So last year I bought a medium/fine king Japanese water stone. I started practicing on an old Hickory kitchen knife and have since had good results. I can get that kitchen knife shaving sharp without too much issue. Last year I also picked up a little hunter off the exchange. After sharpening pencils for a couple months I noticed it losing its edge. Iv now been trying to get an edge on this knife for about two weeks with no luck. Every time I try to sharpen it I end up with a tiny burr right at the very edge. Just when I think iv removed it on one side it appears on the other. Do I just suck at sharpening or could it be a bad heat treat? I don't have this problem with my kitchen knife so I'm a little stumped. Blade is 1084 with a full flat grind.
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Sharpening problems
- Thread starter noob93
- Start date
ATJ999
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^ what they said! I just started using a strop in 2017. I am so mad at myself for not having one my whole life! It is amazingly easy to sharpen now. I strop to the point where I don't feel a burr, then pull the edge through a piece of wood or cork a handful of times, then strop a handful of time on each side. Good to go after that.
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Been hand sharpening for over 50 years. It takes PRACTICE, and lots of it. That being said, you should be able to get hand sharpened knives to the sharpness you want. If you are sharpening with a steady enough hand to raise burr all the way along the edge of one side, you are well on you way to sharpening bliss.
Agree completely with the alternating strokes. When you have chased the burr all the way to one side, carefully, with as little pressure as possible, remove it on your finest stone. Technique is everything. Once mastered, easy to do.
Stropping can be its own worst enemy, and you should read about proper stropping methods here. I don't strop myself except when I need a quick reset on the edge of certain knives and my equipment isn't around.
Robert
Thank for the advice I really appreciate it. I just tried some edge trailing passes and it now feels like the edge is slightly rounded? This is really getting frustrating. Is there any chance I'm not hitting the very very edge when sharpening and that's causing the problem?
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Not sure exactly what you are describing, but to draw a good picture, think of it this way: when I got my Buck 119 around '69 or so, they described the sharpening movement as slicing a thin slice of paper off the stone. Don't rub in circles, don't draw the knife spine first heel to point across the stone. Cut away that thin slice of the stone... that's your ticket when sharpening. (Backwards on that when stropping!)
if you see a service provider or smith drawing the knife spine first or even swirling the blade, he has found his own way. These guys do it for a living, and like a lot of things professionals do, don't try it at home. The professional sharpeners I have watched or have seen all cut across the stone edge first to remove the metal cleanly. There are exceptions like powered sharpeners, but start out with basics and you will find that once mastered they will serve you for the rest of the time you are sharpening.
And you are in luck. flatblackcapo just dug out these threads from the archives and posted them on another thread concerning sharpening. Good stuff!
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Welcome to Bladeforums, dgam13. Here are a few threads that can help you with sharpening and choosing the right sharpening system. Do you want a guided system or do you want to spend some time learning to freehand ?
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/what-is-sharpening-a-knife-about-2015-updates.1014274/
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/stropping-angle-plus-pressure.750008/
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/microbevels.634739/
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Robert
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- Aug 13, 2013
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Use sharpie the inspect the edge with 10X magnification or so.
Use light pressure once you see and feel a burr.
Is your King stone flat?
It is possible to get good results off dished stones but I wouldn’t recommend it.
If frustrated set the knife down and come back later.
Also if you have access to a miter saw cut a couple small scrap wedges at 15 degrees or whatever angle you think the knife is and use them as a reference to see if you are holding a consistent angle.
Practice a lot and it will become second nature.
Use light pressure once you see and feel a burr.
Is your King stone flat?
It is possible to get good results off dished stones but I wouldn’t recommend it.
If frustrated set the knife down and come back later.
Also if you have access to a miter saw cut a couple small scrap wedges at 15 degrees or whatever angle you think the knife is and use them as a reference to see if you are holding a consistent angle.
Practice a lot and it will become second nature.
My final grit is 6000 I believe? Whatever the king medium and fine fine side is.
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- Aug 18, 2016
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Ok that should be enough. Did you try coloring the edge Prior to sharpening?
No I haven't with this knife. I used to do that and stopped with my kitchen knife because it was going well. Iv had decent luck with my kitchen knife getting it shaving sharp. I just tried to sharpen the hunter again today and ended up with a tiny micro bur on both sides that was only enough for my finger nail to contact. I also notice the edge is considerably "higher" on one side but I'm quite certain I'm holding the knife as even as I can. I tried stropping on plain leather and it helped a bit but the edge is still not shaving sharp and does not currently news paper.
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- Aug 18, 2016
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Maybe the maingrind is uneven and the heattreat faulty. Can't really explain it with other stuff by now
I'm not sure I'm almost wondering if I'm not getting the very very edge. I just sharpened my kitchen knife last night again and it was an enjoyable experience that yielded good results. Could a bad heat treat and soft steel be causing this problem?
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Well If you got a burr you have to be hitting the very edge. Can you Look at the edge with some sort of magnification? Is the maker of the blade reputable? A soft steel/faulty HT could certainly be the problem