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

Blues Bender said:
How do you feel about paper wheels? I've been using them for a year now and find them to be very efficient since I do a lot of sharpening for friends and family. Even though paper wheels are mechanical, I feel that you must understand the elements of freehand sharpening before trying them out.

When I hand someone a knife fresh off the paper wheels, it's like they never knew what sharp even meant:p
With that said, I always teach someone how to test the sharpness on their fingernail rather than slicing their finger apart.
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I feel a belt sander with Norton blaze belts is much better for grinding but the paper polishing wheel does pretty well. A belt sander is more flexible in its uses and is able to apply straighter and flatter edges. Personally, I prefer the surgi sharp leather wheels, much easier to find the bevel. I don't use my polishing wheel enough to be proficient wth it so when I do use it I find hitting the bevel somewhat challenging. I also use a fine felt wheel between grinding and polishing, IMO a must have for anyone doing mechanical sharpening.

Mechanical sharpening can easily produce very sharp edges that cut well but it's just not my thing, I'm a hand sharpening stone lovin kinda guy.
 
Somewhere around 0%.

I've gifted several people knives over the years and I'm always appalled at how they either never sharpen them or try to sharpen them and make a mess of the whole affair.

A few weeks back, one of the guys to whom I had gifted a knife several months prior came by the house. Over a few beers, I asked him if he kept that knife I had given him sharp and he said he kept a good edge on it, frequently sharpening it while watching TV at night. He then showed me. The edge was folded completely to one side. He said he had always thought you were only supposed to sharpen one side of the blade. I got my DMT coarse/fine diamond combination stone out and went to work repairing the edge while offering a bit of sharpening education. Once I had it looking like a knife again instead of a paint scraper, I told him it could use a bit more honing to get it really sharp but the edge on it would probably work fine for him. He couldn't believe how sharp it was (it was okay but not as sharp as I like my knives to be).

But, really, this is understandable. Most people in the 21st Century are not knife enthusiasts and they know more about cell phones than basic life skills. They need an app to do anything. When I was growing up, everyone who carried a pocket knife knew how to keep it sharp. They used a bench stone at home and sometimes carried a little pocket stone with them for touching up the edge. Knives were frequently used tools that needed to be ready to use at all times. Keeping their knife sharp back then was the equivalent of people today keeping their smart phone charged. These days, people buy a knife that's sharp out of the box and use it until it won't cut well anymore. Then they either toss it out because it's cheap and disposable or put it in a desk drawer because it cost too much to throw away. Few people even know knives can be sharpened once the factory edge is gone.
 
Oh, I just re-read the title (not on a mobile device this time), and noticed the question is about people that CARRY knives that know how to sharpen. Not just know how to sharpen.

I'd say then that I think the percentage is higher than I first thought. Mostly because at this point in time, I feel that at least a good percentage of people that actually still carry knives are either in it for the hobby, or use them for work, and therefor I feel they should have some knowledge of how to sharpen. But the "sharpness" of the edges produced will I'm sure vary from "barely workable" to "amazing" just like I feel it does even on bladeforums (meaning, still a range, as everyones skills and tools are different).

And for the record, I have nothing against edges produced by "machines" or "contraptions" of any sort. I do however appreciate the skill involved in getting a good freehand edge (personally feel its more impressive if I know the edge was achieved by hand). The reason I learned to sharpen freehand though was because I'd rather have the skill than the equipment. The mindset of "skills don't weigh anything", so if I ever (somehow) got stuck in the field, and had to sharpen, I feel I really could get a decent edge using a random stone I found. But when using... I really don't care how the edge got there, just that its "sharp enough" for my needs.
 
Jason B. said:
I feel a belt sander with Norton blaze belts is much better for grinding but the paper polishing wheel does pretty well. A belt sander is more flexible in its uses and is able to apply straighter and flatter edges. Personally, I prefer the surgi sharp leather wheels, much easier to find the bevel. I don't use my polishing wheel enough to be proficient wth it so when I do use it I find hitting the bevel somewhat challenging. I also use a fine felt wheel between grinding and polishing, IMO a must have for anyone doing mechanical sharpening.

Mechanical sharpening can easily produce very sharp edges that cut well but it's just not my thing, I'm a hand sharpening stone lovin kinda guy.
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Hmm...never heard of the surgi sharp wheel, I'm gonna look into that. I never thought about using a felt wheel either.
Thanks for bringing these to my attention.
 
I get about 50/50 responses. But then when you ask them what sharpener they are using or what process they use to sharpen you realize its more like 98% dont know how.
 
jackknife said:
We have at least two or three generations now that are born and raised suburbanites, with a father that doesn't care or an absent father and no father figure in the family that a kid can learn from. The rising generation of knife knits are pretty much self taught, and this leaves huge gaps in knowledge. Sharpening is amount that. More kids are growing up in their room with the computer than going outside and taking part of activities that will teach them valuable lessons of life. Scouting is at an all time low because it's not "cool" and even viewed as nerdy or dorkish.

I learned knife sharpening from our scoutmaster, who was an old ex-marine from WW2. He had an inspection of our scout knives att he start of every meeting on Friday nights at the church. When he was dis-satisfied with out sharpness level, he had a very hands on knife sharpening class. He'd sit us all down in a circle and take out our pocket size stones and he'd go around the outside of the circle and one by one lean over us and make sure we had the right angle and grip. He'd keep at us, and by the end of the night, all of us kids sitting in that circle had a shaving sharp scout knife, but more importantly we knew now how to keep it up. This translated to all the knives in our life. Sharpening mom's kitchen knives, whatever. Kids today more often than not, have nobody in their life to teach them. This is why so many grown men walking around today don't even carry a knife. But they have their I=phone!

For the great unwashed non knife carrying masses, sharpening a knife has become some kind of ancient lost art. But then why learn to sharpen a knife when you don't even carry one? And when some instinctive urge has them go get a knife, they haven't the slightest idea what to do with it.

Damm shame.
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Spending time with a computer doesn't necessarily keep people from learning valuable life lessons. I learned how to sharpen because of my computer! I could freehand a blade to hair whittling sharpness before I ever met anyone that sharpened their own knives. That's the part of the beauty of our generation, we don't need to learn these skills from our fathers. We can choose our own skills to hone, instead of just what our parents are capable of.
 
At school we were taught how to keep our wood working chisels sharp on a wet stone. As I am not a surgeon or a meat worker (Butcher) I keep my carry and kitchen knives usable sharp with the Smiths sharpening system.
 
Most people that I know that have knives don't know how to properly maintain the edge. The majority of them sharpen their knives with those pull through sharpeners, if they sharpen them at all. Most of them wouldn't have any use for sharpening them since they buy cheap "tacticool" knives to show off to their friends, and never carry them. Most of these people are the ones to argue that their m-tech auto assist tango with knuckle guards is better than a benched mini grip. I've always viewed carrying a knife and knowing how to maintain it a necessary skill in life, but that may just be the way I was brought up though. Sorry for the rant, but they kinda annoy me.
 
To this day I've only personally met one person that carries a knife and can get his knives as sharp as I do. And I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I taught him a little of the Dark Arts myself. And he sells knives at Sportsmans Warehouse.
I think most people just don't care if their knife is sharp. And those that do just don't fully understand the mechanics of sharpening. We found an old cheap kitchen knife in the yard at work and I sharpened it I the concrete floor just to prove that it can be done. It wasn't exactly pretty but it wasn't terrible either.
And once my son is old enough for his first knife, I'll teach him how to care for it and sharpen it. I like to joke with my wife and say he will have the sharpest knife at school. :)
 
Millions of men have learned free hand sharpening before us. Millions more will learn after us. I learned as a kid. It really isn't that difficult a task to learn, but it's a task every man should learn. Too many make it out to be some sort of uberskill and unobtainable. Quit over analyzing it and it becomes a much easier task to learn.

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.
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I'm using the same stones I've used for the last 30 years. Only added a DMT fine.

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EChoil said:
I strop on whatever decent leather is at hand. Most of my boot heels have strop-stripe from EDC over the years.
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I usually just use a brown paper bag. They work great.
 
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Seems like I've been sharpening everyone's knives in my family and at work lately. One of the owners of my company came down today and had a very dull older looking Case folder that wouldn't cut butter, I put it to my diamond sharpener for several passes and you should have seen the look on his face when I started shaving off triangles from a sheet of paper for him with it.
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FortyTwoBlades said:
It's worth noting that sharpening skills have never been truly the norm. The percentage of competent sharpeners may have been higher in decades past, but there's a reason why you so often hear stories about the little old local man who used to push a cart around with a grinding wheel and would put an edge on your knives for a penny or two.
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That little old local man did it because people were willing to pay. People's willingness to pay may or may not have had anything to do with their abilities or skill. As an example, I long ago reached the point I was willing to pay another to change the oil and filters in my cars. Has nothing to due with my ability or skill. I not only pay others to do what I can't do. I pay others to do what I no longer want to do.
 
Is it really such a feat to be able to buy really expensive, nearly fool proof equipment to put an unnecessarily sharp edge that is only measurable with superficial tests? Meh, if that's your thing-awesome. But don't look down on the next guy just because he doesn't whittle his hair after obsessing over sharpening a knife for hours.
Every guy I know who uses a knife outside of the kitchen can sharpen a knife. They have to, they use their knives and they use them well. You can't clean hundreds of fish a day or a moose or other big game with out a sharp knife.
But I guess it's different for guys who only carry a knife in the city...they don't really need a sharp knife?
 
Sullie said:
Is it really such a feat to be able to buy really expensive, nearly fool proof equipment to put an unnecessarily sharp edge that is only measurable with superficial tests?
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Nope...but I've met many, MANY people who cannot get their knife back to being able to cut paper.
Just regular printer or writing paper, nothing special.

One of my friends works in sign making/design/installation. He is very handy with all sorts of tools, and having a sharp knife helps him do his job...but since he has no fancy sharpening equipment, I just sharpen it for him when he visits, using my "fancy" granite floor tile and silicon carbide paper.

Other people seem to be able to put an edge back on, but are clueless when it comes to getting the tip back to being, well, an actual useful tip. Quite often the more fancy sharpening stuff they have, the worse they do at that.

Sharpening isn't a magickal skill which requires decades of secret training, but it is something that has to be practiced. Most people, even those who own knives, just don't bother doing so.
 
I only started carrying daily recently despite always owning knives since I was a child. I never knew how to sharpen a knife properly, but am committed to learning now. I can now get a usable edge but I have a ways to go. It will take lots of practice but I will learn.
 
Steve6387 said:
It will take lots of practice but I will learn.
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Absolutely. :)
You wouldn't believe the number of perfectly good knives I absolutely destroyed in my teenage years learning to sharpen.
I took some decent knives and made them into horrid junk that I gave away for free.

But now it's all good. :thumbup:

You're probably good to not ruin knives while learning, since you can already get a usable edge...I started from a point of truly sucking at it. :D
 
stabman said:
One of my friends works in sign making/design/installation. He is very handy with all sorts of tools, and having a sharp knife helps him do his job...but since he has no fancy sharpening equipment, I just sharpen it for him when he visits, using my "fancy" granite floor tile and silicon carbide paper.
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Teach a man to fish...all fishermen know which end of a knife to use.
It's funny, all my friends who use a knife for work use utility knives...they just don't think about using a real knife for work. Except the sharpfinger. Dang, that's a handy little knife for just about anything.
 
Ankerson said:
Yes, a lot people love to make things seem much harder than they really are to feed their egos and sharpening a knife can be as easy or as complicated as one wants to make it.
I usually recommend a Sharpmaker to those who are starting out as it's really a good tool and will sharpen a variety of different things other than knives and it's not all that hard for beginners to learn in general.
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This is soo true and I see it here. Still, I run into card carrying meat cutters that can't put a decent edge on the tool that's making them a living. My Grandfather, Uncle and Dad taught me. Then from gents here those skills were built upon. Now, I find it much easier to obtain a fine, sharp edge on a 300 grit stone. Many go OCD here as well. DM
 
leghog said:
That little old local man did it because people were willing to pay. People's willingness to pay may or may not have had anything to do with their abilities or skill. As an example, I long ago reached the point I was willing to pay another to change the oil and filters in my cars. Has nothing to due with my ability or skill. I not only pay others to do what I can't do. I pay others to do what I no longer want to do.
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Absolutely. Though simple maintenance/touch-up sharpening, which comprises the bulk of sharpening tasks, is so fast and easy to do with minimal fuss (I touched up my own pocket knife today in about 15 seconds) that those willing to pay for the service are mostly folks unable to satisfactorily perform such work themselves. I imagine many of the knives brought to the sharpener had some form of outright edge or tip damage as well, though, and were brought to him to be reground to proper shape.
 
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