Knife sharpening advice, need help

J

Jt81

Joined
Aug 30, 2015
Messages
1
Hey everybody. I was hoping I could get some insight on what I'm doing WRONG when it comes to sharpening and honing. I've tried everything I can think of but to my disappointment I just can't even get close to sharpening a knife.

As a kid I tried various sharpening stones to no avail. I've bought a cheap sharpening system a few years ago. Can't remember the name but it resembled the spyderco sharp maker...I think it was a lansky brand. I also own a nice big diamond rod and a honing steel of the same link. I most recently bought a smiths tri-hone.

The tri-hone comes with a nice stand, oil, and a triangle guide that I believe is 20 degrees. I've spent the last hour carefully trying to sharpen my case sodbuster jr. Nice even strokes, keeping it at that steady angle as best as I can tell, and nothing. Actually, I've succeeded in making it even more dull! Haha.

The closest to success I've come is that when I get a new knife I'll gently touch it up with just the honing steel. It keeps them operational, but no where near as sharp as I'd like.

I feel like there's something simple I'm missing that just isn't clicking in my brain. I love my knives, but I'm afraid to even look at any type of sharpener out of fear that I'll dull the hell out of them, or ruin them by taking too much steel off. In the past I had a co-worker who used a grinder and a buffing wheel to put a nice sharp edge on them, but I no longer work with him. Besides, it's a skill I feel I should have.

Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated! Thank you all in advance.
 
Stripping is a good technique when you already have a working edge. As far as staring from a dull blade I would look at the lansky system on through the Wicked edge. You tube is a great place to start.
 
I'll second the lansky.. it's an inexpensive place to start, and as long as you're patient you can get any edge you want. The stones are also fairly narrow so they are decent in recurves. Another one to check out is the DMT guided system. I've never used it, but I've seen many others do well with it. I prefer systems like these because the guided rods help keep your bevel angle nice and straight.
 
Jt81 said:
Hey everybody. I was hoping I could get some insight on what I'm doing WRONG when it comes to sharpening and honing. I've tried everything I can think of but to my disappointment I just can't even get close to sharpening a knife.

As a kid I tried various sharpening stones to no avail. I've bought a cheap sharpening system a few years ago. Can't remember the name but it resembled the spyderco sharp maker...I think it was a lansky brand. I also own a nice big diamond rod and a honing steel of the same link. I most recently bought a smiths tri-hone.

The tri-hone comes with a nice stand, oil, and a triangle guide that I believe is 20 degrees. I've spent the last hour carefully trying to sharpen my case sodbuster jr. Nice even strokes, keeping it at that steady angle as best as I can tell, and nothing. Actually, I've succeeded in making it even more dull! Haha.

The closest to success I've come is that when I get a new knife I'll gently touch it up with just the honing steel. It keeps them operational, but no where near as sharp as I'd like.

I feel like there's something simple I'm missing that just isn't clicking in my brain. I love my knives, but I'm afraid to even look at any type of sharpener out of fear that I'll dull the hell out of them, or ruin them by taking too much steel off. In the past I had a co-worker who used a grinder and a buffing wheel to put a nice sharp edge on them, but I no longer work with him. Besides, it's a skill I feel I should have.

Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated! Thank you all in advance.
Click to expand...
Have you tried the sharpie trick? Take a sharpie and mark your edge on both sides. Make a pass or 2 on your stone and look at the edge and see where the sharpie was removed. If it's only removed on the shoulder then your holding to low of an angle, if it's only removed on the very edge your holding to high of an angle. Adjust accordingly until your evenly removing the sharpie then work one side until you reach a bur on the opposite side, (be sure to count your strokes as you want to do even amounts on both sides) so if it takes 20 passes to reach a bur then do 20 I the other side. Then slowly progress thru the different grit stones.

Good luck
 
Simple advice....read up on what a burr is...if you are not making a burr....you are not properly sharping a knife. :)
 
I'd suggest buying an EdgePro, read the instructions, and get to work. You WILL get sharp knives.
 
Hi Jt81, I strongly recommend you spend some time in the maintenance subforum here. So much great info there and lots of folks willing to share their knowledge. Follow the suggestions you get in there and you will be making your knives screaming sharp in no time. :)
 
Worksharp knife & tool sharpener. 2 models available. They work very well. Have a look at their videos n see
 
Work sharp is a great method, I love the Ken onion with the grinding attachment gets some scary sharp results...sand paper works great too.
 
Well,

If you have a few knives and use them...

I might be worth looking at a Wicked Edge. I just got one this week. Yes, they are expensive.

But I just sharpened my Spyderco Native 5 lightweight's S35VN blade to a hair popping edge.

I've used the DMT Aligner, Spyderco SharpMaker, and Ken Onion's WorkSharp. I've got the best results from the Wicked Edge hands down.

It's not for everyone. Watch the videos on YouTube.

How I got mine was I asked for Amazon gift cards for every gift I received. It took me about a year to save up. But it was worth it.
 
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As long as you can keep a constant angle, you can get it sharp. DMT, Spyderco Sharpmaker, EdgePro, Wicked Edge are all good. Sandpaper on a mousepad will also work. Learn from YouTube videos, and you won't have to spend a bundle. MANY folks learn to sharpen by hand...after they've used the rest of the methods...
:)
 
One thing that I think you should remember is that it's not likely "one thing" that just isn't "clicking" in your mind, there's so many factors involved that it's more likely there's a bunch going on. I used to think the same way and have the same problem, but I've since gotten much better. Just learn all you can about what's happening at the edge when you sharpen and it should become obvious what combo you need to try. Also take into consideration the type of steel and its heat treat, because different knives sometimes need different techniques. For example, use extremely light pressure on softer steel, especially when finishing on fine stones. Otherwise you'll just be pushing the burr back and forth all day long, or worse, rounding it off.

As far as sharpening in general, my best advice is to start from the basics. Get a cheap POS folder and a course stone and practice setting the bevel and getting the burr. You literally cannot mess this up as long as you stay consistent. And then flip it over and do the same on the other side until the burr is completely gone (test by running your nail down from the shoulder of the edge to the very apex. Do this on both sides. You'll feel a lip if the burr is present). Once it's gone go for a few light passes on each side to make sure it's gone. That'll be a good working edge, and then you can go from there if you really want to. What I usually do is finish with a spyderco sharpmaker medium rod followed by the white rod, both at a slightly more obtuse angle than what you set the bevel at so you hit the very apex and get what's known as a microbevel. This is the easiest way of ensuring your blade is nasty sharp. Not much skill needed for it, but it works every time. Just make sure the primary bevel is set properly first! And you can keep it pretty shallow since the micro will give the apex all the strength you need.

Good luck:)
 
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Sharpening takes a lot more practice than most give credit for. Starting out on some decent whetstones is the way to go. A leather strop will help cut down on stone time, but I'd definitely say more of it than less. I certainly wouldn't recommend using a machine or a hack in trade for learning a solid foundation of sharpening anything on a stone first.

Sharpen a knife for a man and he'll ask you to sharpen it again, show him how to do it himself and he'll have sharp knives for life.
 
Get yourself a magnifier, something like a hand held lens of 10X or better. Then have a good look at the edge before you start sharpening, then again and again as you progress.
 
I also had trouble during the learning curve of sharpening. Here are some things I learned along the way:

1. The harder the steel, and duller the knife, the longer the sharpening. Using medium grit ceramics to sharpen a very hard or dull knife takes too long. Get some diamond stones for whatever system you use, and use them carefully to avoid removing a ton of metal. I use DMT 6" bench stones or duofolds, mostly.

2. Very few production knives come out of the box with an edge that exactly matches a sharpmaker-style guided sharpener angle. So if you want to maintain an edge with that system, be prepared to have to reprofile new knives to an angle you can maintain first.

3. It helps to use the sharpie trick constantly. Re-apply as you move up in grit to make sure you remove the coarser scratch patterns each time.

4. Practice makes perfect. I ended up back at freehand sharpening after thinking I would never acquire the skill. I like the control of angle and the fact that I don't need a sharpmaker in the woods. If you're going to spend 30 or 40 hours practicing before you're any good at all, you may as well learn the method that's most valuable to you. Get some crappy kitchen knives, a stone you like and a sharpie, and just go.
 
learning how to sharpen, be consistent, and make sure you are hitting the edge - will pay off more than buying a system, you can sharpen with anything from a brick (ok that takes skill, but is doable) to sandpaper, to a system.


I have kept my knives sharp for years with a spyderco sharp maker, fine wet/dry paper, a sharpie and a few diamond stones.

I recently dropped the cash on a Edgepro (kit4) which has taken my edges up another level - i believe its mainly the accuracy that has helped.
 
Jt81 said:
Hey everybody. I was hoping I could get some insight on what I'm doing WRONG when it comes to sharpening and honing. I've tried everything I can think of but to my disappointment I just can't even get close to sharpening a knife.

As a kid I tried various sharpening stones to no avail. I've bought a cheap sharpening system a few years ago. Can't remember the name but it resembled the spyderco sharp maker...I think it was a lansky brand. I also own a nice big diamond rod and a honing steel of the same link. I most recently bought a smiths tri-hone.

The tri-hone comes with a nice stand, oil, and a triangle guide that I believe is 20 degrees. I've spent the last hour carefully trying to sharpen my case sodbuster jr. Nice even strokes, keeping it at that steady angle as best as I can tell, and nothing. Actually, I've succeeded in making it even more dull! Haha.

The closest to success I've come is that when I get a new knife I'll gently touch it up with just the honing steel. It keeps them operational, but no where near as sharp as I'd like.

I feel like there's something simple I'm missing that just isn't clicking in my brain. I love my knives, but I'm afraid to even look at any type of sharpener out of fear that I'll dull the hell out of them, or ruin them by taking too much steel off. In the past I had a co-worker who used a grinder and a buffing wheel to put a nice sharp edge on them, but I no longer work with him. Besides, it's a skill I feel I should have.

Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated! Thank you all in advance.
Click to expand...

The bolded part above is the strongest clue as to what's going on. It's likely the held angle is varying too much during each sharpening pass, and the edge is being rounded off as a result (making it duller than before). That's probably the most common difficulty in learning sharpening; it was the main issue for me, when I was still trying to figure it all out, and I had exactly the same results. ;)

Some sort of angle guide fixture would likely help. The previously mentioned Lansky guided setup would work for smallish blades like the Case Sod Buster Jr. An improvised 'guide' could also be made by attaching (with adhesive or doublestick tape) a toothpick or a piece of zip-tie to each side of the blade, near the spine, to set the angle for a more consistent sharpening stroke. I've tinkered with using the zip-tie this way, using the doublestick tape, and it works quite well on a small blade like this (I'm pretty sure I even tried it with my CV Sod Buster Jr.). The thin hollow-grind blades on these particular knives make sharpening easier, in that not much metal needs to come off to make a big difference at the edge. Using the 'Sharpie' technique to darken the bevels and watch where the metal comes off is a good idea, and always make sure to form a full-length burr along the edge, to make sure it's fully apexed from each side.


David
 
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