Sharpening is one of the hardest things I have tried.

[HeavyHanded]

If your bevel is convexed as you described, I guess your hand stability is off. I too sometimes have this problem. Going back to HH tips might help: re-calibrate your angle. Go with short stroke (long stroke can lead to wrist swing).

An unstable hand will cause problem on burr removal, as you won't be able to 'kiss' the burr lightly on a single pass, and attempt to hit the burr might be too high, causing it to be recreated on the other side.

Another factor of convex bevel even when your hand is stable is dished stone.

If you have budget, I'd suggest get HH's washboard. It's a very good free hand learning tool because of the feeling/audible feedback & you won't have stone dishing problem. If not, at least get some wet/dry sandpaper laid flat on hard backing and give it a try. Start from 400 or less (depending how much bevel flattening you need) and go up to 1500 to 2000 grit. You'll have good working edge off the 'stone'.

Hope this helps.

A (female) forty-something year old roommate of a coworker bought the very first "production" Washboard because she was tired of dull knives, and was upset that her mother had recently spent a couple hundred dollars on a kitchen set that didn't even come sharp. She was determined to get her own cutlery fixed, and help her Mom get her $s worth from the set she'd purchased.

She helps out at the shop every now and then when we get buried, so I don't see her too often. Showed her how it works, gave her the 15 minute tutorial. Discussed basic concepts of burrs, angles, paper and stone loading (and unglazed underside of coffee cup loading) and showed her how to use the coffee cup for touch-ups, how to use the WB on plain and serrated edges etc. She had never sharpened anything before in her life. Purchased the WB back in Sept of last year.

My coworker told me the other day when I asked how it was working for her roommate - "All our knives are sharp as **** now, even the serrated ones!" Is no magic bullet, but seems to be a big help for quite a few owners.

Was going to discontinue the feature that allows the bases to be stacked for an angle guide as I really don't want people to be dependent on features like that, and am dubious that most owners would even try it. But had a friend try it out and he was impressed at the job he was able to do on his first try (with a bit of coaching) - "I get it...".


Whatever you do - strong results freehanding hinge on angle control - recognizing where your control is weak and making mechanical changes until you get to a better place. This means looking at how you sharpen with sort of a detached awareness, as if you were observing a friend who requested you help figure out what they're doing wrong - assume nothing. Eliminate mechanics that don't make sense and improve on the ones that do - we're all a little different, so what works for some won't work for others. Like exercise, there are basic principles that are the same across the board and will ensure some basic results that can be built upon.

You can get reasonable results without taking this step, but IMHO one will struggle when faced with tools they aren't familiar with in terms of size, edge grind, edge finish, profile. Once you get a handle on tactile feedback based upon where on the tool's surface you are, life will get a lot easier. Tactile feedback can be increased considerably by creating and maintaining crisp bevel surfaces, so they compliment each other. The flatter the bevels, the greater the sensation will shift as you transition from shoulder to apex to flat and the easier you'll be able to keep the bevels flat (or slightly convex with full control etc). In my humble opinion....

Best of luck, get some cheap knives and a Sharpie, and safeguard the condition of your grinding surface.

 

[blades4brains]

Keep it simple. I had sharpening problems until my 13 year old self heard this one tip (very loosely quoted): "When sharpening, pretend your slicing a very thin layer off the top of the stone with each pass." This ensures a constant angle. This tip requires little practice, and keeps sharpening on a stone the way it is supposed to be - simple.

-b4b

 

[Squashfan]

I guess the only thing for my problem is more practice. I can produce a (to me) decent edge if I raise the spine up a couple degrees until I hit the burr. Not very good technique but it is a way to eliminate the burr. I don't want to do it that way though. I want to make an edge the true way and not by cheating. However, I did see something that gave me hope. I found out one of my neighbors is a knife nut who has been carrying a Benchmade AFCK for a long time. His sharp edge was about the same as mine. It made me feel better about my sharpening.

 

[HeavyHanded]

I guess the only thing for my problem is more practice. I can produce a (to me) decent edge if I raise the spine up a couple degrees until I hit the burr. Not very good technique but it is a way to eliminate the burr. I don't want to do it that way though. I want to make an edge the true way and not by cheating. However, I did see something that gave me hope. I found out one of my neighbors is a knife nut who has been carrying a Benchmade AFCK for a long time. His sharp edge was about the same as mine. It made me feel better about my sharpening.

Only on this forum and a handful of others is such emphasis placed on relative precision sharpening. Take heart that you're already better than 99.7% of the general population and only getting better. Its a struggling art though enjoying a bit of a comeback as people have less $ and want to start taking care of their gear again. Most adults cannot identify a sharp edge except a vague notion through usage.

I reached a number of plateaus as I learned. Developed habit-based strategies, and while it didn't seem like it at the time I wasn't really paying attention anymore. Most of my results were respectable, but when stuff went wrong or didn't turn out as nice as I felt it should I didn't know why, or if I did, didn't know how to correct it. Really does come down to studying yourself and IDing where you're causing trouble. Maybe set yourself up with a few cheap knives and instead of setting out to sharpen them, make a goal of grinding some steel in a controlled manner - doesn't matter where you stop - study what's happening to the steel. Experiment a bit with the mechanics and what you can feel and hear. Go slow, stop often, observe.