Sharpening: How long should it take?

K

Knyfe

Joined
Nov 4, 2007
Messages
8
First, I'm excluding the speedy belt-sander methods.
I'm thinking more about V-crock-sticks sharpeners.

I understand that there are many related issues here: steel hardness, angles, coarse/fine, pressure, dullness, and maybe others, but at some level, I think this should all reduce to some appropriate amount of time.

And a closely related question:
How much should sharpening change the original shape of the blade?
 
It's hard to say. It depends on what exacaly what you are trying to do. Are you thinning the edge any? Are you just looking for a quick touch up? If you are just touching up a fairly sharp knife it'll probably just take a minuite, if you are thinning the edge, it could end up taking quite awhile, maybe even a couple sittings. Just don't rush it or loose focus on what you are doing. Hope this helps.
 
it would be impossible to tell because of the reasons you have allready pointed out. the only reason to change the profile of the blade would be because of damage, legal issues or boredome. your skill level will dictate the time required to sharpen a blade.
 
How long should it take to get to Grand Central Station?

The answer depends on where you are now, your mode of transportation, traffic, and a host of other factors. There is no one correct answer for all places. Sharpening is the same way.
 
i haven't sat down and really sharpened an edge with a stone in a long time...since i got my 1x30 belt sander it takes me about 5 minutes to thin an edge, lay a nice bevel and polish it up to whatever grit i want.

but for maitaining that edge it takes me about 2 minutes with my method, high grit sandpaper tapes to a paint stir stick, worked like a strop, then a strop.

on a stone, it used to take me quite some time to thin an edge and work up a good burr, then i would take it to the sandpaper to convex it. i would say probably around 1 hour at each knife...maybe more or less depending.

but i agree, its really not a good question to ask like you asked it... very different for each person using thier technique and their tools
 
Speaking strictly from my own experience:

Using the Lansky system on a knife that's never seen a Lansky before can anywhere from a half hour to several hours; there's often a lot of fiddling to get the blade in the clamp properly and a lot of stock removal to get an edge profile that works with the Lansky.

Resharpening a knife that's been sharpened on a Lansky before (so you know where all the sweet spots are) only takes about ten minutes, if that, and you've got a like-new, hair-popping edge.

Maintaining an edge - I use a rat-tail diamond hone and/or one of the Lansky stones - and that should only take a couple of minutes.
 
Just like everybody else said, it depends on everything.

For me using my freehand methods, it goes something like this:

1. new and already sharp: 5-10 minutes with an arkansas stone and oil.

2. used and abused to a blunt edge: about 5 minutes with a diamond rod and another 10 minutes finishing with an arkansas stone (with oil).

3. a blunt piece of metal that should be replaced or used as a prybar: Bust out the carbide bits and start hacking away at that thing until a convex edge is apparent (could take damn near forever, and that's no joke), then use the diamond rod to get a half decent edge on it, and then after forever and a day finish with a nice 5-10 minutes of an arkansas stone with oil :).

ps. for number 3, just buy a belt sander, that's why man has progressed in tools 'cause the older ways took forever (plus back then they had nothing better to do. nowadays we have football games, fight nights, bladeforums, and couch potatoe duty to uphold :D).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top