Do enlighten!
Knives!
- Thread starter AcuraTech
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so how do you guys correclty sharpen a knife? details please.. this will be intersting.
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- Jun 2, 2003
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I'd like to sharpen my tongue, but I'm too tired.
Assuming the blade isn't extremely dull, just move the blade across the stone as if you're trying to slice off a thin piece of it, alternating sides, but drawing the blade from the base of the blade, near the handle, to the tip.
I've seen people go from base to tip on one side, then from tip to base on the other.
This page shows the basic technique.
http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/lib2/knife.htm
Of course, if you want to get all fancy, you can use a guide to maintain the proper angle, etc.
I've seen people go from base to tip on one side, then from tip to base on the other.
This page shows the basic technique.
http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/lib2/knife.htm
Of course, if you want to get all fancy, you can use a guide to maintain the proper angle, etc.
I use one of these:
(actually an older version) Works great.
(actually an older version) Works great.
I have one of those, and also one of those sets by Lanskey or whatever, but I mostly just use a fine Arkansas stone.
Kestas
Staff member
Sometimes the edge is beyond stoning. In those cases I rough in the edge with a file.
"so how do you guys correclty sharpen a knife? details please.. this will be intersting."
Paraphrasing the Karate Kid, sharpening is 'burr on, burr off' (noting that some steels at high hardness levels don't produce much of a burr). With a dull knife one needs to remove material on one side and then the other side in order to produce a sharp edge, and with most knives a burr of rolled steel is produced with this 'rough grind', a burr that can be felt with the fingernail. If a burr is produced all along the length on one side, and then a burr all along the length on the other side, enough material has been removed to produce a sharp edge. One then uses finer and finer abrasives in order to remove the burr, producing a sharp edge. Sometimes one wants a slightly rougher edge that has some 'teeth' for things like hides, carpet, etc., so the final polishing can be skipped. The main mistake that most people make is tyring to sharpen a dull knife with a fine brasive, as they won't remove enough material in a resaonable period of time to sharpen the knife. The 'rough grind' is the most important part of sharpening, as if it's done right the rest goes pretty easily.
I use a 2in belt sander (also known as a 'grinder' in knife making) as a rough stone for dull knives, then a large diamond stone, then a medium ceramic stone, then ceramic stick and/or a leather strop with some aluminum oxide glass polishing compound on it. For touch ups I use a diamond stick as needed and then a ceramic stick and/or strop. The kitchen knives rarely need the diamond stick and I haven't had to use a stone in years, but I have strict rules on always using a cutting board and hand washing. One slice against a glass/ceramic plate and a fine edge is dulled, requiring a fair amount of material to be removed in order to sharpen it. The knives in the garage get lots of abuse, and I also sharpen scissors, lawn mower blades, chisels, x acto blades, pruning shears, axes ,machetes, paper cutters, etc.
For years I used a set of three silicon carbide stones for the rough grind, where I would grind them against each other as needed in order to flatten them. When I started sharpening other people's knives I picked up the belt sander as most knives that I receive are very dull. In my backpack I carry a small ceramic stick and a small combo DMT rough/fine diamond stone. Wally world has a nice little Smith's diamond sharpener for about $6, which is handy for field use.
Paraphrasing the Karate Kid, sharpening is 'burr on, burr off' (noting that some steels at high hardness levels don't produce much of a burr). With a dull knife one needs to remove material on one side and then the other side in order to produce a sharp edge, and with most knives a burr of rolled steel is produced with this 'rough grind', a burr that can be felt with the fingernail. If a burr is produced all along the length on one side, and then a burr all along the length on the other side, enough material has been removed to produce a sharp edge. One then uses finer and finer abrasives in order to remove the burr, producing a sharp edge. Sometimes one wants a slightly rougher edge that has some 'teeth' for things like hides, carpet, etc., so the final polishing can be skipped. The main mistake that most people make is tyring to sharpen a dull knife with a fine brasive, as they won't remove enough material in a resaonable period of time to sharpen the knife. The 'rough grind' is the most important part of sharpening, as if it's done right the rest goes pretty easily.
I use a 2in belt sander (also known as a 'grinder' in knife making) as a rough stone for dull knives, then a large diamond stone, then a medium ceramic stone, then ceramic stick and/or a leather strop with some aluminum oxide glass polishing compound on it. For touch ups I use a diamond stick as needed and then a ceramic stick and/or strop. The kitchen knives rarely need the diamond stick and I haven't had to use a stone in years, but I have strict rules on always using a cutting board and hand washing. One slice against a glass/ceramic plate and a fine edge is dulled, requiring a fair amount of material to be removed in order to sharpen it. The knives in the garage get lots of abuse, and I also sharpen scissors, lawn mower blades, chisels, x acto blades, pruning shears, axes ,machetes, paper cutters, etc.
For years I used a set of three silicon carbide stones for the rough grind, where I would grind them against each other as needed in order to flatten them. When I started sharpening other people's knives I picked up the belt sander as most knives that I receive are very dull. In my backpack I carry a small ceramic stick and a small combo DMT rough/fine diamond stone. Wally world has a nice little Smith's diamond sharpener for about $6, which is handy for field use.
What about a honing steel?
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