Who still does at least half of your sharpening manually, on stones?

Do you do at least half of your knife sharpening manually, on stones?

  • Yes

    Votes: 60 84.5%

  • No

    Votes: 11 15.5%
  • Total voters
    71
annr said:
Unfortunately, I’ve tried everything including that. These edges are so straight and highly polished that the margin of error with pocket stone is too great IME.

I must remove microns with the edge— with infinitesimal precision—so if sharpening with pocket stone were possible, I think I would have to wreck too many knives and workpieces to find out.😵‍💫
Click to expand...
These must be for a special application, then. In which case some form of jig or fixture is a necessity rather than optional. Context does matter.
 
Freehand, I have no sharpening system. I supposed I'd play with one if it were free, but I see no point in getting one.
A system isn't going to help me with gardening tools - kamas, loppers, and pruning shears can't be done on them. Freehanding taught me everything except how to stabilize.
Something like an Edge Pro either takes time to set up or dedicated space, which is a no go. That seems like a lot of effort for a touch up or to do one or two blades. OTOH I can just grab a folding sharpener or pocket stone and be done in a few minutes (my blades never get that dull).
On that note, I never have that many blades to do at once, since even water stones are quick to set up.
The Sharpmaker seems really excessively priced for that it can do, but this is from the standpoint of being able to use stones.

So overall, no upsides to a system for me.
 
Ourorboros said:
Freehand, I have no sharpening system. I supposed I'd play with one if it were free, but I see no point in getting one.
A system isn't going to help me with gardening tools - kamas, loppers, and pruning shears can't be done on them. Freehanding taught me everything except how to stabilize.
Something like an Edge Pro either takes time to set up or dedicated space, which is a no go. That seems like a lot of effort for a touch up or to do one or two blades. OTOH I can just grab a folding sharpener or pocket stone and be done in a few minutes (my blades never get that dull).
On that note, I never have that many blades to do at once, since even water stones are quick to set up.
The Sharpmaker seems really excessively priced for that it can do, but this is from the standpoint of being able to use stones.

So overall, no upsides to a system for me.
Click to expand...
The original worksharp is a neat tool.......Its reasonably priced and makes all the outdoor tools ( mower blades loppers, etc.) sing.....Its handy for smaller knives too but practice should be had before messing with PRETTY knives..😉.....

I .made a few hunting knives into butter knives😜.........They will eat a tip quick those worksharp's😱...Just like everything else in life... Practice is the.only cure...........
 
i use good old fashioned oil stones. That’s the way I was taught and it works well enough for me.

I bought one of those gimmicky crock stick sharpeners a while back but couldn’t really get the hang of it. I have a handful of basic oil stones in my toolbox, I go from coarse to fine grits then polish with a leather strop. Takes a while with some of the “high end” steels but it gets the job done. I’m also guilty of touching the edge up on the bottom of my coffee mugs.
 
My kitchen knives freehand. My pocket knives usually a fixed system. Have way too much money in both.
 
Most of my older stuff I freehand on stones, the japanese ones are freehanded on a water stone. I do have a worksharp Ken Onion first gen, that I find useful with my older kitchen knives. I have a lansky that I use on somethings but rarely. So in summary 80%stones.
 
annr said:
I sharpen a lot of 3” straight edges and never could use a pocket stone. Are you able to keep a true straight edge with pocket stones? Just curious…Ace!😁
Click to expand...

I think so. I hold the stone in my left hand between my thumb and middle finger, and hold the knife in my right hand. I lock my wrists and pivot from my elbows, and move both the knife and the stone. (Sort of a combination of "take the knife to the stone" and "take the stone to the knife.") It helps to sit in a chair with arm rests to stabilize my elbows. I hold the stone and knife up so they are close to my face where I can see exactly what's happening and maintain a consistent angle.
 
Even though I am not all that good, I do the majority of sharpening on bench stones. There are a few nice knives that always get Hapstoned, but they’re definitely nicer knoves on which I don’t want an unsightly bevel. In my yardwork/hardwork knives, I don’t care about the aesthetics of the bevel. I’m going to go with 70%(?) of mine us by hand?
 
Ace Rimmer said:
I think so. I hold the stone in my left hand between my thumb and middle finger, and hold the knife in my right hand. I lock my wrists and pivot from my elbows, and move both the knife and the stone. (Sort of a combination of "take the knife to the stone" and "take the stone to the knife.") It helps to sit in a chair with arm rests to stabilize my elbows. I hold the stone and knife up so they are close to my face where I can see exactly what's happening and maintain a consistent angle.
Click to expand...
I’ve never tried this method!, and maybe I could manage it. (I work standing (leverage) or sit on a low stool (get to eye level).)

Follow-ups: do you hold the stone parallel or perpendicular to the edge?

What are the dimensions (approx) of your pocket stone?

How were the kippers? 😝
 
Free hand sharpening is a dying art.
Most of the people who do it well started as kids as there was no other option back then.
I was taught by my grandfather about 65 years ago and it still works for me.
I tried a Worksharp but after screwing up a few knives it was relegated to axes,hatchets and garden tool.
I like a sharp shovel or hoe but do my machetes free hand.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
These must be for a special application, then. In which case some form of jig or fixture is a necessity rather than optional. Context does matter.
Click to expand...
Yes. Specific task. I’ve tried jigs and still get superior outcome by hand.

Side note: I help a guy in the flute building industry, and contrary to popular assumptions, handmade was far superior to modern machining both in fit and function. Modern building and machining techniques are faster and require less skill, and unfortunately most of the newer instruments play like clones. I’m amazed when he gets various flutes —all built in the 19thC —and the parts are interchangeable (tight tolerances), the solder and seaming is perfect. This is not the case today with rare exceptions yet the instruments have no inherent musical value, just machine value.
 
I use Spyderco ceramic stones (bench and pocket), a Sharpmaker, a Wustof steel (to maintain my Wustof knives edges), and, rarely a strop. I also use for my Victorinox knives their little pocket sharpener. I look at sharpening differently than most here, I suspect; my goal is a working edge, not slicing phonebook (remember those?) pages. Most of my knife use now has devolved to kitchen tasks. I also have a DMT diamond coarse/extra coarse bench stone for when it's needed.
 
kvaughn said:
Free hand sharpening is a dying art.
Most of the people who do it well started as kids as there was no other option back then.
I was taught by my grandfather about 65 years ago and it still works for me.
I tried a Worksharp but after screwing up a few knives it was relegated to axes,hatchets and garden tool.
I like a sharp shovel or hoe but do my machetes free hand.
Click to expand...

I'm honestly not sure I'd call it a dying art--if anything it's thriving! I learned entirely by teaching myself--my grandfather was a knife nerd but not a sharpening nerd and we never talked technical stuff; he just liked owning and using knives, not so much studying them. My father can sharpen a chainsaw but not much anything else. I started figuring out edge geometries and the like when I first bought an antique bush hook that I still use today and originally sharpened it up with an old rusty file. By the time I was in my 20's I was able to properly hone a straight razor without issue. And I continue to learn--I still have yet to really tackle things like saws, for instance. Sharpening is a massive field of study, but at least regular ol' knives are really pretty straightforward so long as you know a few simple diagnostics and concepts.
 
annr said:
Yes. Specific task. I’ve tried jigs and still get superior outcome by hand.

Side note: I help a guy in the flute building industry, and contrary to popular assumptions, handmade was far superior to modern machining both in fit and function. Modern building and machining techniques are faster and require less skill, and unfortunately most of the newer instruments play like clones. I’m amazed when he gets various flutes —all built in the 19thC —and the parts are interchangeable (tight tolerances), the solder and seaming is perfect. This is not the case today with rare exceptions yet the instruments have no inherent musical value, just machine value.
Click to expand...
If you're able to get good results by hand you should be able to get good success on pocket stones for many sharpening tasks--just get creative with how you hold and brace it and how you hold the tool steady in the process. I'll often use a finger of the hand holding the cutting tool to ride the side of the stone as a guide, for instance.
 
ferider said:
I use a small belt grinder on our cheap kitchen knives.

For my own / carry knives I always use a bench stone. Just upgraded from a medium ceramic Spyderco to a Naniwa Diamond Pro and love it. Should have done so earlier.
Click to expand...

Like this:

i-wRSHwvL-X2.jpg
 
Those soft stainless knives/shears would respond very well to your new Naniwa. It's a much more suitable stone for that application than the Spyderco ceramic IMO.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
If you're able to get good results by hand you should be able to get good success on pocket stones for many sharpening tasks--just get creative with how you hold and brace it and how you hold the tool steady in the process. I'll often use a finger of the hand holding the cutting tool to ride the side of the stone as a guide, for instance.
Click to expand...
*should* being operative word! But I could try. Remains to be seen if this causes more tension holding and stabilizing small objects and for how long. As I mentioned, I like standing—legs/core do the work.
 
I am a big fan of freehand sharpening. I use Spyderco bench stones most of the time and when I need course stone that I breakout my 320 grit DMT diamond plate.
It seems to work for me.
 
Last edited:
I use a kme.

I'm not good enough at freehand sharpening on stones yet. I can't seem to get the tip as sharp as I'd like. It's a skill I'd like to learn, but I'm in school full-time for a career change, I have a one year old, 3 dogs, and a million house projects/repairs/improvements to do.

I don't really have time for my admittedly nerdy hobbies, let alone fully developing a new skill. Someday.....someday....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top