been a minute. knife sharpening conversation.

[vash]

my muscle memory is locked in. I set a blade to a stone and the angle is there. very little wobble.

I have a knife that is M390 steel. not a steel I will buy again. it is a bit of a challenge to sharpen. I took it camping and it didnt come back the same. ha.

I do have that Lansky system that I dont adore, but I have it. that was the secret!! the harsh diamond hones! but I FREE_HANDED it. somewhere, somehow in the past 10 years of hit or miss, I have the free hand thing down. my recent hunting trip; just me and my DVT pocket diamond deemed me the camp knife sharpener. I kept three of us armed with razorblades-like hunting knives.

I fixed my M390 and I dropped it back into my pocket. it is a razor.

I just went thru my drawers and fixed a few blades. my kitchen is wildly prepared to chop and dice.

[vash]

The trouble maker

[E Sully]

M390 steel is tough and is best sharpened with diamond stones. Holds an edge well once done, but can chip. I have a few types of stones for sharpening different knives and woodworking tools. My wife immediately notices when I've sharpened the kitchen knives.
It was funny how I acquired the set. I was over my sisters house fixing a few things, and she yelled to her husband to get rid of the set. I asked why, it was an expensive set. She said they didn't cut well and had bought a new set. She is a bit spoiled.
I have a couple of devices to hold angles, but I enjoy sharpening things by hand.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by vash

my muscle memory is locked in. I set a blade to a stone and the angle is there. very little wobble.

I have a knife that is M390 steel. not a steel I will buy again. it is a bit of a challenge to sharpen. I took it camping and it didnt come back the same. ha.

I do have that Lansky system that I dont adore, but I have it. that was the secret!! the harsh diamond hones! but I FREE_HANDED it. somewhere, somehow in the past 10 years of hit or miss, I have the free hand thing down. my recent hunting trip; just me and my DVT pocket diamond deemed me the camp knife sharpener. I kept three of us armed with razorblades-like hunting knives.

I fixed my M390 and I dropped it back into my pocket. it is a razor.

I just went thru my drawers and fixed a few blades. my kitchen is wildly prepared to chop and dice.

I'm confused. You aren't going to buy anything out of M390, but then at the end of the post it sounds like you got it razor sharp and are happy with it?

Yeah, Lansky system is good for a beginner with pocket knives. You don't have to think about what you're doing and get a reasonably sharp knife. But if you can freehand, that's better. So you're using the Lansky stones to sharpen when away from home and that's where you found your groove? Cool. They are small, but the finger grips on the back should make them easy to hold and use.

[gregpark]

I'm no expert but being a wood guy forced me to learn how to sharpen free hand. It took me a lot of trial and error but there are plenty of you tube vids on the subject. To me there's two kinds of sharp, tearing sharp and honing sharp. On soft metal blades (cheap knives) I feel it's a waste of time to hone them because they'll dull so fast anyway. I quickly sharpen those to tearing sharp with a diamond steel. Not razor sharp but sharp and will cut a tomato cleanly. On quality knives, my good chisels and hand plane blades I want honing sharp. I have diamond plates 400 and 1000 grit but only use those if the edge is damaged or a 22° edge needs to be established. My wet stones get the edge honing sharp. I finish with 8,000 grit and leather strop which are both polishing. When the blade can shave hairs off my arm I know it's sharp. I use my 400 diamond plate to keep my wet stones flat which is important for chisels and planer blades. It's a learning curve to hold a blade on a stone consistently and that's just a feel I had to figure out (how to hold my fingers to apply equal pressure) Deburring is essential for a honing sharpness too. The " sharpening steel" in the knife drawer doesn't actually sharpen, it simply straightens the burr. To deburr chisels and planer blades i hold dead flat on the fine grit stone for just a couple of sideways passes

[jyl]

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/447567-knife-sharpening-microscopically-anal-print.html?pp=40

For old times’ sake

I need to sharpen my kitchen knives. They’ve gotten pretty bad :-(

[Rot 911]

I am still old school.

[vash]

Originally Posted by masraum

I'm confused. You aren't going to buy anything out of M390, but then at the end of the post it sounds like you got it razor sharp and are happy with it?

Yeah, Lansky system is good for a beginner with pocket knives. You don't have to think about what you're doing and get a reasonably sharp knife. But if you can freehand, that's better. So you're using the Lansky stones to sharpen when away from home and that's where you found your groove? Cool. They are small, but the finger grips on the back should make them easy to hold and use.

no need for confusion. the knife is fine, but it takes to much effort. at say, a campsite, I am not looking for anything that takes real work to get sharp. I like "cinderella" steels. it took two sessions, maybe 3 over two days to get my VERY dull knife back. but I did thin it up, which eats time.

I dont need gobs of life on an edge, not if it sacrifices too much ease at the stone. I dont want to ask myself before it cut something, "is this cut worth risking the edge?". I prefer, "oh, I got this easily.

I won't buy anymore steel like this. too much effort.

Magnacut is the front runner right now for me.

[gregpark]

What's a cinderella steel?

[jyl]

I am getting lazy with age and have two dozen kitchen knives so stone honing takes a lot of time.

Anyone use a bench grinder to sharpen their knives? Pros, cons?

[vash]

Originally Posted by gregpark

What's a cinderella steel?

Perfect shoe? **** I meant Goldilocks. Haha.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by jyl

I am getting lazy with age and have two dozen kitchen knives so stone honing takes a lot of time.

Anyone use a bench grinder to sharpen their knives? Pros, cons?

Sort of a bench grinder...called a Chef's choice, electric, diamond honing wheels. Not the edge I can give my pocket or hunting knives on an arkansas oil stone, but it works quickly and gives the kitchen knives a good working edge. Cindy insists on cutting on ceramic plates..dulls 'em quickly. This was my solution..

https://www.amazon.com/ChefsChoice-EdgeSelect-Professional-Sharpener-Sharpening/dp/B004UGUNFM/ref=asc_df_B004UGUNFM?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80195681205823&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=108259&hvtargid=pla-4583795269719000&th=1

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Rot 911

I am still old school.

Me too..for hunting & pocket knives. That look like a vintage Puma? Nice!

[wdfifteen]

I need a tutorial on stropping. I don’t understand the theory or what you’re trying to accomplish on a microscopic level.

[gregpark]

Stropping de-burrs. To get an edge truly razor sharp it must be de-burred

[masraum]

Originally Posted by vash

no need for confusion. the knife is fine, but it takes to much effort. at say, a campsite, I am not looking for anything that takes real work to get sharp. I like "cinderella" steels. it took two sessions, maybe 3 over two days to get my VERY dull knife back. but I did thin it up, which eats time.

I dont need gobs of life on an edge, not if it sacrifices too much ease at the stone. I dont want to ask myself before it cut something, "is this cut worth risking the edge?". I prefer, "oh, I got this easily.

I won't buy anymore steel like this. too much effort.

Magnacut is the front runner right now for me.

Got it. Good knife, just too high maintenance for camping/bush work.

Originally Posted by jyl

I am getting lazy with age and have two dozen kitchen knives so stone honing takes a lot of time.

Anyone use a bench grinder to sharpen their knives? Pros, cons?

what I've heard is that bench grinders are too fast, and more likely to create too much heat which is why the dedicated sharpening grinders (Tormek?) run at lower speeds. I assume that if you go slow, you can keep from heating the blade to the point that you cause problems with the temper.

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Sort of a bench grinder...called a Chef's choice, electric, diamond honing wheels. Not the edge I can give my pocket or hunting knives on an arkansas oil stone, but it works quickly and gives the kitchen knives a good working edge. Cindy insists on cutting on ceramic plates..dulls 'em quickly. This was my solution..

https://www.amazon.com/ChefsChoice-EdgeSelect-Professional-Sharpener-Sharpening/dp/B004UGUNFM/ref=asc_df_B004UGUNFM?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80195681205823&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=108259&hvtargid=pla-4583795269719000&th=1

Yep, America's Test Kitchen likes them. I had one for several years and it worked well. I have seen some stuff on the Internet that shows that some folks can be ham handed with them and can "over do it" to the point that they chew up their blades. I never noticed any issues when I had one.

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I need a tutorial on stropping. I don’t understand the theory or what you’re trying to accomplish on a microscopic level.

Stropping is a final high level polish.

[gregpark]

This is my kit to sharpen hard steel knives, chisel and planer blades. The roller i only use to establish the proper angle on chisels and planer blades, I hand sharpen for maintaining a sharp edge. The white stone is 8,000 polishing grit and that's what I use to de burr chisels and planer blades. The burr on those tools is always on the flat bottom and a stone works better than a strop. My leather strop in the middle is only for de burning knife edges. I keep my stones super flat just for those tools too using the 400 side of my diamond plate. I spray soapy water on all the stones (except the diamond plates) wiping and re spraying constantly. For cheap soft steel knives I use a fine grit diamond "steel" which I've found to be a super fast way to get them plenty sharp.
Edit: the other side of the white stone is the 3,000 grit side, that's the stone that gets an edge scary sharp.
I only use the grinding wheel for axes and cold chisels

[KFC911]

I have been absorbed into this rabbit hole ... y'all suck!

I am a novice, just purchased a few Japanese knives ... and am not gonna wear them out with overuse or abuse... so what does a total novice now use ?

I have avoided most knife threads .... y'all suck

The Chef's Choich... A manual one or $$$...

Overkill 101 ... I have now enrolled in the classes ... so carry on ...

[ramonesfreak]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I need a tutorial on stropping. I don’t understand the theory or what you’re trying to accomplish on a microscopic level.

You can debur but also just sharpen. I have some knives that I have only ever sharpened on a strop….mostly my convex edge knives

Just today I got a delivery of KME’s 4-micron CBN (cubic boron nitride) emulsion along with their Kangaroo leather strop that will install on my KME guided sharpening system….instead of using a stone on the rod. Can’t wait to try this. Otherwise, I use one of my leather strops with green compound as a sharpener for all carbon steel blades and all convex edged blades and no matter if I used stones or ceramic to sharpen, I always end the procedure with stropping…..I have bad luck deburring with a strop…I knock off the burr with a stone…basically I slice it off.

And if I used a knife, I always touch it up on a strop after as maintenance….just keeps it sharp enough in between more intense sharpening sessions.

One can also sharpen using cardboard or even human skin…..so if your in a plane crash and have to eat your friends, at least keep some skin for a strop (I know the skin is the tasty part but you only need a small strip)

[gregpark]

Those easy peasy knife sharpeners on late night tv are a really good way to ruin a nice knife. I'm sure they're fine for soft metal cheap knives so a housewife doesn't have to keep pestering her poor husband though :^)