Sharpening the blades

[PT7]

It's been fun learning about knives recently, and I've read a lot on the different manufacturers, composition of knife steel, even a little on wood carving. But this weekend I started reading about knife sharpening, mainly because my older blades do need some attention. I had not realized how much is out there (web articles) on this aspect of knife maintenance!! And the options of sharpening equipment and techniques is huge, too! So, I now have more things to learn before I go after my own knife sharpening. Up until now, I've always found a sharpening service to do my blades.

Just a couple of Qs. How many of you Henry knife owners do your own sharpening? Do you have favorite equipment you use?
Any other comments about what you know about sharpening knives is appreciated.

Have a great day!

[DWD445]

I've sharpened my own since I was a youngin. Whetstone for me.I just have a feel for angle, but believe it is 31-31.5 degrees. Slowly go towards edge back and forth till sharp. I recently found this stone kit a Dunhams Sporting goods for less than $15 !! It has a corse and fine Arkansas whetstone and honing oil. Works good Keep oiled & wipe of debris occasionally.

[clovishound]

I play around with the older woodworking hand tools. Sharp is the name of the game with hand planes, chisels, gouges etc. I have used everything from sandpaper glued to glass, to diamond plates to oilstones to sharpen with. They all work. Some are easier to use than others, some are more suited to some individuals than others.

For knives, I prefer a diamond plate. You can use them wet or dry, I prefer wet. For my kitchen knives, I finish up with a butchers steel. For chisels and such, I finish up with chromium dioxide on either leather or even a flat piece of wood, to strop. It takes sharp to a higher level, and works well for knives also.

I sharpen knives free hand. Some prefer a guide to keep the angle constant. That is not a bad thing, but I haven't found one for knives that suites me, so I just do it free hand. It works.

Full disclosure, I am not a knife guy.

[RetiredSeabee]

I have always used whetstones and gotten decent results. But keeping a consistent angle has escaped me. I recently used a friend's Lansky sharpener and with just a few strokes put an edge I could shave with on my Kershaw Leek.
This is super easy to use it comes with two sets of rods. One medium grit and one fine. You put the rods in the angle holes you want to use then holding the blade vertical just stroke it down the rods as you draw the blade toward you.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/937989 ... -sharpener

[PT7]

Appreciate your comments, Henry Folk. Three answers, three options -- always interesting to see different choices.

~~If I recall from my youth, Dad used to sharpen knives with a whetstone. The three of you have all used that method.
~~I've not heard of diamond plate...get to do some new/more reading on that one!
~~Also interesting to see the specific Lansky sharpener mentioned by RSb.

You mentioned, RSb, that it can be hard to keep a "consistent angle." That caught my interest. So I'm thinking that using a quality sharpener might be an option for a newbie. Anyway, I've been looking at Victorinox sharpeners, and can't even begin to count the choices available!

Thanks all. Very interesting and helpful. I continue to learn, and someday might be a little "sharper" about knives!

[clovishound]

On my woodworking forum, one sure way to get a firestorm started is to begin a thread on sharpening. The claws come out quickly. Everyone has their favorite method, and strong opinions on the right way to do it. I say, use what works for you. Another issue is how sharp to take it to. A lot of that depends on the use it will be put to. I sharpen my kitchen knives to a coarser grit than I do a plane iron. Knives tend to get a little bit of sawing action, planes and chisels tend to be used straight on. The sawing motion allows a coarse sharpening to work better. Straight on, in wood, it needs a keener, smoother edge. This means finer grit.

I really like the diamond plates for knives. I have one with the holes in the plate, but tend to prefer the solid plates. I got it on clearance at a good price. DMT makes good ones, but so do others. Diamond plates last a long, long time. They do tend to cut much more aggressively at first. They then settle down and don't cut as well, but continue at that level for years. They aren't super aggressive, but once you get a decent bevel on your knife, you can touch it up occasionally with ease. Just don't let it get extremely dull, or you will have to spend more time getting it back in shape. Of course, this is true for all edged tools.

[Steve51]

I have always sharpened my own knives and the wife's kitchen knives. For years I have used the Lansky knife sharpening kit.

https://www.amazon.com/Lansky-LKUNV-Uni ... pening+set

[daytime dave]

These are all good methods and equipment.

I prefer these two. The Spyderco Sharpmaker:

https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=77

And the worksharp:

http://www.worksharptools.com/sharpener ... pener.html

I always finish off with a few swipes on a ceramic rod.

[PT7]

Everyone -- Really appreciate all the knife sharpening equipment suggestions, and also your comments on how-to-sharpen-well. Good info again. I doubt if I've even scratched the surface yet of the many sharpeners that are available!

clovishound
You provided a "full disclosure, that you are not a knife guy." With all the pointers you shared, I'd say you are one. And especially if you do a lot of woodworking with knives, you've got to know more than the average fellow.

RSb and Dave and Steve51
Appreciate the specific tools you suggested. I've been looking them over, plus also looking at some Victorinox sharpening equipment. I'm pretty certain that I will get more of a basic kit or sharpener to start out with. At least I have some of my older knives to begin learning how to sharpen; at least if I mess up, I'll be sure it's not one of my newer ones!

One thing I noticed about your equipment suggestions. There are a lot of comments attached to those web sites on the particular sharpener, etc. So as clovishound mentioned, I bet there are a lot of opinions posted on the good, bad, and ugly! Anyway, when I do get something, I'll post the results of my search/decision. Thanks again.

[clovishound]

Naw, I don't do much woodworking with knives. I don't own that many knives. I do know a little more than the average Joe about putting a sharp edge on a piece of tool steel. Certainly no expert, but I can get the nice .001" shavings from a hand plane. I love picking up a 100 year old tool at a flea market, and bringing it back into usable condition.

Knives have different sharpening needs than something like a firmer chisel.

I just wish that high carbon steel knives were more popular. IMO they sharpen easier. You can get them sharper. They hold an edge longer. Yeah, you do have to exercise care in storage of a HCS blade.

[daytime dave]

I agree clovishound. I am starting to appreciate some of the high carbon steel blades as good workers. They need different care, but are nice.

[clovishound]

In the woodworking world the big two steels are O1 ie normal high carbon steel, and A2 a special alloy that is often cyrogenically treated. The consensus is that the A2 holds an edge longer, the O1 is easier to sharpen, doesn't hold an edge as long, but can be sharpened to a sharper edge. Neither are corrosion resistant.

Unless things have changed, most, or all, stainless steel alloys are harder to sharpen, will not hold an edge as long, and cannot be sharpened as sharp as high carbon steel. The only upside is corrosion resistance. This seems to be enough to ensnare the vast majority of consumers. It makes more sense to me in kitchen knives, which are exposed to various liquids and acids, although I understand many high end chef's knives are HCS. Of course, a chef will likely take better care of his/her knives that the average user. They also expect better performance.

[PT7]

I'll have to ask my brother about his knives next time we chat. He is a professional chef, and currently teaches at a culinary institute in the Chicago area. I've seen him at work when carving meats with his knives or prepping veggies, but never noticed what he uses or asked him anything about them. Of course, my interest in knives has only recently come about, so this will be a fun chat to have with him.

Thanks for the interesting info and discussion you and Dave have going!

In the woodworking world the big two steels are O1 ie normal high carbon steel, and A2 a special alloy that is often cyrogenically treated. The consensus is that the A2 holds an edge longer, the O1 is easier to sharpen, doesn't hold an edge as long, but can be sharpened to a sharper edge. Neither are corrosion resistant.

Unless things have changed, most, or all, stainless steel alloys are harder to sharpen, will not hold an edge as long, and cannot be sharpened as sharp as high carbon steel. The only upside is corrosion resistance. This seems to be enough to ensnare the vast majority of consumers. It makes more sense to me in kitchen knives, which are exposed to various liquids and acids, although I understand many high end chef's knives are HCS. Of course, a chef will likely take better care of his/her knives that the average user. They also expect better performance.

[JEBar]

when we packed for out winter trip to Texas, I forgot to pack my knife sharpening gear .... needing to sharpen some of Maureen's kitchen knives but not wanting to spend much money on sharpeners, I checked Amazon .... while several different types caught my eye, I ended up ordering their SunrisePro Knife Sharpener ===> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 <=== my decision was guided in part by price $19.97 and that with Prime it qualified for free shipping .... the biggest factor was a 5 Star rating based on 3,633 customer reviews .... to me that was impressive .... it arrived today and I used it to sharpen the 3 knives .... I wouldn't use it to sharpen my good knives but for working blades it does OK .... it did put a solid working edge with minimal effort but I wasn't impressed with the way it looked .... for what I wanted it to do, it should be fine

[daytime dave]

I read about it just now. It will do the trick, but I agree not using it for the "good" stuff.

[JEBar]

the Old Timer shown above had very dull blades .... it only took a few passes through the SunrisePro to get an edge that would cut paper .... not sharp enough shave .... the sides of the edge are a bit rougher than I'm used to .... a smooth stone would probably take them out .... to take a work knife from dull to pretty dang sharp it serves well

[Bugs]

Learn to sharpen by hand. My method: I use an Atoma 140 diamond stone to set the bevels or reshape a blade and then progress through Shapton Glass Stones to get a shaving sharp edge. I also use several strops to get then screaming sharp. Most of my fixed blade knives are O1 or A2 but I also have some really nice fixed blades from a gent in Croatia who makes knives from the steel ball bearings out of the turrets of the Hellcat Tanks.

[clovishound]

I use a diamond plate and a steel for the maintenance of my kitchen knives. I don't bother to work up to very high grits for a kitchen knife. I can take a dull blade to sharp enough to race through a ripe tomato in just a minute or so. Not good enough for woodworking, but fine for the kitchen.

I use other more coarse abrasives for either establishing a bevel or repairing a damaged neglected edge. I have even broken my "no dry grinding on HCS" rule for a badly damaged knife. Neighbor gave me a decent Buck knife he found in a car he purchased. It had a broken tip. It was SS, and free, so I decided it wasn't worth the trouble of hand shaping a new tip. I went slow, quenched often and managed to reform it without overheating the edge. I reformed to a blunt edge and finished intersecting the bevel by hand. It sharpened up good enough to stow in my hunting backpack as a backup blade.

[daytime dave]

I'm glad to hear your sharpener was a good buy. You could clean up the edge on the bottom of a ceramic mug perhaps.

[Highway41]

My brother is an amazing freehand sharpener and all I've ever been able to accomplish freehand is making butter knives. Then I picked up an Edge Pro and a good strop, Now all my knives are sharp. I did get an Atoma 140 for repairs and establishing angles, and a set of Shapton glass and high grit Choseras for the final edge.