Irregardless of what system I am using when I get the sharpness of the edge close to what I want I will put the blade on some ceramic crock sticks I have had forever. I then lightly go down each side at as close to the same angle as I was sharpening them with. When that is done, only a couple of strokes on each side, I will then draw the blade away from me at a slightly lower angle a couple of times on each side just keeping the angle consistent. Voila` hair poppin, baby. I have been using the Lansky Diamond hones as of late and using this process I could get even my Axis extremely sharp.
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Shaving Sharp w/Sharpmaker
- Thread starter JH225
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 3, 1998
- Messages
- 883
Jailhack:
Just to reiterate what others have said about sticking with it until you raise that burr: it can take a long time, like several HOURS, the first time you do it on a new knife, especially if you're sharpening on the Sharpmaker stones, which are not particularly coarse. Normally I do this preliminary re-profiling operation on an extra-coarse (black) DMT diamond bench stone, and it goes fairly quickly, but because of the recurved edge of the Pinnacle I had to use the Sharpmaker triangle rods. I've been sharpening for years, and I'm pretty good at it, and even I was surprised how long it took to raise a burr on that Pinnacle. Just be patient. Keep the angle as constant as you can and pay attention to what works until you get the motion in muscle memory. Also, pay attention to the sound, by which you can tell if your strokes/angles are consistent. Another thing you should do is scrub the rods frequently with a Scotchbrite or S.O.S. steel wool pad. It only takes a few minutes for the rods to get gummed up and loose their bite. Keep them clean and your progress will be much quicker.
I hope this helps. There are few things so irritating as a knife that just WON'T get SHARP! It makes you want to go out and CUT something.
David Rock
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Stop when you get to bone.
[This message has been edited by David Rock (edited 16 July 1999).]
Just to reiterate what others have said about sticking with it until you raise that burr: it can take a long time, like several HOURS, the first time you do it on a new knife, especially if you're sharpening on the Sharpmaker stones, which are not particularly coarse. Normally I do this preliminary re-profiling operation on an extra-coarse (black) DMT diamond bench stone, and it goes fairly quickly, but because of the recurved edge of the Pinnacle I had to use the Sharpmaker triangle rods. I've been sharpening for years, and I'm pretty good at it, and even I was surprised how long it took to raise a burr on that Pinnacle. Just be patient. Keep the angle as constant as you can and pay attention to what works until you get the motion in muscle memory. Also, pay attention to the sound, by which you can tell if your strokes/angles are consistent. Another thing you should do is scrub the rods frequently with a Scotchbrite or S.O.S. steel wool pad. It only takes a few minutes for the rods to get gummed up and loose their bite. Keep them clean and your progress will be much quicker.
I hope this helps. There are few things so irritating as a knife that just WON'T get SHARP! It makes you want to go out and CUT something.
David Rock
------------------
Stop when you get to bone.
[This message has been edited by David Rock (edited 16 July 1999).]
Once again thanks for the all the help. I took an old Gerber E-Z out and did what Joe said and it worked pretty well. And yes it did take a good amount of time to get that initial edge to the point where it would get a burr. Just another reason for Spyderco to come out with a coarse stone I guess.
- Joined
- Apr 27, 1999
- Messages
- 6,117
David raises a good point about keeping ceramic hones clean. I use a Scotchbrite pad with scouring powder and water. I use a large amount of powder that is meant for cleaning stainless steel sinks (called something like "Bartenders Friend") or Revere's Brass and Stainless cleaner or Comet (I am specially careful to rinse off the Comet since the bleaching chemicals in it might promote edge corrosion). It seems to work the best with a lot of powder to get into the pores of the hone.
- Joined
- Apr 27, 1999
- Messages
- 6,117
I was sure wondering about rust erasers at an office supply store. I had seen them used in machine shops to clean rust off of engraved steel rulers, but I didn't think there were enough of those used in offices to warrant stocking rust erasers for that purpose.
I don't mind water around my hones since I do as much work as possible under running water. I do most of my rough work with aluminum oxide or diamond hones over the sink. I run a medium stream of warm water over the hone as I work. That way I don't get any loading of the hone and loose grit doesn't wear down the hone surface. I like to keep my edge cool and clean as I work. It sure beats the old days when I would use copious quantities of oil and had to use alcohol to clean up. After 40 years of sharpening things I absolutely believe you get a better cutting edge if you keep your hone unloaded (very hard to do dry). I only use ceramic rods at the very end of my honing and always use them freshly cleaned and/or wet.
I don't mind water around my hones since I do as much work as possible under running water. I do most of my rough work with aluminum oxide or diamond hones over the sink. I run a medium stream of warm water over the hone as I work. That way I don't get any loading of the hone and loose grit doesn't wear down the hone surface. I like to keep my edge cool and clean as I work. It sure beats the old days when I would use copious quantities of oil and had to use alcohol to clean up. After 40 years of sharpening things I absolutely believe you get a better cutting edge if you keep your hone unloaded (very hard to do dry). I only use ceramic rods at the very end of my honing and always use them freshly cleaned and/or wet.