Sharpening

B

BasserJim

Joined
Nov 26, 2015
Messages
23
Hey all, looking to do some better sharpening on my knives, I was never any good with a stone but it's been since I was a kid that I have tried.....

I tried searching but I'm not very good at it. Any good step by step sharpening guides or discussion on methods and equipment? I'd like to figure something out before I get my new knife.
 
This is one of the better video's that I've found.

Good luck :thumbup:

[video=youtube;Wlr2kl1ISV8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlr2kl1ISV8[/video]
 
I struggled with cheap stones for a while and recently got a sharpmaker. Very happy with the results. It makes it easier to get a decent edge...
Interesting thing. Now that I am getting better at sharpening, I'm going back to stones. I think I learned some things and I want to get better at freehand sharpening.
 
Off to MTE, where sharpening discussion belongs. GKD is for discussing the knives themselves.
 
Steve6387 said:
I struggled with cheap stones for a while and recently got a sharpmaker. Very happy with the results. It makes it easier to get a decent edge...
Interesting thing. Now that I am getting better at sharpening, I'm going back to stones. I think I learned some things and I want to get better at freehand sharpening.
Click to expand...

So you would recommend the sharp maker?

David Martin said:
Good route. What stones do you have? DM
Click to expand...

Not sure if this was meant for me or Steve, but I have no stones.

RevDevil said:
Off to MTE, where sharpening discussion belongs. GKD is for discussing the knives themselves.
Click to expand...

I apologize, GKD is the only forum I have been in. Before posting I scanned the forum list looking for a sharpening forum. It didn't occur to my blunt skull that sharp ending, would in fact, be considered maintenance.
 
Yes, I recommend the sharpmaker. It gave me better results than the stones I had been using, but more importantly, I think it gave me a different perspective on angles... That I now want to use on regular stones.

David, I have no stones now, I gave the couple I had away to a buddy's son who wanted to learn to sharpen. Now, I'm back on the market
 
I just got a sharpmaker two weeks ago. I have no sharpening experience and it has really helped me put a decent edge on my knives. I will say that the spyderco video demonstration shows it putting a razor sharp edge on the blades but I don't find that to be accurate. Your knife will be sharp but not that sharp..... unless I just suck at using it which could be the problem too.
 
I use the 40 degree setting and the sharpmaker gets a razor edge for me every time. Granted I de-burr with a strop afterwards, but hair pops after it leaves the SM rods. If the edge is maintained, it only takes a minute on the SM at the most.

If you aren't getting the shaving results with the SM, I'd guess that the edge was either too dull to start (try starting with the diamond rods if this is the case) or the very edge of the edge is being missed (try increasing the angle ever so slightly).
 
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I like Joe Calton's method to get the basics down.
[video=youtube;sKmr2xr702M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKmr2xr702M[/video]
 
Like many thus far, I also recommend the Sharpmaker. It will do a good job and it's not hard to learn. For many people, it's all they ever use or need to keep their knives sharp. I've used one for well over 20 years and it's always been a reliable tool. Like Steve6387, as I got better at sharpening with the Sharpmaker and got more interested in the process of sharpening knives I tried other methods and returned to using stones freehand. But if the only thing you really want to do is keep your knives sharp, the Sharpmaker is simple, reliable and not very expensive.
 
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