OK, I've rounded off my last knife tip!!!!!!!!!

Praetorian

Praetorian

Joined
Apr 1, 2001
Messages
135
What in the heck am I doing wrong? I use the 204 Sharpmaker or a Lamsky with diamonds or an old Arkansas oilstone and it happens with all of them. :-(

Better yet, how do I get the points back and keep them there????

Please help


Greg
 
If what I think you're saying is what you mean, then I may know how to stop it.

When at the end of a stroke on the Sharpmaker, do not let the tip come off of it. Keep the tip on and stop the stroke, the begin again at the top.

As for the other types, it must be similar situation. With the lansky, the tip could be too far away from the mounting point, messing up the angle and dulling the edge. With free handed stones, make sure the tip doesn't swipe off the edge, just like the Sharpmaker. Also, freehand, you really have to watch the angles because even as you get comfortable with the stone, it changes shape a bit as it wears.

With any of these, you could try the marker solution.

Before you sharpen, use a marker of some sort to color the edge of the knife. When sharpening at the right angle, it will naturally rub off the marker. If you see it sharpening unevenly, or leaving marker on, you can adjust and not have the rounded tip problem in the first place. Then, you can get a feel for what is going on.

Good luck with this, and remember, patience is a virtue.
 
When I watched the Spyderco video, Sal let the tips come off IIRC. I sorta suspected that might be the culprit. (I slept thru geometry class) :-)

So, I need to guide the knife DOWN the stone, not DOWN and BACK till it comes off right?

OK, so how do I get the points back on my knives? I've rounded about a dozen or so to some degree.
 
Right, as you come down the stone, you can pull back, just don't let the tip come off...I usually don't pull back any farther once the tip is about 1/2 back on the stone.

To get the tips back, you could use the diamond lansky's and sorta reprofile the tips. or you could work them on the spyderco until they come back. You'll just want to keep as smooth a transition from the rest of the blade edge to the tip as possible..."Look, I turned my clippoint into a tanto!" :p

Just be careful, and remember to take it slow, as not to take off too much material all at once.

good luck with it! (i've had my share of rounded tips too...frustrating, but you'll figure it out.)
 
In the video, Sal reminds you to occasionally set the stone down into the Sharpmaker cradle and touch-ups the tips wtih some flat strokes.
 
Originally posted by Architect
In the video, Sal reminds you to occasionally set the stone down into the Sharpmaker cradle and touch-ups the tips wtih some flat strokes.
Click to expand...

I just watched the video from beginning to end and see no such mention.....:confused:
 
Letting the tip of the knife come off the flat of the triangle shouldn't be rounding the tip. Tip rounding happens when you use the corners and let the tip come off, because then it tends to run down the flat of the triangle, grinding away the tip of the knife (I know this from hard, dumb, experience :o ).

Best thing I've found for putting a tip back on is a DMT coarse/fine hone. Recently, I took a paring knife with a busted tip and gave it a good point again in less than 10 minutes.
 
Theres nothing quite like a good sharp point, and the sharpmaker will not give it to you without some practice. I get my tips splinter digging sharp (dug one out today) by using a DMT blue stone on a wood triangle frame set about 2 degrees lower than the 20 degree slot on the 204. Do not let the tip come off the stone at the end of the stroke. On the DMT, if you let it slip, it will make a sharp tip, but at a much more obtuse angle than you started with. On one fillet knife, the angle between the spine and edge went from say 25 to 35 degrees. Not a terribly sharp tip to begin with, but the shape was very different from when I started.
Also, keep the edge perpendicular to the stone. If using the 204, hold the blade vertical, like the directions say, and make sure the actual edge touching the stone is parallel to the table top, or whatever.
 
You can control the tip much better if you don't use too much pressure coming down the Sharpmaker rods. Of course, you have to come off the rod at the end, but this won't round the tip unless you are pressing the blade against the rod so hard that it 'turns the corner' as it comes off. Think of all the pressure you want to use as being straight down -- the angled rod will then guide the blade correctly..

Good suggestions above on correcting the damage. If it's not too severe, you can use the Sharpmaker itself to fix it. Turn the base over and lay the rods in the parallel grooves to make a benchstone. Just the tip now, sharpen the old-fashioned way.
 
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