Is a sharpening stone cheating?

J

johnnyKnives

Joined
Sep 21, 2008
Messages
144
Is the real way to sharen a knife with a $10 stone from walmart? I received a lot of different recommendations. The folks with the stone always seemed to intimate the stone was the "true" way. I may have just received the wrong impression. Will using something like the Spyderco Sharpening system cheat me out of some skill I should have using the stone? Thank you.
 
Yes. Hand sharpening is not hard, and you don't need to rely on jigs and elaborate setups.
 
It depends on what you want to do. I actually got much better at free hand sharpening after using the Sharpmaker for a while. I could get a hair shaving edge before, then after using the Sharpmaker for maybe a year or 2, I tried freehanding again on just my coarse/fine Norton stone and I could get an edge that would split a beard hair, no stropping or anything finer than the Norton Fine India.

Free hand sharpening is good if for no other reason than you will eventually run across something that wont fit a jig, is too big for the Sharpmaker, and/or cant be easily held with one hand. After my belt sander started throwing pieces back at me, I sharpened my Cold Steel panga machete with a file, 220/1000 grit waterstone, and a strop while resting the handle of the machete on the tailgate of my truck. It will catch hair above my arm, though it seems I quit too soon with the file, as there is still some damage near the belly where it impacts the ground sometimes.
 
You can never go wrong with learning how to sharpen on a stone. It will just make other ways of sharpening easier to learn.
 
Everyone has their personal preferences. I am best with the paper wheels as far as achieving sharpness that is scary hair whittling. Now that I have achieved it, I am going back to the stones when I have time, or need relaxation, and I can improve my free hand skills. It is an old school thing, you gotta be a stone man.
 
The Sharpmaker improved my skills with stones. It helps you learn the basics, and can be used like a bench stone.
 
Freehand is a skill and a art that like anything takes time to master. Its the long lost skill that like so many other traditional things that have been forgotten in today's fast paced, high technology life style. Items like the sharpmaker or edgepro are great and can even teach you a little about sharpening but its nothing a mora and a benchstone can't do. Gadgets are nice but when they stop working you always need something to fall back on.
 
Well you should ask your self what is important to you.
If all you want is a sharp knife ? then a sharpening device probably is the way to go for you, nothing wrong with that.

If you feel like learning how to sharpen a knife, a stone is mostly consider "the way to do it".

One major benefit to freehand sharpening is getting less flak from elderly people on bladeforums :foot:
 
Last edited:
Hawkings said:
Well you should ask your self what is important to you.
If all you want is a sharp knife ? then a sharpening device probably is the way to go for you, nothing wrong with that.

If you feel like learning how to sharpen a knife, a stone is mostly consider "the way to do it".

One major benefit to freehand sharpening is getting less flag from elderly people on bladeforums :foot:
Click to expand...

It's "flak"-an elderly term meaning anti-aircraft fire.
Not knowing how to sharpen a knife is like not knowing how to put gas in your car. It's an easy skill to learn, and it's helpful if you have a dull knife.
 
Not knowing how to sharpen a knife is like not knowing how to put gas in your car. It's an easy skill to learn, and it's helpful if you have a dull knife.
Click to expand...

Knowing how to put gas in your car can help with a dull knife?? ;)

As far as I'm concerned, all sharpening methods are just different ways of removing metal from the blade to get a sharp edge. My most used setup is with power tools-a belt sander and abrasive wheels. I keep my stones around, though, for specific jobs and for when I just feel like using them.

I think that being skilled at free hand sharpening is a great thing. I can go to someone's house to visit, and while sitting there chatting, sharpen their kitchen knives on any abrasive I can lay my hands on: A pocket stone if I have one, a brick from the garden, grandpa's ancient sharpening stone from the basement, a ceramic flower planter...whatever is available.

But if you are happy getting your knife sharp with your sharpmaker, I don't really see much wrong with that either. As others have said, however, the sharpmaker can't handle everything .
 
Hand sharpening on bench stones is a skill anyone can acquire. The skill involves keeping the bevel angle constant throughout the process and the knowledge of when to move to a finer stone. It just takes practice.

However, fixtures are faster. Why? because all that skill isn't needed. The fixture will hold the angle for you and you can cut more agressively with less concentration. And, they are faster for everyone, even experts. I've been sharpening blades for decades. I've sharpened 10's of thousands of them with every method imaginable. I use a fixture (mine is an Edgpro) for my own knives because it is accurate and fast. I can do it with bench stones. I have to with my single bevel Japanese kitchen knives. But I choose the fixture for convenience's sake.

I use power machinery for other peoples' knives for economic reasons. I don't like to subject my own blades to the cutting power of machinery. I avoid bench stones just because they are a more time consuming way to sharpen.
 
Once you understand what's needed to achieve a high quality edge, you realize that the tools are simply a means to an end. Some tools make the job easier, some tools allow you to refine the edge to a greater degree. But, ultimately, when you understand the process you can sharpen with almost anything suitable, whether it's an expensive waterstone or diamond hone, or a flat rock found near your campsite.

That said, learning how to produce a quality edge freehand is a worthwhile skill to master, and reflects that you understand what all is involved.
 
I have never had luck with any sharpening system I have had or been given as a gift.

I always went back to my trusty stones.

I'm not even the slightest bit interested in any system , rods , guides , etc since stones work so well for me.

but that's me. :)


tostig
 
Sharpening systems (like the Spyderco Sharpmaker) are an excellent way to start in my opinion. My uncle-in-law (is that even a possible term for relation?), a retired machinest from GE and a retired gunsmith saw the Spyderco Sharpmaker and after a brief silence he said, "this takes all of the skill out of sharpening". It was his inflection that made me realize that was negative to him. I do not completely agree, but it certainly shortens the learning curve. The information alone that come on the Spyderco Sharpmaker Instructional DVD is well worth the price of admission. If you had never considered trying to sharpen anyting before buying that system, Sal makes it possible for you to have enough background and understanding to be successful in a reasonably short amount of time. I am very thankful for the contribution Spyderco has given me in my understanding of sharpening.
 
Never been able to sharpen a Hawkbill on a stone. I like the Sharpmaker, but I am getting a set of DMT stones for my larger fixed blades.
 
I've tried a couple of different sharpeners, but I guess I'm old school. I keep going back to the bench stones. I use a Norton combination india stone that I got in the early 70s and a Buck Washita about the same vintage.

I agree with Siguy. If you can free hand, you can sharpen a knife on a variety of different things... only limited to your imagination. I sharpened a VERY dull cleaver at a friend's house on the cement curb in the front of their house. Not the world's best job, but at least it worked better.

If you have the patience.. free hand.


Ric
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top