Newbie at sharpening - tools and techniques?

S

strangegeek

Joined
Jul 27, 2013
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Hello - newbie here just starting out and completely clueless as to the sharpening and maintaining of knife blades.

I've seen so many products for blade sharpening and so many different techniques that I'm lost when it comes to where to start. Arkansas stones, whetstones, stropping, filing, sanding, etc...I'm wanting to get started with something simple but also something that is useful for my needs.

My skills - none to speak of, very beginner level

My needs - keeping basic camping/bushcraft knives sharp and in good condition

Questions:

Gear - what are some good items for a first time sharpener that will allow me to learn and keep my blades in good working order? What type of sharpening stones, oils, and any extras I should know about (not kidding when I say total newbie - I don't know what I don't know:o). Any recommendations for specific items would be greatly appreciated.

Techniques - what are some good starter techniques and are there any must learn techniques to master. I realize this will all probably vary according to the type of steal I'm sharpening, I will mostly be working with basic camping/bushcraft blades but I do not have a specific knife picked out yet (really leaning towards the Ka-Bar Becker BK16 though thanks to all the wonderful feedback I got on my first post here at BF:)).

Basically I realize that there is a whole lot that I don't know about sharping and I'm looking for a starting off point.

Thank you in advance for any advice given!
 
Check the wskts worksharp, good to start with, very simple and works well, after a while you'll see what else you want to use, good luck
 
The number one thing that I would recommend for you is only used for the final step in sharpening a knife, but still something I feel that everyone should have. A good leather strop.
 
My advice:
keep it simple, If you only want sharp knifes a double sided coarse/fine diamond (even the folding one) by one of the good brands out there should do it pretty well, with no kind of maintenance only rinse after use. Very light so you can take it when you go out on the field, You pair it with an old leather belt for stropping and clean the bevel and done.

If you lean more towards the bushcraft side is another matter:
- first of all, forget the prying bar/survival beast type of knife, because is much harder to make one of those make what they should(cut)
- bushcraft is all about woodworking, and for that a 3 or 4 mm thick knife with scandi grind is better, It gives you more control of the cut and cuts better by miles.
- If you choose this option a 1000/6000 japanese water stone is a great option.

sorry for taking the liberty of messing with your decision but I've made some mistakes on my own ;)
 
Truthfully its not too often you need to touch-up a blade while camping and nothing a basic pocket stone can't handle.

I could think of some better choices besides what you have linked. As for stones, Arkansas stones work but are by far the slowest method of sharpening. They also have limited use with any modern alloys or large beveled knives.

After trying many methods I find waterstones to produce superior edges and sharpen the fastest while offering the most versatility. They would be my recommendation to you.
 
knifenut1013 said:
Truthfully its not too often you need to touch-up a blade while camping and nothing a basic pocket stone can't handle.

I could think of some better choices besides what you have linked. As for stones, Arkansas stones work but are by far the slowest method of sharpening. They also have limited use with any modern alloys or large beveled knives.

After trying many methods I find waterstones to produce superior edges and sharpen the fastest while offering the most versatility. They would be my recommendation to you.
Click to expand...

Awesome - thank you for the advice!

I realize this is going to sound very ignorant but is waterstone and whetstone the same thing? I have seen these two terms used what looks like interchangeably but wanted to make sure.
 
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