Newish to sharpening.

[Jaaasooooooon]

Hello, Im newish to carrying a knife everyday. About 2 years ago i saw my neighbor get stabbed several times putting him in a coma and making me a suspect until he woke up. I felt helpless watching and not being able to do anything. Really long story short i just feel more comfortable carrying a knife than not although with a lack of training i doubt i would try an use it, probably call the police and get out of the situation like i did without any protection. Having something still makes me feel better. I have been using what i carry (delica wave) for day to day tasks also and was wondering how sharp I should expect to get it with a cheap two sided stone? I can shave my arm after a few swipes and it catches on my fingernails when i try to balance it. Is this about as good as i can expect to get, and is there a more definitive test for sharpness? Excuse me if i rambled it is friday night after all! Oh and hello all!

 

[bertosknives]

dude it's saturday

 

[OHALLUM]

First of all, WELCOME!!!
Second of all, how sharp is as sharp as you need it to do from what you want from a knife. The stone you are using must be doing a good job if you can get it to shave hair off your arm. If you need it sharper, then work on it to refine the edge you are producing. Work up a good burr, and then gently work it off with lighter strokes on your stone. If you have a leather strop, then use it AFTER you get it as sharp as you can on the stones. It should help polish and refine the edge even more. Check out the "stickies" in yellow at the top of this section for some valuable and useful information. You are on the right track, and can only go up from here depending on how sharp you want to go. Just know that it can be a never ending search for a little sharper edge, and that you can spend lots of money on different systems to achieve "perfection". In reality though, what you have with more practice will get you an edge that will cut whatever you need cutting just fine.
Welcome to the addiction, and enjoying the journey is the best part.

Blessings,

Omar

 

[Jaaasooooooon]

Oops sat indeed. Had to work today, throws me all out of wack.

 

[OrdnanceBubbaUSMC]

Go to google and put site:bladeforums.com sharp test

Go to the sharpening subforum on here and browse too. There is really so much info over the past several years on bladeforums that you will find out more with a search unless talking about a new model or rare topic that search doesn't give many results.

I still just see how easily each section of the blade will shave arm hair...mine is very hard to cut so it's a good test. Never really liked the nails or paper tests. The way you really know if you did a good job is how it cuts after 3-5 days of frequent use. When I saw jankerson talking about a how a courser finish was actually lasting longer I tested it out for myself. 5 or 6 touchups per month keeps them constant shaving sharp for me even with relatively basic steel.

In a pinch I strop them on a belt, boot, or steel them on the spine of another blade.

 

[Jaaasooooooon]

If you have a leather strop, then use it AFTER you get it as sharp as you can on the stones.

Dont have a strop per say, i did cut some leather off of a back of a couch i threw away and do use that, it seems to help. Glad to hear im going in the right direction. I dont thow money away very easily and the delica was about as much as i wanted to spend, hence the cheap stone and free leather. Made an account here after lurking to maybe buy another knife, just a feeling of security seems worth another few hundred at least if only i can convince my other half. As far as a 'burr' cant say ive ever felt or see that show up, oh well, time and you guys will teach me all i need to know.

 

[dalefuller]

Dont have a strop per say, i did cut some leather off of a back of a couch i threw away and do use that, it seems to help. Glad to hear im going in the right direction. I dont thow money away very easily and the delica was about as much as i wanted to spend, hence the cheap stone and free leather. Made an account here after lurking to maybe buy another knife, just a feeling of security seems worth another few hundred at least if only i can convince my other half. As far as a 'burr' cant say ive ever felt or see that show up, oh well, time and you guys will teach me all i need to know.

Welcome to BF. Switch over to M, T, & E and read through some of their posts and stickies. You'll find out all you need to know about burrs, strops, etc.