Sharpening 1 Hand

H

HyperXHyperX

Joined
Dec 29, 2021
Messages
30
Hi everyone,

am I weird for doing my sharpening mostly while holding the stone in my left hand? I haven't seen this technique anywhere, I just learned it when I got my small diamond plates.

Am I alone in this? Anyone else in here with some weird sharpening practices?
 
Not weird, exactly how I do it.

I go in the direction of edge to spine and work the edge back and forth really fast in kind of a loose wrist rocking motion to achieve and maintain a keen convex. I honestly don't think there is a more efficient way to remove steel and keep an eye/feel on everything.
 
Not weird at all. That's how I trained myself for freehand, initially, using small handheld & pocket stones. Wasn't until after I'd developed a feel for it that way, that I then started using larger stones on the bench.

These days, I'll usually do heavier grinding and shaping on a bench stone, which allows use of heavier grinding pressure to speed things up. I also use a back & forth scrubbing technique on the stone for more speed of metal removal. Then I'll either pick that stone up or use a smaller one to do the refining in-hand. As SwissHeritageCo SwissHeritageCo mentioned above, I also feel I get a better look at what I'm doing and a better sense of touch / feel with everything in-hand. I do ALL of my touchup sharpening using small hones held in-hand as well.

I like to sharpen with the edge of the blade facing me, so I can visually confirm contact at the apex and correlate that with what my fingers are feeling on the blade. Gives me a better idea if I'm on track or not with my technique. And because I like to keep the edge toward me at all times, I'll switch the stone & knife between hands when I switch between opposite sides of the edge. I switch the knife between hands in the same manner when using a stone on the bench as well, so I can maintain a direct view of the edge as I work.
 
kobold said:
That's how I do it also. Except when I am sharpening my machetes/parangs, I hold the plate in my right hand.
Plus, I sharpen while lying down on a sofa, chilling. :)
Click to expand...
I can relate to the 'sharpening while chilling' aspect. In the evenings at home, when I'm watching TV and enjoying a nice adult beverage, I almost always end up picking up a knife and a small hone to keep my hands occupied. Very relaxing and a great way to wind down at the end of the day. :thumbsup:
 
I've been doing it that way for decades.
 
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