Testify!! Seriously, I notice a significant difference in ease of cutting when my knife drops to the point it won't shave at least a little hair off my arm or fingers. At the time I figured it out, I was working in a grocery store and using some 425M from Buck. A usable level of sharpness lasted for a long time, but an efficient level required sharpening once a week or so, depending on what I was doing. Just paper slicing is pretty dull, but if it's all you need, it's all you need.
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Sharpening, what am i doing wron>
- Thread starter Garreth
- Start date
Testify!! Seriously, I notice a significant difference in ease of cutting when my knife drops to the point it won't shave at least a little hair off my arm or fingers. At the time I figured it out, I was working in a grocery store and using some 425M from Buck. A usable level of sharpness lasted for a long time, but an efficient level required sharpening once a week or so, depending on what I was doing. Just paper slicing is pretty dull, but if it's all you need, it's all you need.
To the OP:
It sounds like you aren't "putting enough work in" to get your blades apexed. What I mean by apexed is, the two edge bevels meet at a sharp edge. I think you are probably either counting strokes, or using some idea of "seems like enough" to determine when to stop. If so, that's what you should change. Instead you should be using something affirmative that you can test, to tell you when you are done grinding each bevel.
The burr is the most common way to do this. Grind one side until you form a burr on the other side. Continue grinding until the burr runs along the entire edge on the *opposite* side from the one you are grinding on. When you've done this, you'll know that the bevel you are grinding has met the other side. Next grind the other bevel until you get a full length burr again. Finally, do light strokes to remove the burr. You'll probably flip the burr back and forth some, but that's to be expected. Just try to remove it as well as you can.
It's hard to emphasize just how important burr formation is. It's the foundation of knowing that you have an "apexed edge". Until you get this, you'll likely be chasing sharp and just not knowing if you're anywhere close.
Brian.
It sounds like you aren't "putting enough work in" to get your blades apexed. What I mean by apexed is, the two edge bevels meet at a sharp edge. I think you are probably either counting strokes, or using some idea of "seems like enough" to determine when to stop. If so, that's what you should change. Instead you should be using something affirmative that you can test, to tell you when you are done grinding each bevel.
The burr is the most common way to do this. Grind one side until you form a burr on the other side. Continue grinding until the burr runs along the entire edge on the *opposite* side from the one you are grinding on. When you've done this, you'll know that the bevel you are grinding has met the other side. Next grind the other bevel until you get a full length burr again. Finally, do light strokes to remove the burr. You'll probably flip the burr back and forth some, but that's to be expected. Just try to remove it as well as you can.
It's hard to emphasize just how important burr formation is. It's the foundation of knowing that you have an "apexed edge". Until you get this, you'll likely be chasing sharp and just not knowing if you're anywhere close.
Brian.
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2014
- Messages
- 854
A wink, a nod and my hats off to you. Because I have been Free hand 'n' it for just over 20 years. My first stone was a Buck Arkansas washita stone when I was 13. It Sadly broke when I was truing it, but still have the bigger part.
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2014
- Messages
- 2,585
Thin out the edge on coarse sharpening stone if you have it,if not go and buy the cheap one, get the burr and then use sharpmaker.You should be easily getting shaving edge on brown stones on sharpmaker at 40 degree setting.Most knives are too thick behind the edge straight from factory to efficiently cut, and once you reprofile it on a coarse stone next sharpening will be a breeze.