Sharpening Help??

D

DeAdEyE956

Joined
Dec 31, 2010
Messages
908
Ok I have been searching on how to sharpen knives, and i am lost. I had bought a Lansky Sharpening system (standard diamond) and used it on my Izula. The blade looks shiny where I had tried, before the blade looked like crap from use. I dont like to admit it but it seems sharper before i "sharpened" it. I used the 20 degree angle on both sides. any suggestions on trying something else? I will try using it more, but stopped cause the blade got thirsty :rolleyes: It only took a sip, no band-aid needed. what are some sharpening systems yall use? I thought about the Sharpmaker by spyderco..... guns and fishing i know- knife sharpening not so much :thumbdn:
 
the spyderco sharpmaker is a good system and pretty easy to use. i use a fine dmt and freehand my knives then just touch them up with ceramic but it does take practice to get the feel for it. you could always use a mouse pad and a few grades of wet dry sandpaper that puts a easy edge on.

take it easy
cricket
 
I've screwed up a lot of stuff on benchstones, but I've had lots of success with the Lansky "crocksticks" sharpener. It's like a low-tech Sharpmaker.
 
It sounds like maybe you just need to keep going a bit with the Lansky. I have not used one, but if it is sharpening at a slightly more acute angle than the knife already is at, it will take metal off the back of the edge but take a bit longer to get the edge sharpened at the very tip.

What I do with a plain stone (and which should work with your system), is to sharpen up one side until you can feel a good burr along the entire edge of the other side, do the same on the other side, and then go back and forth with a few passes on each side to knock off the burr, followed by stropping on an old belt or other leather strap (or the leg of your pants if you don't have any) to knock off any "wire edge" that may have formed. Once you have this done, the edge should only need light touch ups every now and then from time to time.
 
I'm kind of at a loss as to how to get that scary sharp edge, but I'm new at this. I just use some old stone I found lying around my house. I feel like I'm doing it wrong but I get perfectly suitable working edge that handles everything I ask of it like a champ.

Maybe try the sharpie trick. Hit up the edge with a marker and see what's exactly what your stone is taking off. It helped me out considerably.
 
Ok, you need a Lansky (got that) and a sharpie.

Start with the coarse stone (extra coarse if you have it).

Clamp the knife on the spine, right where the little indentions are on the clamp. Make sure when you hold the knife up, the edge is centered in the clamp, then crank it down as tight as you can get it.

Take the sharpie and mark along the edge, completely blacking it out.

Take the stone and the rod, lay the rod on a flat surface, I use the kit box top. Place the stone on the rod and tighten the thumbscrew in the front. Make sure the stone and the rod are in line with one another. If the rod has some bend in it, flex it slightly until it straightens out and is perfectly in line with the stone.

Place the rod through the 19 degree (I use 25, its a good working angle)

Gently begin moving the stone back and forth moving from the ricasso to the tip. See where the sharpie is gone. If you are hitting high, you will still have sharpie on the edge. If you are hitting low, you will have sharpie on the shoulder. Adjust the angle until you are striking from the edge to the shoulder completely.

Repeat this process until you get a burr on the under side, should take about 5-6 passes. Flip the clamp over, and repeat the process until you get a burr on the under side. Once you have it, change from coarse to medium, and repeat the process, sharpie, stone, burr. Then change to the fine stone.

Repeat, sharpie, stone, burr. Once you are using the fine (extra fine) stone, continue to make passes until the burr gets smaller and smaller until you can barely feel it. Then strop it.

Stropping it is not an overly difficult process. Leather, canvas, denim will be fine. If you don't have jewelers rouge, chromium oxide, or crystylon power, use powder detergent. Rub your charge (rough, CO, or CP)into your strop until there is no sign of the charge sitting on the strop.

Start by pulling off the blade, meaning drag the spine first, and the edge must be touching the strop, at the appropriate angle. You will feel when the edge begins to grab, and thats where you want to be. Back and forth, about 10 times on each side, and you should look at the edge and see mirror. Test on hair, paper, pets, spouses, and the neighbors pets.

Let me know how it works out for you.

Moose

This is C&P that I did in a post once more. I apologize. I'm lazy.
 
I'd contact RichardJ here on the forum and have him work on your edges for you. He does some awsome work! You won't regret it!
 
^^^ What moose said.

droobies said:
I've screwed up a lot of stuff on benchstones, but I've had lots of success with the Lansky "crocksticks" sharpener. It's like a low-tech Sharpmaker.
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i find the crocksticks to be great value for the money, especially for those starting out and not wanting to drop the cash on a sharpmaker. got mine for about 10 bucks and it came with 2 medium ceramic stones and 2 fine ceramic stones.
 
I was never impressed with the performance of the Lansky. Moose's method sounds effective though if you want to stick with it.
 
I bought the sharpmaker on the recommendation and reviews of those here in the ESEE forum. I have not been disappointed. Its sharp as it comes with the factory, and it took very little time. I have not sharpened everything in my house, and its all now shaving sharp.
 
+1 regarding moosez45's post.

Mostly freehand, now.

Have used both Lansky & Sharpmaker. Both have their advantages/disadvantages. Between the two, I prefer Lansky. Have had great results with it.

When first learning on any sharpening system, practice on cheaper blades before attempting to sharpen your good stuff.

Practice. You'll get it.
 
I was hesitant to try and sharpen my izula but I ended up making a strop out of a 2x4 and some heavy leather. I got the blade nice with some 1500 then 2000 grit and used the bark river green and gray compound to get it like a razor. That worked best for me. Plus I thought that with a convex edge you had to sharpen it like that. Didnt realize you could use a diamond or lansky type sharpener. (Im still learning, bear with me)
 
Thanks for the help, especially moose for the detailed answer. I am thankful for the suggestion of sending to someone else but I want to learn how to do it. I really need to learn how to sharpen a filet knife. Anyway I kept messing with it and cleaning the stone/diamond more often and it is a lot better. I will hold on to it for a while longer. I have it sharp but want to put a hair cutting edge. I guess that's were the leather stroping comes into play? I will check you tube and nutNfancy he KNOWS everything lol. Thanks for the help.
 
If you want it hair cutting sharp, after you do the initial metal removal.....using the coarse stones.....you then need to polish the bevel. The stropping helps polish the bevel. Straight Razor sharpening is different, but made me understand why stropping is important if you want a knife razor sharp. I'm kind of with moose, though, 25 degree edges are good enough for a good, user blade. I'm not obsessed with carrying around a scalpel, but I do want to have a razor sharp straight razor.
 
I been using a Lansky for about 11yrs now, they work, there are some things to learn, to keep from changing the tip geometry too much, moving the clamp and what not. But, its the easiest method to sharpen that I have found, to get perfecte edge symetry, and get repeatable, predictable results. YMMV. I really like the EdgePro system and it does better than the Lansky. For the money it better. I do like my Lansky though, and it works.

Moose

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DeAdEyE956 said:
Ok I have been searching on how to sharpen knives, and i am lost. I had bought a Lansky Sharpening system (standard diamond) and used it on my Izula. The blade looks shiny where I had tried, before the blade looked like crap from use. I dont like to admit it but it seems sharper before i "sharpened" it. I used the 20 degree angle on both sides. any suggestions on trying something else? I will try using it more, but stopped cause the blade got thirsty :rolleyes: It only took a sip, no band-aid needed. what are some sharpening systems yall use? I thought about the Sharpmaker by spyderco..... guns and fishing i know- knife sharpening not so much :thumbdn:
Click to expand...


I spent many decades trying this and that sharpener. Finally when I started knife collecting seriously at 74 if you can imagine, I narrowed down my sharpener choices to two: the Edge Pro and the Wicked Edge Precision Sharpener.
Since I have arthritis in my fingers and my musculature can now be classified as scrawny, I chose the one that actually holds the knife perfectly, the one which allows for accurate and repeatable angle adjustment of the edge angles and the one that seems to me to be opening up into the sharpening tool to contend with for both Pros and rank amateurs...The Wicked Edge Precision Sharpener.
To top it all off, Clay Allison, the inventor and the guy who gives his customers personal help and guidance, is the kind of business man who is what I really like but seldom find...he is kind, generous with his time and ideas, smart and he listens to other people who have ideas for his rig and actually follows through. In the next few weeks the WEPS will undergo advances that are happening because Clay listens and responds.
You really couldn't do much better than this fine tool IMO, but you certainly could do a lot worse. I am a guy who has tried most of the stuff out there down through the last half a century and I just cleared a big space in my work cupboard by getting rid of that old trash from my past sharpening failures.
Too pricey you say! I look at it this way, the WEPS costs a lot less than the most expensive knife in my collection and I have a slew of knives about the same price...so I want only the best sharpener for my beauties.

Very best regards chum :D
Leo
 
obsessis said:
How do you deal with moving the clamp on large (5" plus) blades?
Click to expand...

I am not sure exactly what you mean. The knife is placed in the clamp as per instructions (see the video on the site or YouTube) and then work through with the various diamond paddles. The knife doesn't move...it is held there so firmly, you can pick up the rig by the knife. I have tried several varieties of clamps over the years, but nothing beats this one. The paddles do all the work moving while the knife sits there firmly in place.
When it is time to touch up the blade weeks or whenever later, the knife can be placed in the exact same position every time.
I am not sure I have answered your question my friend. Feel free to ask again for any help and BTW, you can always call Clay if you need some help you can't get here...toll free number on the site.

Cheers
Leo
 
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