I don't know much about knife sharpening, can anyone recommend any sites or books? Also what do you use, I'm looking for something that would versatile, like a stone that has a coarse edge and a finder edge that would be good for a knife and an axe. thanks
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Knife Sharpening
- Thread starter grant4353
- Start date
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2002
- Messages
- 223
Sooner or later you'll want coarse, medium, and fine surfaces to do different jobs. Coarse takes off lots of steel when you need to reprofile your knife. Medium is what I use to get my blades edge back when I've been using it hard. Fine is what I use to polish the edge or touch it up when it gets dull. The fine stone or hone is always second to last, with stropping on a leather belt of pant leg being the final step to get a razor sharp edge.
Everyone develops their own technique and mine is totally different from most people's or from what I've always been told. I prefer stones or hones that I move over the blade rather than the other way round, I'm profiling the blade not the stone (you don't put the saw in a vice and move the piece of wood across it do you!). I move the hone (I use mainly DMT hones) up and down the blades edge at the appropriate angle, then I make slight drawing motions with the fine hone towards the edge to take of the majority of any burr I might have created. Then I strop to remove the rest of the burr.
Anyhow, it's a technique not many people seem to use but one that can allow you to get a micro bevel, 'V' grind, or convex grind, simply by the angle or angles you use the hones with.
Now down to the actually sharpeners. I like the DMT mini hones or the card-sharps. I carry cut down mini hones in my pocket and the card-sharps in my backpack. For major reprofiling I find the Blue DMT to work well, normal use calls for the Red (med) and Green (fine). There is also a Black available but it's Super-Coarse and I don't think most people need it. DMT also do pocket carry hones which sit in handles that fold out like a balisong, some have only one grit, others have two, one on each side. I believe you can get these as Blue/Red, Green/Red and I think possibly even Blue/Green which would be the best choice IMO. There's other stuff out there but I KNOW these work and work well.
Matt
Everyone develops their own technique and mine is totally different from most people's or from what I've always been told. I prefer stones or hones that I move over the blade rather than the other way round, I'm profiling the blade not the stone (you don't put the saw in a vice and move the piece of wood across it do you!). I move the hone (I use mainly DMT hones) up and down the blades edge at the appropriate angle, then I make slight drawing motions with the fine hone towards the edge to take of the majority of any burr I might have created. Then I strop to remove the rest of the burr.
Anyhow, it's a technique not many people seem to use but one that can allow you to get a micro bevel, 'V' grind, or convex grind, simply by the angle or angles you use the hones with.
Now down to the actually sharpeners. I like the DMT mini hones or the card-sharps. I carry cut down mini hones in my pocket and the card-sharps in my backpack. For major reprofiling I find the Blue DMT to work well, normal use calls for the Red (med) and Green (fine). There is also a Black available but it's Super-Coarse and I don't think most people need it. DMT also do pocket carry hones which sit in handles that fold out like a balisong, some have only one grit, others have two, one on each side. I believe you can get these as Blue/Red, Green/Red and I think possibly even Blue/Green which would be the best choice IMO. There's other stuff out there but I KNOW these work and work well.
Matt
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2003
- Messages
- 2,373
I've bounced around between all sorts of sharpening systems. I've finally settled on a system I've very happy with. It is very quick and only has two stages.
I use an EZ-lap diamond "stone", the full size version mounted on a block of wood. Once the knife is sharp on this I strop the blade on a thick pad of leather glued to a block of wood. This is first covered with white buffing compound.
The result is a finely polished edge that is scary sharp and its easy and quick. Mac
I use an EZ-lap diamond "stone", the full size version mounted on a block of wood. Once the knife is sharp on this I strop the blade on a thick pad of leather glued to a block of wood. This is first covered with white buffing compound.
The result is a finely polished edge that is scary sharp and its easy and quick. Mac
The Sharpening FAQ by Joe Talmadge is a good place to start.
http://www.knifeart.com/sharfaqbyjoe.html
You might also want to get a copy of "The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening" by John Juranitch, especially for information on axes.
You probably won't find a method without investing some time and cash in personal experimentation.
For knives, I started with a Lansky (clamp) system, then supplemented it with diamond hones and a C-clamp to handle harder steels. This gave me the ability to hold a consistent angle.
Then I learned about honing, then stropping. That made it possible to stretch out the time between sharpening, and to get a razor edge more quickly.
Over the past few years I've tried several sharpening systems, including an EdgePro Professional model. I've never been able to do well freehand, except for touchups using a large, round, ceramic rod.
My current favorite system is the Spyderco Sharpmaker 204. Of all the systems I've tried, it's the easiest and quickest to set up and take down. Despite having to hold a consistent angle by hand, it gives remarkable edges.
Finally, over the last few months, I've been reading about and experimenting with convex edges and sharpening with emery paper on a mousepad.
I've used a folding diamond hone and a puck to sharpen axes, but I'm far from satisfied with my skills in that area.
Bear
http://www.knifeart.com/sharfaqbyjoe.html
You might also want to get a copy of "The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening" by John Juranitch, especially for information on axes.
You probably won't find a method without investing some time and cash in personal experimentation.
For knives, I started with a Lansky (clamp) system, then supplemented it with diamond hones and a C-clamp to handle harder steels. This gave me the ability to hold a consistent angle.
Then I learned about honing, then stropping. That made it possible to stretch out the time between sharpening, and to get a razor edge more quickly.
Over the past few years I've tried several sharpening systems, including an EdgePro Professional model. I've never been able to do well freehand, except for touchups using a large, round, ceramic rod.
My current favorite system is the Spyderco Sharpmaker 204. Of all the systems I've tried, it's the easiest and quickest to set up and take down. Despite having to hold a consistent angle by hand, it gives remarkable edges.
Finally, over the last few months, I've been reading about and experimenting with convex edges and sharpening with emery paper on a mousepad.
I've used a folding diamond hone and a puck to sharpen axes, but I'm far from satisfied with my skills in that area.
Bear