Sharpening small traditionals

[Ruiz]

I know this is not the maintenance forum but i thought this thread belonged here.

I'm just getting started with freehand sharpening and while the 1000 grit japanese waterstone I ordered is still in the mail I've been practicing with a 20 years old SAK on a cheap no brand waterstone.

I don't worry too much about precise angles and just try to maintain the knife's original bevel ( which is pretty hard to do on such small knives). Although i managed to grind a decently consistent bevel, It ended up much wider than the original (like the bevels on bigger modern folders).

Since almost all of my knives are small traditional slipjoints, with tiny bevels, my question is: Is there a technique to avoid widening the bevels so much on SAK's and others small traditionals?

 

[Modoc ED]

Well, I guess we've become the sharpening sub-forum.

Get yourself a good Norton Crystolon Combination Stone and hold your angle as close to 20º as possible. Consistency is most important not exact edge angle.

There are two other sharpening threads on the front page of this sub-forum. You might want to look at those for more suggestions.

 

[JJ_Colt45]

other than pratice for consistant angles ... the trick used most often to help is mark the bevel with a sharpie and make a pass or two and check to see if you are removing the sharpie ...

it should show if you are going past the orginal bevel also if you mark slightly above the bevel.

 

[Modoc ED]

Other than the stone I showed above, get yourself a Lansky 4-rod, turn box ceramic rod set.

 

[yablanowitz]

If you want narrower bevels, sharpen at a higher angle.

 

[jrawk]

I know this is not the maintenance forum but i thought this thread belonged here.

I'm just getting started with freehand sharpening and while the 1000 grit japanese waterstone I ordered is still in the mail I've been practicing with a 20 years old SAK on a cheap no brand waterstone.

I don't worry too much about precise angles and just try to maintain the knife's original bevel ( which is pretty hard to do on such small knives). Although i managed to grind a decently consistent bevel, It ended up much wider than the original (like the bevels on bigger modern folders).

Since almost all of my knives are small traditional slipjoints, with tiny bevels, my question is: Is there a technique to avoid widening the bevels so much on SAK's and others small traditionals?

Hopefully this is more constructive than previous replies.
The best way i found to sharpen freehand at a consistent angle is to cut/create some angle reference blocks out of wood to hold the flat blade tang against between sharpening swipes.

I cut small triangles out of a 1x3" board that have a 15 and 20 degree hypontenous. I am constantly checking my wrist angle between stone swipes by moving from the stone to the reference blocks. I hope that makes sense. This only works if you have enough of the flat tang exposed to check on the wood block (because the primary grind adds a few degrees).

Also, an additonal tip is to hold the blade on the stone so that it is not perpendicular across the face of the stone, and instead more like a 45 degree rotation, or greater. That will make it easier to keep the edge angle.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

The bevel's width is a direct indication of the angle held during sharpening, for a given steel thickness at the edge. If the bevel widens somewhat, it means the held angle is lower than previously sharpened to. If a narrower bevel appears near the edge, within the original bevel, it means the held angle is now higher than previously sharpened to. So, if one wants to maintain the appearance of the original bevel grind, watching the width of the bevel while you're sharpening is the key. If you see it getting wider, raise the held angle a little bit. If you see that smaller bevel developing at the edge, below the shoulder of the original bevel, then lower the held angle a little bit.

I'd otherwise suggest just running with the wider bevels as they've been created by your own hand. It's determined by what's 'natural' and comfortable with your hold on the knife as you sharpen, which will contribute to consistency later on. Wider bevels also mean a thinner cutting geometry, which means it'll cut even better than it used to after it's fully sharpened to your own held angle.

My own tendency with freehand sharpening is to hold at a lower-than-factory angle, which means my bevels always get wider; and I'm fine with that. On follow-up resharpening, it means I'm more likely to hit the angle I originally gave it, which makes resharpening that much easier.

 

[kamagong]

I'd otherwise suggest just running with the wider bevels as they've been created by your own hand. It's determined by what's 'natural' and comfortable with your hold on the knife as you sharpen, which will contribute to consistency later on. Wider bevels also mean a thinner cutting geometry, which means it'll cut even better than it used to after it's fully sharpened to your own held angle.

Screw looks. If you're worried about that and trying to minimize the width of a bevel, you care more about form over function. It's a pocketknife, the sharper and slicier the better.

 

[willc]

Screw looks. If you're worried about that and trying to minimize the width of a bevel, you care more about form over function. It's a pocketknife, the sharper and slicier the better.

That is a great looking bevel!

This is how I like to sharpen my users.
I like a thin edge especially on smaller knives.

The level of sharpness last longer and I find it easier to sharpen a thin edge