Knife tip and butt, the most difficult to sharpen

Z

zimmerDN

Joined
Mar 30, 2005
Messages
68
I find the tip and butt (either ends of the cutting edge) is the most difficult to sharpen because of the change of curvature at the tip and the being so close to the very end of the blade.

I am using a Sharpmaker right now I wonder if getting a new sharpener will help improve consistency from the start to the end of the cutting edge?
 
Yes, edge tip & heel are harder to sharpen than the flat area. With any sharpening system, there is a learning curve. So I recommend you stay with SM until your knives super sharp... Without knowing knife type, my 2cents tips: Put the heel of the knife to the rod at 60 degrees upward angle (tip pointing up), pull down & out, lessen the pressure just before exiting to avoid bending to very pointy tip. There are many posts & videos, including Sal's latest SM demomercial.
 
For me its the curvature of the belly. Heel and tips are not a problem for me as I freehand. DM
 
Technique is the best thing for getting those tips and contours, but I've found that the heels often need heavy work to set the bevel correctly. Problem is they're never ground that well from the factory, so a lot of the times they'll have barely any edge, or it's swollen out from the rest of it where whatever they're using to grind has worn down, etc.

Only thing that I've found to fix the heel issue is to set your own bevel on a benchstone.
 
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