Question for Those That Sharpen by Hand

M

MedicX

Joined
Jun 24, 2010
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I am looking at DMT's sharpening whetstones. The thing is, is that I don't know which one to get... the 6" fine w/600 mesh and base that comes with it, or the 8" Duosharp Plus that has the fine/extra fine and base.

There is only a $20 difference in price, but I am curious if I need the extra space with the 8". These are gonna be used for my kitchen knives and so forth too (they need a good sharpening).

Lastly, picking a good strop. Something that won't kill my pocket, but that will put a nice finish to things.

I posted here because, in the end, I am curious as to what my fellow ESEE lovers would do or have done...and yes, I have read multiple posts, but definitely know that I am going with strictly freehand. THANKS IN ADVANCE.
 
I have the coarse, fine, and extra fine diasharps in 8". They are great whetstones. If you are going to be using them on a large chef's knife, the extra area will make the task a bit easier. That said, if you are worried about cost, the 6" will do a fine job as well, just not quite as easily.

For the strop, I have a dovo hanging strop for my straight razor, and a paddle strop I made myself for the rest of the knives. The paddle strop has one side loaded with CrO from Hand American, and the other side is plain leather. Bark River sells some nice strop sets with the two compounds as well.
 
you can make your own strop for like $5.. or less..

local yellow page search for leather shops etc, they'll give you scraps.....

get a 5 gal stir stick adn rubber cement smooth and grain side of leather.. done..

I bought a bag of scrap leather for $5 I have made one strop and have enough scrape for life..

I just use the hand strop in the field as I use a belt sander for sharpening exclusively now..
 
I START with an 800 grit stone, which is less abraisive than daimond to begin with. 1095 isn't as hard as most high end stainless blades so you really don't need something like that. You won't need anything that course unless you are severely abusing a large blade. I use a 1x4 inch stone which is plenty efficient and easily packable, in addition to 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper. A strop isn't a bad idea though. A 1 inch by 2 inch piece of flat wood with a leather 2 inch belt from goodwill glued to each side will make an efficient strop and cost you 2 bucks.
 
Agree with PayetteRucker. I think people use too coarse a stone when sharpening. I may use a coarse on a splitting axe but not on a knife. I use a 2000 grit stone to finish an edge then strop it. Quite often lightly hone the edge on the top edge of a car side window just for that wee bit extra polish. The better quality edge you get will both cut better and last longer than a microscopic saw edge you would get from, say, a 600 grit stone. I only use stones and never sandpaper so can not comment on that.
 
8" is much more efficient for sharpening - at least for me.
an extra $20 for essentially a second stone = good deal.
when brand new the DMT will cut a LOT coarser, so if you have any blades you need to reprofile, start with them.
600/1200 is what i do the majority of my sharpening with and I can get pretty close to shaving sharp with just those. If I want a really nice polish, I go to my 20 year old EZlap 1x6 and put a close to mirror polish on the edge. (had a homemade strop, misplaced it in a move and haven't taken the time to build a new one)

to build my last strop, I used a 2' long scrap of 1x4, carved 6" of handle on one end, and used titebond 2 to glue the leather to the board. I used red rouge to load the leather, but that was before Lowe's started carrying their green compound. (if you have a woodworking shop nearby, the flexcut brand yellow compound is very good)
 
Come to think of it, 800 grit was what I used to fix my edge roll on the RC5 from the time I battoned through a 16 penny nail...
 
Again, thank you all. I ended up going with the DMT Duosharp Plus. As said before, it is essentially two stones in one, and I definitely need to put a good edge on my kitchen knives (practice :D ).
 
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