Sharpening Newbie

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khawk77

Joined
Jan 27, 2014
Messages
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I just joined the forum because I believe there is some good info to be found here and great experience to be drawn from. I don't really know a lot about knives, but I know even less about sharpening them. My primary focus is kitchen knives. My family and I love to cook and the knives get a lot of use. Recently I've noticed most of our knives have become dull....seriously dull. I asked a friend of mine who is a chef what he recommends and he said the only way to get a good edge is with a professional sharpening service. Since I prefer to do things myself, I would like to know if it's possible for me to learn without damaging my knives and if so, what tools and supplies do I need? I really don't want to spend a fortune, but I realize that you get what you pay for. Thanks
 
khawk77 said:
I asked a friend of mine who is a chef what he recommends and he said the only way to get a good edge is with a professional sharpening service.
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Fortunately for you, your friend is wrong :) Do you have an estimate for your price range?
 
khawk77 said:
I just joined the forum because I believe there is some good info to be found here and great experience to be drawn from. I don't really know a lot about knives, but I know even less about sharpening them. My primary focus is kitchen knives. My family and I love to cook and the knives get a lot of use. Recently I've noticed most of our knives have become dull....seriously dull. I asked a friend of mine who is a chef what he recommends and he said the only way to get a good edge is with a professional sharpening service. Since I prefer to do things myself, I would like to know if it's possible for me to learn without damaging my knives and if so, what tools and supplies do I need? I really don't want to spend a fortune, but I realize that you get what you pay for. Thanks
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Thank goodness your friend couldn't be more wrong. Since most kitchen cutlery is relatively simple stuff and not too hard, you have many options. The first thing you need to consider is whether you want to go with a guided system, powered system, or freehand. The guided or powered systems will give you better results in less time, but cost more and might not be very convenient in a kitchen. Learning to freehand sharpen steel tools is not the easiest thing in the world, but has been successfully learned by people for a couple thousand years. Is possible to put a very nice edge on softer kitchen cutlery using nothing more than a ceramic mixing bowl, using some nicer equipment will only make for faster and or nicer edges.

Martin
 
I'm new to sharpening also. This forum and youtube has lots of great info for a beginner. Many BF members are great for the advise they offer, although I found myself over thinking the process. Keep it simple, start with learning with inexpensive blades and equipment. I remember when I was a youngster my grandfather used only a cheap double sided stone and produced very sharp results. Read, watch youtube, ask questions but try not to go overboard thinking a high dollar set will give the results you think you should have. The results are produced with proper technique, blade control, knowing what is happening as you sharpen. Right now I have a norton double side stone for a cost of $20. I have sharpened a couple of cheap kitchen blades that work very well using just that stone. Have fun and good luck.
 
I'm hoping to spend less than $120 for a system. I'm intrigued with the idea of freehand, but I wonder if I could learn which stones to use and when, which angles to use, etc. Also is freehand the most versatile method? Because I'll be sharpening mostly kitchen knives but occasionally hunting and pocket knives. And if freehand is what I need, Are there any all-inclusive sets that have everything I need to get started? Thanks again
 
The spyderco sharpmaker is great for beginners, it even comes with a dvd to assist you. I have since moved on to stones, but find the sharpmaker still provides great results in relatively short time. The sharpmaker is also relatively cheap.
 
I'd suggest HeavyHanded's washboard system. I believe it's easier to use than regular stones, and it's pretty good at training you to recognize when you're matching the angle properly.
 
khawk, In the time of my last post I just re profiled, took a couple chips out, and got a shaving sharp result from just the $20 double sided norton on a cheap Chicago cutlery knife. I'm very new to this, If I can do this anybody can. Also, I don't have a sharpmaker and here nothing but great reviews, and I'm sure they are everything people say they are, but for me, having kitchen and hunting style blades, it just made more since to learn freehand. I did start with a guided system and quickly left it behind. Still have it, maybe I'll find use for it. I really think freehand is probably the easiest, cheapest and most function with no setup time or worry about repeatable results. jmo
 
khawk77 said:
One more question, would any of the following be good for freehand sharpening:

http://www.amazon.com/Arkansas-Tri-...0856948&sr=8-10&keywords=sharpening+stone+kit

http://www.amazon.com/Smiths-TRI-6-...90856948&sr=8-2&keywords=sharpening+stone+kit
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Yes its a great system for beginners. I got the tri 6 a while ago and my only beef with it is that the stand slides around when your trying to use it so I made one out of wood with some no-slip mat on the bottom. I think it came with angle guides but I got rid of those. It comes with oil but i use water.
I'd pay the bit extra and go with the wood base if I were you.
 
I have a Spyderco Sharpmaker and a DMT DuoSharp. I am a pure noob and the best advice I can give is to buy a Magic Marker/Sharpie/Marks-A-Lot. Coat the edge to see where your sharpener is hitting the angle at and maintain that angle. Nothing has helped me more than a marker.......
 
I'll second the recommendation for one of my Washboards. Is a compete system and comes with a pretty good manual and everything you need to get started. The link in my signature is to the sale thread - even if you aren't interested there is good info there, including some short videos discussing things like grit progression and angle control that can be applied to any freehand method.

My second recommendation would be for a Norton India stone and a chunk of Flexcut Gold honing compound. Normally I advise for a Norton silicon carbide stone, but is kind of overkill for most kitchen cutlery - the India stone is a better choice. There is nothing more versatile than freehand, and in a kitchen environment nothing more convenient.

Basically you need three grit ranges to work with, a coarse surface to fix and modify edges, a medium surface for refining edges down to a utility cutting level, and a fine surface for chopping, shaving, carving. You can expand out your set to either end with extra coarse and extra fine surfaces, but generally you need three.

The India stone does this with a coarse side and a medium one, can wrap a sheet or paper around the same stone, apply the Flexcut Gold compound to the paper, and use it with a stropping motion for a fine surface. The Washboard comes with two grades of silicon carbide sandpaper and some compound that can take an edge up to a very fine level very quickly.

Whatever you go with, I'd try to watch some of Murray Carter's videos. His technique and sharpening philosophy are top notch and easy to grasp.

Martin
 
Screwdriver said:
I have a Spyderco Sharpmaker and a DMT DuoSharp. I am a pure noob and the best advice I can give is to buy a Magic Marker/Sharpie/Marks-A-Lot. Coat the edge to see where your sharpener is hitting the angle at and maintain that angle. Nothing has helped me more than a marker.......
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The sharpie will be your best friend. Get a sharpie with the chisel tip....it makes things alot easier than using a regular sharpie or marker. The chiseled tip rides the edge perfectly and only marks the area that you want to be marked.
 
Hey man im pretty new at this to but id start off with a few cheapo knives cause you dont want to start with good ones, im starting learning on butter knives cause you mess them up, so what they are still probably sharper than they were to begin with, i guarantee that your butter knife will be sharper than your steak knife by the time you finished your third one
 
Personally I picked up a Victorinox kitchen knife for $4, or an old hickory kitchen knife for around $10 will do good for learning on. It's nice having a dedicated knife to sharpen, dull down and than sharpen back up. Or practice on the knives you already have. Practicing on a butter knife sounds like a hard way to go about it, if I am not mistaken you end up having to reprofile the blade to put any decent edge on it. That alone would make it annoying to learn on, I think an old kitchen knife or an cheap dedicated knife for sharpening be a good investment.

And use a sharpie as it helps a lot. And lastly practice, practice, practice.
 
I think the thing that gave me the biggest boost in learning to sharpen freehand was watching Murray Carter's Blade Sharpening Fundamentals (digital download).
 
The Tri sharpeners from what I hear are great for beginners, but they will however dish. So you will after a period of time have to resurface them. That why I use DTM, and Spyderco benchstones! Just be use a sharpie, and be patient! Good luck!
 
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