Percentage of people that carry a knife and also have sharpening skills ?

W

Woodcamo Nut

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I noticed in the last couple of years that tons of people I see in public have a knife clipped to their pocket and a few times a year I spot fixed blades being carried also. It's a good thing that more and more people are really getting in to knives now because it keeps our hobby going strong.

When ever I meet somebody that carries a knife I always ask them if they know how to sharpen it, and every one of them that I met said they don't know how to sharpen knives.....the last time I actually met somebody who knew how to sharpen was when I was a kid in the late 80s and early 90s, the older kids in my neighborhood would sharpen their knives and I watched them do it and that is where I got my basic sharpening skills from.

What percentage of people that you meet in public could actually sharpen the blade that they carry ?
 
I think a lot of people could atleast keep a knife usable for a good while. I don't believe there are very many at all thou that can freehand sharpen to the point of getting them ridiculously sharp.
 
Where I work, almost everyone carries a knife. About 20% have rudimentary knowledge of sharpening. Maybe 5% can actually get a knife sharpish.
 
I actually watched a video the other day on youtube that cracked me up called how to maintain your custom( maker left out). He actually stated a zero grind is very delicate and easy to mess up so you don't want to actually sharpen it but only strop. He then proceeded to run his fingernail down the blade pointing out all the micro chips. I had to Lol I thought what an instructional video if you knew anything about maintenance you wouldn't be carrying a custom with chips in the blade. Whats funny about it is I would say that's the sharpening knowledge level of 95% of knife users.
 
I'm sure it's low. I collected/carried knives for a period of time where I didn't know how to sharpen myself. Since I had multiple I wasn't using the same one constantly so it too a while before I felt like I needed to sharpen one. It was either that or when I got a knife from the factory that wasn't sharp that triggered me to learn how to sharpen. I'm still learning actually.
 
Learning how to sharpen is probably a life long pursit- always a new method, angle, grit, compound, spray, strop, steel to try out. Then there is improvised sharpening on river rocks or smooth concrete, metal handrails or jeans, a coffee cup or the bottom of a plate, maybe some cardboard, whatever is handy.
Most people Ive known cant use a spyderco sharpmaker worth a damn, and forget a flat stone. Though to be a little humble I've recently started using a Lansky turnbox and started getting better edges using that first followed by my Arkansas stones then stropping than I ever did doing it all by hand.
 
WuGod said:
Learning how to sharpen is probably a life long pursit- always a new method, angle, grit, compound, spray, strop, steel to try out. Then there is improvised sharpening on river rocks or smooth concrete, metal handrails or jeans, a coffee cup or the bottom of a plate, maybe some cardboard, whatever is handy.
Most people Ive known cant use a spyderco sharpmaker worth a damn, and forget a flat stone. Though to be a little humble I've recently started using a Lansky turnbox and started getting better edges using that first followed by my Arkansas stones then stropping than I ever did doing it all by hand.
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The Lansky turnbox with diamond rods has served me well for a while along with a Tandy strop. The only thing I dont like about this combo is that its a bit of a hassle to sharpen larger knives like the Buck 119.
 
I don't know but it's not many. Off the top of my head I know 3 people that can do a good job of sharpening a knife.
I get a lot of people asking me to sharpen knife/knives for them, and usually the knives are between very blunt and completely munted.

I have encouraged 2 people to buy a Sharpmaker so far. It works well for them 'cos I re-profile their edges to ~18' per side with the Wicked Edge and the 20' per side SM makes it easy for them to maintain the edge.

Up to just a few years ago I was incapable of sharpening a knife properly, and finally decided I had to do something about that. I scraped up enough coin to buy a WE and a SM, spent some time practicing and looking to BF for advice and knowledge, and now I'm what I would call basically competent. People who's knife I've sharpened think I'm an expert, bless them.

One guy I know that is good at freehand sharpening looks down on my guided stone sharpener, calling it "a machine that does it all for you".
But it's the result I'm after, and I get a better result now than if I had spent countless hours learning to sharpen freehand. I get better results than he can, and for some reason he has to be derisive about it.
Besides, all he sharpens is carbon steel butcher knives and cheap kitchen/fishing knives made from 420. I'd like to see him come to grips with a blunt ZDP-189 blade.
 
So, first off, most people don't know much about knives. Most of these people i don't think know how a knife is sharpened at all. Of the people that know "some", I bet they know what a butchers steel is, and know that that, and some stones are used, buy most probably haven't done it. So id say its somewhere in the single digits.

Although, I'm not sure where you live, I see MAYBE one clip a week.

I have a few friends that I went through scouting with that can sharpen "ok". I think both can get blades to paper cutting sharp, but I'm not sure.

Myself... I know I'm nowhere near the skill level of others on here, but I can get all of my knives to whittle beard hairs without any "machines". So while I have no idea what edge angle in sharpening at, or if its even consistent on each side, but its "good enough" for my use so I feel fine about my skill level :).
 
Of the people I know of in daily life who routinely carry pocket knives, none of them seem to know how to sharpen them, based on looking at their knives (and sharpening them for them). One of the great benefits I gained from this forum was the information in the Maintenance, Tinkering, and Embellishment sub-forum which has helped me dramatically improve my sharpening skills.
 
I can do free-hand with some small amt of skill. I prefer to use my EdgePro Apex and can get a nice edge with that. I suspect that anyone can use an EdgePro or WickedEdge machine pretty competently with minimal "training."
 
Just about everyone at least has a double sided aluminum oxide stone and can get a blade sharp enough to use. Some don't know any better and are doing just fine.
 
This thread makes me feel like such a boss:thumbup::D

It's easy to forget that we reside in a forum FULL of people who know how to sharpen (at least to some extent anyway), which is why we can sometimes feel like we're inadequate when we can't sharpen to some extreme level.

But the fact is that the vast majority of the worlds population can put ANY kind of edge on a knife. Even most of the people who carry them! Smh....
 
I have sharpening skills, even in freehand, but, after sending a couple knives to pro and fellow forumite Jason B., I've come to the realization that my sharpening skills are probably only at about that "working edge" that was mentioned above... perhaps even lower. I'm "okay" at it, at best.
 
I havent had to sharpen a knife in a long time, My Local knife store where i get all my knifes sharpen any knife that they have sold you for free
 
I am one of many here who uses a Wicked Edge and I am very happy with results and I continue to learn and improve, but not a single person in the 8-10 people I'm close with at work does their own sharpening, its been my job and I don't mind, you have to use these high priced tools to justify the initial purchase. I frequently wonder what many people here do who have multiple Sebenzas, Hinderer's, Stryder's, and many more when they don't have the skill to take abrasive stones to pristine $$$$ blades, I suspect they either add them to the safe queen collection( 3rd owner with factory edge) or they walk around with $600 folding butter knives, and a little warning some small, electric, handheld, belt sharpeners (to remain unnamed) while promising perfection more often do fast and dramatic damage and rarely works as expected, I currently have an expensive knife coming that suffered that fate which made the price better for me. I agree with a previous comment a $20 turn box with black and white ceramic rods will make shaving edges with the slightest training, I was even able to teach both my teenage boys in one day.
 
If we were looking at 15-49 year-olds I think even 5% would be pushing it.

Most people, awhile back, were taught to sharpen by their fathers. One of my first memories is sitting by my father watching him sharpen his knives on a carborundum. I was sharpening by about age 10. I was decent at it by about 16.

I use two arkansas stones, hard and soft, with a tin of honing oil on standby. I also have an EZE-lap diamond sharpener I use for touch up and outdoors. I strop on whatever decent leather is at hand. Most of my boot heels have strop-stripe from EDC over the years.

The three-sided monsters, sharpening sticks, rods, angle-dangles, diamond TV antennae, and V-slot crap have all been in the drawer for many years. I'm no genius at it, but I can get my blades as sharp as I'd ever want without them.

My carry knives' steel runs from 420 up. Everything from Elmax beyond hasn't yet required other than stropping. Sharpening is not a hobby for me so I don't have brilliantly polished edges nor the degree of sharpness to hair-feather a full horsehide. I do understand people who are into that though.

I have yet to come across Joe Public with a truly sharp knife, especially folders. Most noticeable though are the kitchen knives of my friends. I don't see how they use them. A while back I sharpened some of these knives for a few of them, making lightly of it to them, "See if this makes a difference." Within two weeks three of the wives had cut themselves preparing food and one of the men had gashed himself trying to pry something out of the disposal. Ya can't win.

btw, Bikedaddy....the reason you don't see those around is because most of their owners don't really use em.
 
What kills me is custom makers who can't or won't put a proper edge on their knives. Got a JS exam knife once that passed his journeyman exam....thing wouldn't cut butter.
 
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