Using electrical tape to protect blade from scratches during sharpening?

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I checked the search and could not find anything on this. Anyway I was reading a magazine I purchase every two months, its an outdoor magazine and they always have little blurbs on some pages about using the tape to prevent scratching your blade while sharpening on a stone. Anyone ever tried that and does it work well for those of us not that good at sharpening? Probably should have put this in another thread.
 
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+1 on the painter's tape recommendation. Electrical tape will leave a mess.
 
Never used anything but I know I should. I will say, the more free hand sharpening I've done, the better I get and the fewer scratches I make
 
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Don't use packing tape, it will etch the blade and leave bad residue as well. Stick with scotch tape( pun intended)
 
I also use painters tape. Electrical tape is mysterious stuff, it's not sticky but leaves a awful residue that can be hard to run off.
 
Scurvy092 said:
Painters tape leaves little to no residue. Electrical tape will leave a whole bunch.
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depends on the electrical tape. 3M is good at not leaving any residue on blade. Cheaper brands may leave a mess behind. At least in my experience.
 
mainaman said:
depends on the electrical tape. 3M is good at not leaving any residue on blade. Cheaper brands may leave a mess behind. At least in my experience.
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I take it you're talking about the 10 pack for 2.89$? Haha but yeah as everybody else said, masking or painters tape is better. I don't use any because the scratches(if any) don't matter to me. I bought a tool not a show piece.
 
Portman30-06 said:
I take it you're talking about the 10 pack for 2.89$? Haha but yeah as everybody else said, masking or painters tape is better. I don't use any because the scratches(if any) don't matter to me. I bought a tool not a show piece.
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Yes, the cheap stuff is messy, some exceptions exist though.
I'd go with painters tape because it is thinner yet pretty durable to abrasion. In my experience it is not easy to scratch a knife when sharpening at 15-20 deg per side so I do not use any tape either.
 
Painter's Tape. I've used a lot of it...green or blue...whatever. It sticks well, but comes off easily and cleanly. The EdgePro DVD actually recommends it, as do many fellows on YT instructional videos.
 
I will tape the sides of laminated blades because my Fingertips scratch the soft steel on the side of the blade.

For everything else I don't worry about it, the knife is being sharpened and used its going to get marked up. Tape won't stop the stone from scratching the side so what would you be using tape for?
 
Ive heard using several layers of blue tape will work well but my own knives I don't worry about..I was sharpening one of my knives last night and slipped while on the coarse DMT dia sharp plate:grumpy: Boy, shes got some beauty marks now :D
 
Bumping an old (relevant) thread.
Any tips on how to do it on long curvy/round blades? (e.g. chef knives)
Also how close to the edge should I get with the tape?
 
I use a clear packing tape like the stuff made by Scotch,it's a thicker tape as well not the really thin stuff for taping up box's.

What I do for pocket knives is just put a peace of tape the whole length of the blade and so it hang's below the edge a bit,then I use a single edge razor blade and I use that to trim off the tape that's hanging below the edge.

Now that you have trimmed the tape off the edge your tape on the blade will now be the same profile as the blades edge,now just lift the tape and move the tape up 1 to 3mm,now just trim off the extra tape that's sticking up above the spine of the knife and repeat the process,I find the clear thicker tape is more durable.

Also if you are using the method I described for a kitchen knife then just use a second peace of tape on the same side you put the first peace on if it will not go from the edge to the spine.

idanp said:
Bumping an old (relevant) thread.
Any tips on how to do it on long curvy/round blades? (e.g. chef knives)
Also how close to the edge should I get with the tape?
Click to expand...
 
wade7575 said:
I use a clear packing tape like the stuff made by Scotch,it's a thicker tape as well not the really thin stuff for taping up box's.

What I do for pocket knives is just put a peace of tape the whole length of the blade and so it hang's below the edge a bit,then I use a single edge razor blade and I use that to trim off the tape that's hanging below the edge.

Now that you have trimmed the tape off the edge your tape on the blade will now be the same profile as the blades edge,now just lift the tape and move the tape up 1 to 3mm,now just trim off the extra tape that's sticking up above the spine of the knife and repeat the process,I find the clear thicker tape is more durable.

Also if you are using the method I described for a kitchen knife then just use a second peace of tape on the same side you put the first peace on if it will not go from the edge to the spine.
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I will do just that, thanks a lot
 
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