You ever just happen to get one REALLY right? (Sharpening)

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DocGP

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Feb 22, 2009
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Sharpening has been a hobby of mine since I have been carrying knives (about 4 1/2 decades now). I consider myself above average at it, but nothing to write home about. Usually takes me about 10 minutes to have one shaving (not super steels), but generally don't pursue much beyond that. Well, getting ready to go to the Amazon and decided to reprofile the edge on my Scrapper 5 Infi. Got out the Ken Onion worksharp and ran it through 4 grit belts in the process of dropping the angle to 20 deg. Ran it over the strop for about 3 minutes and WOW!! The hair absolutely JUMPS off my arm. Dang did I get this one right :D I know pictures won't show it, but just cause everyone likes knife pics, it is the one on the bottom.

IMG_0739_zpsustgtkx5.jpg


Even a blind hog finds an acorn once in a while!!!

Doc
 
Yeap.

This is copied from a similar thread I started about 3 years ago.

I've sharpened a few different steels with my DMT Aligner. D2, 154CM, S30V, Case's CV steel, and of course 440 and 8Cr13MoV. Mostly Benchmades a few Kershaws too.

I digress.

So I go to sharpen my only Spyderco, an Endura 4, for the first time this weekend. I just started with the green stone (Extra Fine) and then the beige (Extra Extra Fine) since it really wasn't too bad. I'm watching TV and have no idea how long I was actually working. I got a pretty good edge, almost mirror, so I stopped.

After I sharpen I always use a wad of paper towels to apply some Hoppe's Elite oil to the blade for storage. I done this lots of times with no worries.

Well, this time, the blade sliced through the wad of paper towels and started slicing my finger before I realized it. That's the first time that's ever happened.

I do believe this is sharpest I've ever been able to get a knife. Almost too sharp. Almost.
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I'm curious as to what strop you use and how, I've never stopped and have a WSNT KO, csn get edge shaving sharp but feel they need to be a little smoother. Any input would be appreciated
 
I know the feeling.
I was wiping down a blade I had just sharpened ( a custom fixed blade in N690) and it sliced my finger through the towel.
Pain vs Pride
 
My sharpest was with INFI, too. I got an AMS to shave the hairs on the back of my neck, and it was beautiful. I had fun with it being so sharp until I had to dig my car out of the ice with it, and I haven't been able to get it back to that razor level yet.

I had reprofiled the edge to about 20dps on a lansky with the medium and fine stones and spent a whole night shift listening to a radio while sharpening. I don't think i am willing to do that again.

that edge sure was fun while it lasted, though.
 
You guys have got to quite holding the paper towel from the edge side and try the spine side :D
 
I make about 2-3 perfect edges a year, no flaws, no mistakes, no burrs, and a sharpness that brings a distinct smile to your face. It only takes me about 10,000 tries for every one I get right but those small moments of glory are well worth the effort.
 
it happens occasionally - then you figure out how you did it, and can do it consistently - then you find another level of sharpness by accident !

just recently mine have taken another step forward, mainly because of the accuracy of the Edgepro i recently acquired.
 
Jason B. said:
I make about 2-3 perfect edges a year, no flaws, no mistakes, no burrs, and a sharpness that brings a distinct smile to your face. It only takes me about 10,000 tries for every one I get right but those small moments of glory are well worth the effort.
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^ This.

Haha its such a fleeting moment.

A month ago the cosmos aligned and I was able to form the perfect edge on my Spyderco Endura

It was magical and short lived.
 
DeadboxHero said:
^ This.

Haha its such a fleeting moment.

A month ago the cosmos aligned and I was able to form the perfect edge on my Spyderco Endura

It was magical and short lived.
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Yep, sharpening is an art. Hard to paint a perfect picture every time...
 
Nope, happens all the time, precision and patience provide prime performance.
 
I have a feeling that people have very different standard for what they consider the perfect edge. If someone like JasonB. only gets a perfect edge a few times a year then his standards much be extremely high. No one is perfect so I find it unlikely that anyone produces the perfect edge every time they sharpen unless they have low standards.
 
I believe knife making is an art once one gets to a certain level of skill. Sharpening on the other hand is an acquired skill that can be learned by most anyone. Once the "mystery" of what an edge is supposed to look like, when its finished, its just a matter of having the tools needed to do the job. There are many out there that know a sharp edge when they use one, they just don't know how to get there. Its not that they don't have what it takes to be a great sharpener, its just that they've not been exposed to what works to produce that edge. Don't get frustrated, its not that hard, its just knowledge and that knowledge is available to all.

Fred
 
fsatsil said:
I have a feeling that people have very different standard for what they consider the perfect edge. If someone like JasonB. only gets a perfect edge a few times a year then his standards much be extremely high. No one is perfect so I find it unlikely that anyone produces the perfect edge every time they sharpen unless they have low standards.
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Hit the nail on the head.
 
"I have a feeling that people have very different standard for what they consider the perfect edge. If someone like JasonB. only gets a perfect edge a few times a year then his standards much be extremely high. No one is perfect so I find it unlikely that anyone produces the perfect edge every time they sharpen unless they have low standards".

That got a chuckle out of me :) :) Two actually.

Producing a beautiful cutting edge on a blade, I can assure you, is not rocket science. Two things apply here; if one has the knowledge to produce a perfect cutting edge and then makes it seem unattainable by the average biped, they are being disingenuous; they are "taking something specific and making it vague". The other, is one who has not attained the knowledge required, nor how to apply it and in what sequence [and then believing it can not be purchased at any price]. If perfection is the goal and most people on here agree thats the case, its only a matter of applying the knowledge to the degree needed to arrive at the level of sharp one requires.

The only technique in knife sharpening that passes for art is true free hand sharpening where no type of devise is used to facilitate alignment. it takes a good deal of practice to become skilled. Similar to welding or wall paper hanging, I do both well and my standards are quite high.

I'm a very motivated person even at the age of 71 and never view anything as unattainable, other than what my physical condition limits. I am currently talking with a someone who teaches Iaido [swordsmanship] with the hope of mastering it before I move to the next life phase.

Regards, Fred
 
I admit to being a novice sharpener. Not a knife maker. Not an everyday or even every week sharpener. But, every once in a while I'll get it right. It really is a great feeling. I know it isn't some voodoo mystery. I've watched videos and read how-to's. I think I know what to do but having an idea and doing aren't the same. I know I haven't committed the right amount of time to develop a repeatable skill. Maybe someday I will. All I know now is it feels great when it happens.
 
Only time I cut myself these days is when wiping down machetes and once on a ditch bank knife. Its the big ones that catch me napping, even when wiping down from the spine. Didn't take much of an overhang for the edge to zip through a few layers of paper towel and nip a bit of skin clean off the tip of my finger about the diameter of a pencil.

Made worse by the fact I was sharpening it up because I had a bunch of work to do with it later that day, now with a wad of bandages over electric tape...

Sharpening is indeed an art. All my edges reach a minimum standard based on the task at hand and circumstances or they aren't considered to be "sharpened". Some turn out better than others, but that's by my standards. I imagine if any one of us were to whip up edges on a handful of knives, rate them ourselves and hand the lot over to another party, odds are they wouldn't rate them in the exact same order.
 
While my sharpening has gotten much better over the years, most are base hits and every once in a while I hit a home run. Since I'm only doing this as a hobby, I'd love to be able to devote more time to it.

About 10 years ago, Gunmike1 and I were competing with each other, and we would hold a single piece of phone book paper (at the top of the paper) vertically then measure how far away from the point of hold we could push cut straight down - only push cuts. He got to the point freehand where he could get to 4 inches repeatedly, I was around 3. Every once in a blue moon, we would hit 6 inches. Try it sometime, it's fun, repeatable, and gives you bragging rights. :D
 
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