need help with waterstones

B

boomtime

Joined
Jul 27, 2014
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Hey guys, I am completely new to free hand sharpening with waterstones and I seem to be making the edge on my practice knife worse than it was when I was using a spyderco sharpmaker. I am using king waterstones 220/1000 grit combo and then 6000 grit (haven't used the 6000 grit yet because my knife is so dull after 1000 grit that I didn't see the point continuing). I know my angles are not consistent, and I have scoured youtube for tips on how to get better at this but I seem to be unable to duplicate what I see. I have sharpened twice now to no avail. Does anyone pick this up right away or does it take months(or years?) before being able to put a consistent edge on a knife? Thanks in advance for any input!
-Boomer
 
It definitely is frustrating at first. Just be patient, and use a sharpie on the knife bevel so you can see where your are at with your angle. You'll get it.
 
Boomtime, quite often when I see newbies hand sharpening, they don't give it enough time. What you should be feeling for is a burr; that is, the edge folding over to the side that you are not sharpening. Once you feel the burr form on one side, you want to start on the other side and do the same thing.
sharpen103.jpg


Once you have achieved an even burr along the entire edge, you will want to move to the next finest stone, perhaps 3000 grit rather than 1000-6000 IMO. When you feel a burr form on each side, you will know you have formed an apex and each side has been completely reprofiled.

The sharpmaker doesn't reprofile knives, it just realigns the edge to an apex/microbevel.

Just give it a little more time and pay attention to feeling for a burr. Soon enough your knife will be sharp.

(Cliché)
Patience is a virtue
 
Thank you guys for the advice! How much pressure should I be applying? Sometimes I feel like I'm putting to much pressure
 
"Destress" the edge before you start. That involves running it across the stone perpendicular, as if cutting a loaf of bread. The resulting edge, or lack thereof, will allow for a clean slate with your sharpening.

Try to maintain a consistent angle. If you are unable to do that with your longitudinal passes along the stone, try convex. The movements are different, describing small circles on the stone surface. The larger the circles, the more profound the convexity of the edge.

Good luck, and remember to enjoy the experience.

EDIT: The weight of your hand (not your arm) is adequate. Any more, and you will increase the chance of developing wire edges or rolling the edge instead of knocking off the burr.

Gouging the stone is another situation you want to avoid.
 
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