Sharpening question

[Rednek]

I need a little help figuring out why I cant get some knives to get sharp.I take pride in my sharpening skills.I use a belt sander up to 400 grit and freehand finish with fine diamonds and ceramics,and can get most knives to shave my arm hair.I have fairly inexpensive knives,but am able to get most of them sharp,but I have two flea market knives that I cant get sharp no matter what.The blades on both of them say china stainless.These are the only two knives I have that I cant get sharp.My other cheap knives are 440 and 440c,and I can sharpen them almost as good as a case.Is it because of cheap blade material that I cant get these knives sharp? Thanks for any input.

 

[ChapmanPreferred]

My guess is that the blade steel is too soft and you are not effectively removing the burr and it is just being chased from side to side. You could try to increase the angle a bit in an effort to remove the burr with a few light strokes. Just a thought.

 

[ricklee4570]

I have had problems getting some of the cheap Chinese stainless knives sharp as well. I can get them reasonably sharp, but some of them will not get hair shaving sharp. I believe it is because of the cheap steel used. Its hit and miss with some of them.

 

[Rednek]

I have had problems getting some of the cheap Chinese stainless knives sharp as well. I can get them reasonably sharp, but some of them will not get hair shaving sharp. I believe it is because of the cheap steel used.

Thanks.I think youre right.If my sharpening works for my other knives,the same technique should also work for these.From now on I will just buy knives that I know that I can sharpen based on experience.

 

[littlecity]

The solution is: throw away these chinese crap.



Did you try stropping on leather with a fine paste? Even for low quality soft steel, it can sometimes give results.