No substitue for shapening skills

T

Twindog

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We talk a lot about the latest steel, the best grind, the strongest locks, etc. But the truth is, there ain't no substitute for knowing how to sharpen a knife. A sharp low-end knife is better than a dull high-end knife. And every knife is going to get dull, if you don't know how to keep it sharp.

Learning about creating and polishing off a burr, about how to see dull edges in light, learning to use a Sharpie to test the angle of sharpening, learning how to reprofile, learning to use a loupe to see what's up with your edge, learning how to strop -- all these things are more important than buying the absolute best knife and materials.

In fact, once you take the time to teach yourself how to properly sharpen a knife, you'll appreciate the higher-end knives a lot more. And you'll have the ability to make cheap knifes absolutely sparkle.

We forget this.
 
I'm no good at freehand sharpening, but I know the mechanics and properties of sharpening, and I can get a killer edge with everything you mentioned (knowing how to detect a burr, a dull edge, using a marker, etc.) I use a DMT Aligner clamp with the regular 6x2 DMT stones.
 
It get's really bad when you cant stand using a knife with the factory profile.

What's all this .025" edge thickness crap. .005" is plenty tough.
 
The Bark River black/green stopping compound and Knivesshipfree's double-sided stropping stick really took my game to a new level. I still care about steel, but it's liberating to not have to worry about sharpening. I like to keep knives sharp, now. And I don't worry about getting them dull from use.
 
How would one go about learning the finer points of sharpening? I have plenty of blades lying around and some old stuff of my grandpa's I'd like to touch up. I don't have any tools(beyond a basic stone), know-how, and I don't know anyone that does.
Thanks,
Kevin
 
Joshua J. said:
It get's really bad when you cant stand using a knife with the factory profile.

What's all this .025" edge thickness crap. .005" is plenty tough.
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Tom Krein has ground me more than 1 knife for me to an edge of .005", as it is a wonderful thickness for true cutting power. And yes, knowing how to get an edge sharp is indeed a required skill of knife use and ownership. I almost like sharpening more than cutting, just because the fun of getting an edge from dead dull to whittling hair is so fun.

Mike
 
It's funny you bring this up as I was thinking the exact same thing yesterday.
Until I learned how to deal with the burr, I wrote off many blades as being inferior. Figuring out how to put a good edge on a blade makes all the difference in the world. Great topic and post.
 
We have such great steel to work with these days, it's a pity more people don't take full advantage of it. Most of my blades are well below 30 degrees inclusive and some are down to 16 degrees (8 per side). Such an incredible pleasure to cut with :D

I couldn't give a rat's butt about the factory edge. When I get a new knife I immediately thin the edge and polish it. If all goes well I thin it some more and repeat until the edge gets fragile and deforms during regular use. Then I just thicken it up a bit or give it a micro bevel :thumbup:
 
TheRiverJustKnows said:
How would one go about learning the finer points of sharpening? I have plenty of blades lying around and some old stuff of my grandpa's I'd like to touch up. I don't have any tools(beyond a basic stone), know-how, and I don't know anyone that does.
Thanks,
Kevin
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agreed, how would one learn?? I have a lansky sharpener and can get a knife shaving sharp with it, sharper than any of my kershaws came. this was with a schrade with schrade + steel, which is probably not the hardest stuff out there but it was easy to work with.

as for the burr, im not really sure, I know with the schrade I would sharpen it, feel it and if my finger slid off smooth it was ok, if it didnt keep going. close?
 
Agreed ! How would one learn ? Simple. Get a Norton India sharpening stone (around $15), and get cheap a red handled victorinox kitchen knife. Use the knife, and when it gets dull, try to sharpen it freehandly. In case you ruin the knife (I really doubt it), you won't have to lose a lot of money. If memory serves, the kitchen knife is only $3-ish.
 
You can feel the burr with your fingers, because the edge becomes shaped like a scraper. The burr tells you the edge is sharp and you've taken off enough metal, provided the burr runs the full length. You can strop off the burr or very lightly grind it off at a slightly higher sharpening angle or putting on a micro bevel.

Use a 10-power loupe to examine the edge, it will show you any bad spots.

There's a great set of videos on knivesshipfree that shows how to sharpen a convex edge. The stopping applies to most other edges.

But the key is to use reflected light, your fingers, a Sharpie and a loupe to see what is going on. That's how you learn. That's when the theory starts to make sense. That's the point where your sharpening skills start to get better fast. When you master sharpening, you become free to enjoy all the other features of your knife.
 
Dull knives are useless, learning how to sharpen is just part of the knife experience. For some hand sharpening will never be a option, it take's a lot of work to learn and years to perfect. However there is still no excuse for a dull blade with all the systems out their.
 
knifenut1013 said:
Dull knives are useless, learning how to sharpen is just part of the knife experience. For some hand sharpening will never be a option, it take's a lot of work to learn and years to perfect. However there is still no excuse for a dull blade with all the systems out their.
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I think part of the problem is that people either think sharpening is some magical black art that only a chosen few are capable of, or that as soon as they get a sharpening system they will instantly get scary sharp edges. Learning how a sharp edge is formed by doing a little studying takes the mystical BS side out of sharpening when you learn what you are actually trying to do. Then, people have to realize that no matter how good a sharpening system is you will still need to practice with it to get any good with it. I must have read hundreds of threads about how the Sharpmaker was a ripoff because someone didn't get their edge sharp the first try. Of course all they were doing was sharpening the shoulder our using way too much pressure and building a huge burr. Practice and lighted magnification along with studying some books or the forums is the best way to learn.

Mike
 
It's just two angles meeting at a very fine point. Sharpening is easy it's holding the angle that is hard.
 
I've never been very good at sharpening and certainly never have been able to create a shave-worthy angle.

Those videos at knfesshipfree.com were great, but were not much like what I learned back in ye olde boy scouts.

A couple of questions if ppl don't mind.

- What is the functional difference between a convex and a flat grind? ie What's it mean to me? Is convex better? Easier to maintain?

- Are this guy's methods something I can start with the hard sharpeners I have, or would I really benefit getting some leather?

Any discussion would be greatly appreciated.
 
A convex edge is all about geometry, the constant curve of the edge causes less friction in the cut. A convex edge is also very easy to maintain because essentially there is no bevel angle. If you can strop you can convex.
 
Twindog said:
You can feel the burr with your fingers, because the edge becomes shaped like a scraper.
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I don't know about you, but I sometimes get burrs that are so small that I can see them, but I can't feel them.
 
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