Knife Nut wrote:Am I the only one from the "old school" of knife sharpening?
If the edge is really dull, I make a few passes over a course carborundum stone.
After that I use a hard Arkansas stone with oil.
I finish with a few strokes with a horsehide razor strop.
Knife is ready to shave with!
Paul
You ain't standing by yourself in that old school of hard knocks class room KN, I've always did my knives free hand. My uncle is the most farmer Brown country type of person you would ever meet. He would get the last ounce of use from anything he had, never letting anything go to waste. I spent almost a year living with him and my aunt. I was a teenager when I lived there and he taught me how to sharpen everything free hand. Axe, weed sickle, pick & mattock, bow saw, hand saw, anything with an edge was sharpened free hand so no metal was wasted. Once a person learns it, it's like riding a bike, you never forget how to do it.
My Father was very good with the "old school" method. In his day, you had to be. I've been doing mine free-hand for years, and my problem is, sometimes the knive gets sharp, and sometimes it doesn't. And I don't know that I've ever made one sharp enough to shave with. It just seems that one little shift in your angle can ruin your whole edge, so by starting over, its a waste of metal. Still deciding, but the KME is looking like the one I'm gonna go for, even though its a little more expensive. I'll get pics etc. if I get it.
The KME demo vid is pretty good, at 'kmesharp.com'
I have to agree Guitar..The reason I use a "system" is exactly what you mentioned. It seems I can get the most consistent results, and remove the smallest amount of metal possible. On occasion, I like to put a convex edge on something, and this is the only time I dont use a jig. Mark
I got the KME. Its a well made system, but one big problem. The jaws are a little too bulky for smaller pocket knives and lockbacks, 95% of which my collection consists of.
I can't clamp them far enough out to get any of the shallow angles, and not even the steep angles on some of my knives, without the stone hitting the clamp.
Big disappointment. I'm hoping that one of the other systems will work for small knives. The Lanskey and Gatco look to have a less bulky clamp.
Anyone use their system with success on small knives, such as the Buck Knight or Executive?
Sorry to hear about the KME..!
Such a system really should work on the smaller knives too. There's got to be a quadzillion of them out there!
I like to use a quite shallow angle especially when sharpening the smaller knives. I'm a freehand sharpener myself...
Knivlaus mann er livlaus mann.
A knifeless man is a lifeless man - Old Nordic proverb.
Guitar... I have "customized" mine(Gatco) to work with smaller knives. Put a shorter screw, thinned the edge of the clamp, and even beveled the inside of the rod guide slot a little on some angles. Mark
Well I don't feel like the lone ranger now.........
I learned freehand also, but it was pretty rudimentary at best. Somewhere along someone introduced me to crock sticks, and I got spoiled. I also had some fairly decent edged edc's that only needed a quick swipe on the sticks, and you could shave. Now I find myself back into collecting, and I can't find my whetstone groove anymore. Right now I'm getting uneven edges, the "push" edge comes out nice, the "draw" edge is just,..... well, bad. I think thats why I leaned on those crock sticks for all these years, it was a simple vertical stroke, nothing I could mess up !
I'd like to hear if the KME works out for anyone with smaller blades, cause thats the majority of my collection as well.
A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.
Bruce Lee
I used to do it "old school". Recently I found the Bear stone I've had for forty years but I discovered that these days, I'm too old and lazy to do it "old school". Does anyone have any experience with a Smith Precision Sharpening Kit? I noticed Lowe's has them for less than $30 and they're quite a bit like the Lansky.
Forged on the anvil of discipline.
The Few. The Proud.
Jerry D.
This country has become more about sub-groups than about it's unity as a nation.
"The #72 pattern has got to be pretty close to the perfect knife."
--T.J. Murphy 2012
I have been sharpening knives now, for right at 45 years. I have always used stones. I love stones. I sharpen on stones mostly because thats the way its been done for long years back. Tradition. It's one tradition I can stay with.
Others have sharpened many more knives than me. I only do my own or a few for family and some acquaintances.
But I love to sharpen. I don't know or care a thing about steel. I can tell stainless from carbon. I don't have one problem sharpening either.
I have many kinds of stones. I stoped using oil on them almost from the beginning. I use water with a very small amount of dishsoap in it. The soap simply breaks the surface of the water and also makes it thinner. That's all I need of it. Oil acts as a lubricant, obviously, between blade and stone. I don't want a lubricant that inhibits cutting. Also water makes it easier to get rid of stone residue and steel particles from the blade. With this debris absent the cutting ability of the stone is much improved. Clean tools, clean work.
Do I stray from certain angles on my cutting edge. Undoubtedly I do, but I'm not afraid of it. Life is difficult enough and I dismiss such ridgid rules, and make my true edge on progressivly finer stones with a steady hand.
For those who sharpen on stones or want to try, I highly recommend water stones as an accompaniment to others.
I have had a Spyderco Sharpmaker for several years, and I like it a lot. It has never failed to put a shaving sharp edge on a knife for me, and it is somewhat idiot-proof.
It came with a set of medium and fine ceramic stones, which work great. They have a set of ultra-fine stones, which I was curious about - the DVD that came with the sharpener said they would get your knife "scary sharp". So I bought a set a couple of weeks ago.
I touched up my Kershaw tonight, and ran it over the new ultra-fine stones - wow - that may be a little too sharp - seriously. The new stones darn sure work as advertised......
Mike
If you don't watch the news, you are uninformed. If you watch the news, you are misinformed.
Guitar, I use my Lansky on smaller blades. However, on some of the smaller ones, like the pen blade on a peanut, I also run into the problem of the hone hitting the clamp. I also really like the Spyderco Sharpmaker.
Got several different stones none were bought new some were free found in junk boxes at sales--one i used yesterday on a Parker-Imai that stone my mother gave me that came from the stone on her patio in Poplar Bluff Mo.--got a set of smooth sticks another rummage find also have a piece of soap stone that i picked up on a job years ago that will tune a blade up very quick--in the kitchen i've got a old Russell steel that can't be bought for no kinda $$ got that for .50 at a rummage sale. Always wanted to try a Lansky but just can't bring myself to spend the cash on one--worse comes to worse i've been known to spit on the edge of the sidewalk to get put an edge on something
All the mentioned systems work just fine for sharpening. I have a Lansky that I bought 20 years ago, that while the stones are dished, it still works fine. I also use bench stones, diamond hones and even power hones & strops. Japanese water stones are great but are too pricey for me. I like about a 20 degree bevel on most knives and I like to polish the bevel to a mirror. I always finish with an old razor strop charged with green compound. I'd like to bring up a couple of points, though. For one thing, do not use lubricating oil on your stones. Use honing oil or even thread cutting oil or WD 40 to help keep your stone from clogging up. Also, you don't need to test the edge on your arm to see if it will shave, although I do this myself on occasion. Try looking at your edge with a magnifying glass to see how your bevel is progressing. Hold the glass up to your eye instead of near the work to see what your are doing. This will make it quite easy to adjust your angle and you can be sure when to move to the next grit, all the way to final polish. Also, while shaving sharp is cool, it isn't necessarily the best edge to have on a knife, as a steeper bevel will outlast an extremely shallow one, as there is more steel to back up (reinforce) the edge. JMHO
Gunstock Jack wrote:All the mentioned systems work just fine for sharpening. I have a Lansky that I bought 20 years ago, that while the stones are dished, it still works fine. I also use bench stones, diamond hones and even power hones & strops. Japanese water stones are great but are too pricey for me. I like about a 20 degree bevel on most knives and I like to polish the bevel to a mirror. I always finish with an old razor strop charged with green compound. I'd like to bring up a couple of points, though. For one thing, do not use lubricating oil on your stones. Use honing oil or even thread cutting oil or WD 40 to help keep your stone from clogging up. Also, you don't need to test the edge on your arm to see if it will shave, although I do this myself on occasion. Try looking at your edge with a magnifying glass to see how your bevel is progressing. Hold the glass up to your eye instead of near the work to see what your are doing. This will make it quite easy to adjust your angle and you can be sure when to move to the next grit, all the way to final polish. Also, while shaving sharp is cool, it isn't necessarily the best edge to have on a knife, as a steeper bevel will outlast an extremely shallow one, as there is more steel to back up (reinforce) the edge. JMHO
Thanks for the info jack, I check the sharpness on my arms way too much.
Yeah Johnny; it's embarassing goin' around with all those bald spots and stubble on your arm. I wanted to try it on my wife's leg, but she wouldn't stand still for it!!!
Gunstock Jack wrote:Yeah Johnny; it's embarassing goin' around with all those bald spots and stubble on your arm. I wanted to try it on my wife's leg, but she wouldn't stand still for it!!!
"Wouldn't stand still for it!!
Oh God Jack, you kill me. I don't care who you are, that's funny.
Forged on the anvil of discipline.
The Few. The Proud.
Jerry D.
This country has become more about sub-groups than about it's unity as a nation.
"The #72 pattern has got to be pretty close to the perfect knife."
--T.J. Murphy 2012
HOW ABOUT THE OLD CASE MOON STONES AND STICKS? I HAVE ONE OF THE STICKS THAT I CARRY ON HUNTING TRIPS AND I THOUGHT IT WORKED PRETTY GOOD FOR TOUCHING IT UP.
Gunstock Jack wrote:Also, while shaving sharp is cool, it isn't necessarily the best edge to have on a knife, as a steeper bevel will outlast an extremely shallow one, as there is more steel to back up (reinforce) the edge. JMHO
I had a rather lengthy conversation with C. Risner the other day and the subject of sharpening came up, he told the same thing.
I ended up returning the KME and got a Lansky. I replaced the thumb screw with a smaller hex screw, and am able to put a 20 degree edge on most of my smaller Bucks.
I still plan on getting a smaller flat head screw for it. I don't know why the manufacturer doesn't see the problem with the thumb screw getting in the way for a large number of blades.
One thing I noticed with the clamping systems that I havent heard mentioned. When clamping a small blade at the edge of the clamp, where the indents are, it's very easy to accidentally change the angle of the knife in the clamp if you press on the stone too hard, or bump the knife while youre handling or flipping the clamp ..... and when you first clamp it in, it isn't necessarily always perfectly parallel to the clamp. Exerting a little pressure, even when quite tight, can change the position of the blade in the clamp.
I've been exercising care to eyeball it straight, clamp it tight, and be gentle enough to avoid knocking the blade out of alignment.
Also: Good points about the oils, Jack. I didn't realize WD 40 could be used. Probably would work well to clean the stones too.
I've had trouble with the blade slipping around as well. I tried a few different things and found that a small piece of blue painter's tape on the blade under the clamp helps hold it in position. It also keeps the clamp (and any grit on it) from scratching the blade.
- that may be a little too sharp - seriously. The new stones darn sure work as advertised......
