- Joined
- Oct 8, 2005
- Messages
- 317
last advice is the easiest one for ME to agree with, and i'll also agree you don't have a sharpening system.
a sharpening system is a way to use increasingly fine grits in the same manner. the grits can be from paste on leather, sandpaper, natural stone, synthetic stone, or otherwise.. but if you don't have several (IMO minimum 3) levels of sharp DONE THE SAME WAY.. you don't have a sharpening system.
Jerry Hossum speaks truth IF you have or can reasonably quickly learn HIS SKILL.. and I'm trying to be as generic as possible here, as I am vested in another sort of skill, considerably slower (natural stones my preference) ..
as a production knifemaker his sharpening requirements are much higher than mine and there's no way he could profitably spend the time I do on each knife. his method works for HIS NEEDS, and did he NOT HAVE his skill he'd not be nearly so well regarded. IF you can emulate that, his advice fits you.
equally, if you find the 'scary sharp' methods easiest to learn and apply, THAT method fits you..
and it's not terribly likely you'll rapidly grow bench-stone skills, they don't grow very fast.. but a codger with a sharp word or two might accelerate the process.. fwiw I've been doing it over 40 years now and i'm starting to catch on .. with the RIGHT stone you'ld get the hang of it in a couple years and be justified to start accumulating better rocks.. first guess is buy a 1000-4000 norton waterstone, and a 3$ china rock (fine/coarse UN-OILED aluminium oxide stone) to dress it with, and use 10-1 water/dishwashing soap as your lube.. when you can feel ANY hollow developing in the norton, just scrub it with the coarse side of the china rock till the hollow goes away, it'll be visibly obvious with a little suds on it.. and it'll shrink as you scrub them together.. do it REGULARLY or it'll get real tedious.. (every few sharpening sessions, or even after ONE if it's a large dull knife.. )
if your steel is a smooth steel, (packer steel) or micro-fine (no visible grooves) then keep it. otherwise it's a net loss.
the ceramic has a job doing touchups, needs scrubbing CLEAN fairly frequently, and if you've been rough with it, possibly even some sandpaper polishing.. grit unspecified cause it depends how bad it's degraded. they're cheap enough that buying another one is feasibly the smart move. for all i've better tools i still use my ceramic as the first option for touching up an edge quickly in the kitchen. you NEED stones, OR some other method of several ascending grade grits.. before you can even CLAIM a sharpening system. What you're describing I call 'abused' knives, and I buy them regularly for a few bucks at estate sales, clean em on china rocks, sharpen em on a 1200 grit king, then a 2000 grit finnish, then a belgian blue, then a belgian cream, and burnish the edge with a surgical arkansas stone, THEN strop (on paper usually, and leather for the biggest blades). That's approximately 1200, 2000, 4000, 8000 .. as the ascending grits. THAT is a sharpening system. YOU have a NON-sharpening system. Any sharpening system will work. Pick one, learn it, use it, smile a lot more.
The one that fits ME may not suit you a bit, ditto, Jerry Hossums may not suit you a bit either.. you may pick a way i don't even know about.. but it'll have several grits, that you use IN THE SAME WAY, (same action taken) or it's not a system.
a sharpening system is a way to use increasingly fine grits in the same manner. the grits can be from paste on leather, sandpaper, natural stone, synthetic stone, or otherwise.. but if you don't have several (IMO minimum 3) levels of sharp DONE THE SAME WAY.. you don't have a sharpening system.
Jerry Hossum speaks truth IF you have or can reasonably quickly learn HIS SKILL.. and I'm trying to be as generic as possible here, as I am vested in another sort of skill, considerably slower (natural stones my preference) ..
as a production knifemaker his sharpening requirements are much higher than mine and there's no way he could profitably spend the time I do on each knife. his method works for HIS NEEDS, and did he NOT HAVE his skill he'd not be nearly so well regarded. IF you can emulate that, his advice fits you.
equally, if you find the 'scary sharp' methods easiest to learn and apply, THAT method fits you..
and it's not terribly likely you'll rapidly grow bench-stone skills, they don't grow very fast.. but a codger with a sharp word or two might accelerate the process.. fwiw I've been doing it over 40 years now and i'm starting to catch on .. with the RIGHT stone you'ld get the hang of it in a couple years and be justified to start accumulating better rocks.. first guess is buy a 1000-4000 norton waterstone, and a 3$ china rock (fine/coarse UN-OILED aluminium oxide stone) to dress it with, and use 10-1 water/dishwashing soap as your lube.. when you can feel ANY hollow developing in the norton, just scrub it with the coarse side of the china rock till the hollow goes away, it'll be visibly obvious with a little suds on it.. and it'll shrink as you scrub them together.. do it REGULARLY or it'll get real tedious.. (every few sharpening sessions, or even after ONE if it's a large dull knife.. )
if your steel is a smooth steel, (packer steel) or micro-fine (no visible grooves) then keep it. otherwise it's a net loss.
the ceramic has a job doing touchups, needs scrubbing CLEAN fairly frequently, and if you've been rough with it, possibly even some sandpaper polishing.. grit unspecified cause it depends how bad it's degraded. they're cheap enough that buying another one is feasibly the smart move. for all i've better tools i still use my ceramic as the first option for touching up an edge quickly in the kitchen. you NEED stones, OR some other method of several ascending grade grits.. before you can even CLAIM a sharpening system. What you're describing I call 'abused' knives, and I buy them regularly for a few bucks at estate sales, clean em on china rocks, sharpen em on a 1200 grit king, then a 2000 grit finnish, then a belgian blue, then a belgian cream, and burnish the edge with a surgical arkansas stone, THEN strop (on paper usually, and leather for the biggest blades). That's approximately 1200, 2000, 4000, 8000 .. as the ascending grits. THAT is a sharpening system. YOU have a NON-sharpening system. Any sharpening system will work. Pick one, learn it, use it, smile a lot more.
The one that fits ME may not suit you a bit, ditto, Jerry Hossums may not suit you a bit either.. you may pick a way i don't even know about.. but it'll have several grits, that you use IN THE SAME WAY, (same action taken) or it's not a system.