My freehand sharpening epiphany

[osvcap]

Holy cow! I've been ruining knives for quite some time. I have discovered how effective bench stones are on table tops and benches. This is much better than knife in one hand and stone in the other. Just goes to show, when all else fails to follow the directions. I hope all of you can appreciate the humor in this. Go ahead and get your digs in, I deserve it.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

My own habits ran the opposite route, having been formed originally (20+ years ago) by using a Spyderco DoubleStuff hone in-hand, with knife in the other. I stuck with those habits long enough to get my 'touch' calibrated to the method, and I've never regretted it, as I've never been dependent on having a bench or table to sharpen on. A comfortable place to sit while sharpening is nice; otherwise, all I need are my two hands, a hone in my pocket (I've got C/F/EF 'credit card' diamond hones riding in my pocket every day) and a knife, wherever I happen to be. All of my motivations for learning sharpening are driven by doing it in the most 'portable' or universal manner I can learn, without having to worry if a particular location, setup or circumstance will be ideally conducive to it.

As an additional upside, I'm now discovering that the 'feel' for the bevels & flush contact, developed in that manner, has now also begun to pay off in using stones on a bench or other horizontal surfaces. I've learned it's ultimately more important to get that 'feel' in the fingertips, sensing feedback from the blade-to-hone contact and adjusting accordingly, and however the stone is held or supported isn't really that important after all. I was playing with this yesterday, using an 'inexpensive' tile rubbing stone purchased at the home center, supported on a piece of wood bridging a span between my knee and the edge of the bed while sitting next to it. I was doing it simply to see if I could still accurately feel that flush contact on the 'makeshift' setup to touch up a few of my blades without degrading the edge, alternating with the knife in right and left hand (to keep the edge apex towards me at all times), and it actually worked.

However one manages to get to that special place where 'it works', it's all good. To each his own; no judgment here. :thumbup:


David

 

[T. Erdelyi]

It's all about two things, muscle memory and knowing what sharp looks like before you start.

 

[Misanthropia]

I've come to the same conclusion recently, but in a different way. I'm really lazy and usually end up sharpening my knives in front of my computer, and the stone gets rested on the arm rest of my chair. Totally idiotic because it reduces the range of motion of your arms, but like I said, I'm lazy When I actually sat down at a table with the stone on the edge, perpendicular to me, the results have been much better.

 

[bearfacedkiller]

I learned to sharpen as a kid with an arkansas stone and a swiss army knife in my pocket. I have been pretty proficient with pocket stones ever since.

It is all about consistency. This mostly comes from muscle memory but being comfortable is part of it too. Find a way that feels good and repeat, repeat, repeat until you can do it in your sleep. I am glad you found what works for you.

 

[n7titan]

I've seen way too many techniques that give consistent results to an inconsistent number of people. I myself like the stone on a counter so I can stand rather than sit.
Good job bud.

 

[drail]

My experience is with bench mounted Arkansas and diamond stones. The thing that took me the longest to figure out was setting and keeping the same angle. I figured out that the angle you THINK you using is quite different from the true angle. I've learned some good Japanese sharpening techniques and adopted them. You have to be able to "feel" the angle instead of eyeballing it. Bottom line - use blackening to show where you are as you are learning and then feel how the drag changes as you get close to the burr. A lot of people use way too much pressure which will clog the stone quickly. Then I lighten way up on the pressure and keep checking the edge til the burr is gone. A big old oiled Arkansas stone will just do just about anything thing you will ever need.

 

[Lee48]

I really like using DMT diamond and Spyderco ceramic bench stones. They work fast...comparatively fast, that is. But I'm the lazy sort and I sometimes just like to sit down in a comfortable chair with some good music or just to daydream. At those times and with a knife that needs sharpening, I'll use a Double Stuff or the rods from the Sharpmaker or a Strop Block in one hand and the knife in the other and just kinda wing it. Knife usually turns out just as sharp anyway. Like I said, I'm sometimes lazy.

 

[bgentry]

A stone fixed in place on a table, bench, counter, etc is a huge improvement for me personally. This allows one to use both hands on the knife, which makes an enormous improvement in control and consistency. Ultimately, it just means better edges, and that's what we are all after.

The Japanese are nearly universally recognized at producing some of the sharpest, most effective cutlery (of many types) in the world. Their traditional method of sharpening, using both hands, with the stone supported, hasn't changed much in hundreds of years. There's a reason for that.

Brian.