Sharpening question

[tueller]

Hey guys, if I mess up and sharpen a knife that isn't that dull yet, with a grit that is lower than the sharpness of my knife, am I only wasting my time and maybe a little steel or am I actually dulling the knife to the level of that grit stone? Thanks.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

An edge can be wicked-sharp at coarse grit or high polish, or anywhere in between. In all cases, the care taken to refine & optimize the edge at whatever grit is chosen is the important thing. The polished edge requires a fuller range of sharpening grits to achieve that polish, and needs to be finished with a light touch at the highest grit. The coarse edge won't need such a wide range of grits to attain, but still mandates a very light touch when making the last few finishing strokes on a coarse stone. At either end of the grit spectrum, as long as the edge is fully apexed and cleaned of burrs/wire edges, it'll still be plenty sharp, but the cutting character of the edge will change. Generally speaking, coarse & toothy edges work very well in draw-cutting (slicing) applications, and highly polished edges work very well in push-cutting or chopping applications. Both can easily make you bleed, though a cut from the polished edge will likely hurt much less in the process.


David

 

[tueller]

Thank you David. That was very informative. The reason I ask is for field use. At home it is no problem because I can use stones, sandpaper, strops, etc. however when in the woods I will usually just have a single stone. I found myself around the campfire the other night giving my bk14 a few passes. Mostly just because I enjoy doing it. But then I found myself wandering since the knife is already pretty sharp, was I just being non productive or actually counterproductive? Maybe I out to just bring a strop next time

 

[Ben Dover]

Get two wooden stir sticks from the local paint store. Glue the thinnest hard finish leather you can find to one side. Load one "strop" with 6 micron DMT Dia-Paste and the other with 3 micron Dia-Paste.

Put these in separate little plastic bags that the newspaper comes in on rainy days. They are lighter than a stone, take up very little room and are easy to use. The 6 mic paste cuts very fast, and the 3 mic polishes. Unless your edge is actually damaged, you can restore it to it's original level of sharpness in a few minutes.

Why not a two sided strop? I don't use them because of the possibility of cross contamination.

 

[Magnaminous_G]

Hey guys, if I mess up and sharpen a knife that isn't that dull yet, with a grit that is lower than the sharpness of my knife, am I only wasting my time and maybe a little steel or am I actually dulling the knife to the level of that grit stone? Thanks.

Why sharpen a knife that isn't dull? Also, sharpness isn't about grit size. You mention in your follow up post that you are looking for a solution in the field. This, combined with your OP, makes me think you are worried about bringing a stone into the field that is too coarse? I wouldn't worry about that because A) there are many options for a field kit that are excellent, and B) the goal of field sharpening is a working edge to do what you need to do in the field. Even a fairly coarse stone is good for that.

I might recommend something like a Spyderco Double Stuff, Fallkniven DC4, DMT credit cards, etc. A small strop is a great accessory, too. A DLT Field Hone loaded with black or green compound or Dia-Paste or HA spray is a great option. If you don't want something that fancy, a cut off section of an old leather belt is just fine. Or even a small square of cardboard! Just keep your strop in a ziplock bag, whatever you use.

But your questions lead me to a more important point: knowing how to sharpen and having the skills count far more than the products. I am confident I could sharpen and maintain a knife in the field with NO kit, at all. I'd find a good river rock to sharpen, and I'd make a stropping board out of a flat piece of dry wood and some dried clay or ashes from my fire.

 

[tueller]

Thx for the info and recs. yeah I asked cuz after a day where I did mostly fishing and used a hatchet for wood, my knife got minimal use. It was 1095 and cuz it was wet most of the day, I figured a good drying and a small touch up would have been fine. But all I had was a medium grit stone. A strop would have been better but I gave it a few passes anyways. Honestly part of me just wanted to play with the knife. I should have just whittled a spoon or something . I was wandering if the stone being more coarse than needed was a bad idea or no biggie. Thx for all the replies.