Sharpening

[JimFSC]

Crazy as it may sound after nearly two decades of camping I still can't get a 'razor edge' with sharpening stones (wet or dry) I can get a just about razor sharp edge on my knives with a ceramic sharpener (but not great on the curve) help!

I've looked at various articles and pictures (which seem unclear on both movement, wet/ dryness of stones and how many strokes in each direction....).
:-?
Any thoughts?

Jim.

 

[Adi007]

My first question would have to be - are the stones flat or are they worn? If they are worn, it's darn hard to get a good edge.

 

[Gary]

Second question would be what type of knife do you have?

Single flat bevel - secondary?

This, and Adi question, will probably explain much.

 

[ChrisKavanaugh]

The forward curve, or upsweep of a knife is changing both in the thickness and angle relative to the main straight edge of the blade. Using the same angle simply wont work. A subtle increase in the angle from straightline to tip is required. Many people have actually gone to various grits of grinding compound for extremely fine edges. This would involve a leather strop, cardboard or even a computer mousepad. I've found many people actually oversharpen a blade into a premature death. Once you get a good blade truly sharp steeling or using a ceramic rod is often enough to straighten those tiny bends and restore the cutting edge to full potential.

 

[FJS90-91]

Don’t buy expensive wet stones and ceramic stuff that wont give u a cutting edge anyway.. Its very easy to sharpen a knife or an axe.. start out with 150 sandpaper and count your strokes, when u get a raw edge change to a 600 sandpaper and do twice the amount of strokes, when done do twice the amount of strokes as on 600 paper on your jeans or something soft like that.. Your knife should now be sharp as a razor!!

 

[the naughty boy]

i use my lansky system..dead handy. if you only have a stone to work on then the most important thing is to keep the blade at a consistent angle while pushing it along the stone otherwise you get a curved effect on the edge.dont forget that too fine an edge such as 17-20 degrees is suitable for razors and scalpels and not an outdoors knife.these should have an angle of 25 degrees for a good balance between cutting edge and durability m8. [sounds like i read that bit dosent it?...i did ]

thats the thing i like about the lansky,gives the correct angle every time and after a bit of a strop my edges are good enough to shave my arms and i know they wont go dull after i sharpen a pencil of two :-D

after 20 years of sharpening tools i was impressed with it!

also its lighter than my standard bench stone so there is no argument about weight if you need to carry it with you. i also sharpen my kukri and axe with it too!

i strongly advise everyone to at least try this system if not purchase it. you,ll not be dissapointed.

 

[jakunen]

My first question would be 'how good is your knife?'
Some cheap nasty baldes won't take much of an edge no matter what you do and certainly won't hold it long enough to be useful.
The Lansky is a superb system. Womble showed me his the other weekend. Very impressed and intend to buy one.
ALso the DC4 diamond/ceramic stone that Stuart sells is EXCELLENT. He showed me one at the NEC (asked for it back the rotten *******) and I've just ordered one from him.
www.thetradingpost.co.uk
(any commission from sales Stuart? )

 

[C_Claycomb]

I haven't used this, but it seems a very good idea. I read a review of it in a US knife magazine and it sounded genuine, not a gimick.
http://www.razoredgesystems.com/
looks like a sharpening guide like those used for chisels and plane blades, but designed for a knife.

If all else fails you could try the Hoodoo Hone. Mouse mat with wet and dry paper. This forms a convex edge and isn't as fussy about precise angle as a hard stone. Depends on your knife though. It would be a shame to convex a single bevel, but for something with a small secondary bevel it could work well.

 

[jakunen]

Saw that one at the NEC, my only concern was it looked too easy to sharpen the guide and maybe the handle...

 

[JakeR]

I had exactly the same problem as you. Then i tried the DC4. At £16 its worth the razor edge!

www.heinnie.com

Jake

 

[JimFSC]

Currently I'm using a Lapp Puukko as my main knife but I also carry a 8" Sramseaxe for splitting and chopping (a replica Viking utility knife hand made by Paul Binns the swordmaker...), I've been trying to sharpen these with Japanese Water Slipstones (6000/1000 grit) and Nagura Stone from Survival School, but my technique must be pants as I still seem to get a better edge with the ceramic rod...

How do I know my angle is right?
How many strokes should I expect to use for fine sharpening?


Jim

Thanks for the input so far!

 

[ChrisKavanaugh]

I tried the Razoredge system many years ago. The book is very informative. I found the system less than satisfactory unless you allready had a good background in sharpening.

 

[jason01]

Not to put anyone off but I think the difficulty in obtaining a razor edge by hand on stones is often understated.

Its a very difficult thing to describe, much of it is down to feel and it really only comes with lots and lots of practice. You need to take your stone, a good blade and just keep working at it. If I need to adjust the bevel angle or the knife is in a poor state it might take hours to sort it out and it can literally be undone at a stroke but if the edge is good to start with it might only take 5 or 10 minutes.

Ive sharpened knives for years but I think Ive only started to get repeatable results that Im really happy with quite recently. Ive been able to get my knives to shave my arm hairs for quite some time, but only recently have I been able to get an edge I could shave my face with!

The good news is the more you do it the easier it gets, so keep at it! Also, longer blades are going to be more difficult than small ones!

Best

Jason

 

[C_Claycomb]

One common trick to check your angle is to mark up the bevel area with water proof marker pen. This gets ground off as you sharpen and can, sometimes, show if you aren't reaching the cutting edge. A strong hand lense, 10x+ can also help see what you are doing.

 

[ESpy]

The rod systems are pretty good, the best being IMO the Spyderco.
Waterstones for sabre/Scandinavian grinds.

I've just received a new EdgePro Apex - overkill for most people, but I want this for putting an initial edge on blades. Extremely effective.

 

[Lithril]

The rod systems are pretty good, the best being IMO the Spyderco.
Waterstones for sabre/Scandinavian grinds.

I've just received a new EdgePro Apex - overkill for most people, but I want this for putting an initial edge on blades. Extremely effective.

Are teh rod systems and the edgepro not for secondary bevels?

 

[ESpy]

Primarily, yes - but there's no reason the EdgePro couldn't be used for a sabre grind. I'd just stick to waterstones, personally.

 

[FJS90-91]

bah! sandpaper has been good enough for my 1800$ hand made Same knife for the last 14 years, we been trough alot of hunting and fishing together..

 

[jakunen]

Just had a look at prices of the various systems.

Blade Matrix www.bladematrix.tv are doing the basic Lansky for only $21, but don't ship to UK.

Weber www.weber-knives.com do the same for $91 with shipping.

Crazy difference in price! :roll:

 

[Womble]

I got my Lansky standard set from Attenborough Accessories:- http://www.attacc.com/acatalog/Attleborough_Accessories_Knives_Sharpeners.html

They had it on special offer (a few quid cheeper) it came with the plastic pedestal mount, and was delivered in 4 working days rather than the 7 - 10 working days they quoted me on the phone!