Knife Sharpening,

[Tre Anthony Huang]

So I have this cheap Santoku at home that is made by faberware. I intentionally dulled the knife on concrete, just so I can practice learning how to sharpen a knife from ground up. I have two whetstones at home, one is 220 grit and the other 1000 grit. I’ve , tried sharpening on the 1000 grit, but had no success in developing a burr. I don’t feel like my angle changed that much so I don’t feel as if it’s an issue with my angle. What can you all say about this or what I should do differently?

 

[Seesteel]

https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/maintenance-tinkering-embellishment.794/

 

[DeadboxHero]

So I have this cheap Santoku at home that is made by faberware. I intentionally dulled the knife on concrete, just so I can practice learning how to sharpen a knife from ground up. I have two whetstones at home, one is 220 grit and the other 1000 grit. I’ve , tried sharpening on the 1000 grit, but had no success in developing a burr. I don’t feel like my angle changed that much so I don’t feel as if it’s an issue with my angle. What can you all say about this or what I should do differently?

Start with the 220. use a permanent marker to see where you are removing steel.
Hold a consistent angles and make a bevel and burr. Repeat on other side. Remove burr. Sharp

 

[fishface5]

"Hold a consistent angle." It sounds so simple . . . ,but takes practice!!!

 

[bgentry]

You probably made the edge nice and flat where you ground it on concrete. Depending on how much pressure you used, and how many times you ground it, that flat spot could be fairly wide and require quite a bit of edge bevel grinding in order to make the edge meet in an apex again.

In other words, you cut the point off of the triangle. Now you have to grind down the sides of the triangle to make a new point.

A 1000 grit stone is not very abrasive. It's not bad, but for a major repair, it will be slow. The 220 will be much more abrasive and get the job done faster.

One way to monitor your progress is the reflected light technique. I explain it here in secret #4: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/the-seven-secrets-of-sharpening.1353408/page-2#post-15569565

Good luck.

Brian.

 

[l1ranger]

Start with the 220. use a permanent marker to see where you are removing steel.
Hold a consistent angles and make a bevel and burr. Repeat on other side. Remove burr. Sharp

this right here - its that simple in theory.
in practice, its a little tougher to hold that angle - and depending on how bad you intentionally messed up the edge, it might take a while, even on the 220 grit.

 

[Spideyjg]

use a permanent marker to see where you are removing steel.
Hold a consistent angles and make a bevel and burr. Repeat on other side. Remove burr. Sharp

In other words, you cut the point off of the triangle. Now you have to grind down the sides of the triangle to make a new point.

This is the Monty Pythons "How to do it" description of sharpening.

Sharpening is like playing a musical instrument. The fundamentals of getting it to sound (abrade metal) are easy. Making music (good edges) takes time and practice.

Biggest thing to learn is when to stop. Every grit will get you so much. Once done move to the next.

Jim

 

[DeadboxHero]

Oh it's much simpler then playing music, knowing when to stop isnt something mystical, just stop when you get a burr

Better edges?
Angles consistency and burr removal

Not getting a good edge?

Angle consistcy and Burr removal


Burr is gone but edge is smooth?

Deburred too aggressively again, angle consistcy, dexterity.

Use the sharpie until your eyes can spot that light reflection and scratches of different grits.

Only thing left is to put it in practice.

There are a billion threads and videos About how to sharpen and we can discuss it all day but at the end of the day steel needs to hit stone and time needs to rack up.

This is the Monty Pythons "How to do it" description of sharpening.

Sharpening is like playing a musical instrument. The fundamentals of getting it to sound (abrade metal) are easy. Making music (good edges) takes time and practice.

Biggest thing to learn is when to stop. Every grit will get you so much. Once done move to the next.

Jim

 

[Chris "Anagarika"]

All good advices.

A good roadmap is needed when learning. Brian’s 7 secrets is one, the other one is this:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/what-is-sharpening-a-knife-about-2015-updates.1014274/

 

[Eli Chaps]

...
There are a billion threads and videos About how to sharpen and we can discuss it all day but at the end of the day steel needs to hit stone and time needs to rack up.

This! And I would add, be open minded to advice and inputs and be honest with yourself about your skills, what you're experiencing, and the results you're getting.