Have I reached the limit of my 5k stone?

B

basb

Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
897
Hey folks,
I've been practicing free-hand sharpening for a while now and I feel I'm getting pretty decent at it. I recently acquired two Helle knives, a 4 inch Fjellkniven and a 5 inch Brakar. The Fjellkniven needed sharpening so I decided to remove the facrory micro bevel and go to zero grind( the entire reason I use Scandi grinds).

Started on a DMT 325 diamond plate and went through a 1k(old version) and 5k naniwa specialty stones. Finished with a leather strop with flexcut.
It now slices 42.5 grams newspaper with ease and it's close to bring to push-cut through. Have reached the limit of my setup?
The Brakar factory bevel had only been touched up on the 5k and strop and it sinks through newspaper just by gravity.
 
What is your technique on the stone before going to the strop? Are you doing forth and back strokes or edge leading only or edge trailing only or short forth and back scrubbing motion ? That is important to know before recommendations can be given. In addition, every stone is different, particularly water stones.
 
Unless the edge angle is very broad, a 5k stone finished on Flexcut should easily push newsprint. It might even be capable of whittling a hair and should be cleanly shaving armhair. With some hot lather you aught to be able to shave your face with it.

The performance you are getting from the Brakar sounds like what you should expect after your full progression.

Again, if the edge angle is large, it won't perform very well on a paper cut test even if its well honed. So the Fjellkniven performance might not have anything to do with the limit of your set-up.
 
awestib said:
What is your technique on the stone before going to the strop? Are you doing forth and back strokes or edge leading only or edge trailing only or short forth and back scrubbing motion ? That is important to know before recommendations can be given. In addition, every stone is different, particularly water stones.
Click to expand...
I vary between long back and forth and edge-leading strokes but always finish each stone with slow edge-leading strokes.

HeavyHanded said:
Unless the edge angle is very broad, a 5k stone finished on Flexcut should easily push newsprint. It might even be capable of whittling a hair and should be cleanly shaving armhair. With some hot lather you aught to be able to shave your face with it.

The performance you are getting from the Brakar sounds like what you should expect after your full progression.

Again, if the edge angle is large, it won't perform very well on a paper cut test even if its well honed. So the Fjellkniven performance might not have anything to do with the limit of your set-up.
Click to expand...
I think the angle on the Fjellkniven is about 15 degrees per side, the Brakar's micro bevel is around 20 I think.
Both knives are 3-ish mm thick.
With a bit of practice I was able to split a hair with both knives if I keep the hair on my thumb and slice "into" the hair.
Theoretically the Fjellkniven should be able of higher degree of sharpness, but the factory edge of Helle knives are sharper than any maker I've seen so far.

Edit: I decided to clean my strop since it had a tendency of scratching. It now has only tiny bit of flexcut left and after a few strokes I can push the Fjellkniven through newspaper, but not as clean as the Brakar.
 
Last edited:
I don't know the 5k Naniwa but you can try to finish with edge trailing strokes only alternating, maybe 10 each side, then go to the strop and see whether you have a different/better result ?!
 
awestib said:
I don't know the 5k Naniwa but you can try to finish with edge trailing strokes only alternating, maybe 10 each side, then go to the strop and see whether you have a different/better result ?!
Click to expand...

If its a softer stone this should help notably.

Cleaning the strop and/or applying some more compound always a good idea, especially if you think its gotten contaminated.

Also, use a light touch on the strop. If you are slightly rounding the edge with freehand technique, the strop can make that worse.

I am not familiar with the Naniwa 5k...
 
These naniwas Specialty Stones and their predecessor Super Stones are pretty soft, I'm lapping my ass off when working with tougher steels.
I never use more pressure than the weight of the knife itself on a strop. When on the 5k I also use as little pressure as possible, especially near the end.

I will try edge-trailing next time.

Thanks guys, always Good help on these boards.
Good to know i have lot of practice left, i wanted to get a Snow White stone to get better edges but push-cutting was my goal. Everything beyond that feels pointless on bushcraft knives.
 
Most commonly known as the Naniwa SS or Super stones befor the name change, they are known for the ability to highly polish an edge while producing a near flawless finish. The down side is they are very soft stones and because of their polishing ability tend to produce a very smooth edge. Also, not the best choice for tough steels.

The 5k will produce a very polished and sharp edge, I wouldn't doubt you could get a hair splitting edge almost right from the stone in some cases.

Again, with it being a soft stone technique can play a big part. Use edge trailing strokes as been mentioned and you will obtain a higher degree of sharpness to the edge.
 
Tried edge-trailing for a bit and it works. After about ten strokes alternating sides I can now push cut and it almost goes clean through by gravity.
Very happy :), thanks again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top