Seeking sharpening advise

Joined
Mar 30, 2020
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4
Hey all,

I was hoping that all you experts could point me in the correct direction for sharpening my greenwood carving knives.

Currently I own: Mora 106, 120 fixed blade carving knives. I also own a couple hook knives.
I use these for carving greenwood spoons and small kitchen utensils and the like.

I am hoping to upgrade my sharpening system and I am looking for the best way to sharpen these knives. I've heard people are using "float glass" in combination with adhesive sandpaper as this ensures you have a flat surface. I've also heard that kangaroo leather is the best as it doesn't "roll the edge" of your blade when stropping, as could be typical for cow leather.

Currently I use: A set of Shapton Whetstones ( 320,1000,4000 i think ) that are starting to dome pretty bad, probably from my misuse or neglect of flattening them. I also made a few strops that I made by glueing cow leather to some 1" thick pieces of wood, I use a green compound that I purchased off amazon for fairly cheap ( Woodstock d2902 extra fine buffing compound ).

There's quite a bit of information online and I was hoping you guys may help me navigate the waters a bit better.

Thanks in advanve!
Matt
 
I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed by the stones, however I never realized that I needed to invest in a flattening stone until my stones became quite dished. I’ve tried fixing them with sandpaper on a countertop ect and it just seems like too much effort and I don’t want to invest in a “lapping stone” I believe it’s called.

I’d rather spend the money trying a new system if I’m able to gain insight on superior methods. Or perhaps the proper path may just be to just flatten the stones and proceed as I have been.
 
Hey, Wolf.
For a few years I used a flattening stone and it was fine. It was a bit tedious to use and to get my stones a flat as possible. But it was cheap, and it got the job done. I always read about folks who used a glass plate with silicon carbide or aluminum oxide abrasives. I was intrigued, but I never knew exactly what kind of glass to get or what kind of abrasive to get. Eventually I just bit the bullet and let someone else make the decision by buying a kit off the shelf.

I was AMAZED by how quickly, how flat, and how clean I could make my stones with minimal effort. I should have gone this route years ago. Just by flattening your stones and cleaning up the surface you'll end up with much better edges.

https://www.edgeproinc.com/sharpeni...ing-kit-with-60-grit-silicon-carbide-p36.html
 
This looks like a cool system. Do you think it would work with my 3 different grit of shapton stones? .. seems like it’s designed for their edge pro stones
 
Do you think it would work with my 3 different grit of shapton stones? .. seems like it’s designed for their edge pro stones

I bought it to use on the Nubatama stones that see a lot of use. But I've also used it on Choseras and Edge Pros. It works equally well on all of them. If your'e going to flatten diamond matrix stones, get aluminum oxide abrasive rather than silicon carbide. Don't ask me why. It seems opposite, but it's what they recommend.
 
For larger stones I think you'll prefer a larger piece of thick glass. You can get the 60 grit silicon carbide from a rock tumbling hobby shop.
 
Does anyone have experience using sandpaper stuck onto flat glass for sharpening? Seems like a nice idea with not having to level the stones ect.
 
Does anyone have experience using sandpaper stuck onto flat glass for sharpening? Seems like a nice idea with not having to level the stones ect.

This can work. Especially with the relatively simple carbon steel of the Mora knives (or carbon-core laminated steel they use). I've used wet/dry sandpaper over either glass or a granite reference plate, to thin and sharpen my Opinel knives in both carbon and stainless. You want to make sure the sandpaper is kept flush to the hard backing, so it won't lift or curl under pressure from the blade. That can be done by taping it down, or using a little bit of adhesive, or otherwise affixing it by some mechanical means. I used a couple of binder clips for this, when using sandpaper over glass (1/4" thick, with rubber feet underneath) for my Opinels. With sandpaper, ALWAYS use edge-trailing strokes, as with stropping.

Same might be done for your hook knives, but instead use a cylinder or rod of some sort for the backing under the sandpaper. PVC or metal pipe, or a large dowel of wood could work for that.

Steels like this would polish up very well and take hair-popping edges on a strop of denim or linen over a firm/hard backing, firmly affixed with contact cement, etc. For these steels, green compound or white rouge (aluminum oxide) in stick/crayon form work very, very well on denim over a firm backing.

For the Scandi-style grinds of the Mora knives, simple oil stones can also work well for sharpening. A coarse/fine India stone would work well, and very fine Arkansas stones, like translucent or black hard, can work very well for finishing. Use all of these with mineral oil for best results. These are the sorts of stones that pair well with most woodworking/carving tools in general, like chisels or plane irons, for example. And they won't dish out or dome very fast either, like waterstones will do.
 
I use sandpaper to sharpen sometimes but have never heard that only edge-trailing strokes should be used.

Would you please explain why?

Thank you....

Mainly just to avoid cutting/tearing the paper. Also, if the apex digs in just a little bit, the paper will tend to wrap or form around it, which will bring edge-rounding issues. Basically the same limitations as with stropping, if trying edge-leading.

The exception to that would be if the paper is fully adhered (glued) to the hard backing, so it can't lift at all. If held angle is good & steady, and the touch is light, it could be used just like a stone this way, with light edge-leading strokes (heavier pressure will likely still cut or tear the paper). But obviously, fully gluing the paper down is somewhat tedious, when it comes to changing the paper out for a fresh sheet.
 
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