i sharpened my 16 today for the first time.

bullet08

bullet08

Joined
Apr 22, 2011
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294
i don't sharpen knives. i run kitchen sharpening steel few time to get functioning edge on all my knive and am happy with it. but i though i would try sharpening. just got dmt diafold in mail today with bar of chrome oxide green. used corse then fine.. then strop on my old belt. it turn out ok. but not shaving sharp. is there any detailed guide on how to sharpen a knife or a book that would help with this process? it will cut paper without an issue, but the cut is not very clean either.
 
I'd pop in Lord Of The Rings and strop it until the end credits. After that, it should be sharp enough to cut anything you can find.

But really, I'll just sit down and strop my knives while watching a movie and the time will fly.
 
The principle is simple really. When sharpening a knife (assuming it is dull/semi-sharp), you must keep a consistent angle throughout. Also, another important thing is that when you sharpen 1 side, you have to make sure there is a burr formation on the other side, otherwise, you aren't really touching the edge. You then switch sides and repeat, making sure there is a burr on the other side. Do that a few times and move up in grit. Strop the edge after desired grit and strop the edge for a razor sharp edge. Works everytime!
 
I agree with Translash.
Just make sure you are raising a burr on the entire edge before switching sides.
My guess is that you had a little imperfection in the edge, could be a little burr left or even a little dent in the edge.

When stropping, just make sure you are using extremely light pressure while stropping.
A lot of times when I strop, I use too much pressure and end up rounding off the edge.
 
EK20 said:
I'd pop in Lord Of The Rings and strop it until the end credits. After that, it should be sharp enough to cut anything you can find.

But really, I'll just sit down and strop my knives while watching a movie and the time will fly.
Click to expand...

I bought a strop with that in mind (:
 
Sharpening a knife, is kinda like making love. You're first time, it will work out OK, but the more you do it, the better the results.:D

Here is a tutorial I did, a while back using a guide system, the only difference, is that my stones are held to the same angle, by steel. Yours will be held by your hand.

And just like sex, get as much practice as you can. And don't worry, you won't break anything. :D

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...and-BKT-s-A-sharpening-tutorial?highlight=KME

Oh, and good book is Sharpening Made Easy by Steve Bottorff.

Here is a link to his webpage, and there is a PDF of the book you can download, for free. Best damn book on sharpening ever made. That's my opinion, btw, but you'll see what I mean.

http://sharpeningmadeeasy.com/

Moose
 
i'll practice some more. that books make it sound so easy. i spent about an hour stropping last night it's feels little sharper, but it won't shave. i think i didn't use the diafold correctly, didn't raise the burr. i'll try again today.
 
Congrats on giving it a go. It can be a little intimidating sharpening that factory edge for the first time. I'm not the best in the world at it myself.
 
bullet08 said:
i'll practice some more. that books make it sound so easy. i spent about an hour stropping last night it's feels little sharper, but it won't shave. i think i didn't use the diafold correctly, didn't raise the burr. i'll try again today.
Click to expand...

It is easy. Once you do it right the first time, it will be just like breathing. Knife dull, knife sharp, knife dull, knife sharp.

Its all about symmetry. Same angles on each side, meeting in the middle. That's sharp. Stropping is a polishing method, depending on the charge you use on your strop.

I have a coarse, fine compound on my strop, so, it can actually "sharpen", but not as effectively as a stone. And you can strop and edge away, if you are lifting the spine up too far, I've seen it done and done it many times. That's why I never rely on my strop to sharpen, only to remove the burr, and throw a little more polished edge on it.

Once you get the hang of it, then you can start experimenting on rough vs polished edges, for work. Polished edges don't necessarily work well for drawn cuts, but better for push cuts, rougher edges tear through media like a chainsaw, but dull fast.

Its a marvelous, grand world out there, just go ahead and get that first time, hair poppin' sharp done, so we can start talking about Water stones vs diamonds. :D

Moose
 
really as others have said, you get better the more you do it. i use to be horrid at it, getting no more than a semi working edge, now i can get a good hair poping edge on just about anything.
my advice is get a cheap carbon knife like an opinel, mora, svord peasant, or necker/eskabar and practice on that. (i dont know too much about the opinel or mora, but the peasant has a fairly soft steel that will take an edge like a baby takes Cheerios's XD) thats about all i have to say on the subject
 
Moosez45 said:
Sharpening a knife, is kinda like making love. You're first time, it will work out OK, but the more you do it, the better the results.:D

Here is a tutorial I did, a while back using a guide system, the only difference, is that my stones are held to the same angle, by steel. Yours will be held by your hand.

And just like sex, get as much practice as you can. And don't worry, you won't break anything. :D

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...and-BKT-s-A-sharpening-tutorial?highlight=KME

Oh, and good book is Sharpening Made Easy by Steve Bottorff.

Here is a link to his webpage, and there is a PDF of the book you can download, for free. Best damn book on sharpening ever made. That's my opinion, btw, but you'll see what I mean.

http://sharpeningmadeeasy.com/

Moose
Click to expand...

Freudian slip? :D
 
It took me awhile but I can get my knives pretty sharp. When I was 6 I would sharpen my step dads Swiss before he wen to work because he couldn't do it
 
Lots of different ways to sharpen a knife. Most important thing is making sure you sharpen all the way to the edge. Get a sharpie, and a magnifying glass. Try to make sure you keep the angle consistent if you're freehanding it. Put sharpie on the edge. Sharpen until you clear all the sharpie off (maybe that's why they're called Sharpies, eh? Cause they help you keep your knife sharp!) When I was learning, I'd put new sharpie on with every new grit.

Then you can decide if you want to roll with a mirror finish (good for shaving and pushcutting), or a toothy edge (can be better than a mirrored edge for slicing, if you can do it right).
 
now i can sharpen it to cleanly cut notebook paper. how do i change the inclusive angle? i want it narrower. use a file?
 
bullet08 said:
now i can sharpen it to cleanly cut notebook paper. how do i change the inclusive angle? i want it narrower. use a file?
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Lay it flatter. I would recommend getting a guide system if you wanna do a reprofile.

Moose
 
bullet08 said:
now i can sharpen it to cleanly cut notebook paper. how do i change the inclusive angle? i want it narrower. use a file?
Click to expand...

I reprofiled my spyderco ladybug to a zero grind with a file, norton india, and a slotted paper wheel for the final polish. Mmmm slicy slicy..
 
i'll hold off on completely ruining my 16 and won't use file :D it's nice and sharp, but not sharp enough to shave with it. i'll get there someday..
 
Can you fellas/gals elaborate on the strop use for removing a burr? Every time I've tried it, I just scrape compound off the strop. I found removing any burr to be more efficient with a stone. I elevate the angle considerably, say to 30 °\side, and make one pass as lightly as I can on each side, maybe 2/side if the burr is stubborn.
 
me2 said:
Can you fellas/gals elaborate on the strop use for removing a burr? Every time I've tried it, I just scrape compound off the strop. I found removing any burr to be more efficient with a stone. I elevate the angle considerably, say to 30 °\side, and make one pass as lightly as I can on each side, maybe 2/side if the burr is stubborn.
Click to expand...

My strop is some heavy canvas,

100_3151.jpg


I stroke "off" the edge, basically, pulling the blade, spine first along the length of strop, starting at the ricasso, and moving to the tip in one swipe. If you can listen, you can hear the edge begin to "grab", which means you are grabbing the burr.

My strop is dual sided, crystolon powder on one side, jeweler's rouge on the other. Or chromium oxide, it depends on what charge I'm using. 6 swipes on each side, and she'll cut just about everything, easily.

Does that help? If not, I'll see if I can get a vid or more pics of my technique.

Moose
 
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