Sharpening Beginner

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kbaug06

Joined
Apr 4, 2007
Messages
14
Hi, I want to learn to sharpen my own knives so I need to learn about the different types of edges, tools, and techniques to do so. Does anyone know of a good link to give a beginner the basics?
 
do google to start with, search;
knife sharpening
sharpening
how to sharpen
convex sharpening
sharpening made easy

read the first twenty links for each different search. they have alot of common material, but some things are different.

then get a cheap stone and a cheap knife and go at it until you have a sharp knife or the knife is gone :eek: that's how i did it about two years ago and the practice paid off.

also, you can watch this video for some good tips (watch all three in the series):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQN4jcXDjbE
 
any recommendation on stones? I see alot out there and really cant make heads or tails of them. It seems that the arkansas stone is popular but is a finishing stone and ceramic stones are used for the real sharpening. What is a good manufacturer of stones so that I can get 1 or 2 and start working?
 
Diamond hones are relatively expensive but likely to outlast you... at least, my DMT hones, which I've had and used almost daily for a decade, are still going strong. Arkansas stones work fine on carbon steel, but for the current popular alloys like VG-10, D2, ATS-34, S30V, which have lots of very hard carbides, diamond hones work better IMHO. Lee Valley Tools has an excellent book on sharpening practically everything (except wits), and you might be able to turn up more at your local library. Buck has an excellent section on sharpening on its website. Have fun, and keep plenty of BandAids handy.
 
Well it looks like I will be be needing a diamond hone because I will be sharpening my BM 710 with D2 and a Bravo 1 whenever I get it.
 
You might also '' The razor edge of sharpening " by John Jurantitch. Lots of people around here can also help you, and would be glad to do so. The most important thing is to have patience, freehand sharpening takes lots of practice, and it"s frustrating at times. when you hsve a breakthrough though it makes it all worth it. It's well worth it to learn to freehand sharpen. You'll never be sorry you did.
 
for stones, it is really a personal preference thing. to start with, you will probably do best with a $10 two sided bench stone from the hardware store. i still pull mine out for my mora and with a strop, i get hair whittling edges.

for example, see my post here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=565605

in that post, i use a cheap pocket stone from the hardware store and some tripoli compound on some leather. total cost around $10

once you get consistent results, then i would suggest looking for higher end stones that will give you a higher polish and more consistent particle size.
 
I use DMT Diamond stones. I have a Fine grit stone, and I plan on getting Coarse and Extra Fine soon.
 
For me its been 16 years and still learning, sharpening is not something that will come to you over night and there will be lots of times when you just want to give up.... but don't. Like other have said get started with a cheap knife and stone and learn the basics like keeping a stright angle which is the most important part. There are a million ways to sharpen just find the one you like the most, Guided sharpeners will produce the sharpest edge and sharpening by hand will produce the greatest satisfaction. Good luck, stay sharp, and buy good products.
 
I haven't worked with anything beyond VG-10 yet, but based on the opinions of more experienced ones in the forums, I've recently started my foray into the world of freehand sharpening with a DMT D8C (coarse), a 1K Shapton GlassStone, a hunk of leather and a bar of chromium oxide. I'd been doing it for a month or so and was getting edges that I was quite happy with (shaved easily), but a few days ago I added a GS 4K as well as a piece of glass to "strop" (is it still called that on glass?) on, and very quickly joined the ranks of the hair whittlers!! I've spent a little over $150, and I'd highly recommend such a set for someone starting out who doesn't want to waste time and/or money. WELL worth it!!! Besides being coarse enough to reprofile blades if necessary, the D8C also serves as a flattening stone for the GlassStones, which are pure pleasure to work with. If you are going to be reprofiling often, you may want to also get the D8XX (extra coarse), but I don't know if you'd want to substitute the extra coarse for the coarse, as it might be too aggressive for flattening the GlassStones. Oh, and you should also pick up at least a 10x magnifier/loupe (mine is 30x, and I want to be able to see it even more closely!), for checking out what's REALLY going on on your edges.

Good luck, and let us know what you end up with!!
 
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