Knife Sharpening

[ldp4570]

Free hand, Arkansas rough & fine, and finish with a strop. Don't get in the practice of using oil, as all it will do is damage the stone. Don't forget to clean your stones as well, usually nothing more than a damp rag is enough. A light wiping of oil for your strop, and a little jewler's rouge.

 

[tomthebaker]

I do convex with a strop and sandpaper:

 

[_CY_]

as told to me by Joe's Knife shop in Jackson Hole, Wy

"secret to hand sharpening a knife is how you move your arm.
object of course is to hold a consistent angle.

try not moving your wrist while sharpening. move your elbow instead."

when I got home... tried it ... worked
have been able to sharpen knives shaving sharp ever since...

 

[jdubya]

I use the same sets of stones as everyone else but finish it up with a cheap set of "dog bones" mounted in a V in a plastic base. I take them out and hold them by hand. The key Ive found is to use a generous amount of oil and a rag to clean the stone every once in a while. Clears out all the debris and makes the stone more efficient.

 

[madokie]

dont waste your money on those ceramic sticks, if you just have to try one,find an old ceramic coffey mug,plate,saucer, or something , flip it upside down and use the worn side that sits on the table to "sharpen " with.

 

[_CY_]

totally disagree ... ceramic sharpeners have their place.
used to have the same opinion until I found a ton of folks raving about spyderco sharpmaker.

tried one and are now hooked... Spyderco Sharpmaker is the easiest way to set a final edge. but next to worthless for setting an initial edge.

lansky are excellent for setting correct angles for a rough edge.
then free hand final edge and/or resharpen. drawback to lansky is once you remove clamp... it's all but impossible to put clamp back to EXACT position. another drawback to lansky is finding a setting that takes the same amount of material from blade including radius of tip.

generally lansky gets used ONCE (if at all) on a blade... to set edge... then final sharpen by hand and/or spyderco sharpmaker

again... LOCK your wrist when sharpening a knife by hand. movement should come from your elbow. this forces your stroke to be more consistent. if you cannot repeat the exact same angle. then you can forget about getting a nice sharp edge.

that's why syderco sharpmaker works so well.. it forces you to make the exact same angle.

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dont waste your money on those ceramic sticks, if you just have to try one,find an old ceramic coffey mug,plate,saucer, or something , flip it upside down and use the worn side that sits on the table to "sharpen " with.