Problems with knife sharpening ... please help

[Knightfisher8]

Hi guys , am new to sharpening and have read and watched numerous videos and tutorials on here and you tube and still dont get it ......

This is my Kershaw folder that was blunt and now its even more blunt after my sharpening attempt. I am using an oil stone with a course side and fine side , I was using the course side to try and get the edge back . I have now made the edge none existand and seems to be a curved edge. I am really tring to hold the knife at the same angle every time throughout the stroke across the stone but im still getting it all wrong ... I am just making it worse and harder to correct .

can anyone help me or can see what im doing wrong ?

 

[DaveBromley]

from the pictures it looks like you are holding the blade at too high an angle, it is a learning curve but you will get it eventually i would suggest you get a very cheap knife to practice on and don't move on until you have mastered it.

place the blade flat on the stone and then tilt it so that the cutting edge stays on the stone but the back of the blade is about 1 cm above the stone.

Also a good tip is to colour the cutting edge with black marker and then lok at it every couple of strokes, this will let you know if you are favouring any part of the blade or if you have an even edge

Dave

 

[marcelxl]

To me it looks like you have varied the angle too frequently.

I struggle with this.............. I do chisels and plane blades every day no problem but I need to work on knives with a simple stone. I use a Spyderco Sharpmaker for when I need more than a strop, its taken the fear out of it for me and I would advise you to have a look at something like that

 

[Knightfisher8]

the marker pen is a good idea , I think i'll struggle to get the edge back but i'll try and keep it as steady as i can and let you know how i get on , I seem to be better 1 way than the other

 

[bigandy]

make a little jig that holds it at the correct angle(a small block of wood or similar) it can take a while to get to grips with but when you get it you wont stop sharpening everything just because you can

 

[Knightfisher8]

make a little jig that holds it at the correct angle(a small block of wood or similar) it can take a while to get to grips with but when you get it you wont stop sharpening everything just because you can

andy , just like a wee wooden wedge the length of the blade ? might be get difficult at the curve on the end . Just cant get my head round it sometimes , im determined to get it tho

 

[bigandy]

like said before practise with something else first, then when you find you can hold the blade, with out the guide progress on to your decent knife.i am sure there will be someone on who lives near you or look at going on one of the camps always people around will help.thats what one of the great things about this forum!also have a look at reds £5 knife sharpening tutorial(think it was red's)should be a sticky.

 

[lannyman8]

hi KF, im quite lucky in that i have been doing this with blades since i was a bout 8 so....... i dont always sharpen as you should but how i feel comfortable, its probably not the best way but always have a sharp blade........as another person has said try with an old knife first, try an old butter knife, 10p from a car boot and easy to get hold of, wont break the bank if you mess it up......

again as others have said your angle is to "harsh" and "uneven", try the piece of wood, it only needs to be long enough to support the blade so you get the angle, do the straight piece of the blade first, then move onto the curved bit......just pull the blade as you push it on the stone when doing the curved bit, just make sure you keep the blade against the block of wood so the angle stays the same when you move the blade....you dont need a great deal of pressure, just start of light and even and keep with it untill you get the idea.....

hope this helps, pm me if you need any more help.....

regards.

chris...

 

[Knightfisher8]

thanks chris ! I will make a wee jig asap and give it a bash , hopefully I can get into some kind of rythum , I will let you know if it is or isnt happening for me , cheers

k

 

[ged]

You're trying too hard. Slow down. Take your time. You're going to have to be patient. The object is not to take off as much metal as you can at each stroke, quite the reverse. When you sharpen a blade, most of the time you're taking off the tiniest bit of metal you can imagine. I try not to take any off at all, the blade lasts a lot longer that way. It rarely takes me more than fifteen seconds to touch up an edge but I admit that looking at what you have there now, it would take a bit longer than that. On the positive side, you take good photographs.

Use very gentle pressure on the stone.

Try to cut a piece of paper with the blade after every few strokes along the stone. There should be a noticeable difference each time. If there isn't, you're just taking off metal to no purpose.

You will be better at it one way than the other, that's part of being 'handed'. You'll need to work on that, no way around it except buying expensive sharpening jigs. They have their place but I think in general they're overrated and inflexible.

Other have given good advice to try on cheap blades, but some steels are capable of taking much better edges than others. So if you try sharpening a bit of 304 from your dinner service be aware that you're never going to get the edge that you can get on a laminated powder steel blade from Fallkniven.

 

[DaveBromley]

That last point is very true the better the steel the better the edge. The main thing is not to get dis heartened and if you dont feel like your getting the results you want then try to change your technique. Experimant until you fiind something that suits you and gives the results your after

After all the doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of madness lol

Good luck

Dave

 

[Knightfisher8]

On the positive side, you take good photographs.

.

thanks for the help guys ! I still havend re attempted but I will when i have time in the next couple of days , I have got a couple of butter knives set aside for practicing , but that was before i read the past couple of posts .

I definatley have been going a bit heavy with it and need to slow down like whats been said , i know that myself .

k