Looking for suggestions on a good sharpening book

S

SurvivorDan

Joined
Apr 17, 2013
Messages
43
I've been following bladeforums for a good long while and this is my official first post. I'm looking for suggestions on a good reference book for sharpening blades of all kinds. I realize that there are many videos out there for just about anything, but I still prefer the good old hard copy, in my hand reference material. I breezed through the search results online but i would rather take the advice of the folks on bladeforums. It would also be helpful as a visual aid while explaining this fine art to the kids. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!
 
Last edited:
I have seen a few out there.


Check these out

1) The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening

2) Sharpening Made Easy by Steve Bottorff

Edit: Forgot to welcome you to the forum!
 
Last edited:
I can second the Razor Edge Book Of Sharpening along with the Sharpening Made Easy by Steve Bottorff. Very basic but excellent information in those books. Great for a beginner sharpener or experienced, as it covers the basics and theory of sharpening. Steve is active on many knife and sharpening forums, and is/was an active professional knife and scissors sharpener.

Blessings,

Omar
 
I'll be honest, I haven't found any sharpening books helpful, and I've got a few included those listed above. But everybody learns differently. I found visual demonstrations and forum posts very useful. I recommend all the vids from knifenut and Murray Carter's DVDs.
 
Again, thank you all for your responses. I recently stumbled upon some youtube videos from a gentleman in Japan. He has some of the best sharpening videos I've seen. He does have a bit of a heavy accent, but you get used to it very quickly. Most of his videos deal with traditional hand sharpening techniques. What's also great about most of his videos, is that he puts the blades under a microscope to examine the edge after sharpening. Some of the videos drag on a bit, especially when he is testing, but I just forward a bit. He has a couple videos on the BK2 and some Bark River knives that are great. Just search his youtube channel..

Really educational and informative. If interested, you can check out his page here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/virtuovice/videos?query=knives+sharpening

Thanks again!
 
OHALLUM said:
I can second the Razor Edge Book Of Sharpening along with the Sharpening Made Easy by Steve Bottorff. Very basic but excellent information in those books. Great for a beginner sharpener or experienced, as it covers the basics and theory of sharpening. Steve is active on many knife and sharpening forums, and is/was an active professional knife and scissors sharpener.

Blessings,

Omar
Click to expand...

Steve was the first to introduce me to diamonds. He had some one-sided sleeves that fit the old Sharpmakers stones (years before Spyderco started selling them,) and gave them to me. They sold me on the idea of diamond for quick profiling. His book, 'Sharpening Made Easy,' is one of the very best introductions to sharpening I've seen to date. It's not full of very exhaustive metallurgy. It's just 'how to sharpen a knife.'

Stitchawl
 
I read a few books on sharpening but I never had that "eureka!" moment until I actually sat down and sharpened.
In my opinion, the most important thing for an amateur to focus on is the burr formation, refinement, and removal.

If I remember correctly, the Razor Edge book was more about the industrial side of sharpening (keeping sharp in a slaughterhouse) and less about benchstones and guided sharpeners, but there was still some useful stuff.
 
The Complete Guide to Sharpening by Leonard Lee is a good reference. For learning technique I would echo the recommendations of the Murray Carter DVD's as well as some of the youtube videos available. Perusing the contents of this subforum, however, might be the single best reference available and it's free.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top