Newbie in need of some knife sharpening advice

D

doubledges

Joined
Feb 6, 2012
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69
In the last two years I have really been getting into knives and knife collecting. At first I simply used a ceramic rod for touching up my blades but obviously this has its limitations. I need to get started on a solid, effective (and preferably as inexpensive as possible, I have a tight budget) sharpening method and I'm not sure where to turn. I bought and started using a Work Sharp field sharpener a few months ago because it was cost effective and offered course and fine grit diamond stones, and a ceramic rod all in one. (it also included 20 degree angle guides which was a plus for me since I didn't feel comfortable with freehanding at that time) Long story short, although I can get my knives hair shaving sharp in this way, I now have several issues with using this tool as my primary sharpening method and I am willing to put as much time as necessary into learning a better method although cost is still an issue for me. What would be my best course of action, from the product(s) that would be good for me (I would really like to keep my cost under $100 for the entire setup, so something like the Edge Pro Apex is no good for me) to the resources I can access to learn the method? Also, how can I determine what angle is ideal for each particular knife and what is a good way to make sure that I am sharpening at that angle if I am not using an angle guide? Any advice you can give on this topic would be helpful. If you need more information please don't hesitate to ask. Thanks for your responses.
 
doubledges said:
In the last two years I have really been getting into knives and knife collecting. At first I simply used a ceramic rod for touching up my blades but obviously this has its limitations. I need to get started on a solid, effective (and preferably as inexpensive as possible, I have a tight budget) sharpening method and I'm not sure where to turn. I bought and started using a Work Sharp field sharpener a few months ago because it was cost effective and offered course and fine grit diamond stones, and a ceramic rod all in one. (it also included 20 degree angle guides which was a plus for me since I didn't feel comfortable with freehanding at that time) Long story short, although I can get my knives hair shaving sharp in this way, I now have several issues with using this tool as my primary sharpening method and I am willing to put as much time as necessary into learning a better method although cost is still an issue for me. What would be my best course of action, from the product(s) that would be good for me (I would really like to keep my cost under $100 for the entire setup, so something like the Edge Pro Apex is no good for me) to the resources I can access to learn the method? Also, how can I determine what angle is ideal for each particular knife and what is a good way to make sure that I am sharpening at that angle if I am not using an angle guide? Any advice you can give on this topic would be helpful. If you need more information please don't hesitate to ask. Thanks for your responses.
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Maybe the biggest consideration is whether you want to pursue freehand sharpening or go after one of the guided systems. Lansky, Gatco, DMT and a few others make relatively inexpensive guided systems. The Sharpmaker gets recommended quite a bit as well.
Maybe the next biggest consideration is whether you expect your means to handle anything you throw at it from Scandi grinds, to full convex, to flat grinds, from penknives to machetes, hatchets and hawks.
Sooner or later you'll want to learn freehand sharpening if you collect a large assortment of edged tools. A basic Norton India or Crystalon stone is a good start, as are waterstones or diamond plates.
An easy way to determine an approx angle is to fold a piece of paper a few times and guesstimate, or use a protractor to mark some reference lines on a piece of wood. 15 degrees per side will give you very nice geometry for a wide variety of chores. You could go a bit lower for dedicated small chore knives - maybe 12-13 degrees per side. Not terribly important to be at a specific angle, but good to have a target angle and to not be too far above it. Very easy to make an edge more obtuse, a bit more work to make it more acute.

Practice on some cheap knives, don't learn any system or method on cutlery you care about.

There are a lot of videos that can help, check
"MrEdgy" on youtube,
I have some under "Neuman2010"

Also, I sell a sharpening widget (the Washboard) that comes with a manual, and have linked (just follow the link in my signature below this response) a whole series of videos showing how it works and how to use it. Even if you aren't interested in buying one, the videos should be helpful if you are interested in learning freehand. Am currently out of stock, but will have some ready by the end of week and will update the listing then.

Am a little surprised no one else has responded yet, everyone on this forum has an opinion on this subject...
 
Am a little surprised no one else has responded yet, everyone on this forum has an opinion on this subject...[/QUOTE]

It IS surprising, isn't it? With all this bandwidth going to waste, I felt compelled to chip in. Maybe everybody got burnt out temporarily after the last go-around. Seriously, with no offense to anyone, at some point early on, the rookie of the moment needs to just grab something elemental and TRY IT. Experience should be telling you what works for you. Keep it simple. Keep it inexpensive. Experiment.

With respect to the OP, I couldn't think of any better suggestions than a Norton silicon carbide two-sided stone and one of HH's WashBoard strops.
The
WB will delight and amaze you with the ease of "getting it right." Get an assortment of SiC sandpapers from the auto parts store-they have the higher grits or can get them. You will be equipped to sharpen anything your little heart desires. Within reason, of course. These two tools will let you train yourself to sharpen and strop. They will handle any steel out there. You can regrind bevels, sharpen to virtually any level and polish. On a tight budget. Don't waste your time and get a headache trying to select the perfect setup for your first time out. There are plenty of ways to sharpen and it's only when you become competent using one method that you'll know whether you want another or not.
All IMHO, naturally.
 
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Ok after a lot of searching the market and learning to freehand sharpen a cheap knife with a cheap stone and ceramic rod I would like to get a diamond stone set. Any recommendations? Also, I've become pretty good at setting a good consistent edge at 40 degrees inclusive but would like to sharpen my spyderco endura at the 30 degree inclusive angle it comes with from the factory. What's a good way to insure that I'm sharpening at the right angle?
 
Free handing is great! I just got a DMT and Endura 4 for Christmas and both are great. It isn't too hard to keep a consistent angle if you just relax and do it. People always freak out about what angle to sharpen at, but it doesn't matter that much. Just keep a consistent angle. Coating the edge in sharpie to figure out where to hold the angle is also a good tip. An even better one is to start sharpening your knives at the same angle. I'm not saying that a meat cleaver and your Endura should be at the same angle, but I have 4 knives (Griptillian, Buck Vantage, Case Trapper, and now an Endura :) ), and all are at the same angle. (About 30 degrees inclusive). It makes sharpening a lot easier.

With the DMT coarse, I can get an edge cutting phone book paper roughly. The fine stone gets it cutting cleanly, as well as a clean shave. Stropping on Chromium Oxide results in the knife flying through phone book paper and arm hair falling off. I would highly recommend a strop next because it helps your edges A LOT.

So, just try and relax while sharpening and everything should turn out good.

Good Luck! -Kris
 
KrabbyKakes said:
Free handing is great! I just got a DMT and Endura 4 for Christmas and both are great. It isn't too hard to keep a consistent angle if you just relax and do it. People always freak out about what angle to sharpen at, but it doesn't matter that much. Just keep a consistent angle. Coating the edge in sharpie to figure out where to hold the angle is also a good tip. An even better one is to start sharpening your knives at the same angle. I'm not saying that a meat cleaver and your Endura should be at the same angle, but I have 4 knives (Griptillian, Buck Vantage, Case Trapper, and now an Endura :) ), and all are at the same angle. (About 30 degrees inclusive). It makes sharpening a lot easier.

With the DMT coarse, I can get an edge cutting phone book paper roughly. The fine stone gets it cutting cleanly, as well as a clean shave. Stropping on Chromium Oxide results in the knife flying through phone book paper and arm hair falling off. I would highly recommend a strop next because it helps your edges A LOT.

So, just try and relax while sharpening and everything should turn out good.

Good Luck! -Kris
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Been looking at the DMT stones. Does that fine stone work well enough for you or do you ever wish you had an extra fine? Just wondering if you think I should invest in an extra fine stone or if the course/fine/strop setup is plenty good enough (I'm guessing it is).
 
Use a sharpie to ensure that you're hitting the bevel at the same angle. If shoulder marker is removed too low, if the tip of the edge is removed too high, if whole edge of marker is removed equals perfecto!! :)

I would get the DMT diasharp coarse/fine, Spyderco UF bench stone 2x8, and a strop with some green Bark River compound from Flexx strops
 
It works just fine like that. My edge off of the course is probably sharper than most non-sharpening people. Easily sharper than any out of the box edge I have seen. The a edge after fine is more than usable and then I strop just for the heck of it. I would say invest in DMT or Hand American Diamond paste/spray. The chromium oxide kinda takes away the ultra aggressive edge left by diamonds. If you want to buy finer stone, I would buy an Extra-Fine Diafold just because I don't think you need a full size stone to get a good edge, and DMTs are REALLY expensive.

So, long story short, no, I have never wanted an extra fine stone. But, I have wanted Diamond strop spray.
 
KrabbyKakes said:
It works just fine like that. My edge off of the course is probably sharper than most non-sharpening people. Easily sharper than any out of the box edge I have seen. The a edge after fine is more than usable and then I strop just for the heck of it. I would say invest in DMT or Hand American Diamond paste/spray. The chromium oxide kinda takes away the ultra aggressive edge left by diamonds. If you want to buy finer stone, I would buy an Extra-Fine Diafold just because I don't think you need a full size stone to get a good edge, and DMTs are REALLY expensive.

So, long story short, no, I have never wanted an extra fine stone. But, I have wanted Diamond strop spray.
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Thanks that helps me a lot. With my current system I can get my blades to where they can push cut phonebook paper but not as smoothly or consistently as my spyderco endura could out of the box. I plan to invest in a course/fine DMT set and some of the DMT stropping paste and then I should be able to get the edge I'm looking for.
 
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