Just wanted to contribute back to this forum and share one newbies experience, me, in learning to sharpen knives.
I just bought a Torrent 890 a several weeks ago, and therefore wanted to learn how to sharpen myself, as well as sharpening my kitchen knives. I however wanted to learn free hand on a bench stones. I figure that if I can learn that method, I could probably sharpen outdoors if needed with whatever rock or surface is around me. Like most, I read just about every thread I could find, saw you tube videos, or read manufacturers literature. The more and more I read, the more confused I got about which system to choose. Finally, I chose the DMT Dia Sharp 8 bench stones because I kept reading they are some of the best, good with most steels, (but a bit pricey). Knifenuts tutorial sealed the deal for me though (Thanks knifenut!!!).
See his tutorial The link below should really be a sticky! How about it moderator?
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=732635
Anyway I figured good equipment would also eliminate equipment handicap, and what would be left is only user error, me. (My first initial attempts were with very small machinist stones my father had in his garage. I had bad results to say the least.)
After I dove in a bought all the DMT Dia-sharp 8 stones, I still had trouble. I just could not get the factory edge, hair popping sharp. In short, it was all due to not holding a consistent angle and not working the edge enough to be ready to move on to the next stone. Knifenut recommended getting the DMT aligner, so I did (Thanks again Knifenut!). That took care of my angle issue. The other problem was knowing when to move on to the next stone. Starting with the course stone, I found that looking at both sides with a 10X magnifying glass clearly shows me when it's time to move on. I don't even have to count strokes this way. I did read that with a sharpy marker, you can tell whether the entire edge has been sharpened. But with a 10X magnifying glass, I can see whether the entire edge has been sharpened or not. In my case, it was clear that I needed to work with the course stone considerably longer. How much? I didnt know, but at least I could see how much more I needed to work. I decided on a 20* angle for this edge. I believe the actual term of what I did is re-profile the edge. Experts please correct me if Im wrong. Working with this stone seemed like it took forever and I didnt have time to do it all in one sitting. I especially took a while learning how to sharpen the belly of the blade. I estimate that the total time I took with this stone is around 3-4 hrs easy keeping in mind that I worked SLOW AND PATIENTLY, and back and forth to the magnifying glass.
I only moved on to the fine stone and then the extra fine using the same methods as with the course stone. I was not really after a crazy mirror finish and just a hair popping edge so I stopped there. Total time with all the stones is probably around 6 hrs. Now at least Im sure I could get to a mirror finish with a lot more time and some DMT pastes.
Lessons along the way? I also learned that using too much pressure really works against getting the edge sharp and leaves deep gouges and a choppy edge. I could clearly see that too using the 10x magnifying glass. Patience goes along way. It looks as though I guess I can now get a hair popping edge anytime without having to guess at what Im doing.
Probably the biggest thing that took all the mystery out of sharpening for me was really looking at the edge with the 10x magnifying glass and actually seeing the progress.
Now I just need to practice on sharpening the belly of the blade at the correct angle since it requires lifting the back to accommodate the angle. Im sure that will come with time. And later on, Im sure Ill be able to lose the DMT aligner.
If I were in an outdoor situation where I needed to sharpen an edge using available rocks, I now imagine I could fine something that could work, or rub a couple of rocks together to make a decent sharpening surface. But more key, is that I think I can now recognize what a good surface to sharpen with feels like.
Final thoughts:
I think I now understand why other newbies such as myself, keep looking for the magic answer to what the guaranteed success sharpening equipment is. Why so many buy one system, then another, then another. Another thing that comes to mind is the many posts and questions I read is as to how long you need on each stone or how many strokes of each stone it requires to move on. I remember wondering all this as well. The answers to these questions was always it depends on the edge. Now it makes sense to me having experienced it for myself and visually it seeing with my MG.
Thats my story in a nutshell.
By the way, all my kitchen knives are now really sharp again.
And with only a few weeks of learning how to sharpen, I graduated sharpening 101 this last weekend when I accidentally cut my finger. I was just cleaning it since I wanted to try it out on the Turkey. Its funny how the cut in my finger was so clean and smooth that it took a seconds before I really felt it, and 30 seconds before it started bleeding.
Again, one last special thanks to Knifenuts tutorial and others who helped to answer my questions!
Need another blade now...
Hope this helps the next newbie!
Best!
I just bought a Torrent 890 a several weeks ago, and therefore wanted to learn how to sharpen myself, as well as sharpening my kitchen knives. I however wanted to learn free hand on a bench stones. I figure that if I can learn that method, I could probably sharpen outdoors if needed with whatever rock or surface is around me. Like most, I read just about every thread I could find, saw you tube videos, or read manufacturers literature. The more and more I read, the more confused I got about which system to choose. Finally, I chose the DMT Dia Sharp 8 bench stones because I kept reading they are some of the best, good with most steels, (but a bit pricey). Knifenuts tutorial sealed the deal for me though (Thanks knifenut!!!).
See his tutorial The link below should really be a sticky! How about it moderator?
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=732635
Anyway I figured good equipment would also eliminate equipment handicap, and what would be left is only user error, me. (My first initial attempts were with very small machinist stones my father had in his garage. I had bad results to say the least.)
After I dove in a bought all the DMT Dia-sharp 8 stones, I still had trouble. I just could not get the factory edge, hair popping sharp. In short, it was all due to not holding a consistent angle and not working the edge enough to be ready to move on to the next stone. Knifenut recommended getting the DMT aligner, so I did (Thanks again Knifenut!). That took care of my angle issue. The other problem was knowing when to move on to the next stone. Starting with the course stone, I found that looking at both sides with a 10X magnifying glass clearly shows me when it's time to move on. I don't even have to count strokes this way. I did read that with a sharpy marker, you can tell whether the entire edge has been sharpened. But with a 10X magnifying glass, I can see whether the entire edge has been sharpened or not. In my case, it was clear that I needed to work with the course stone considerably longer. How much? I didnt know, but at least I could see how much more I needed to work. I decided on a 20* angle for this edge. I believe the actual term of what I did is re-profile the edge. Experts please correct me if Im wrong. Working with this stone seemed like it took forever and I didnt have time to do it all in one sitting. I especially took a while learning how to sharpen the belly of the blade. I estimate that the total time I took with this stone is around 3-4 hrs easy keeping in mind that I worked SLOW AND PATIENTLY, and back and forth to the magnifying glass.
I only moved on to the fine stone and then the extra fine using the same methods as with the course stone. I was not really after a crazy mirror finish and just a hair popping edge so I stopped there. Total time with all the stones is probably around 6 hrs. Now at least Im sure I could get to a mirror finish with a lot more time and some DMT pastes.
Lessons along the way? I also learned that using too much pressure really works against getting the edge sharp and leaves deep gouges and a choppy edge. I could clearly see that too using the 10x magnifying glass. Patience goes along way. It looks as though I guess I can now get a hair popping edge anytime without having to guess at what Im doing.
Probably the biggest thing that took all the mystery out of sharpening for me was really looking at the edge with the 10x magnifying glass and actually seeing the progress.
Now I just need to practice on sharpening the belly of the blade at the correct angle since it requires lifting the back to accommodate the angle. Im sure that will come with time. And later on, Im sure Ill be able to lose the DMT aligner.
If I were in an outdoor situation where I needed to sharpen an edge using available rocks, I now imagine I could fine something that could work, or rub a couple of rocks together to make a decent sharpening surface. But more key, is that I think I can now recognize what a good surface to sharpen with feels like.
Final thoughts:
I think I now understand why other newbies such as myself, keep looking for the magic answer to what the guaranteed success sharpening equipment is. Why so many buy one system, then another, then another. Another thing that comes to mind is the many posts and questions I read is as to how long you need on each stone or how many strokes of each stone it requires to move on. I remember wondering all this as well. The answers to these questions was always it depends on the edge. Now it makes sense to me having experienced it for myself and visually it seeing with my MG.
Thats my story in a nutshell.
By the way, all my kitchen knives are now really sharp again.
And with only a few weeks of learning how to sharpen, I graduated sharpening 101 this last weekend when I accidentally cut my finger. I was just cleaning it since I wanted to try it out on the Turkey. Its funny how the cut in my finger was so clean and smooth that it took a seconds before I really felt it, and 30 seconds before it started bleeding.
Again, one last special thanks to Knifenuts tutorial and others who helped to answer my questions!
Need another blade now...
Hope this helps the next newbie!
Best!
