Never sharpened a knife before in my life

M

MrFishead

Joined
Nov 15, 2011
Messages
115
I got into knives about a year ago when I got my Twitch II but never got around to learning how to sharpen knives. That Twitch was usually sent into SOG for warranty repairs before I needed to sharpen in so I never thought about it. I've since given my Twitch away and got a Leek. I've had it for about 2 months now but she's gettin' a little too dull for my tastes. So what's the best way to sharpen her? :confused:
 
MrFishead said:
I got into knives about a year ago when I got my Twitch II but never got around to learning how to sharpen knives. That Twitch was usually sent into SOG for warranty repairs before I needed to sharpen in so I never thought about it. I've since given my Twitch away and got a Leek. I've had it for about 2 months now but she's gettin' a little too dull for my tastes. So what's the best way to sharpen her? :confused:
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Tough to beat a Spyderco Sharpmaker. Relatively cheap, you will keep and use it even if you get interested in sharpening, pretty much mistake proof.
 
Hey fishhead, im kind of in the same boat. Im pretty new to knives, sharpening ect to. However ive been getting into sharpening for the last month or so, and ive been using a lansky vise/rod system my dad has. The simplicity of those kits are great as well along with the spyderco sharpmaker. Ive been able to get a shaving edge on my cheap gerber folder with the lansky just after a few times practicing and watching a few videos.

Please take this advice with a grain of salt since im no where near as knowledgeable compared to most guys on here. Even those the lansky has been working great for me, i have been planning on purchasing a Spyderco Sharpmaker after christmas time. Ive been doing a lot of research on sharpening systems, and I have not heard anything but good things about the sharpmaker. For a beginner the Spyderco sharpener seems to be the way to go.
 
You gentlemen are perfect candidates for an Edge-Pro APEX.

www.edgeproinc.com

For sharpening, and more importantly for learning to sharpen, and learning the characteristics of different steels and grinds, this system is close to perfect.

The WEPS (Wicked Edge Precision Sharpener) is also excellent, but perhaps a bit less versatile.

Many of the best freehand sharpeners actually learned the skill on the Edge-Pro.:thumbup:
 
rubiconss said:
Tough to beat a Spyderco Sharpmaker. Relatively cheap, you will keep and use it even if you get interested in sharpening, pretty much mistake proof.
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I would not suggest the sharpmaker unless you have never felt or used a sharp knife! esepically if you have to reprofile a knife, save your money, time, and sanity! you might want to send it to a pro to sharpen if you wanna save your money and time on more expesnive options and dont have the time/skill for it or if you want to feel what a truely sharp knife can do before you jack it with a crappier system which just leave you fustrated. Any pro should be able to put an edge on your knife which will pass the HHT-1 at least. I keep mines (even kitchen knifes, some of them quite cheap) at being able to pass HHT-4 or 5 but I'm a bit obsessive and I got a lot of time on my hands. the cheaper ones don't keep their edges that long at that sharpness but I dont mind. It's funny to see a 5 dollar knife out cut a 150 dollar knife. It really doesn't take that long to be honest if you have the proper equiptment.
 
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MrFishead said:
I got into knives about a year ago when I got my Twitch II but never got around to learning how to sharpen knives. That Twitch was usually sent into SOG for warranty repairs before I needed to sharpen in so I never thought about it. I've since given my Twitch away and got a Leek. I've had it for about 2 months now but she's gettin' a little too dull for my tastes. So what's the best way to sharpen her? :confused:
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I have a leek and I made my own knife sharpner. if it cant shave my arm then I need to sharpen it.
 
Learn free hand. Its relaxing and more satisfying then using a contraption. Plus it allows you to field sharpen when you are away from your tools.
 
Learning how to freehand is always good. Lots of inexpensive ways to go about that. I'd recommend a good diamond (DMT, Eze-Lap, Smith's) or silicon carbide hone (Norton has a great reputation); these will handle most any steel you throw at 'em. OR, some wet/dry sandpaper (also silicon carbide; from 3M or Norton) used on some flat glass, wetted with water.

Having said that, I do think a Sharpmaker can be very useful for anyone just starting out. For knives that are in need of light touch-up, it's a great maintenance tool and easy to learn quickly. Most important thing I can emphasize, when using it, is to keep pressure very, very light. Aside from that, just watch the included DVD instructions closely (they're very thorough). Take your time, be patient, and enjoy the learning experience.
 
IME, things like the Sharpmaker and Crock Sticks are excellent tools for maintaining the edge on an already sharp knife! But they're virtually useless for sharpening a dull knife unless the factory bevel is either 15 or 20 degrees. And very few, if indeed any, knives come from the factory at a perfect 15 or 20 degrees.:p
 
I don't worry so much if a factory edge isn't exactly 30 or 40 degrees (in fact, I've never been concerned about that). With a 'V'-type sharpener, like a Sharpmaker, the only major issues I've had is with factory edges greater than 40 degrees. If the edge is less than 40, and better if less than 30 degrees, these sharpeners are about the easiest way to apply a microbevel as any I've used. Maybe 3-5 strokes per side is all it usually takes. For someone just looking to maintain good/excellent cutting on a blade, that's an easy way to go about it.
 
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Wow, you guys know your stuff! I had a stone and knew it was supposed to sharpen my knife and that I had to drag the blade across it to get it sharp :P There's all this talk of angles, and burs, and bevels, wet stones, compounds, diamond sharpeners, sandpaper it's kinda overwhelming to be honest! I know I could send it to Kershaw for a sharpening whenever but I don't like being without my knife.
 
MrFishead said:
Wow, you guys know your stuff! I had a stone and knew it was supposed to sharpen my knife and that I had to drag the blade across it to get it sharp :P There's all this talk of angles, and burs, and bevels, wet stones, compounds, diamond sharpeners, sandpaper it's kinda overwhelming to be honest! I know I could send it to Kershaw for a sharpening whenever but I don't like being without my knife.
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No worries. ;)

Just keep hangin' around here, and read as much as you can. When you can, experiment with some of the things you read about. As you've noticed, there's a lot of new stuff to learn. But, that's the fun part (it's why I keep hangin' around). :thumbup:
 
Mr. Fishead,
I'm the least one here who can give you advice, but there's something I want to tell you.
Some months ago I was exactly in the same situation you are now.
I love manual activities and I didn't want to spend that much, so I decided to learn freehand.
I spent alot of time on this forum, and followed alot of precious advices and suggestions and lessons.
I'm aware I'm not even close to the skills of some of other people writing on this thread. But, my knives are sharp enough for my needs, and it took me less than I expected.
So my suggestion is this. Take your time.
It seems like you might have kept using your knife in less than shaving sharp conditions. So a week or two won't do any harm. Decide whether you want to start, if with a guided system, pure freehand, or both...and give it a try.
On this subforum you will find more knowledge than you imagine, and most of all you will find people who are willing to share their knowledge. And once you manage to get your knife sharp on your own, that knife will be "your knife" more than ever.

:cool:
 
To me, the stropping is the most important part. Any one of the systems (including freehand) will get you to the stropping stage, but stropping is where it you get hair popping edges. There is a knack and you should start much shallower than you expect. If you master stropping and strop regularly, sharpening becomes a rare event, even with a heavy duty user
 
Yeah man, I don't know much about sharpening myself other than what I learned from my dad back when I was a cub scout, but I really like doing things with my hands and since someone left a couple of diamond stones around my apartment a while back, I obviously decided to see what I could do. My feeling about gadgets is that they're cool, but people have been able to get wicked edges since long before these things were invented, so I should be able to figure it out too. Ummm... but yeah, like I said, I'm using a diamond stone and I don't think they had those in the olden days. Well anyway, I digress. Here's a few things I learned:

* If you're using a diamond stone put some water on it. That seems to work better. Just make sure you dry it when you're done, and occasionally scrub it with an old toothbrush or something.

* I don't worry about the angle, or at least, don't worry about measuring it. Once upon a time I heard something about stacking nickels or dimes or something... I think that's ****. Lay the edge on the stone and tilt it until it's flush. That's the angle you want to maintain.

* Go from course to fine. Obviously. :rolleyes:

* "Slice" the knife forward. Sounds obvious, but this gets tricky when you start moving toward the tip. Think about it: if the tip curves 90 degrees, then as you move to the tip you should be curving the motion of your sharpening. When you watch people sharpen kitchen knives on those sharpening rods it sometimes looks like they're drawing it down the edge instead of across it but that's incorrect. Always move across the edge.

* Maybe on a course stone you can bare down a bit on the initial passes, but only a few times. After that go light, really light. That's when the next point begins to make sense...

* Listen! When it's getting really sharp it'll turn from a gravely, bumping, grinding sound to a smoother, more single-toned scrape.

* Strop! A lot. I'm just using an old belt that I've conditioned with mink oil and it works great. Stropping is what really brings out the edge imo.

That's all I got. Like I said, I've only been doing this a short while, but I've been getting some awesome edges and have removed half the hair on my left arm, so that's something. Guys who know more about this than me: am I on the right track?
 
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