practice knives

[justine120]

i am very new to knives, and was considering buying a few cheap knives to practice sharpening. skeletoninzed 1085 steel blades form atlanta cutlery at 15 bucks a pop. is that a goo way to learn? how did you learn?

thanks all

 

[djolney]

That's a good way to learn.

My Uncle put a cheap knife and a cheap stone in front of me when I was 10 or 11, and since then (now 22 years later) it's been a gradual process of accumulating knowledge and skills.

There are some good sharpenning FAQs out there, so have a read and have a go.

David

 

[rs422]

My dad did the same for me, and old knife, an old stone a young boy, now it's old hat.

 

[ErikD]

I would think they would be fine. I also don't really see the need for having more than one. I have been trying to learn free hand sharpening myself recently and have just been using an old SAK I don't really care about and a cheap stone I bought at Home Depot.

Actually I think I am getting decent at it, as I am getting an edge that actually cuts something! It takes practice, lots of practice. I have just one question to add to this though, I have been using a cheap synthetic stone, that seems fairly coarse. I am able to get an edge that feels sharp, and will slice paper but not shave. I have been thinking that it is possibly just bacause my stone is to rough to get the fine edge needed for shaving?

I have also been thinking of getting some better Arkansas stones, but it would seem to be a waste if my skills are not there yet. If using a finer stone to polish the edge more I would have no problem buying them. But if the problem lies with my skills then there is little point in spending money on better tools. I usually just use a Sharpmaker to sharpen my good knives, and get great results with the system.