Sharpening Stupid

T

TedRango

Joined
Mar 8, 2011
Messages
12
Well the title says it all :( I know nothing about sharpening a knife. Can someone school me on what I need to know, I realize that may take a while but could someone at least give me the basics? When I look at systems I am flooded with information. Oilstones, whetstones, diamondstones, angles, coarse, fine, medium! What do I need to know to get my knife sharp. I am about to purchase and ESEE 3 or 4 and will be wanting to keep it sharp as I can. I am so confused please help me out or point me in the right direction!
 
if you want a cheap and easy sharpening setup you can get some glass and some 3m brand wetordry sandpaper and use it to sharpen on. you will have to learn how to hold the knife at the proper angle. there are numerous systems out there that can cost several hundred dollars down to the glass and sandpaper.

if you want a powered system that has a short learning curve there are the paper wheels. a member bought a set one evening and was getting shaving sharp edges that night. here is his thread. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=824907
 
Basics are to sharpen with a coarse grit first to raise a burr(in order to make sure that both sides meet at a point), than use finer abrasives to refine the edge. I'd also recommend a scrap piece of wood for burr removal.

How you choose to go about this is a personal preference, as you could sharpen with a brick if you choose to. Being an impatient man, I chose the path of power tools. And having little space to work with, I chose a mini belt sander.
 
Sandpaper over glass is commonly known as the scary sharp method, wet/dry sandpaper is silicon carbide so its effective on about everything and widely avaliable.

It works extremely well but there is a repeat cost of sandpaper which adds up and the paper itself has a rather short usable life. For a similar start-up cost though a cheap waterstone or two IMO is the better buy.

To the OP check Murray Carters vids on youtube, Google John Verhoeven "experiments on sharpening", and I believe its Chad Ward and Steve Browski (spelling?) that have some detailed write-up's that are worth reading.
 
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Regarding sandpaper, the coarser grit (220/320/400 or so) might get used a little faster. They will do most of the initial grunt work, in removing most of the metal. But you won't need it nearly as often. I'm finding that once the bevel is set, using the coarse grits, the medium and finer grits (600 thru 2000) last a good long while for periodic maintenance. In fact, almost all of the touch-ups I've been doing (when stropping isn't quite enough) have been done with 1000/2000 grit. So far, over the last several months, I've used 2 pieces of each of those (cut to size, to fit my strop block), each piece consisting of less than 1/3 of a sheet. I'm also finding that the finer grits seem to get a little better with some use, in the polish they leave behind.

I used to assume it'd get used up quick. But I don't really believe that now, based on what I've done so far. I stocked up early on wet/dry (5 sheets per grit, in 220 up through 2000, at about $1 per sheet), and I've convexed at least 10 to 15 knives so far. At the rate I'm going, it'll take at least a few years to use all that paper up.

Don't rule it out based upon the assumption that it'll get used up quick. The wet/dry sandpaper is quite a bit more durable than most would think. It'll surprise you.

By the way, when the paper gets 'clogged' with metal fines, it's very easy to just wipe it off with a damp sponge or paper towel. You can even rinse it, under running water, if you wish.
 
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When using sandpaper I just keep a soft-bristled nail brush handy and brush off the paper every 10-20 passes. I do this no matter what grit paper I'm using.

HH
 
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