Is it just me...

S

shadowspawn

Joined
Jul 12, 2011
Messages
44
Or is freehand sharpening (stone or sandpaper) a hell of a lot easier than using rods or systems (sharpmaker)? I think I've tried sharpening knives on anything that doesn't require electricity from the cheapo samurai shark to an old oil stone more ancient than I am. Honestly whenever I use rods or sharpening systems, I often end up making the knife duller than it already was. Has anyone else here had major issues with rods etc.?
 
I think the sharp maker is crap but thats just cuz my time is valuable and I like really sharp knifes. thats just me though.

I dont think i ever ended up with a duller knife unless i have taken a knife I had just sharpened and then went back to the sharpmaker.
 
Heh well I never let my knives get too dull. Once they stop picking hairs off my arm, I take them back to my stone even if only to hone it a bit. I actually severely dislike having to sharpen extremely dull knives. They take forever to bring up an edge since I don't like using grinders and the lowest grit paper I have is 100 ATM especially when they still have that crappy factory ground edge on them. I spend most of my time touching up on knives that I've already sharpened. Most of the people that come to me are close friends anyway so it's not like I have to regrind a new knife every few days.
 
shadowspawn said:
Or is freehand sharpening (stone or sandpaper) a hell of a lot easier than using rods or systems (sharpmaker)? I think I've tried sharpening knives on anything that doesn't require electricity from the cheapo samurai shark to an old oil stone more ancient than I am. Honestly whenever I use rods or sharpening systems, I often end up making the knife duller than it already was. Has anyone else here had major issues with rods etc.?
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I only seem to have issues using my sharpmaker. My Edge Pro and Work Sharp both work fine for me.
 
This (IMO) is a personal preference thing.

For those that possess the skill/craft/whatever, free hand sharpening (via powered wheels, belts, un-powered hones, or whatever) will usually be perceived as faster and easier than any guided analog or jig.

The reason being, the human body (with developed muscle memory and sharpening skills) can VERY quickly adjust the angle of the blade in hand and achieve exactly the results he/she wants.

Guided systems attempt to simplify the sharpening process by reducing the need for this muscle memory, but in the same stride, they remove some of the freedom you get with freehand. That is probably why they call it FREEhand.
 
Well, I guess I've never really had a problem either way. Just a matter of using the right tool for what you are trying to accomplish, I guess. I sharpen freehand, with a Sharpmaker, guided with an EdgePro, and with a belt. They're all useful in the right place, it's just a matter of deciding what you need edge-wise. The Sharpmaker isn't my first choice, but it's darn good for touch-ups when I don't have the time or ability to go back to a more capable system, say when I'm riding my motorcycle. The Sharpmaker fits easily into the side pocket of my small backpack, where none of my others do.

There's a bit of a touch to getting it working right, though. The blade MUST be profiled beforehand. Don't even *try* to re-profile a blade with it, you'll just get massively frustrated after the first two hours of little to no effect. Even with the diamond rod covers, it's still to fine for profiling. However, if you have a blade that you have profiled before with something else (benchstones, EP, etc) then it does a very fine job of making a fast brush-up while you're on the move. No it won't make as fine of an edge as an EP or a skilled person freehanding on a 30K stone, but it is a great alternative to having to use a blade with a big roll in it because your twenty pounds of good sharpening gear didn't fit in your backpack.
 
I learned what I felt I needed to learn, using a guided system (Lansky & Gatco). Taught me a LOT about the difference made at the edge, when proper angle is maintained. Also learned a lot about regulating pressure, without the distraction of still trying to maintain proper angle.

Now, I've developed more of a natural feel for those skills and, all-of-a-sudden, I sort of feel restricted & hobbled in trying to use the guides now. It feels like they get in the way of what's 'natural' in the sharpening stroke. I've come to view them in a similar sense as training wheels on a bicycle. Absolutely essential when starting out. But, once the knack is acquired, they tend to get in the way.

I still use an Aligner (Magna-Guide) periodically, with my Dia-Fold hones, to initially put a thin, uniform bevel on 'thicker' edges, after which I like to gently convex those bevels using sandpaper freehand. The Aligner comes the closest, in my opinion, to duplicating a natural sharpening stroke, when used hand-held.
 
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I use the sharpmaker for all my sharpening. I bought some 320 grit Ruby stones that really remove metal quickly. So a dull knife doesn't stay dull long. However reprofiling a knife on the sharpmaker...well I hope you have alot of time on your hands.
 
About the best answer I've seen to reprofiling on a sharpmaker (If you absolutely HAVE to), is to use binder clips to fold some 220 or so wet-or-dry paper around the medium rods. That gives them a heck of a bite, certainly better than the offered diamond sleeves. Lot cheaper, too.
 
I'm a fan of the Sharpmaker but the first time I used it for my Benchmade Skirmish (years ago) I had trouble using it on the recurve until I switched it to have only the corners/edges of the rods on the inside. After using it with the corners facing in I've never gone back to the normal setup regardless of the knife I'm touching up. A big factor for me is I like to touch up my knives after any prolonged use and that way I never allow the blades to become "dull" in the first place.

A.G. Russell makes what looks to be a very nice ceramic sharpener with round rods in a walnut base and I'm going to be grabbing one of those soon to see how well the rounded ceramic rod works verses using the corners only on the Sharpmaker.

I also have a the Spyderco Duckfoot diamond coated sharpener that I primarily use on my larger fixed blades knives and it seems to work just fine for me as well.
 
I still have my old Lansky "Crock Sticks." Rounded rods in a Walnut base. I much prefer this to the SM.
 
I've got a pair of those too, Ben. They work pretty well, only reason I go for the Sharpmaker is because it offers a slightly coarser rod as well. Something that would be REALLY neat would be the Crock Stick design, with three or four grits of half-inch or so rod.
 
It is actualy kind of funny because using the sharp maker actualy help me with free hand sharpening, it let me see and feel the angles in a completly diffrent way.
 
shadowspawn said:
Or is freehand sharpening (stone or sandpaper) a hell of a lot easier than using rods or systems (sharpmaker)? I think I've tried sharpening knives on anything that doesn't require electricity from the cheapo samurai shark to an old oil stone more ancient than I am. Honestly whenever I use rods or sharpening systems, I often end up making the knife duller than it already was. Has anyone else here had major issues with rods etc.?
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I have learned the essentials on the sharpmaker, from there I moved on. Obsessed with edges said it all. Great to learn on because it reduces the amount of variables. Some people stay there, others want more and learn to freehand!
Have fun on your yourney ;)
 
Komitadjie said:
I've got a pair of those too, Ben. They work pretty well, only reason I go for the Sharpmaker is because it offers a slightly coarser rod as well. Something that would be REALLY neat would be the Crock Stick design, with three or four grits of half-inch or so rod.
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I quite agree. Especially if the rods were in the 12-18 inch length range.
 
If anyone doesn't mind answering, what are some good stones to start out with freehanding that aren't too expensive? And when you freehand, do you pretty much just have to eyeball the angle at which you sharpen?
 
I haven't used them, but I see the King 1K/6K mentioned quite a bit as a good value for the money. Personally, for benchstones I like DMT diasharp plates.

And yup, it's all an eyeball-and-feel game at that point. I'm not all that great freehand, but there are plenty of really good freehanders around here that'll be able to give you plenty of advice.

That'd be about perfect I'd think, Ben. Plenty of rod for a good, smooth pull stroke on even a long blade, and if they were 12", they'd still be able to store in a relatively compact form factor. 18" might be pressing that a bit, but still possible.
 
I think it's a lot easier to put a stone on a bench and get to work rather than get out a system...

Systems like the DMT Aligner still give me a more precisely sharp edge, though.
 
Well when it comes to guided systems, naturally they give you a more precise edge but as mentioned earlier, you won't get as much freedom with the edge as you could. I was actually referring to the unguided systems though. Regardless, I suppose it does come down to how much experience you have. I've honestly been too poor to afford any systems (the only ones I used belonged to people I knew) so freehand is all I really knew.
 
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