Obsessive compulsive trait: am I sharpening my knife too often?

M

Mora2013

Joined
Dec 1, 2013
Messages
311
All right.

Sharpening knives and having nicer knives are a new thing to me, so I think I might be obsessively compulsively sharpening my knife(ves).

So my current setup is a norton India combo oil stone followed by a 1000/6000 grit king Waterstone, followed by stropping on jeans dry. I think I like it when my blades can push cut through paper, which I can get after the 1000 grit stone, but feels smoother after the 6000 grit.

My question is : how do you guys know when it's time to sharpen your knife???

For example, my Mora high Q robust blade... Two weeks ago, I did a little bit of wood carving. This past week, it got about an hours worth of cutting underground roots while I was fixing a lawn sprinkler system. And today, I put another hour of wood carving on it. In between, it's cut a few cardboard boxes here and there. I was able to steel the knife and get it back to fine push cutting of paper prior to foxay, but after today's wood carving - even after steeling - it only crumpled paper. I also noticed that near the end of my wood carving, the finer wood shavings became a little bit jagged and with rough breakouts here and there. I also saw that the bevel of the knife had a few little chips in it.

So I sharpened my blade again - with only the 1000/6000 stone.

Is this what I should expect? Do you guys sharpen your blades after jush 2-3 hours of wood whittling? Should I not worry about needing to push cut paper?

I'm trying not to be "that guy" that sits around sharpening knives all the time because of an obsession.

Or is this just inevitable, where resistance is futile, because Ive now joined blade forums?
 
I try and keep my pocket knife sharp always, but in general I treat knives as the tools they are. I sharpen when they no longer do their job as they should...just like any other cutting tool. Now I come from a woodworking background, and tools like a framing chisel or bench plane would be resharpened when they no longer cut well. Different tools (knives) require different levels of sharpness in my book as well...for example when I go foraging for mushrooms I do not want hair popping sharp...but I think thats about the only time.
 
Resistance is futile you were already assimilated.

You sharpen your knife when you feel the need to. If your worried about being "That guy" who does nothing but sharpens his knife all day my suggestion don't let anyone know your obsessed with sharpening knives. So don't sharpen knives in public, brag about your sharp knives, etc. I sharpen knives at home at that's it, in the comfort of my own room no less. The only people who know I just picked this up as a hobby I can count on my own hand outside of this forum and their all family or close enough to be called family. Though if you loan your knife to someone to use please warn them it's very sharp.

Though realistically if it's a hobby and your not hurting anyone, go for it is my general response. Who cares what others think, your friends who know you most likely won't care one bit beyond poking some fun at you and than asking you for a sharp knife a few minutes latter because they can.

I came to the conclusion that I might pick up sharpening as a part time hobby as I miss working with my hands and unfortunately other hobbies can get quite expensive but always striving for that better edge can be quite cheap depending on how you go about it. I mainly miss working on cars doing body work on them, knocking out dents, putting on bondo, sanding it down to perfection and getting it ready for paint. For the past week or 2 this has helped fill that void to some extent. And what I am currently using is just the stones from my DMT Aligner to free hand with and an old leather belt as a strop.
 
I try to strop, on wicked edge or touch up with UF rods on sharp maker as needed. Ideally the less metal removed the better.
 
If you have to ask, you probably are sharpening too much.

Instead of sharpening, try stropping it. Unless you're aiming to push cut toilet paper, it doesn't really have to be sharp enough to push cut toilet paper.

If you keep up a heavy sharpening routine, you won't get the intended lifespan out of your knives.
 
You should have a dedicated wood carving knife and a dedicated root carving knife. Use your Robust for the root cutting and keep a 'Norton' edge on it. Buy a 2/0 or laminated blade for the wood carving and put your very fine edge on it.
 
Bob6794 said:
I mainly miss working on cars doing body work on them, knocking out dents, putting on bondo, sanding it down to perfection and getting it ready for paint.
Click to expand...

Need a project to fill the body work void? I got one for you. Just trying to help.:D
 
You are perfectly normal. Sharpen your knife whenever you want. It will thank you. Cutting dirty roots is hard on an edge.
 
If your sharpening because the knife is dull then your not over sharpening:). Also if there is no damage to the edge you may be able to skip the 1000grit and use just the 6000grit stone for touch ups.
 
If you have to ask the answer is probably "NO". Most of us know for a fact we spend too much time on our knives and wouldn't even think of asking that question.

I agree with some of the posters mentioning multiple tools for jobs as different as cutting roots (with dirt) and carving wood. If you are going to use the same tool, you'll be sharpening often. You could go with a coarser grind, say stop at the 1k and it would last a bit longer, eliminate an extra step when it is time to clean it up. The edge wouldn't be as nice for carving though. Sometimes you have to feel out your maintenance strategy.
 
I have found that stropping as often as possible greatly diminishes how much I need to sharpen. I usually strop my knife of the day at the end of the day while watching TV before bed. It takes about 5 minutes and I can bring back a wicked sharp edge. If I am whittling, I will often keep a strop with me and strop when my hand gets tired.

My strop is a paint stirring stick (free at Home Depot or Loewes) with a thin piece of leather on both sides. It has green stropping compound on one side and .25 micron diamond spray on the other. I usually strop with the green first, then finish with diamond.

This is only true for my pocket or whittling knives. My kitchen knives only get sharpened when I feel that they are not performing, at which point I run them over a steel.
 
Mora, this is soo refreshing that someone would entertain the possibility of being OCD toward sharpening on this forum. Good for you for stepping up. Just sharpening your knife on the Norton fine India will allow the blade to push cut paper. Merely spend more time on that stone and it will do it. Then should you desire a finer edge, take it to the strop for some work. Have fun cutting stuff. DM
 
I would think 2-3 hours of whittling wood would make the blade somewhat (or maybe really) dull. Too much sharpening? I think time will tell- if you are sharpening too much, you'll lose interest in doing it and will cut back to the bare minimum. If not, you'll always have a sharp knife!

Good sharpening,
Dave
 
Gotta think of it like sharpening a pencil when maintenance and how you know when dull is too dull. Obviously you can sharpen your pencil all the time to have a pristine writing point, but it doesn't stay that way for long, or you can let it go for quite a while before it gets too blunt to really effect anything. Then of course there's when it's basically nothing left to write with at all... So there's generally a happy middle ground in there somewhere for your own personal preference, but one thing to remember is that like a pencil you're wasting away material every time you sharpen.

Personally I know I'm too "OCD" about my knives. Cutting up roots in the dirt? That would have put so many dents and rolls on the edge of any steel that I would have been touching it up right afterward to get it back to hair popping. But everyone has their own level of satisfaction and desire into how sharp they make and keep an edge.

What I think is really funny is when I'll randomly feel my knife's edge with a three finger touch and think, "Oh wow this is dull," and then remind myself to actually cut something to test that, and more often than not unless I'm just bored and want to sharpen it back up, I'll be happy with it. Basically what I'm saying is that this crowd is one of sharpening enthusiasts, amongst knife enhusiasts... Our definition of "dull" is a little skewed in general.
 
It's your knife, do what makes you happy. If at the end of the day I can't strop back to acceptable level of sharpness, then will try Sharpmaker fines or UFs merely for quick touchup and in the interest of saving metal.
 
Bob6794 said:
Resistance is futile you were already assimilated.



I mainly miss working on cars doing body work on them, knocking out dents, putting on bondo, sanding it down to perfection and getting it ready for paint.
Click to expand...

Lol, I spent eight months going to college, automotive refinishing(aka painting and prep) and I hated it. In fact, I hated it so much I dropped out before getting my certification. Most tedious thing I've ever done in my entire life, the prep work, and all the sanding for eight hours a day five days a week just wore me thin. Painting is the best part, and is only a tiny fraction of what you spend your time doing. Literally you spend maybe fifteen minutes painting(time varys depending on what you're painting), and days of prep work.

And to the op, sharpen your knives when they are no longer up to your sharpness standards... If my knife won't take hair off my arm, than it's dull.
 
Last edited:
The fact is that you asked this in a forum full of sharpening junkies, you're beyond help. Just enjoy it at the level you're comfortable.

I like my edges smooth & comfortable for shaving. It led me to non stainless stell (used to be stainless only), testing various sharpeners and compounds for stropping. I am beyond help as well. Keep touching up my edges ... :D
 
My kitchen/work knives get sharpened or polished twice a day. They don't need it, but I like them in tip top shape.

My outdoor knives almost never see my stones, just when it's needed.

My pocket knives, I'd say once or twice a week if being carried a lot.

Though there are times I'm bored at work and I'll go sharpening everyone's knives or my folder.

Again I'm mostly on a 8000 grit so I remove very little steel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top