Newbie sharpening question

S

slugtrail

Joined
Aug 26, 2007
Messages
34
I'm ready to take the training wheels off...I want to make the quantum leap from using the Sharpmaker, the Lansky, etc...and I want to start sharpening freehand. My question is, how do I make sure I'm holding the edge at a constant angle every time I run the blade across the bench stone? Anybody have any cool tricks or tips for holding a steady angle?
 
I can never get it perfectly the same throughout the sharpening process. It's never hindered the sharpness of the knives i do freehand, they just end up very slightly convex, i guess.
I should say I only sharpen my kitchen knives freehand, I'm too picky about my pocket knives..

More experienced guys in here should have better advice.
 
Don't drink and sharpen? :)

Since you're pushing the blade edge forward, your thumbs will be behind it, right? Use them to keep the height of the back of the blade the same by sliding them across the stone.
 
One thing you can do is mark the bevel witha sharpie so that if you grind it correctly the marks will go away. Or just look to make sure you're not hitting the shoulder of the bevel or forming a micro bevel, which an improper angle can do either of.

It takes a little getting familiar with the technique and the knife IMO. Once you have the motions down and you've sharpened the same knife 50 times, you just know what angle to run it at. Also you can feel if you're sharpening the bevel correctly if you pay attention to how it feels while you sharpen.
 
I don't worry about holding a consistent angle at all. In fact the more slop from stroke to stroke is a good thing, your thinning behind the edge as your sharpening. Just be sure you don't ever raise the spine very high causing to high of a edge angle.
 
Vivi,
Can you describe how it's supposed to feel when you've got the angle right? Or alternatively, how does it feel when you've got it wrong?
 
The sharpie trick is a good one, another thing you can try is to make a wooden wedge the same width as your stone and at the angle you want to sharpen at. Tape it to your stone with electrical tape and this will serve as an angle guide. You may have to squirt it with water or oil from time to time to allow the blade to slide easier. This method helped me way back when, when I was learning.
 
slugtrail said:
Vivi,
Can you describe how it's supposed to feel when you've got the angle right? Or alternatively, how does it feel when you've got it wrong?
Click to expand...

When you are hitting the shoulder and not the edge, there is not much friction. Thinning the shoulders, as db noted, is not a bad thing either. Once you get to the edge, you can feel a whole lot more friction, it's quite noticeable. The sharpie trick is good, I tend to lay the shoulder on the stone then bring the knife up until the edge is touching, assuring that the edge bevel is flat on the stone. Practice, practice, practice. I'm nowhere near Carnegie Hall yet... :D
 
I always liked the trick of practice sharpening on the back of a legal pad. Move the edge across the cardboard like you're sharpening it on a stone, while slowly lowering the edge down toward the cardboard. Once the edge catches on the cardboard, that's the exact angle you should hold it at for that portion of the edge.

On a stone, I like to get a good amount of light shining on the knife/stone and watch the shadow between the two disapear. If you start gentle and pay attention, you'll be able to notice that it feels different once the edge touches the stone.
 
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