What the hell..........!?!?!?!

"Using a sharpening fixture all he'll learn to do is use that fixture"

But, if that fixture works he will have a sharp knife. My dad tought me to sharpen a knife with stones. I am fairly decent at it. sharpening a knife with stones can be damn near spiritual. When i "FEEL LIKE" sharpening a knife I will grab my Dad's skinner or one of my older knives which need to be sharpened from scratch and go to work on the stones. But as for keeping my EDC tuned up and "NEEDING" to sharpen a knife at a moments notice, the sharpmaker is indespensable. Even after using a stone sometimes I end up like Elchuchillo and just can't get it all the way there. I'll throw it on the sharpmaker and get it over with.
 
"Using a sharpening fixture all he'll learn to do is use that fixture"

But, if that fixture works he will have a sharp knife. My dad tought me to sharpen a knife with stones. I am fairly decent at it. sharpening a knife with stones can be damn near spiritual. When i "FEEL LIKE" sharpening a knife I will grab my Dad's skinner or one of my older knives which need to be sharpened from scratch and go to work on the stones. But as for keeping my EDC tuned up and "NEEDING" to sharpen a knife at a moments notice, the sharpmaker is indespensable. Even after using a stone sometimes I end up like Elchuchillo and just can't get it all the way there. I'll throw it on the sharpmaker and get it over with.
 
I used to be prejudiced against the Sharpmaker ("I don't need any of those fancy gadgets to sharpen my knives!"), but I finally bought one last year and it's great. For reprofiling the edge and working around the point, I still use benchstones. I usually finish with the Sharpmaker though and it's perfect for quick touch-ups.

The instructional video that comes with the Sharpmaker is really good too. I learned a lot from it. One interesting thing that Sal does in it is sharpen a knife using the inside of a ceramic jug. I had never heard of anyone using that method before, but my mom recently told me that that's how she remembers my grandmother sharpening knives.

As Zip7 pointed out, a loupe could be really helpful in finding out what's going on with the edge. Sometimes, using magnification can instantly show you what the problem is. I had a Queen knife in D2 that I just couldn't get sharp and I couldn't figure out why. It was extremely frustrating until I looked at it under a microscope and discovered that the edge was chipping as I sharpened it. You can probably find cheap microscopes like that one for less than $30.
 
jackknife said:
Using a sharpening fixture all he'll learn to do is use that fixture. Sharpmakers are like painting by numbers- you'll end up with picture but you won't be learning to paint.
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I have to disagree. Heck most people don't even know what sharp is. A system can teach a person how to get an edge and how much a person really needs to grind to get that edge without alot of guesswork. Once a person knows how to get a sharp edge with a system free hand sharpening is a very easy next step.

It behooves every knife knut to master the art of free hand sharpening with a pocket size hone so you can be anyplace any time and tend to your blade.
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It sure does and takeing that next step from a jig thingy is easy. The people that do move on to free hand are shocked and wonder why it was so hard before they learned on a system. Few who do learn free hand rarely go back to useing a jig/system.
 
In the Air Force when the TI would look at some goof's shoes that did a crappy polishing job he would yell, "What the hell did you polish yer shoes with airman?...a Hershey Bar and a brick?"

What the hell did you sharpen that peanut with ElCuchillo?...a Hershey Bar and a brick? :eek: Hey...it works fer that too. :D
 
I'll admit it...I like the Sharpmaker. Its foolproof. Thats why i like it.

That said, once I get the edge on a knife, my jeans leg and/or leather belt keeps it poppin' hair.
 
jackknife said:
Using a sharpening fixture all he'll learn to do is use that fixture. Sharpmakers are like painting by numbers- you'll end up with picture but you won't be learning to paint.

It behooves every knife knut to master the art of free hand sharpening with a pocket size hone so you can be anyplace any time and tend to your blade. It's awfully hard to stick a sharpmaker in a wallet.

Once the memory is in the hands, he's good for life.:)

Hey ElCuchillo, are you using the slicing or circle strokes?
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I am using both, JK. I've tried slicing, towards and away, circles, everything. Like I said, this is the knife I carried for good while, the one I skinned the alligator with, so I've gotten it sharp in the past.
As for the debate going on, I think if you learn to do things the hard way first, the easy way is jut that, easy. It doesn;t work the other way around. Sharpmaker? I have a similar one made by Smith's, and I've used that as well. I've used my wetstone, my diamond stone, my Smith's (Ceramic rods, stones, carbide combo), and nothing has worked. I am going to take a break from it for a few days and see what happens.
 
Don't feel bad, it happens to me once in a while. Usually I can put a razor sharp edge on anything in a few minutes, but once in a while, it all goes away and I'll ruin a good edge if I try to touch it up. I usually get back in the groove in a day or two.
 
Wait a minute....... wait........ I DID IT!!! WOOHOO!!! I got my mojo back!!!! YES!!!! I can once again shave hairs with my blades on my Peanut. Good deal. I don;t necessarily need them shaving sharp, but it's a good starting point. Thanx for all the good advice, guys, it really kept my morale up. Wierd how that happens, though, how one can lose their sharpening mojo. Oh well, it;s gone.
 
Congratulations! I'm glad you're back in the groove. Any idea what the difference was?
 
RobbW said:
Any idea what the difference was?
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An ant saw a centipede walking along and marveled at how well it coordinated all those legs. He went up to it and asked if it was as difficult as it looked. The centipede replied that it was easy, all he had to do was, well, ummm ... first, then, ahhh -- and fell over!

Don't ask. Analyzing interrupts the intuitive response. :)
 
Well, I think I was getting frustrated. I was using all manner of sharpening, but not any real tact. Today I sat down, looked at the blades, found a bur on the clip point, got it out, and then took the diamond stone to it. Itook my time and kept the blade at the same angle the whole stroke. I finished it off with my ceramic rods (my personal favorite) and now it's back to it's gator skinning sharpness. I got worried for a minute.
 
ElCuchillo said:
Wait a minute....... wait........ I DID IT!!! WOOHOO!!! I got my mojo back!!!! YES!!!! I can once again shave hairs with my blades on my Peanut. Good deal. I don;t necessarily need them shaving sharp, but it's a good starting point. Thanx for all the good advice, guys, it really kept my morale up. Wierd how that happens, though, how one can lose their sharpening mojo. Oh well, it;s gone.
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Hey, good going man!

You just needed to get away from it and relax.

I wonder if too many people get a little tence when they go to sharpen their knife. Try to think of it as sort of a zen thing, the relaxing swishing of the blade going around in circles n the stone, the rythum of the thing.

I think one of the mistakes you may have made was trying too many different ways. Get yourself a dry erase type of marker and mark the edge every time you change sides. Also, when your honeing with the blade facing you, look carefully at what angle when the actual edge is contacting the surface of the stone. Remember that angle.

That is the problem with freehand sharpening, its so amphorus that its all how it feels. But once you have it, its there forever. Next time you go to skin a really big gator, you can just take that cut down Eze-lap model L out of your wallet and touch up the blade in a New York minute.:thumbup:
 
Crap, I for one am disappointed that you got that thing sharpened. I was just about to tell you that it was probably defective and that you could send it to me so you wouldn't have to fuss with it any more! ;)

Glad to hear you got your mojo back!!

Get yourself a dry erase type of marker and mark the edge every time you change sides.
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That's a great tip Jackknife, I'm going to have to try that next time I'm on the stone.
 
Yep, I think we all go through that from time to time. I can have days where its just a natural thing to keep the angles and the rhythms flowing. Then I'll sit down and seem like al I can do is make a blade duller. A the first bit of advice said. I just walk away and leave it for another day. It all comes back just about the time my self-confidence has been battered to near nothing. I think it's a game fate likes to play on us. There's probably a good lesson or metaphor in there, but mostly I think fate is just getting its jollies.

I learned the slicing methods and they have served me well for most of my life. Now at 50 I have to pick a knife or two and start learning circles. Then there's all that new fangled diamond stuff, etc.. Darn D2. Before that a tri-set of Arkansas oil stones and a piece of bare leather were just fine.

Btw, glad ya got yer mojo back. It's just plain traumatizing when it takes a holiday.
 
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