Knife sharpening novice...proper tools?

Johnny Numbers

Johnny Numbers

Joined
Jan 23, 2010
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Ok, the purpose of this thread is not to ask questions on how to sharpen a knife. I'm no expert and I know i'm going to have to learn on my own. I can get a knife sharp, but what I want to know is what do I need to get a knife scary sharp!!

I have been reading a few threads and from what I gather, the newer steels that todays knives are made of are a lot harder than what was used several years ago.

Now I'm no metallurgist and I know absolutely nothing about the different grades of steel being used, so to give a few examples of what I will be sharpening...

AUS 8, 154CM, VG-10, 14C28N, 1095, SR-101, SR-77....etc etc.

What I have now is, an old Lansky system that I bought years ago, a Smiths Tri-Hone, and a small Arkansas wet stone.

What I really want to learn, is using bench stones...but I don't know what grits to get or what is a good brand. I understand Norton is a reputable brand and I understand that Japanese stones are pretty good. Also, I will need a strop.

As far as grits go...I'm not trying to sharpen a butter knife, LOL... but sometimes my work knife/EDC gets to the point to where I can run my thumb down the length of the blade with no worries whatsoever of getting cut. It gets pretty dull.

Can you guys give me some ideas on what to get as far the proper tools to do the job?

I appreciate it!!
 
DMT Diamond plates - http://www.dmtsharp.com/ - are a great way to go. I follow up with a leather strops ( homemade ) using chromium oxide, 0.05 & 0.025 diamond spray. Norton makes good quality stones like hard and soft Arkansas, India stones and for stones less then the DMT try some silicone carbide in different grits to get the job done. I like the Japanese water stones in 1200 and 6000 grit to start. Prices vary depending on the quality.
No mater what I use the strop is the final step I take to bring it up to that hair popping edge.
 
Awesome! Thanks!

As far as a homemade strop... is there a certain kind of leather I need to get? I'm guessing an arts and crafts store would carry something like that.
 
Johnny Numbers said:
Awesome! Thanks!

As far as a homemade strop... is there a certain kind of leather I need to get? I'm guessing an arts and crafts store would carry something like that.
Click to expand...

Vegetable-tanned (or 'bark-tanned') cowhide is good for this, both for compound and for bare leather stropping. The veg-tanning process doesn't strip silicates from the leather, like other chemical tanning processes do. The silicates are the very fine natural abrasives found in raw leather. For bare leather stropping, they're what will do the polishing for you at the final finishing stage. Tandy Leather shops, or saddle shops are a couple of places to find it. You can also get leather scraps (in bags, by the pound) from Hobby Lobby. Very economical. These may or may not be veg-tanned, as they're often done in various different colors. And some pieces will be pretty rough, not well-suited for stropping. Otherwise, if it's to be used with compound, the smoother pieces will do fine.

As for hones/stones/etc., I'd also recommend virtually anything DMT. Wet/dry sandpaper, used on hard backing (for V-bevels) or soft backing (for convex), is a very effective and affordable option too.

Almost forgot. Here's an excellent primer on making your own strop:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/770338-demo-how-to-build-you-own-strop
 
I would suggest the DMT 6"X2" Diasharp double-sided stones. I ordered a set myself as I didn't like the 8" Duosharp with the holes. The knife would occasionally "catch" on them, and I suspect the diamonds would wear out faster near the edge of the holes(users typically observe worn spots near the edge of the plates). Plus I get more diamonds for my buck, and I suspect a continuous plate would cut faster.

I got a pretty sharp edge on a dull kitchen knife in about 5-10 minutes(on the Duosharp, so I assume the new plates I ordered will cut faster). You'd need the DMT diapaste in 6, 3, and 1 micron grits to get any sharper, along with a strop for each of them. You could go for 0.5 and 0.25 micron diamond pastes, but I personally don't think there are a lot of steels that can hold such a fine edge, and any use outside of light cutting in the kitchen would destroy that edge in seconds(not literally, but it's doubtful you can pop hair with it afterwards).
 
if you want to get a knife really sharp, get yourself a motorized system. I suggest a paper wheel system but if you like buying and changing out a lot of belts, get a belt sander.

if you got the cash, get an edgepro or wicked edge system and although those will give you very sharp edges, they wont do it in a hurry like the others above.
 
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