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Posted: 11/16/2010 5:30:44 PM EDT
| How about a Knife sharpening tutorial |
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Not what you asked, but this is the best system I ever used, and it's self explanatory. $25. Frost Blade-Master kit at Amazon. |
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The Razor Edge
Pretty much says it all. They have a book which shows the author shaving a full beard with a DOUBLE BITTED LOGGING AXE! Now tell me that ol' boy doesn't know how to sharpen some steel! The book is very good at explaining how to sharpen stuff. |
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I have been using a Lansky kit and
a leather strop for 20 years. I match the angle of the knife to the closest hole, then start with course stone. Get a magnifying glass or a loupe to check that you have a uniform angled grind, all the way to the edge, using the course stone. When you see that, change to the medium for a few minutes & polish it with the fine stone. Then look to for a wire edge. Use the course side of the leather for a few strokes, then a few on the slick side of the strop. It should shave your arm hairs. If it doesn't, go back to the course stone again, and work back to fine & the strop. I use the Lansky on my nice blades & a carbide knife sharpener on my field & throw down knives. Later! John |
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Quoted:
I had a complete Lansky kit with the diamond sharpeners and did not like it...always looking fro something easier which I have never found 
Can anyone comment on sharpening the serrated parts of a blade? I never bought the triangle stone for the serrations. I really don't like them, but I don't let them stop me from buying a knife. I just use the flat stones to sharpen the "back" side of the serrations. I am basically just sharpening the tips. John |
| i have the lansky system and have used it with some success, i have also been free handing it on bench stones and diamond hones for years with very good results , i just bought a spyderco Sharpmaker triangle kit a week ago, ive sharpened 5 knives and have to say its the easiest way to get a razor hair poping edge on a knife, and it comes with a detailed DVD with Sal Glesser himself demonstrating the proper use of the sharpmaker on plain edge, serrated edge knives and just about anything else imaginable that needs resharpened. a very informative dvd. a great sharpener. |
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cheap 1" belt sander from harbor freight. Couple various grit belts & a leather belt & jewelers rouge to finish up.
Mount the thing backwards so the belt runs away from you. With a little practive you can put on a very fine edge & produce a mirror finis on the edge bevel as well. You can also screw up some blades very fast if you don't pay attention. 
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Quoted:
How about a Knife sharpening tutorial Okay, here's the tutorial, quick & easy: First of all, remember that the knife is a WEDGE. Its job is to slice through whatever it is cutting. The sharper the leading edge of the wedge is, the quicker it will do this job. Many people try to put what I call a "lazy edge" on a knife. They will grind and sharpen for a few minutes and put a 'sort-of' edge on the blade, but it won't really cut. What they are doing by putting a "lazy edge" on the knife is, they are raising the rear end of the knife blade–– the trailing edge–– too far off the stone. This puts an increasingly dull edge on the cutting edge. See the pic below:  .
What you must do is spend some quality time with your blade! Get a good sharpening stone, or use a kit; the Lansky kit is well-mentioned by most all who use it. The reasons will become clear later in this post. First, with a clean, fairly coarse sharpening stone, lay the knife flat against the stone, and lift the heel (the trailing edge) of the knife off the stone about 10-15 degrees. You will be grinding for awhile here (if you have a dull knife) because you must restore (or create) a good angle at the cutting edge. Without this good (AND VERY SMALL) angle, you just can't cut anything! 
You can grind for a while on this side, or you can alternate from side to side. The point of this is to grind the blade until the grinding on both sides meets at the cutting edge of the knife. 
When the grinds on both sides of the blade meet, a wire edge will form. You can detect this by dragging the knife across your finger BACKWARDS (as if you were 'stropping' the knife with your finger). This is a good thing! You will eliminate the wire edge with the next step. 
Now, you will repeat the grinding action you did in the first step but with a finer stone. As you put the cutting edge of the knife on the stone, raise the heel of the knife just a little, 2-3 degrees, so you will be grinding a secondary angle into the edge of the knife. This angle will form the final cutting edge of the knife. To grind the final angle into the blade, imagine that you are trying to slice a very thin slice of the sharpening stone. Do this 2-3 times and then turn the knife over; grind 2-3 times and turn it over again. After you turn the knife over 4 or 5 times, you should have a fairly good edge. Now repeat this with a very find stone. I like to use an Arkansas stone (sometimes called a Washita stone) to finish my grinding. Now, if you want a SUPER edge, you may use a sharpening steel to finish the edge. Swipe the blade on the steel, again as if you were slicing a very fine slice off the steel, and don't put much pressure on the edge. Alternate each side of the knife with each stroke. You should have an edge you can cut hairs off your arm with! The reason most people prefer to use some kind of sharpening kit is that the kits will keep your blade at a preset angle, both for the first and the secondary grinds. If you cannot keep this angle while sharpening by hand, by all means use a kit! By grinding a primary and secondary edge into your knife, you will make subsequent sharpening sessions easier and less time-consuming. However, after several sharpening sessions, you will need to restore the primary angle. |
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Excellent and clear post, FrankS. I do the same but I convex. Convexity gives a larger cross section of cutting surface which is awesome for hard use blades. As Frank brought up, and I will re-iterate, it is a great idea to, like a butcher, maintain your edge during long use. I carry an abbreviated kit with me in my pack or Jeep so that I can maintain my edge during long sessions. A few minutes honing during use makes maintanance easier and also improves field performance over time. |
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I was searching for sharpening info because I have several blades that need edge work.
Here is something I just found that shows how to put on a convex edge. Tools needed ? Sand paper and a mouse pad 
[ edit ] I just tried the above, and either I suck or it just didnt work. Used 150 grit and then 440 grit paper. Had to go back inside and hit it with the steel to get it sharp again. [ edit 2] I took away the mouse pad (actually a cut up piece of an old beer coolee) and placed the sand paper flat on a shop table I used a blade motion similar to what this video shows. After going over with both pieces of paper, I then used my leather belt as a strop. Wha-la! It was shaving the hairs off my arm. |
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http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=578787&highlight=richardj
check out this thread. you can thank me later. I gave away my lansky and spyderco sharpmaker after discovering this method. It literally takes me about 2 minutes to make a dull knife into one that is shaving sharp. the only bad thing is that once your buddies see how sharp your knives are, you'll be sharpening theirs all the time.
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Quoted: I was searching for sharpening info because I have several blades that need edge work. Here is something I just found that shows how to put on a convex edge. Tools needed ? Sand paper and a mouse pad [ edit ] I just tried the above, and either I suck or it just didnt work. Used 150 grit and then 440 grit paper. Had to go back inside and hit it with the steel to get it sharp again. [ edit 2] I took away the mouse pad (actually a cut up piece of an old beer coolee) and placed the sand paper flat on a shop table I used a blade motion similar to what this video shows. After going over with both pieces of paper, I then used my leather belt as a strop. Wha-la! It was shaving the hairs off my arm. Convexing is awesome but your results vary from blade to blade depending on blade material and shape. Here is a post on convexing ( and frustration ) that I did recently. http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/888574/ It is VERY similar to FrankSymptoms' post on beveled edging but pertaining to convexed knives. It has helped at least one other person out so for...and hopefully more when I transfer it to Forest and Stream online. As you discovered, your backing material is essential...and for every person the backing material can be different according to their style. I use a small bamboo cutting board with hard furniture moving felt glued to it as my base. I get very nice edges that last a LONG time. |
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