Teach me how to sharpen...

K

knabstrupperUSA

Joined
Aug 17, 2012
Messages
99
I know this probably isn't the right place for this but I suck at sharpening a knife and wanted to hear from the hogs how they sharpen!

I have one of those Smiths sharpening kits and decided it sucks 95% of the time. I can get them kind of sharp but not as sharp as i want. I want to be able to shave with them

I have been looking into an edgepro apex. Thoughts?

Someone teach me how to sharpen so i can keep using my infi!



Thanks all, Rhett
 
if you're talking about a smith's tri hone, i own one and it's a nice little system. I can get rough shaving sharp. (i too am a noob at sharpening.) It just takes some practice. Also go on the maintenance forum and read the stickys. Lots of great info from people a lot better than me.
 
I'm a fan of stropping on sandpaper then finishing up with a leather strop and a finishing stropping material.

Hand convex edges, not too bit on stones
 
I dont think stropping is for me, I like the precision aspect of things. I think the Edge pro apex would be very awesome after i got the hang of it.

Any of you infi users have anything to say on the Edge pro?

Also, it looks like I can sharpen my AK47 with ease on the edge pro, Which is a big plus. Shes getting dull
 
The Edge Pro is a great tool, but expensive and not very portable.

I keep my knives sharp with a 750 DMT and a strop covered in Mother's Mag polish. When I head into the scrub, the stone comes with.
 
IMO, "shaving sharp" is really not necessary for a working knife/tool. That is unless you were inclined to shave yourself with it often..... ;)

A working edge is all that is required and this can be accomplished many different ways.

I'd recommend avoiding guided sharpeners unless you simply can't learn to freehand sharpen. It is a skill worth knowing as it might be needed at some point.

What I believe is critical is how smoothly the secondary grind (edge) blends into the primary grind. Ideally, you shouldn't be able to tell where one grind ends and the other begins. Basically what I am referring to is a zero convex edge which would be found on a factory edged B10LE. This transition has a definite effect on cutting performance and is worth achieving, IMO.
 
I am one for freehand sharpening since I move around for work. There are a few aspects to remember IMO.

1.Remove damage metal from edge (de-stressing the edge)
2. Shaping the edge: Here you will need a good quality, low grit/coarse stone. If you do not, what happens is you can spend far to much time "sharpening" but not removing enough steel, you end up applying more pressure, wasting time and then you can damage the edge on top of that.
3. Apexing

When those three are done you can get a very good edge and then one can put one more in.
4. Refining the edge (this is where you apply the finer grits)

Here I am applying the first basics steps on a very old norton stone.

[video=youtube;oLx_VL27fy8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLx_VL27fy8[/video]

There are also heaps of info here:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/794-Maintenance-Tinkering-amp-Embellishment
 
knabstrupperUSA said:
I was looking into the stones and 3 DMT stones would be the price of the whole Edgepro Apex kit..
Click to expand...

IMO, you would only need one DMT stone to get a good working edge. Coarse would be all that is needed and believe it or not it will put a very keen edge on a quality knife. I would not recommend using this stone for re-profiling thick stock knives however, because it will take forever.

For simple touch up sharpening it is really all that you need, heck even using an Extra Course DMT stone puts a good edge on knives. The reason for this is that the diamond abrasive is micron sized which allows rapid metal removal while leaving a good level of finish.

If you were on a budget, this model should be able to handle anything you needed done. Maybe not ideal for larger knives or reprofiling chores but it will get the job done.

http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/DMTD6C/DMT-D6C-6-inch-Dia-Sharp-Continuous-Diamond-Coarse
 
I was going to comment on this thread but I am no where in you guys league. I own a Lansky, Spyderco, Edge Pro, and some various stones. Lately, I am thinking of going to either the Work Sharp or a plain Belt Sander.
One suggestion I have knabstrupper is to invest in some cheap knives. You can get them in packs off of ebay, and use them for practice. If you mess up you wion't care. You can beat 'em to pieces and if then toss em.
 
knabstrupperUSA said:
I dont think stropping is for me, I like the precision aspect of things. I think the Edge pro apex would be very awesome after i got the hang of it.

Any of you infi users have anything to say on the Edge pro?

Also, it looks like I can sharpen my AK47 with ease on the edge pro, Which is a big plus. Shes getting dull
Click to expand...

I understand the quest for the perfect edge. f you are talking about sharpening Bussekin they are all at least partially convex edges. The Edge Pro has to remove a lot of metal in order to make it a flat grind and it totally removes the convex grind. I got one and tried it and finally gave up on Bussekin sharpening with it. I use a belt sander with very fine grit and a strop or a buffing wheel. Also I think sharpening an AK on an Edge Pro would be a huge pain and would take forever.
 
messer454 said:
I understand the quest for the perfect edge. f you are talking about sharpening Bussekin they are all at least partially convex edges. The Edge Pro has to remove a lot of metal in order to make it a flat grind and it totally removes the convex grind. I got one and tried it and finally gave up on Bussekin sharpening with it. I use a belt sander with very fine grit and a strop or a buffing wheel. Also I think sharpening an AK on an Edge Pro would be a huge pain and would take forever.
Click to expand...

+1
I have sharpened knives my whole life, my Dad taught me how to sharpen on stones and strops when I was a kid. We butchered many mule deer together over the years, he was also a old school barber, so he appreciated a fine edge and passed that on to me.
Most of my knives start out with a convexed edge, or become convexed from sharpening freehand on stones, or speed up the process on sandpaper over the strop. If I want to keep a V grind edge I use a Sharpmaker, it's still freehand with the sharpmaker but easy to control the angle you sharpen and is simple to use and pack along for camp if required, just be sure to buy the diamond rods if you plan on removing a bit of material.
Until you get the edge the way you want it, it can be very time consuming getting it there, which is OK if you have plenty of time and just a few knives. I use to enjoy the process and still do sometimes. The past few years I have used belt grinders, I started out with the little Harbor Freight unit but had trouble with it tracking the belts so I took it back. I ended up buying a Craftsman 2x42 belt grinder from Sears
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-2151...x000001&kpid=00921513000P&kispla=00921513000P
So far nothing I have tried comes close to the quality edge and speed of sharpening that a belt grinder and strops produce.
Since I sold my house in December, all my power tools are in storage, I went back to stones, strops and sandpaper and found I have lost my patience with the time it takes to re-profile/sharpen and decided to try out the little Worksharp belt grinder until I can set up my shop again. I was impressed how well those little belts work and highly recommend it, I did not use the supplied guides though. I have read there is a learning curve with it if you have never used a belt grinder before though. But if you have a bunch of practice knives you'll be set!
Once you start to personally compare the sharpening results you get from V grinds to convex, the convex edge comes out on top for me and most of my uses.
 
M67 said:
I'm a fan of stropping on sandpaper then finishing up with a leather strop and a finishing stropping material.

Hand convex edges, not too bit on stones
Click to expand...

This.

I prefer convex edges on basically everything slicey.

I also have a 1x30 belt sander that allows me to sharpen and reprofile at lightning speeds, comared to hand sharpening.

I use it to get the initial profile set, and then move on to the strop. I only go back to the belt sander, if I damage the edge.
 
I use the edge pro for most knives, But still use the lansky kit for some. I have the full set of chosera stones and balsa, leather and nano cloth strops. I sharpen SR-101 to 20 degrees per side.

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Thank you. I spent quite a bit of time on it. She's so sharp the branches fall just at the sight of it. LOL!

I've spent a little more time on the RMD since that photo. Now it's perfect too. Now I'm looking at the taliwhacker and debating on weather I should sharpen it or not.
 
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