any reasons not to sharpen knives using sandpaper?

harkamus

harkamus

Joined
Apr 23, 2007
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I don't have a knife sharpener, but I do have various increasing grits of sandpaper. Are there any drawbacks to using them for blade sharpening? I fully intend to practice with my kitchen knives before going to my carry knives. I was thinking of getting one of those old rubber/foam mousepads and putting the sandpaper on those.

Recurves might be a problem.
 
Well, it'll work. Kinda. It'll scratch the crap out of your knives and won't really be a fine enough grit to get your knives sharp, but it's better than nothing. But only barely. Really, you'd be better off using the bottom of your coffee cup.

OK, I know broke, but let's get real here - you can afford a sharpening stone. They're not that expensive.
 
If you put it that way, I guess I'll buy some kind of sharpening system. Now, I have to decide on free hand versus a Sharpmaker with the other ultra fine rods.

Would a Sharpmaker take care of this slight recurve? Excuse the huge pic; I took it off my review post.
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I don't own a Sharpmaker, but have A.G. Russell's ceramic sticks (very similar), and they work just fine for recurves. Actually about the best choice. Stones/Lansky/Edge Pros don't handle recurves nearly as well.
 
I have a henkles twin stone pro and I definitely would say for first timer that the sharpmaker is a better entry point than a true benchstone. If anything because unless you have a lot of time on your hands than using a stone first time kind of sucks because it takes a long time to get a decent edge on especially with the high end steels like S30v. And for first time it's difficult to figure out if what you got is sharp enough or it's just adequately sharp. Using a sharpmaker will make it easier for someone to understand what a sharp edge is, and then you can transition to a benchstone by laying the rods on the back of the frame to get practiced at free hand sharpening. Recurves especially work well with those systems, trying to sharpen a kukri using a stone sucks. Their long and narrow making them perfect for the job. Though I recommend three systems for anyone going to collect a lot of knives. Something free handed like a Norton Stone, a set degrees sharpener like a sharpmaker or lanskey, and a sharpening system for re profiling like a belt sander or diamond steel.
 
Sandpaper on glass is a well known method of producing very sharp edges. 2k grit paper will yield near mirror polished edges that would cost you a lot of money in stones to replicate. The down side is sandpaper wears out, though with the finer grits this becomes a good thing.

Why are you trying to convex everything?
 
Sounds good. Guess I'll pick up an AG Russell set unless I find a Sharpmaker for cheap.

I suppose my question is when to transition between the different stone grits.
 
IMO some sandpaper works great. The key is to find the kind that is for metal and in high enough grits. Most is made for sanding wood. The Aluminum Oxide grit in this type of paper will not stay adhered to the paper well while sharpening. I use PSA backed SiC rolls from Klingspor on occasion. I only use it on specially shaped dowels or stone blanks for sharpening serrations or recurves. But it can be used to sharpen straight blades as well in a pinch. Belts and stones are ultimately a better option though.
 
knifenut1013 said:
Sandpaper on glass is a well known method of producing very sharp edges. 2k grit paper will yield near mirror polished edges that would cost you a lot of money in stones to replicate. The down side is sandpaper wears out, though with the finer grits this becomes a good thing.

Why are you trying to convex everything?
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Maybe it's different in Michigan, but I can't find 2K grit sandpaper around here. If I could, I'd probably have to agree with your statement.
 
I have plenty of 2000 grit sanding paper meant for metal work and body work. I think I have higher than that as well.

Anyway, I suppose I'll leave those for their respective uses...cars.
 
harkamus said:
I suppose my question is when to transition between the different stone grits.
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It depends on how dull your knife is (usually a factor of how long it's been since you sharpened it). If it isn't too far gone, you can stay on top of things pretty easily with the finest thing available.
 
Samael said:
It depends on how dull your knife is (usually a factor of how long it's been since you sharpened it). If it isn't too far gone, you can stay on top of things pretty easily with the finest thing available.
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I don't plan on letting my knives get that way. I don't have that many anyway. The Sharpmaker or Russell would be to get a small chip out of a blade first and foremost. Something that should not be beyond the capabilities of either system, correct?
 
harkamus said:
I don't plan on letting my knives get that way. I don't have that many anyway. The Sharpmaker or Russell would be to get a small chip out of a blade first and foremost. Something that should not be beyond the capabilities of either system, correct?
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For "chips," I'd go with the Sharpmaker. The ceramic rods are more for "touch-ups."
 
Most auto parts stores will carry up to 2k and you can get up to 3k at amazon.com

Most wet/dry is silicon carbide and very capable of sharpening the hardest of steels S30V,S90V,ZDP. its not as fast as diamond but faster than most stones.

Personally I think you would be very disappointed with the AG russel.
 
Alrighty. I'll make a note to purchase a Sharpmaker along with the finer grit rods. I'll practice using some kitchen knives.

I've read that it can be easy to make the point dull/blunt if you use the Sharpmaker incorrectly. Any tips on how to prevent this? Also, it seems to me the hardest portion to sharpen is the area right after the choil. Any tips on that?
 
I mainly use sandpaper for regrinding bevels (scandis and convex bevels). I go from 80, 120... up to 1200 and it works great! After that, I take it to my other equipment, but any blade will be sharp after 1200.
 
now I'm confused in another thread I was assured that mousepad and sandpaper is way better than any crock stick gadget. Now I read that angled sticks are better. I did buy and use a sharpmaker and got good results. I even rebeveled my endura with a coarse stone laid on one of the SM's rods. I even tried to fake a convex edge by manipulating the rods on my SM getting 4 angles. that means 3 back bevels and the edge. In that thread I was told that i'd get better results with a mousepad and sandpaper. I tried it and got my endura sharper than on the SM. I thought I was on the right track, now somebody tells me otherwise. maybe I should stick to what works for me.
 
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