Razor Edge Guides

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naagren

Joined
Feb 6, 2008
Messages
7
Thanks for the very informative forum.

I have been reading The Razor Edge book of Sharpening by John Juranitch. He talks about the knife relief, the thickness or thiness directly behind the cutting edge.

I would like to grind my relief thinner and he suggests using his Razor Edge Guide on a course hone. I haven't seen the Razor Edge guides discussed in the forum. Do they do the job of maintaining a constant angle and are they easy to use?
 
i haven't had any experience with this guide, but with some practice with a cheap knife it is not needed.

get a cheap paring knife or pocket knife or something that you don't care much about and start sharpening on a course stone. keep going at it until you get a sharp edge, then scrape the edge on a rock and start over. do this a few times and you should have the hang of a good consistent angle.

i suggest googling "knife sharpening" and reading the first twenty links offered, then compare common vs uncommon, and decide what makes sense. then go back and keep sharpening that knife.
 
Their guides work in maintaining a consistent angle. You can't necessarily choose a specific angle. However, his book reads that it is not important to choose as specific angle, as much as it is to keep whatever angle you use consistent.

They work just fine. I had many a sharp knife from using their guides. What I got most out of them was, muscle memory! After using them for so long I saw my free hand sharpening got pretty good.
 
The Razor Edge guides do a decent job of holding a consistent angle. The major drawbacks, however, are that you never know exactly (or even roughly) what that angle is, and they require three hands and a monkey to attach to your knife blade. Really. I have a set that I purchased as research for a book I was writing. While I appreciated the ability to maintain a set angle, trying to get the damn things into a workable position on the blade was such a pain in the butt that I quickly gave up.

Chad
 
I appreciated the explanation Juranitch gives on sharpness. Mainly what he did was blow away all the voodoo superstitions you pick up over time while learning to sharpen and let me know that I already know how to sharpen correctly. No guides here, freehand for me. My wife gets kinda spooked when I sharpen a knife in the dark watching TV, I don't have to see the knife, my hand just feels the right angle.
 
Read the book.. but buy a Sharpmaker or an Edgepro if you're serious. Another drawback to the guides is the stones grind them too. So your angle is ever changing even if you keep the doo dad in the same spot. The book is a good read though.:thumbup:
 
Excellent book!

It made freehand sharpening so easy to understand and do that I never used the guide I bought, plus I think sharpening freehand is a great skill to have.
 
i used not to be able to get a decent edge even 1/2 the time with a guided system. when i started wanting to make knives i decided i was going to be a pretty pathetic maker if i could not even sharpen a knife! so i did some reading (razors edge was among them) found a couplea junkers around a set of dmt diamond bench stones and set to work! after a few times they started to get sharp! i was amazed! i kept at it and the longer i went the better i got. i think the thing that helped me most was sharpening at least 1 blade a day. that kept me so i wasnt starting new every time. i also sharpened relatives knives and everybody elses i could get my hands on.it turns out most people have at least a few dull kitchen knives they wouldent mind being sharp. after a couple or three weeks they would call me to get them sharpened! some even forced me to take a few bucks for it. now because of my little process i can now sharpen just about any edge to "whittle hair" and i wouldent even think of a guide! ive tried them and they all seem to be more pain than their worth. and BELIEVE ME! when i tell you if I can do it you can too!!!!!!! it was pityful to see an edge i did! now you cant find a dull blade in the house. just get a few stones(i got the diamond dmt because they were pretty cheap compaired to water stones or even oil stones) spend a bit of time at it and soon you to will be getting wicked sharp edges by hand! no guides,no sticks,no systems just a few stones. it really is that easy! it is also verry relaxing after a mind nombing day. because after awhile you dont to even have to pay attention you can feel it getting sharper!!! so just do a bit of practice and soon you will be an edge "craftsman"....willy
 
Thank you every one for the very useful info on the use or should I say, not use of guides. I will get a couple of diamond stones, coarse and fine, to begin with and and practise free hand.
 
naagren,sounds like youre off to a good start! give yourself time to learn and dont get discouraged.
 
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