Sharpening secrets?

B Hess

B Hess

Joined
Feb 20, 2006
Messages
1,471
I have tried stropping and using a Sharpmaker but I just can't get my Busses hair popping sharp. I even tried the air bleeder strop I bought from the company store. I ended up selling it because I couldn't get anything sharp with it. Any suggestions?
 
You need 1 live chicken, at least 1 virgin, a bowl, Black Sabbath's "Sabotage", and about 4 hours. When you get these things rounded up let me know. I will give you the rest of the directions.:thumbup:
 
762 shooter said:
You need 1 live chicken, at least 1 virgin, a bowl, Black Sabbath's "Sabotage", and about 4 hours. When you get these things rounded up let me know. I will give you the rest of the directions.:thumbup:
Click to expand...

In my experiance, all you need is the tears from a virgin. Depending on where you live, that may be the most difficult part. The tears are used to lubricate the stone, but it only works when the moon is full and the honing must be done at midnight.

I say forget it. Use it for a butter knife. :D
 
I always heard that moonlight dulls blades.

I keep my blades in a pyramid made from plywood to keep them sharp.

regards.

John.
 
I always use my Lansky. With the Lansky I'm getting my Busse's hair popping.
 
Lately I've been using a Sharpmaker and/or whetstones. Ive had real good luck with my sharpmaker, even got my SK shaving sharp with it.
 
I was going to start a thread with this a few days ago but got busy.

I marked the edge of my Warden user with a red sharpie and started with the Sharpmaker, I saw that the angle of the stones were nowhere close to the grind. So I made a tilted platform so that the stone I was using was at 62 degrees or 28 off vertical rather than 20. Even at 62 degrees (I used and angle finder that I keep around for bike frames to measure the angle) it took a ton of time with the course stones to hit the edge. But once I did all it took was about 10 swipes with the fine stone and now it is taking hair off my arm like a razor.

So basically what I did was tilt the base of the Sharpmaker platform so the angel of the stone I was cutting with was increased to the point where I was close to the factory edge angle. You just need to be consistent. What also works is to use one of the sharpmaker’s stones as a shim about one inch in from the end of the base. You have to be consistent and careful to place the shim in exactly the same spot, so mark the base on each end with a file or something and then flip it back and forth to work each side of the knife. Mark the blade with a sharpie and then after a few times on the stone check and see if you are near the edge, if not tilt it more or less. Remember the markings for the next time you sharpen that knife.

Last week this worked for me like a charm on several heavy use knives with edge angles is the 30+ degree range. I just made a few small platforms to tilt the Sharpmaker more or less. I use an Edge Pro if I want to reprofile.

If this isn't understandable I can post a photo.
 
I have quit using almost everything ever suggested, and I have tried most everything. Some have worked, some haven't. I now use emory cloth and/or wet/dry sandpaper and follow up with a Norton 4000 diamond plate. Field sharpening is done with the EZE-Lap rod (EZ-M).
 
Tony G said:
I was going to start a thread with this a few days ago but got busy.

I marked the edge of my Warden user with a red sharpie and started with the Sharpmaker, I saw that the angle of the stones were nowhere close to the grind. So I made a tilted platform so that the stone I was using was at 62 degrees or 28 off vertical rather than 20. Even at 62 degrees (I used and angle finder that I keep around for bike frames to measure the angle) it took a ton of time with the course stones to hit the edge. But once I did all it took was about 10 swipes with the fine stone and now it is taking hair off my arm like a razor.

So basically what I did was tilt the base of the Sharpmaker platform so the angel of the stone I was cutting with was increased to the point where I was close to the factory edge angle. You just need to be consistent. What also works is to use one of the sharpmaker’s stones as a shim about one inch in from the end of the base. You have to be consistent and careful to place the shim in exactly the same spot, so mark the base on each end with a file or something and then flip it back and forth to work each side of the knife. Mark the blade with a sharpie and then after a few times on the stone check and see if you are near the edge, if not tilt it more or less. Remember the markings for the next time you sharpen that knife.

Last week this worked for me like a charm on several heavy use knives with edge angles is the 30+ degree range. I just made a few small platforms to tilt the Sharpmaker more or less. I use an Edge Pro if I want to reprofile.

If this isn't understandable I can post a photo.
Click to expand...

Thanks, it does make sense, but it sounds very tedious. I'll give it a try on my HR.
 
I have not tried one because I don't own one yet but I would think that a Apex edge pro set to the appropriate angle followed by the sharpmaker would work. after I get my first busse and the edge pro I guess I'll know better
 
762 shooter said:
You need 1 live chicken, at least 1 virgin, a bowl, Black Sabbath's "Sabotage", and about 4 hours. When you get these things rounded up let me know. I will give you the rest of the directions.:thumbup:
Click to expand...

I'll trade you an SFNO for that virgin, but she has to be 120 lbs or less.


as for sharpening, I strop my blades on my 5 o'clock shadow and finish them with my tongue. It works every time.
 
Smart ass aside (and thats' is the difficult part isn't it?) I have found that with any sharpening system, there is a learning curve. I have dulled knives with every sharpening system I own. BUT!! It seems as tho' one day everything just falls into place and I end up with an atom splittingly sharp knife. I think practice and dilligent attention to what doesn'st work is crucial. I have gotten knives sharp with Arkansas stones, diamond stones, mousepads with sand paper on them and strops to name a few things. Each has it's merits they all take practice.
 
MyMind,

Would you care to share your technique with the EZ M. I only make my SJT duller with mine.

Thanks
 
inFALable said:
MyMind,

Would you care to share your technique with the EZ M. I only make my SJT duller with mine.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Honestly, it happened by accident. I ended up using one side of the EZ-M to get the grind marks out of my ST Ripper choil. This smoothed the diamond on the rod considerably, so that it flows across the edge much easier. I use it like most any rod, pulling the smoothed side away from the edge. For a more aggressive approach, I will lay blade flat and use the coarse side like a file, pushing it across the edge. This is not a fine tuned technique, and I only use it when I don't have a flat surface and sandpaper nearby.
 
Thanks,

So how is the blade oriented when using the smoother side? I take it that the blade is stationary.
 
inFALable said:
Thanks,

So how is the blade oriented when using the smoother side? I take it that the blade is stationary.
Click to expand...

It's probably better to start with the blade flat and the edge towards you. I did this, but as I became more comfortable with the angle I needed, I was able to freehand. Good Luck.
 
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