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Sending to a Pro May Have Ruined Me...

R

RedLynx

Joined
Aug 5, 2011
Messages
11,445
Hi guys,

After sending a couple of difficult-to-sharpen knives to Jason B. here on the forums, I got them back extremely sharp, enough to do clean and easy push cuts through paper, which I'm not sure I've ever been able to achieve with my own results. So now that I need a resharpening on them a few months later, I'm not sure I have what it takes to get them back to that level of awesome (although I want to).

My sharpening has always been good enough for me and definitely good enough for the rest of the family and relatives not really into knives (more than adequate, in their case).

But I really want that level of sharpness back. I only have one two-sided DMT stone (red dot and green) and the Lansky angle system, preferring the freehand DMT style. I'd say that maybe my equipment isn't good enough to achieve the results I desire, but I'd like to try getting those results on my own, rather than it being a matter of needing better stones (which may be the case in the end).

Granted, I only do about 20 or so passes on each side of the blade on the stones, maybe I just need to spend more time on it to get the very sharp results. Any advice would be appreciated, as I now see what I am missing in terms of sharpening skills.

Perhaps a good whetstone should be my next investment.
 
buying a good set whetstones is a good idea but it takes a lot of practice to get good. You just have to get the feel for it, to make the right amount of passes. and being able to feel the blade to know if you have a bur and stuff like that. but if you don't want to take the time, a sharping system is an idea. but i just spent $30 and practiced a whole lot. not bragging but i can get them to push cut through phone book paper. Hope i was of some help.
 
DMT Aligner kit is what I use to sharpen,followed by 6000 grit diamond tape.Push cuts are easily achieved with a little time and patience.
 
bonzodog said:
DMT Aligner kit is what I use to sharpen,followed by 6000 grit diamond tape.Push cuts are easily achieved with a little time and patience.
Click to expand...

I'll check out this aligner kit, thanks. I am unfamiliar with diamond tape, how does it work?
 
After i have finished with the EEF stone,stick the tape to this stone to polish the edge.
 
I'm looking into the lansky system, I have seen it in action by gough knives channel
I'd like consistent results with sharpening that I can't get with free-hand.

Lansky sells leather polishing hones, and a C-clamp / post, so I wouldn't have to drill into my table.
 
I think for the moment, you should stick with the red/Green. You should easily be able to get that to a sharp edge, and with a strop easy enough to push cut receipt paper. It won't be a mirror edge, but it will be a stupid sharp edge. Spend some time going slow. Use a sharpie. Get a burr. Flip the burr. Move in to the next grit (green side). It really is simple once you understand it. Then you can worry about going to different higher end and grit stones.
 
Thank you for the kind words :)

Remind me, what knives did I sharpen for you?
 
Jason B. said:
Thank you for the kind words :)

Remind me, what knives did I sharpen for you?
Click to expand...

Hi Jason,

First I sent you two identical knives (CRKT Kommer Free Range folding knives) and you put a slightly different edge on each one, although I am not sure which is which. One was shinier than the other so I think that one had a finer grit used on it. I have been using that one, and I haven't used the other one yet. If you recall, I couldn't really get the Kommers to a working edge, despite having good luck with knives of a similar steel makeup and shape. We determined that the bevels were very obtuse from the factory, if I remember correctly. Later on I sent in a Benchmade Adamas folder. The Kommer seems to do push cuts easier, but I think the Adamas is thicker blade stock, so that's probably no surprise.

I was thinking of investing in 3, two-sided whetstones that could all be had for around $30 as a bundle, but as the poster above me has said, I should be able to receive a pretty sharp edge using the red (800 grit) and green (1200 grit) DMT stone. I gave the Kommer a few passes on green, but a paper cut test results in more jagged tearing than a smooth push cut, so although it is sharp, it's not like it was. I'm sure I used a different angle than you did but my technique also likely leaves something to be desired. I'm not the best at noticing when I have a burr that I can smooth out, among other things. I haven't made any passes on the 800 grit as it's fairly coarse and I didn't think I'd need to remove that much steel, but I could be wrong.

Haven't touched up the Adamas at all yet. I'm not sure it really needs it yet and it's too nice for me to risk messing up.

Cheers. :thumbup:
 
crbauhs said:
I think for the moment, you should stick with the red/Green. You should easily be able to get that to a sharp edge, and with a strop easy enough to push cut receipt paper. It won't be a mirror edge, but it will be a stupid sharp edge. Spend some time going slow. Use a sharpie. Get a burr. Flip the burr. Move in to the next grit (green side). It really is simple once you understand it. Then you can worry about going to different higher end and grit stones.
Click to expand...

Thanks friend, I am sure you are right. It's not that I can't get a nice working edge, I guess it's more a case of not realizing what I was missing. ;)
 
I always use a sharpie to mark the edge regardless if I'm using a guided system or free handed to know I'm hitting the apex of th edge. I mark the edge several times if I'm in the mood to free hand sharpen.
 
I used the Naniwa 2k Green Brick on the Adamas and my Shapton Pro stones on the CRKT's. 1k finish on one and 5k finish on the other.

For the CRKT's the DMT plates might be a little aggressive, it's a softer and less wear resistant steel in those blades and can be difficult to sharpen on diamond plates.

With the diamond plates you have I think the addition of a nice waterstone like the Naniwa 2k would get you to that clean cutting edge you are looking for. It's about $55 but large enough to last a lifetime or two. I would not recommend going with cheap basic waterstones, it will not make sharpening easier.
 
Jason B. said:
I used the Naniwa 2k Green Brick on the Adamas and my Shapton Pro stones on the CRKT's. 1k finish on one and 5k finish on the other.

For the CRKT's the DMT plates might be a little aggressive, it's a softer and less wear resistant steel in those blades and can be difficult to sharpen on diamond plates.

With the diamond plates you have I think the addition of a nice waterstone like the Naniwa 2k would get you to that clean cutting edge you are looking for. It's about $55 but large enough to last a lifetime or two. I would not recommend going with cheap basic waterstones, it will not make sharpening easier.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jason,

So you would say that the diamond plates are too aggressive/damaging for 8cr and other softer steels? That's a shame, it looks like I will need to get something different. The majority of my user knives are relatively soft steels. Could I use a Naniwa 2k exclusively for such knives or should I get others as well?

I may just send a couple knives to you next week, til I can figure out what to get.
 
It can be done with the DMT plates but you would likely need to do some stropping to smooth out the edge and deburr. the Naniwa stone is highly regarded for its abilities to produce sharp and clean edges on softer steels, especially kitchen cutlery.

IMO, it's a much better stone than the King combo set.
 
Jason B. said:
It can be done with the DMT plates but you would likely need to do some stropping to smooth out the edge and deburr. the Naniwa stone is highly regarded for its abilities to produce sharp and clean edges on softer steels, especially kitchen cutlery.

IMO, it's a much better stone than the King combo set.
Click to expand...

Very informative, thanks Jason.
 
I very strongly urge you to buy an edge pro apex or pro (what I have). They are super easy to use, I was getting the results you describe in a few minutes never having touched another sharpener. I can't recommend this enough.
 
What I like is the combination of both stones for freehand sharpening and spyderco sharpmaker for the final touch. That will give u both, the satisfaction of freehand sharpening, the practice to hold the angle, deburring etc. with the "backup" of the final crisp apex with the sharpmaker. To this day, the final edge of my sharpmaker is my benchmark for freehand and I basically transferred the technique of the sharpmaker to the benchstone with descent results.
 
+1 for the naniwa green brick. 70% of my sharpening is done on one.

Also worth mentioning:

Unless you are changing a bevel or doing chip repairs, there is really no reason to have any lower grit stones than the naniwa 2k. It cuts fast enough to get back to an apexed edge from most normal wear.

If a pro has spent the time setting your bevel, you can focus just on maintaining it.
 
Send it off again. This time when you get it back strop frequently, at least once a week, on leather with green compound and then bare smooth side out leather.

With a little care it should stay sharp for a very long time.
 
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