I'm looking to get into freehand sharpening and would like some ideas of things I should start out with. I would like to get some stones of various grits and maybe a strope, but all the different kinds of stones confuse me. Which would be easiest for a sharpening noob to learn on? I don't want to spend a lot of money say less than $60.
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Looking to get in to freehand sharpening
- Thread starter tgw914
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- Oct 6, 2004
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- 210
well i am pretty good at sharpening free hand and can sharpen all my knives to a shaveing edge. sharpening by hand is all i do. i use a cheap 10$ mastercraft dual sided stone to get rid of burrs and crappy factory edges/bevels, and then a washita and arkanas stone for final edge work before a quick strop finishes the deal.
haveing the cheap aggressive grit stone helps, it would take about 50 times longer to remove metal on the washita or arkanas stone then the cheap rough one. buy some crap flea market knives to practice on and dont expect to get good overnight.
i would recomend the buck brand washita stone as its a fair size and has a case so you dont get dings or cracks in the stone. its also only about 10$
haveing the cheap aggressive grit stone helps, it would take about 50 times longer to remove metal on the washita or arkanas stone then the cheap rough one. buy some crap flea market knives to practice on and dont expect to get good overnight.
i would recomend the buck brand washita stone as its a fair size and has a case so you dont get dings or cracks in the stone. its also only about 10$
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For that I would get a 220 or 320 grit diamond stone, and a combination 1000/6000 waterstone. Dig up an old leather belt, and glue it to a piece of wood for a strop. Then start sharpening. The more you sharpen the sharper you will get it. I concentrate more on keeping an even pressure and consistent strokes than anything else. Start looking into ways you can test your work for sharpness - the more different ways you are able to gauge sharpness the faster you will improve.
One thing I should have done sooner is to buy a loupe, to inspect the edge.
One thing I should have done sooner is to buy a loupe, to inspect the edge.
The best suggestion I have is to read The Razor Edge Book Of Sharpening by John Juranitch, so you understand the principles of knife sharpening. Without knowing what you're doing, and why, you will probably not achieve your objective. There are other methods of sharpening but this is one of the most common, and I think effective. The Razor Edge hones are the best I've found, at least so far.
Buying a range of stones can eat up your $60 quickly.
Check out the 'Scary Sharp System' at the HandAmerican site: http://www.handamerican.com/
Call Keith at the contact number, explain your budget, and have him configure a 'Scary Sharp System' for you. These are outstanding sharpening systems for hand-honing, based on the use of abrasive papers. Keith can configure a comprehensive system for well under your $60 limit.
I'd also suggest using their SuperGrip adhesive, instead of the adhesive-backed abrasive papers. Changing papers (grits) is faster, and non-adhesive abrasive papers are cheaper.
Hope this helps!
Check out the 'Scary Sharp System' at the HandAmerican site: http://www.handamerican.com/
Call Keith at the contact number, explain your budget, and have him configure a 'Scary Sharp System' for you. These are outstanding sharpening systems for hand-honing, based on the use of abrasive papers. Keith can configure a comprehensive system for well under your $60 limit.
I'd also suggest using their SuperGrip adhesive, instead of the adhesive-backed abrasive papers. Changing papers (grits) is faster, and non-adhesive abrasive papers are cheaper.
Hope this helps!