How many of you ever push your limits and make challenges for yourself when freehand sharpening. Personally I started freehand sharpening and once I felt like I was pretty good I started trying to get sharper edges with coarser stones. Then started holding my stones in one hand. Then went to rod type sharpeners and smaller pocket stones. Now I am working on sharpening while not watching myself work. I really enjoy pushing my limits and challenging myself. What do you do to challenge yourself and push your limits? Maybe give me some ideas on how to make myself better.
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Pushing your limits
- Thread starter cap'njake
- Start date
I'm not great, but I can get some edges. I am currently in the slow process of almost full height convexing of a BM 908 Stryker 2 in CPM M4. It is taking forever, one side is extremely uneven, but if I ever get it complete, I will be extremely satisfied with it. Was trying to do all on waterstones, but the extreme uneveness of the one side has forced me to diamonds first.
The other challenging thing for me is convexing my Busse knives by hand.(Just establishing a convex edge, not doing a full convex grind). I figured out that 52100 (SR101) is a pretty sweet knife steel, but kinda ignant when you want to reprofile it. Again takes forever on waterstone, but miles ahead of the junk shit factory "edge". I've done 3 so far this way, and it makes a nice durable edge when done, and def. rewarding, just got to block out a few nights on the stones and some beers brah!
The other challenging thing for me is convexing my Busse knives by hand.(Just establishing a convex edge, not doing a full convex grind). I figured out that 52100 (SR101) is a pretty sweet knife steel, but kinda ignant when you want to reprofile it. Again takes forever on waterstone, but miles ahead of the junk shit factory "edge". I've done 3 so far this way, and it makes a nice durable edge when done, and def. rewarding, just got to block out a few nights on the stones and some beers brah!
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this^
I cannot claim to push myself every time I sharpen, but most times, and certainly every time I'm being paid to do so.
One thing I do is go back and forth from freehand to a guided system to see how far I deviate. It is a constant challenge to improve or at least to maintain. Mechanics are key to accuracy and consistency. Depending on how precise the guided system is, freehand can be noticeably more accurate, and I shoot to prove it every time. I always try to improve on my ability to feel the edge and shoulder, this is the essence of freehand.
Wowbagger
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Not watching yourself : Haha there is a Murray Carter YouTube of him blind folded while sharpening.
I have zero interest in duplicating this but here you go :
I do share his passion for shallow angle knife geometry and his views on thin Japanese knives verses these thick Western abominations.
I've pretty much met my greatest challenge in sharpening which is I have been able to take an S110V blade, reprofile it thin and shallow angle and make it work for all the things I cut on a weekly basis and still be chip free, ding free and shave sharp after days of use. I still pinch my self from time to time.
You can't see me but I lie here on a pile of laurel leaves looking rather smug and flipping my Blurple Para 2.
Life is good.
Except for these dambed leaves . . . they're scratchy and I think that's were all these bugs are coming from.
Well I don't mean putting a bag over my head but I will try to sharpen while I sit on the couch and watch tv. Stone in one hand knife in the other. I try to spend an hour at least every day sharpening in one way or another. I don't have the funds yet to be able to afford lots of different stones but I do look forward to adding to my collection and learning the behavior with different stones on different steels. Also heavy-handed I understand what you mean about feeling the edge and the shoulder. It took me awhile to get to where I could feel it. Being able to feel that sweet spot angle and hold it consistantly while sharpening is an incredible feeling.Not watching yourself : Haha there is a Murray Carter YouTube of him blind folded while sharpening.
I have zero interest in duplicating this but here you go :
I do share his passion for shallow angle knife geometry and his views on thin Japanese knives verses these thick Western abominations.
I've pretty much met my greatest challenge in sharpening which is I have been able to take an S110V blade, reprofile it thin and shallow angle and make it work for all the things I cut on a weekly basis and still be chip free, ding free and shave sharp after days of use. I still pinch my self from time to time.
You can't see me but I lie here on a pile of laurel leaves looking rather smug and flipping my Blurple Para 2.
Life is good.
Except for these dambed leaves . . . they're scratchy and I think that's were all these bugs are coming from.
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- Apr 12, 2009
- Messages
- 13,432
The biggest improvement I have seen in my own progress came from making myself train my left, non-dominant hand to mirror what I was doing with my dominant hand (right). I did that in order to maintain the blade orientation with the cutting edge always facing toward me. In doing that, many things improved, across the board. My overall focus is better, and it really seems to get my mind 'in the zone' when I force myself to use the left hand for things I'd ordinarily be doing with the right hand.
And, surprise, surprise, I've noticed that my finest touch and most finesse in sharpening usually seems to come from the left hand; I often notice the bevels look cleaner right out to the apex, done from that side. So, now I'm making myself focus a little harder on that aspect when using my right hand. The 'student' hand has now become the 'teacher', to some degree, and has forced the other to 'up it's game', so to speak. That's a wonderful thing, in continually improving results overall.
I've also sometimes done the eyes-closed or looking-away thing when sharpening, focusing on making adjustments based entirely on what I'm feeling via my fingertips. I'm sure that's helped me as well, in making the work more intuitive and less driven by conscious, deliberate intent (which, I think sometimes actually gets in the way of better work).
David
And, surprise, surprise, I've noticed that my finest touch and most finesse in sharpening usually seems to come from the left hand; I often notice the bevels look cleaner right out to the apex, done from that side. So, now I'm making myself focus a little harder on that aspect when using my right hand. The 'student' hand has now become the 'teacher', to some degree, and has forced the other to 'up it's game', so to speak. That's a wonderful thing, in continually improving results overall.
I've also sometimes done the eyes-closed or looking-away thing when sharpening, focusing on making adjustments based entirely on what I'm feeling via my fingertips. I'm sure that's helped me as well, in making the work more intuitive and less driven by conscious, deliberate intent (which, I think sometimes actually gets in the way of better work).
David
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Wowbagger
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All this feeling for I find a bit tedious. I turn every thing around and watch the edge on the stone for no gap. Yes with magnification. Stone in hand.
The problem with feeling is on stones higher than say Shapton Pro 5000 and or sharpening bevel widths narrow, on the order of 1 mm or less things start to get too vegue. I regularly use stones in the 8000 to 15,000 range.
Guided systems start to look pretty freindly right about there.
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I'll run with my glasses off and look away often, that sort of thing. I also will do an entire job and not use any visual inspection above a quick glance - use three-finger sticky and finish the edge by feeling with fingertips.
When I'm using a guided system I also will pay attention to feel - I can pretty much tell by feel whether I've hit the apex or not, again use this to correlate when doing freehand.
Most of my finish work with the polishing stones is all microbevel these days once I get to 8k or higher.
When I'm using a guided system I also will pay attention to feel - I can pretty much tell by feel whether I've hit the apex or not, again use this to correlate when doing freehand.
Most of my finish work with the polishing stones is all microbevel these days once I get to 8k or higher.
Wowbagger
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- Sep 20, 2015
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Feel and micro bevels and stuff . . . then some rambling off topic :
I got fed up not having diamonds on the Edge Pro and used some fresh double backed Scotch tape to stick my little DMT Aligner diamond plates to the plane aluminum plate used for sticking micro films onto. (mark the back with magic marker so you don't run off the end of these super short stones and ding up the edge).
Sharpening my Para2 S110V just now I corrected the geometry some and sharpened using several stones from ~330 to 8,000. So far I have just reprofiled and sharpened this knife by hand only using diamond.
Yes . . . . with diamond plates it is easy to feel the edge and I don't have to be concerned about carving into the stone with the edge like can happen on a softer Japanese stone such as Norton 8,000 (a favorite stone of mine but not for S110V).
Hahaha I started fooling around and once the Para2 was done, debured and washed clean it was shaving and hair whittling ~OK. Then for a goofy lark I picked up my "Little Monster" <<<<link since I can't post a photo. Even though I literally can't remember when the last time I touched up this kitchen knife (probably 8 months ago) it was equally as sharp as the S110V fresh off the stones. After 8 months of use it has some dings in it but I could whittle hair all along the edge ('sept for some really short areas) and it was popping hairs easier than the Para. Granted it is even shallower angle. Probably 10 or 12° where as the Para is probably up about 13° now.
The Little Monster has only been used on food and opening food packages. For a cutting board I use a fairly soft white plastic board. The plastic board sure pays off ! ! ! !
Yes I would like to go by feel but mostly fear I will just keep increasing the sharpening angle by digging into the stones. Ultimately I want to stay at the set angle and take the metal down across the bevel whether that bevel is three mm or 0.5mm. I totally get removing metal from behind the edge while sharpening but with the finest stones that doesn't happen the bevel gets polished and stays the same angle and the stone loads up so fast it won't effect a wide bevel.
Micro bevels . . . I hear you. I'm kind of stuck on single bevels.
sigh . . . I didn't say anything but that's what I been upto.
Howdy and take care Heavy H.
