What's your best sharpening tip

K

kane22

Joined
Feb 25, 2013
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Mine would be to make sure you're really sharpening the edge all the way to the apex. I've have lots of different stones/sharpening systems, and have been into this stuff for a lot of years now. I still mess this up from time to time. I use a marker on the bevel and check for a burr, but I think it can be a little tricky to detect. It looks like the marker is all off, and the edge feels a little rough. Not wanting to take more steel off than I have to, I think I stop just a little short at times.
So make sure you get a burr on both sides with your coarsest stone/belt or whatever you're using.
Bonus tip...a good strop to get that wire burr off and clean up your edge.
 
I cheat.

I'll use a coarse diamond bench stone for reprofiling a "v" edge into a convex, but then (and here is the cheating part) I use pocket stones to finish the convex. I'll hold the knife perpendicular to the stone with a loose wrist and do one section at a time rather than the entire edge. Once you get a feel for the loose wrist motion (kind of swaying the knife from the shoulders to the edge) you can go lightning fast and you can apply lots of pressure. It's much more tactile and easy to feel when you're doing one section of a time and then blending the motion in short little back and forths.

I'm not a diamond spray kind of guy but I've recently ordered some specifically for burr removal. Before I was having to basically micro bevel my burr off and naturally that ruins the convex.

Also... for my knives with thumb studs (the kind of the studs that get in the way of freehand sharpening) I plan on getting a fixed angle system like a Worksharp just to set the initial bevels to match my crock sticks so I can easily maintain them. I refuse to believe there is an easier way to touch a knife up then crock sticks once your bevels match.
 
I'm sure that takes some skill to be able to get good doing it that way. I think you'll like the diamond spray, I've been using Gunny Juice.
 
Don't get carried away with finer grits (beyond 1-2K or so) and multiple stropping stages, unless you are entering a beauty contest.

When I first got serious about sharpening, I got infatuated with the highly polished, reflective bevels. Catching that photo where the bevel reflects a bar code was important for how it looked. As I started putting those attractive "Pimp Edges" on my users, I slowly started realizing that those edges were useful for BESS scores and paper tricks, but they were often barely functional on a user that might be used for cutting rope.

Don't get wrapped around the axle struggling to achieve an edge that looks impressive but is an indifferent cutter. If one stropping stage doesn't get the job done, you might be off the tracks. BESS scores might be important to a thoracic surgeon, not so much for the rest of us.

Shiny bevels are the pearl handled revolvers of the knife world.
 
My advice- Don't over-think it. Don't obsess over your edge. You don't need to be able to whittle an eyelash hair. You don't need a lot of fancy equipment.

After all, what are you really going to use your knife for? It's not like you're going to perform retinal surgery with your pocket knife. :)


Of course I understand that for some/many people, sharpening, and the pursuit of THE PERFECT EDGE is all part of how they enjoy knives, and that's fine, more power to you. But for the average knife user who wants to just be able to put a sharp edge on their knife, my advice stands.



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- Practise whenever you can and feel like it, and sharpen as many different edged tools as you can.
Try to sharpen everything from lawnmower blades and axes to (higher end) Chef knives and barber shears.

- Don't aim for just a sharp apex, work towards specific edge angles whenever possible.
Rule of thumb for knives: as thin as possible, but thick enough.

- When sharpening learn to use your eyes, your ears and your "fingerspitzengefühl" together.
This will advance your abilities much faster & better than relying on only your eyes.

- Always listen to quality feedback from people you sharpen for, you will learn a lot from this.
Avoid the mindset that you as the sharpener knows it all.
 
Get yourself one of these.
I'm 54, recently started wearing glasses but had one before that. These have a light, which I can move around and angle it so I can see better while sharpening. I can examine my edge closely while sharpening to see mistakes, misses or perfection in progress. Worth every penny. Got mine on the jungle site.

FdHmqZw.png
 
Letoff said:
Get yourself one of these.
I'm 54, recently started wearing glasses but had one before that. These have a light, which I can move around and angle it so I can see better while sharpening. I can examine my edge closely while sharpening to see mistakes, misses or perfection in progress. Worth every penny. Got mine on the jungle site.

FdHmqZw.png
Click to expand...

What magnification? I think I need something too


I'll add my "tricks", I've been heavily praised with my edges.

*The sharpie trick helps me with stubborn tips.
*I work off burrs cutting cardboard
*I look at edges in light to see odd reflection, non sharp areas
*I use a sharpening steel instead of strops
*Resting an edge on your thumbnail is a good indicator of sharpness. Dull, it moves side to side
*I sharpen to acute angles <15°
Take your time.
 
Crag the Brewer said:
What magnification? I think I need something too


I'll add my "tricks", I've been heavily praised with my edges.

*The sharpie trick helps me with stubborn tips.
*I work off burrs cutting cardboard
*I look at edges in light to see odd reflection, non sharp areas
*I use a sharpening steel instead of strops
*Resting an edge on your thumbnail is a good indicator of sharpness. Dull, it moves side to side
*I sharpen to acute angles <15°
Take your time.
Click to expand...

Sent you a pm
 
killgar said:
My advice- Don't over-think it. Don't obsess over your edge. You don't need to be able to whittle an eyelash hair. You don't need a lot of fancy equipment.

After all, what are you really going to use your knife for? It's not like you're going to perform retinal surgery with your pocket knife. :)


Of course I understand that for some/many people, sharpening, and the pursuit of THE PERFECT EDGE is all part of how they enjoy knives, and that's fine, more power to you. But for the average knife user who wants to just be able to put a sharp edge on their knife, my advice stands.



.
Click to expand...
Amen to this.
None of my recipes call for a tomato slice you can read through.
 
Get some kind of magnification so you can see what's happening as you sharpen. I use a 10x loupe, but there are a lot of other options out there. If you really want to see what's going on a the very edge you'll want to venture into microscope territory.

Whatever method you use, figure out what works for you to hold the most consistent angle possible. A huge number of sharpening issues come from inconsistent angles.

Don't worry about chasing perfect polished edges. A well done 1000 grit edge works great, and you can use one stone for your daily maintenance, with perhaps a 400 grit for bigger repairs if needed. Much simpler and effective, though you won't get as many likes on photos of your knife this way.

Smooth leather strop with diamond compound for stropping. So much more effective than "traditional" compounds, no matter what steel you're using. I like 1 micron. Don't strop too much, just enough to make sure there's not burr left. If your knife gets dull, re-apex on a stone instead of trying to strop it back. You can get away with refreshing a still fairly sharp edge on a strop, but when a knife gets dull it needs to have a fresh edge put on with a stone before using the strop as a finishing/refreshing step.
 
My best tip about sharpening is that you probably don't need to sharpen, you may just need to strop back an edge.

I've ground away a lot of steel over the years in the name of keeping a sharp edge to only a few years ago figure out stropping an edge isn't just something you do with razor blades.
 
My best tip is learn to do it on a 2x72 grinder!haha (I know most people don't have those laying around) I'm a knifemaker and I can sharpen my knives in about 1 minute now as opposed to 30-45 minutes when i was using an Edge Pro Apex. I went and bought about 20 old pocketknives from garage sales and practiced until i got it down consistent and have been doing it that way for last 9 years.
 
Pay close attention to developing your sharpening grip on the knife. Watch some videos of good sharpeners, try duplicating their grip exactly, and see what works well for you.

For me, getting my grip right, including finger position, was the key to being able to consistently get results I am happy with. Especially having my dominant hand thumb (edge facing toward me) or index finger (edge facing away from me) pressing right behind the bevel.
 
Ben Kabisch said:
My best tip is learn to do it on a 2x72 grinder!haha (I know most people don't have those laying around) I'm a knifemaker and I can sharpen my knives in about 1 minute now as opposed to 30-45 minutes when i was using an Edge Pro Apex. I went and bought about 20 old pocketknives from garage sales and practiced until i got it down consistent and have been doing it that way for last 9 years
Click to expand...
A belt grinder can be nice. I looked into 2x72's but figured it would be over kill for anything I did. Ended up with a variable speed 1x30. I use the clamp from my KME to hold the knife, and have a jig made up so I can adjust the angle. It's not the most professional looking thing, but I've gotten to the point I'm not afraid to sharpen my good knives on it. The edge is as sharp as anything else. I use 3M Trizact belts. Are there any better options you would suggest?
 
With a fixed angle sharpener: Make sure the edge is RIGHT before leaving first (coarsest) stone. Consistent scratch pattern, no chips or blemishes, and no funky places from the factory grind. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you'll fix something with the next stone. And for me, it takes lighting, magnification, and a sharpie to insure the edge is RIGHT.
 
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