, followed by a few D2 blades, a 1095 ESEE, and a few 154CM multitool blades. Oh, and several kitchen knives.

Goal;
Paper slicing sharp. I don't need a razor's edge, I don't need to shave with it, I just need it to have a safe edge.

Time commitment;
I have all day, if that's what it takes. Doesn't matter if it's 10 seconds on a belt sander or 5 different stones, I'm okay with doing a job right.

Methods;
Let me start by saying that I know the process of sharpening, I know how to hold an edge angle, and I know it'll take a few attempts to get consistent. That's fine with me, so if just buying a couple of stones will do the job, that's fine. I also am not opposed to spending on something like an Edge Pro, which I've seen stellar results with time and time again (friend uses one). Also, I have heard a lot about stropping, and the longevity that stropping after use can bring to an edge. What kind of strop and compound should I be looking at?

I guess the larger issue here is I simply don't know what I need. If stopping does in fact lengthen an edge's lifespan, and I'm diligent about stropping after use, will I ever need to use a jig like the EP to get that edge back, even with the harder steels? Or is the EP a simple luxury for consistency, and no real time saver? I just need some input on an entire system.

Thanks for any recommendations or advice you can give.
 
Lots of reading.. Amazingly helps, put atleast it did for me.

More for understanding sharpening, better...

I have sharpened Loads of knife's and always got good edge's.
That was with a little white stone.. Then I read..

I picked up a 400/1000 diamond plate and a strop block.. Awesome tolls to have!

I also picked up a simple Spyderco Sharpmaker..

Edges have been Amazing, since!

I think I could have done without the plate and used a old leather belt, but the sharpmaker is staying!
Also, a set of diamond or CBN rods, to go with the SM.
I could all but do without the other rods.
Diamonds to stropping, is my "go to"..
Slice paper, shave, cut, etc.. Have it all! ;)

Stropping is a "Need", now.. Quickest way I have found, to touch up a edge and longer runs between sharpening.
 
Get a DMT coarse/fine stone, and a leather strop block with black and green compound, maybe another with bare leather and jewelers compound. This will give you crazy sharp edges fast an easy out of any steel.
 
you would be very surprised what you can do with a piece of chipborad from the back of a note pad !!!!


2 Panther
 
Airborne 1 said:
you would be very surprised what you can do with a piece of chipborad from the back of a note pad !!!!


2 Panther
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Plus one on that!:thumbup: Two, No one does any kind of first rate sharpening job in 10 seconds on anything including a belt sander.
 
If I had to start all over...

DMT Coarse + 1 micron CBN on balsa. This combo would be for all high wear steels (such as your S90V). Truthfully, this little combo will work for 99% of all sharpening and produces one of the best possible edges for EDC use.

When I want a little finer and better looking edge I reach for my waterstones, which is most of the time ;) An ideal set IMO would be the Shapton Pro 1k, 2k, 5k with Atoma 400 for lapping. Fast stones that produce sharp edges without much fuss.

I would probably recommend a coarse DMT and strop, keeps it simple for now and will produce very sharp edges.
 
Lately I have been doing most of my sharpening with a Norton Eco combo stone ($9 at Home depot) and a standard Lansky Turnbox ($15?). Thin the bevel with the Norton to burrcourse then fine at about 15dps, then just micro bevel on the gray Lansky rods when it needs a touch up. After the rebevel it's fast and easy and damn sharp (catches free hanging goatee hair) and still toothy enough for good draw cutting.
 
Jason B. said:
If I had to start all over...

DMT Coarse + 1 micron CBN on balsa. This combo would be for all high wear steels (such as your S90V). Truthfully, this little combo will work for 99% of all sharpening and produces one of the best possible edges for EDC use.

When I want a little finer and better looking edge I reach for my waterstones, which is most of the time ;) An ideal set IMO would be the Shapton Pro 1k, 2k, 5k with Atoma 400 for lapping. Fast stones that produce sharp edges without much fuss.

I would probably recommend a coarse DMT and strop, keeps it simple for now and will produce very sharp edges.
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You have evolved your technique past the DiaSharp set up you were using in 2010 as in your links? The Shaptons are a better set up?
 
My current favourite is the dotted DMT coarse stone and either Mother's Mag on denim on hardwood or HeavyHanded's washboard with 1-2 sheets of paper plus compound after. Even right off the coarse DMT it works great for kitchen duties IMO
 
RayseM said:
You have evolved your technique past the DiaSharp set up you were using in 2010 as in your links? The Shaptons are a better set up?
Click to expand...

I'm always evolving :)

Waterstones quickly became my obsession a few years ago. I have purchased or tested nearly every waterstone on the current market and continue to add new stones as my budget allows. They are unique and make for a great sharpening experience. I have evolved with them because the cutlery I'm being sent has also evolved from the days of pocket knives to pretty much anything with a cutting edge, from food processor blades to Japanese Katanas and everything between.

For me, waterstones provide greater sharpening ability and speed. For high Vanadium steels I still use my diamond plates but for everything else it's waterstones.
 
There are a lot of great suggestions here. I am not the most experienced guy here, but I will give you my opinion.

Get a KME. Right now they will give you a kangaroo strop for free. For $205 you get a system that will 100% guarantee that you will get ANY blade as sharp as you want 100% of the time. I tried a lot of different systems, but am totally happy with my KME. If you want to strop by hand, get a Stropman strop.
 
Guys, I appreciate all the input! Lots of information to process.

The DMT stones seem like a fairly consistent recommendation, and I've watched some videos on it. Lots of guys seem to be able to get a plenty usable edge off of a coarse and then stropping, as Jason pretty much said.

If I ran with the 2-sided Coarse/Fine stone, along with a strop, should I be reasonably covered for all the steels I've got? Also, there are so many strop options out there, could someone give me a quick pro/con of using a CBN vs. compound?

Oh, and do you guys see any benefits to a light stropping after you use a blade? I've heard that you should do it weekly, or after every use, or only to hone an edge after sharpening... I.E. it seems as though some people treat it like using a steel in the kitchen, others never bother. What says you all?

Thanks again for all the input!
 
Inebriated said:
Guys, I appreciate all the input! Lots of information to process.

The DMT stones seem like a fairly consistent recommendation, and I've watched some videos on it. Lots of guys seem to be able to get a plenty usable edge off of a coarse and then stropping, as Jason pretty much said.

If I ran with the 2-sided Coarse/Fine stone, along with a strop, should I be reasonably covered for all the steels I've got? Also, there are so many strop options out there, could someone give me a quick pro/con of using a CBN vs. compound?

Oh, and do you guys see any benefits to a light stropping after you use a blade? I've heard that you should do it weekly, or after every use, or only to hone an edge after sharpening... I.E. it seems as though some people treat it like using a steel in the kitchen, others never bother. What says you all?

Thanks again for all the input!
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The Coarse/Fine DMT and strop with either a diamond or CBN compound could handle anything you use. The diamond/CBN compound for the strop is more necessary for the high-wear steels (with heavy concentrations of vanadium carbides in particular), but other common stropping compounds (green, white, black, etc) can also be useful for most/all of the other mainstream steels.

Whether you strop after each use of your blade is up to you. That's where it's important to choose your compound wisely; if stropping frequently with a too-aggressive compound, or one which doesn't handle the carbides well, the edge will eventually become either overpolished or rounded off, or both. For example, black compound on leather can overpolish and/or round off an edge in low-wear steel (1095, 420HC, etc) very fast, if stropped too much. For such low-wear steels, green compound or white rouge can be used more frequently; green in particular for longer-term stropping. For stropping a high-wear steel (S30V, S90/110V, etc), the black, white or green compounds would not handle the carbides as well, and would tend to burnish or round off the edge as a result; diamond or CBN compounds would cut, shape and polish them much more crisply at the edge. Also, stropping on a firm/hard substrate (wood, for example) will protect against rounding of the edge. Softer stropping substrates like leather need to be used very lightly, to avoid or minimize compression of the substrate and the rounding of the apex resulting from that. If your knives get used very much at all, you'll still need to put them back on the hones/stones occasionally, no matter how much you strop them.


David
 
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Knowledge bombs!

I had never considered different strops for different steels, but that does make sense. So a Stropman HD Compact strop has two sides, would possibly using a 0.5-1 micron diamond spray on one side for the S90V and D2 steels (the two most carried/used) and, say, a green compound on the other for the 1095 and multi-tool blades? I'm sure I'll define my needs better once I get at it, and I can branch from there, but would that make a capable starter setup?
 
Inebriated said:
Knowledge bombs!

I had never considered different strops for different steels, but that does make sense. So a Stropman HD Compact strop has two sides, would possibly using a 0.5-1 micron diamond spray on one side for the S90V and D2 steels (the two most carried/used) and, say, a green compound on the other for the 1095 and multi-tool blades? I'm sure I'll define my needs better once I get at it, and I can branch from there, but would that make a capable starter setup?
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That setup can work pretty well; it's probably as good a jumping-off point as any, for the new strop and the steels you're going to use.


David
 
Awesome, thank you so much for all the information!

I'm sure I'll be back with questions of why I'm bad at sharpening, or what to get next.
 
There are a lot of folks in this sub-forum that are REALLY knowledgable and helpful. A few of them have already posted in this thread.

I have been working hard on learning to sharpen for about 18 months. This sub-forum has been my #1 source for information. FWIW, learning to sharpen is very much an iterative process and a skill that takes a lot of practice to develop. I have read a post once, thought I understood it, then read it again 6 months later and walked away with a totally different understanding and appreciation for the same post. One more thing; although a lot of talk here focuses on the tools we choose, sharpening has more to do with skill / technique. IMHO, once you figure out how to develop a burr and then refine the edge with one system, it is SUPER easy to learn to do it with anything... it just takes practice.

Oh yeah, DMT makes good stuff. You can't go wrong with buying the Coarse / Fine stones you referenced in your post. You also might want to think about an Ex Coarse too. It makes re-profiling / removing chips much less time consuming. I am not a fan of stropping with diamond / cbn, but I think that is because of my lack of skill. I am a huge fan of Stropman's strop. I have tried a bunch of different strops, and Stropman is by far the best. (I have not tried Flexxx, and hear from folks I trust that they make a really nice strop too.)
 
Okay, small update. I ended up getting the Coarse/Fine DMT.

I got to play with it some this morning, and I got surprisingly good results. Used a dull cheap knife that's floated around my kitchen for years as training fodder, and while I still don't have a strop (I ran it on the edge of a cardboard box), I got it functionally sharp. Made dinner with it, and was pretty damn proud.

Thanks for all the info guys, I really appreciate it.
 
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