Sharpening

rrg991981

rrg991981

Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Messages
778
I am a complete retard when it comes to sharpening, I have a Gatco ceramic pocket sharpener and a Gerber diamond pen sharpener and I cannot seem to put a good edge on anything, my first 2 attempts at sharpening ended up in a box on the way back to benchmade for Lifesharp service. My 630 Skirmish fared a little better and I am 85% happy with the edge, What do I need and what is the best way to learn? Also how do I know what a good edge is/feels like?
 
rrg991981 said:
What do I need and what is the best way to learn? Also how do I know what a good edge is/feels like?
Click to expand...

Sharpening consists of basically planing down the bevels of the knife until they meet and then deburring the edge if necessary. The most common problem is not matching the existing angle on the knife and specifically sharpening more acute and thus basically working on the primary grind which takes a long time to see any result. Read Joe Talmadge's "Sharpening FAQ" to start.

-Cliff
 
I have 2 suggestions. First of all there is a book that really helped me with the basics of Sharpening. It is entitled: "The Razor Edge Book Of Sharpening" by John Juranitch. There are other sharpening books but John Juranitch's book really makes it easy to read and simple to apply.

Second I recommend buying your self either a Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker sharpening kit or you can go all the way with an Edge Pro sharpening system. I think if you take one or 2 of those options you will find it very easy to educate yourself. Also if you contact Razor Edge Systems ( the people who published the Razor edge book) at Ely Minnesota they have a really nice sharpening video as well that reall show. Good Luck
 
If you want to know what a sharp edge feels like look up the EDGEPro people and take them up on the free sharpening demo.
 
I agree with both Cliff and JD Spydo.

From my personal experience I have found that much of the problems in sharpening is matching the existing bevel. Another problem is that by the time people decide to sharpen a knife, the edge has been ground down so much that one needs to re-grind the bevel. That is why people will often say that it is easier to keep a knife sharp then it is to sharpen a dull knife.

Reading Joe Talmadge’s FAQ is a necessary reading for someone whose skills are rudimentary.

Like you, I also am terrible at sharpening. I bought a Lansky kit (similar to your Gatco kit) in hopes of getting a better edge, and it did help. My kit came with Extra Coarse and Coarse hones that worked very well in removing the necessary amount of steel required to reset a new bevel. I basically performed the same number of strokes per side with each hone, while trying my best to maintain a consistency in the size and scope of each stroke. In doing so I have discovered little idiosyncrasies that in turn affected the way in which I approached the task.

That said, since getting my Sharpmaker, my Lansky has essentially sat on the shelf for the most part. I did have to find means of removing larger amounts of metal when setting a new bevel since the Sharpmaker isn’t designed for that task. I prefer the Sharpmaker to my Lansky because it offers a more consistent angle throughout the edge of the blade, and allows for a more acute angle than the Lansky (YMMY).

Learning how to get a good edge on my knives has been a long-learning process for me, and I still have a long way to go. One thing I noticed about the Lansky is that the guide rod can slide from one side of its slot (in the clamp) to the other. I don’t know if it matters or not, but I got to the point where I started making sure that the guide rod stayed to only one “corner” of the slot when sharpening. My theory being that it will maintain a more consistent angle
 
Sometimes it just helps to see someone else sharpen well to understand what one is doing wrong.

The only near fool proof sharpener available for the rest is the Sharpmaker, though I'd still suggest learning free hand.
 
Yesir!! I`ve to fully agree with that.

After trying to teach myself for the longest, it keeps going backwards instead of forward.

Is there be a charitative soul in southern CA that will actually let me look at him in activity(I was going to add "free hand" here, but that can cause me being murdered)? Will sweep shop as tuition fee.

And to rrgetc., don`t despair. In sharpening ability, at 62, I didn`t even crawl out of the sea, but I`m sure willing to.
 
There are a number of video's you can watch, some of them have been linked to in the ToolShed forum where you can watch a japanese man sharpening using waterstones. Fikes also has a DVD in which he sharpens one of his knives on a benchstone among other things. There are also a number of videos on the HI forum.

-Cliff
 
Thanks for your reply, but I still don`t see it working for me.

It`s like taking swimming lessons by mail. Those videos never brought me to the AHA! moment, because, unfortunately, that`s the way my mind is wired.

I`ll keep my arm extended for a passerby willing to give sharpening alms.
 
Sharpening is way easier than swimming, there really isn't much to it at all on a basic level. Most people who have problems with sharpening are so afflicted due to mismatches between the steel and the knife (154CM on heavy tacticals) or really inefficient grinds. Something like an Opinel is a decent place to start. The edge is very thin and acute and the steel grinds easily and has minimal burr issues.

-Cliff
 
Point well taken, considering all the dogs doing sharpening.

There is only one way of botching swimming, and you`ll never know.

But sharpening, OH BROTHER!!

Please understand, it`s not trying to be funny, or pulling one over you.

I`ve tried, and tried, etc.(systems, angles, jigs, pressure, length,direction), and a short time thereafter, again i sh.. city.

There should be a remedie, and too bad that you`re so far.

Thanks again. Arnold
 
I'll second the suggestion of reading/studying "The Razor Edge Book Of Sharpening". It's an excellent place to start.

Mark
 
Most times it isn't you but the knife. The two most common problems are :

1) the existing angle is too obtuse
2) the edge is severely weakened/damaged

Both have the same solution, just use an x-coarse stone or file to reshape the edge and remove any weakened metal.

-Cliff
 
Cliff,

Thanks again for plenty of good info. On the Fikes method (I have the DVD), do you think that working up and down the edge leads to less burr/an easier burr to remove? Just wondering.

John
 
Another vote for The Razor Edge Book Of Sharpening. It removed the mystery of knife sharpening for me. Although there is a lot of great info on this forum and some of the other knife forums, I think a person first has to understand basic theory and principles of knife sharpening, just like one has to know arithmetic before taking an algebra class. I don't see how jumping ahead in any subject without first taking the time to learn the basics can lead to anything else but confusion and misunderstanding.

After reading and studying the book, which has excellent photographs and drawings, everything about knife sharpening finally fell into place and I am now able to get great edges on my knives by freehand sharpening. I was actually surprised how simple sharpening really is. By the way, the Razor Edge Coarse Hone is the best benchstone I've found yet. John Juranitch really knows what he's talking about, IMO.
 
John Frankl said:
On the Fikes method (I have the DVD), do you think that working up and down the edge leads to less burr/an easier burr to remove?
Click to expand...

Working along the edge does have inherent problems with burr removal and micro-teeth formation, but the latter isn't an issue if the polish is raised very high and the former isn't a problem on low alloy carbon steels as they don't tend to have burr issues anyway.

-Cliff
 
ghostrider said:
One thing I noticed about the Lansky is that the guide rod can slide from one side of its slot (in the clamp) to the other. I don’t know if it matters or not, but I got to the point where I started making sure that the guide rod stayed to only one “corner” of the slot when sharpening. My theory being that it will maintain a more consistent angle
Click to expand...

Actually, depending on how long your blade is, it does matter in that it does affect the angle.

But, in the opposite way from your thinking. It is better to have the rod on the right side of the slot while working the part of the blade on the right side of the clamp, and vice versa. If you keep the rod on one side (eg the right) while you are honing the left side of the blade with respect to the clamp, then your angle is actually getting lower (14 or 13 degrees instead of 15).

That's why the best manual clamp systems (edgepro etc) have a very long slot for the guide rod to ride in, to maintain a more consistant angle for the longer knives.

For smaller blades, it doesn't matter as much at all because the variance increases the farther away from the clamp/bracket you get.

Rus
 
Last night I ordered the Juranitch book, because I don`t want to look so stubborn. I read others(Chad, Joe T.), but I still wish somebody will actually show me the ropes.
AND THANKS AGAIN TO Y`ALL !!

Arnold
 
Type in best knife sharpener on the net and you get this "Spyderco 204MF Tri-Angle Sharpmaker System". I bought one and it is everything they say. Get the one that comes with a video. MV out!
 
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