Knife sharpening

[gypsyseagod]

i was just asking for gen. purposes- i'll stick w/ my old oilstone cheap,effiecient,portable, & uncle sammy gives 1 away w/ every k-bar.whats good enough for the usmc is good enough forme.

 

[chrish]

are you using stone or diamond stones? you might be interested in one of these diamond ones, the top 2 have a course and fine sides and the bottem one has 3 grits and its held on by a magnet.

http://s193.photobucket.com/albums/z...ent=stones.jpg

 

[beerdawg]

This is what I use the Warthog v-Sharpener.

http://users.ameritech.net/knives/Warthog.htm

 

[chrish]

COOL

last time id seen anything like that was in a museum (and they wouldent let me have it for my collection)

 

[kueh]

Another alternative is ceramic stones. They come is various sizes and grits. They're even used to flatten old oil stones. They do also last a long time.

(pic removed)

http://www.fandfwoodcarving.com/sharpstone.htm

I have a set of the bench stones. They work well, but take awhile to give a knife a good edge.

There are the Japanese water stones. They cut fast, but also wear fast. They are not worth the expense as they do wear down too fast (at least the ones' I've used do).

 

[smoked]

the question is do you want to "sharpen" or "re hone"......to sharpen you should take the knifes to a professional who will do it with the right grinding stones etc.......re honing is another issue of just re-aligning the blade which is why they put those "sharpening" files with most knife sets....with those the best thing is the 5 4 3 2 1 method, meaning keeping the blade about 22 degrees against, go 5 times on side, then 5 times opposite side etc........ works like a charm to re hone....if it needs to be sharpened....well then again default to someone with that knowledge unless you have a good grindstone and alot of patience!!!!!!!

 

[db bbq]

I use an electric "ChefsChoice" EdgeSelect model 120...This unit works pretty good,It has three different sets of wheels in it to give a triple bevel edge to the blade..I also use a Steel, Between sharpings on the machine so im not just eating up the blades..Although the cost of the unit is about $120.00...They can be found online or @ your local outdoors stores.........DB BBQ

 

[kueh]

I've seen the results of a professional sharpener and was not impressed. Of course, the fellow is doing it as a business. The "edge" was decent, even on both sides, but very rough. Now the knife was great for a starting saw-like cut, but the edge wore down fast. I've been unsuccessful in convincing the two ladies to get a honing steel. They claim that sharp knifes are too dangerous and prefer to use dull knives.

 

[navionjim]

I never had the money for one of those fancy units, I've used a plain Jain whetstone in the past, and for a premium edge, a Lansky sharpener.

But When I was fishing in Oregon the pros who cut fish on the docks(lightening fast!) all had wicked sharp knifes, and they all used one of those yellow plastic sharpeners that look like a pair of brass knuckles and has a notch for the edge of the knife. They would draw that thing down the blade a couple of times every other fish or so and kept it in the scabbard on their hip with the knife when not in use. This was also followed with a few passes on a steel.

So I bought one of those for myself they are only a few bucks, and while it's true you have to use it frequently and it will eventual eat up your blades, it works very well and doesn't cost much either. Coupled with the cheaper white plastic handled restaurant quality knives available at Sam's You can get a sharp edge for cheap and if it gets to thin over time your only out about six bucks. You can buy a lot of those sharpeners and new blades for the price of that fancy machine.

 

[bigarm's smokin]

Hey Michelle, I am a coupla bricks shy of a full load when it comes to a whetstone, so I bought a Chef's choice edge select 120. It does a good job, I'm sure it can't match Gypsy's blade, but still, its pretty darn good. I got it online. If you need help with anything else, just let me know, cause I know everything about everything, its just that sometimes, I don't understand all I know?

Terry

 

[bigarm's smokin]

Does anyone know why my first post was so gol darn WIDE?

 

[t-bone tim]

I use a small handheld sharpener that has 2 offset stones in it ,,,4 or 5 strokes periodically along with the steel ( in pics below ) keep my knives in good shape ....remember though that a steel ( keeps a sharpe knife sharp ) it won't sharpen a dull knife,,,for that you need a hand hone or a belt grinder like the one I have from Kasco as shown in the pics ,,,to get it just right is the trick you need the right angle , but like anything it comes with practice ,,,as for steeling the knife ,,this keeps the edge on your knife ...with use the edge of the knife bends over and the steel straightens it back to the center,,,,thus causing your knife to seem sharp again,,,however it is this bending and straightening that causes the edge on your knife to eventually break off altogether thus requiring it to be ground to reshape the sharp edge once more ....hope this helps, Tim.

 

[navionjim]

Right on Tim!
That's exactly the combination I was talking about that the fish cutters in Oregon use. Your pictures explained it better than my garbled words.
Jimbo

 

[kueh]

TBT

Nicely explained....and nice looking Dick, if I'm not mistaken....

 

[chrish]

Theres alot of factors that go on when sharpening a a knife, the metal that the blade is made out of "good vs bad steel" bad steel will dull faster.

The Angle in which your sharpening the knife at, "lets take a really good steel in this case" if i would put a 22 deg edge on it its going to feel sharp but will wear down faster, not necessarily by breaking off but wearing down by the service that your cutting
on. An angle of say 35 deg will last much longer theres more meat at the tip, when I'm sharpening a cheepo soft steel knife i increase the angle till i find one thats suitable for that blade to hold a decent edge.

Most of all when your sharpening a knife your creating a bur thats bent to the opposite side your grinding on and that bur goes back and forth as you switch sides, try grinding on one side first and feel the bur at the edge then grind on the other side and
feel the bur go the other direction, and that bur breaks off as you get a thinner and thinner edge, thats where finer grits of stone come in.
A double edge is where you would start out at 22 deg and finish up at a 28 deg leaving the very edge alittle flatter of an angle but able to hold an edge longer.

 

[t-bone tim]

Yes it's a Dick...made in Germany,very nice steel to use , I find the oval does a better job then the rounds

 

[gypsyseagod]

i saw some guy somewhere(it's probably on the internet) sharpening a knife on a big iceblock....not too sure about that but it was interesting.

 

[ihsfab]

This is what I have used for a long time http://spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=77. I also use a good smooth steel rod.

 

[navionjim]

Thanks for clarifying that line Tim, you guys were starting to scare me a little....