Sharpening tips?

A

AndyFel

Joined
Apr 6, 2011
Messages
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I have a Benchmade mini griptilian (plain edge) and wanted to know if I could get some sharpening tips. Thanks in advance :)

Also I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for this ( new here :cool: )
 
Welcome to the forum.

What sharpening equipment do you have?
Will you be free-hand sharpening or using a sharpening system?
 
jimnolimit said:
Welcome to the forum.

What sharpening equipment do you have?
Will you be free-hand sharpening or using a sharpening system?
Click to expand...

I don't have any equipment yet, but I want to do it freehand, also is there any good videos for this?
 
Until you answer jimnolimit's question, the only general advice I can give you is BE CAREFUL. Don't leave your knives lying around afterward. I forgot and my left ring fingertip found out the next morning that, hey, I did a pretty good sharpening job.

But I'm stupid. I'm sure you'll do better :)
 
i felt the same way. I suggest getting the razor's edge sharpening system. It's not the best system out there but it's cheap and it teaches how to free hand sharpen quit well.

your also going to want a course (200-300) and fine (800-1200) stone. one for reworking the edge and fixing problems and one for actually making it sharp.
 
AndyFel said:
I don't have any equipment yet, but I want to do it freehand, also is there any good videos for this?
Click to expand...

When it comes to free-hand sharpening, it's 90% technique and 10% equipment. You can get a basic combination stone for under $10 but your not going to want to practice on knives you care about. I suggest practicing on dull, not too expensive kitchen knives.

Here are some quick tips:
1. Keep the angle consistent.
2. Keep the pressure moderate to light. Moderate when you have to remove more metal, lighter as you approach your final edge.
3. Do the same amount of strokes per side. For a knife that's really dull I start with 10 strokes per side, then 8 per side, than 6,4,3,2,1. I check the edge, if it's getting close I'll do another set of 5,4,3,2,1 (strokes per side), if not I'll do do another set of 10,8,6,5,4,3,2,1.
4. Keep your stone lubricated and clean. Personally, I never use oil on a stone, I use water.
5. Practice on knives you don't really care too much about.
6. To keep the stone from moving, you can use a wet towel/paper towel or rubber cabinet shelf liner.

If you have any question feel free to ask.
 
jimnolimit said:
When it comes to free-hand sharpening, it's 90% technique and 10% equipment. You can get a basic combination stone for under $10 but your not going to want to practice on knives you care about. I suggest practicing on dull, not too expensive kitchen knives.

Here are some quick tips:
1. Keep the angle consistent.
2. Keep the pressure moderate to light. Moderate when you have to remove more metal, lighter as you approach your final edge.
3. Do the same amount of strokes per side. For a knife that's really dull I start with 10 strokes per side, then 8 per side, than 6,4,3,2,1. I check the edge, if it's getting close I'll do another set of 5,4,3,2,1 (strokes per side), if not I'll do do another set of 10,8,6,5,4,3,2,1.
4. Keep your stone lubricated and clean. Personally, I never use oil on a stone, I use water.
5. Practice on knives you don't really care too much about.
6. To keep the stone from moving, you can use a wet towel/paper towel or rubber cabinet shelf liner.

If you have any question feel free to ask.
Click to expand...

ok stupid question, is it necessary to wet your stone (water or oil) and if so what is the detriment to a dry stone?
 
jimnolimit said:
2. Keep the pressure moderate to light. Moderate when you have to remove more metal, lighter as you approach your final edge.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't recommend adding pressure to remove more metal unless your stone can take it(silicon carbide or ceramic). For aluminum oxide waterstones you'll gouge the stone, for diamonds you'll tear the diamonds out.

For heavy metal removal, I would recommend a very coarse stone(about 120 grit).

I personally like to use just enough pressure to make sure the entire edge is making contact with the stone. With perfectly flat stones, it can be easy to use too little pressure and only end up sharpening say, the tang rather than the belly.
Blade_Crazy said:
ok stupid question, is it necessary to wet your stone (water or oil) and if so what is the detriment to a dry stone?
Click to expand...
I wouldn't say it's "necessary", just that your stone will get clogged with metal shavings in no time at all and cut a lot slower without some kind of lubricant.
 
Last edited:
Practice on cheap knives, using a cheap stone. A Sharpie is an absolute must for a beginner - color the bevel of your intended victim and check frequently as you go. Do some reading and watch lots of videos - there are just too many ways to get a good edge for anyone to guide you along too far, you need to frame your questions to get detailed responses. Use a lubricant - water with a dab of dish soap is my preferred lube. You can sharpen dry, but you'll need to know when to stop and clean that stone.
Best of luck, and be patient and observant as you go.

HH
 
One other thing, and everyone is going to be different when it comes to this, but...I get much better feedback on every hard stone I own if I use some sort of lube, even if its just straight water. I believe it does impair the ability of an abrasive to "cut" the metal somewhat, but this is usually not an issue and its so minor a difference that many wouldn't even notice. Occasionally I'll wipe the stone dry just to do a final burr removal if I have a stubborn one hanging.
 
Noctis3880 said:
I wouldn't recommend adding pressure to remove more metal unless your stone can take it(silicon carbide or ceramic). For aluminum oxide waterstones you'll gouge the stone, for diamonds you'll tear the diamonds out.

For heavy metal removal, I would recommend a very coarse stone(about 120 grit).

I personally like to use just enough pressure to make sure the entire edge is making contact with the stone. With perfectly flat stones, it can be easy to use too little pressure and only end up sharpening say, the tang rather than the belly.
Click to expand...

i wasn't suggesting to use more pressure as a means to increase the amount of metal being removed. i was trying to say that the amount of pressure used during re-beveling and finishing the edge will be different. as you get closer to a finished edge you have to lighten the pressure until the last few strokes when you're pretty much only using the weight of the knife.
 
Blade_Crazy said:
ok stupid question, is it necessary to wet your stone (water or oil) and if so what is the detriment to a dry stone?
Click to expand...

water or oil acts as a lubricant and helps prevent the metal particles (swarf) from getting embedded in the stone. as i sharpen i'll rinse my stone under running water to clean it if it starts to get too loaded with metal particles. oil also works, but it's alot more messy and once you oil a stone it's an oil stone forever. you can't use oil on waterstones but you can use water on any stone. have a fairly large amount of sharpening stones and i've never used oil on any of them, there's no need to IMO.
 
Ok thank you, i meant to give this, and some other sharpening tips, a try last night but alas life is to busy and i was unable. I guess i will try again tonight though I fear i will probably be just as busy.
 
Blade_Crazy said:
Ok thank you, i meant to give this, and some other sharpening tips, a try last night but alas life is to busy and i was unable. I guess i will try again tonight though I fear i will probably be just as busy.
Click to expand...

you'll eventually develop your own style.
 
ask yourself some questions like how sharp do you want to get to? how valuable is your time. do you like repetitive actions? how much money do you got to blow? how much skill do you got (not much if your asking, just stating a fact).

if you got a crap load of money and love repetitive actions, get the edgepro or wicked edge systems.

if you value your time, get a motorized system. belt sander if you like changing belts out, paper wheel if you dont.
 
jimnolimit said:
i wasn't suggesting to use more pressure as a means to increase the amount of metal being removed. i was trying to say that the amount of pressure used during re-beveling and finishing the edge will be different. as you get closer to a finished edge you have to lighten the pressure until the last few strokes when you're pretty much only using the weight of the knife.
Click to expand...
Perhaps on a waterstone, though I don't bother with deliberately using only the weight of the knife unless I'm stropping. Again, it's because I find I have issues keeping the entirety of the edge on the stone throughout the stroke unless I'm using a certain amount of pressure. But then again, I'm not very good at freehand(yet). I'm still a bit twitchy about trying it on any knife worth more than $50, and yet I can't bare to let cheap kitchen knives with super soft butter steels touch my diamond stones. I'm hoping my new BM Lone Wolf Mountainside Hunter in N680 steel coming in at just under $50(not including shipping) will make a good sacrificial lamb:D.
 
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