Beginner blade sharpening thread

Every knife I messed with today ended up sharp. Every single one of them also ended up with some kind of defect. A flat spot near the point, or a mark on the handle, or an error on the little unsharpened (I’m sure there’s a name for it) area between the handle and where the edge should start.

I can also confirm what @pinkbunny had warned me, that the belts I bought would cause static to build up and me to get shocked over and over again. 😂

Was good to see it demonstrated in a slightly different method. Also great to hear another total newb ask questions, some of which hadn’t crossed my mind.

I was also able to look back in my mind at what @premise said/did last weekend and have a couple ah-ha moments.

Second to last thing I did was to take five knives and sharpen them all using 220/400/800/strop. Going through an assembly line process without stopping to chat was a really quick process.

The last thing I did was sharpen one old knife I got from my mom that was in really bad shape. I started at 80 on that one. When I then moved to 220/400/800/strop I put my 5-days-a-week knife in the plan so I was doing two blades before changing belts. (I carry a different one on the two days I work my part time job...and we’d sharpened it last weekend)

Practice will allow me to get a better feel. But I’m pretty sure I can at least get a knife to cut cold butter at this point. 😎
 
...and rumor is @draco88 might’ve stopped at HF on the way home. 😁
 
I literally *just* got home 5 min ago lol
I did stop by HF and I do have a sander now, so Im gonna get some practice over the next couple of days.
I did better, quicker, today than I thought I would. Like BW, the ones I did all ended up sharp, but alsi had a defect.
Thanks to @pinkbunny being patient with my questions and giving thorough answers, by the time I left, I was able to see the defects and know what I did to cause them.
Thanks for your time today.
 
The four good Wustofs on the left with the two cheapo Cuisinarts mixed in...will use the C’s as extra knives in the kitchen as needed.

The three on the right are the saved-from-the-Goodwill pile I got from my mom. All three took a decent amount of work.

I also sharpened a CRKT tanto folder I had while pinkbunny was here, just to see how to attack that blade shape.

7C71A31C-C6B3-4AED-95FF-4539364D1F29.jpeg
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: RR
PXL_20201219_224716749.MP.jpg

So I've discovered jasper as a sharpening medium.

Found a FB group through "suggested groups" because my brother from another mother @thrillhill was a member of it. FB group was named "Wild Whetstones" and the guy who runs it, well that's his business, selling Whetstones made from Jasper and Jade that he gathers the stones for, machines and sells.

I was skeptical, but damn if it doesn't just work.... That's one of his Jasper Viking pendants in the pic. I now have a couple larger stones on the way. Good stuff.
 
Ok, so now some follow-up questions. I have to assume there’s a maintenance plan out there instead of waiting to get the point I have to sharpen with the sander. Something she can do after she uses the knives, or I can do at a regular interval.

As of now, I have these items:

0C6763F7-8F2E-4AFC-9BD8-709B16B69EFC.jpeg

I also have leather.

Is a couple swipes down the steel after each use and then a pass or two on leather a good idea? Or use the ceramic sticks once a month and then strop? Or something completely different?
 
Steel is good for maintaining an edge on knives that will get lots of hard use, and need a touch up quickly.

A strop will better maintain a fine edge.

You could steel every time you get knife out to use, likewise, strop each time, or maybe once a week.

After six months, knives should get a resharpen. Every 2-3 months for the knife you use for fine work. Thats my opinion, people might do different.
 
Last edited:
BigWaylon said:
Ok, so now some follow-up questions. I have to assume there’s a maintenance plan out there instead of waiting to get the point I have to sharpen with the sander. Something she can do after she uses the knives, or I can do at a regular interval.

As of now, I have these items:

View attachment 279660

I also have leather.

Is a couple swipes down the steel after each use and then a pass or two on leather a good idea? Or use the ceramic sticks once a month and then strop? Or something completely different?
Click to expand...


Work Sharp Guided Field Sharpener. Amazon...25 bucks or so. Everything you need for maintenance in one compact package. I keep one in a kitchen drawer and another in my desk.
 
Last edited:
It really depends though on what needs to be corrected about the edge.

Chipped? Needs aggressive enough grit to correct. Machine or diamond or low grit water stone.

Lightly dulled, possible that stropping alone will correct or a light hone ona fine stone or ceramic block/rod

Still sharp but biting more than you want it too? Strop...
 
RR said:
Work Sharp Guided Field Sharpener. Amazon...25 bucks or so. Everything you need for maintenance in one compact package. I keep one in a kitchen drawer and another in my desk.
Click to expand...
Added to cart. It’s sitting in there with the diamond dust for now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RR
Rave reviews are coming in. I gave the three saved-from-the-Goodwill-pile knives back to my mom when we met for lunch after church yesterday. Asked her to try them out and let me know how they work. Keep in mind this is a woman that ran two different church kitchens for about 15 years (at each one). They used whatever knife sharpening service where they bring fresh ones and take the other ones back either weekly or bi-weekly.

(@draco88 & @pinkbunny, this is the small one that had the big nick in it that we had to grind flat with the 80 grit)

34451BA3-C10B-4819-B09C-7AA92EAE5DC5.jpeg
 
Set up the Ken Onion Work Sharp after I "officially" opened it today. I love this thing! I'll likely upgrade to the nicer angled grinder attachment soon. I sharpened all the straight edge kitchen knives, including one of the larger commercial kitchen knives. All came out very sharp. Sharpened my pocket knife. Sharpened 2 hunting knives, then skinned 2 deer and resharpened them.

Finally got the nerve to go at the leather knives. The round knives are annoying but dang does it sharpen them well! Even ground out some of the dings on the blade of one.

Grabbed my skiving knives and sharpened both of them. They are only beveled on one side. The one I use most sharpened up quick. The other one is a nice brand but had a crap edge and I dropped it and really busted one side up. Reprofiled it and sharpened it up so now I can actually use it.

Just remembered another I need to sharpen too! I also need to order some leather strops for it. I have my hand strop but if I have the grinder out I might as well get a strop for it too.

I'm a die hard hand sharpening guy and never liked the idea of mechanical sharpening. Yeah, that's completely changed.


525affa217f67ab3b8dd9e41aa1ed1ac.jpg
 
Last edited:
LeeMajors said:
Have gunbelt bring you a scrap of his belt cutoffs tomorrow.
Get more than 1 or 1 long one and you can use different compound on different areas
Click to expand...
As a PSA...

If you ask @gunbelt for a “couple leather scraps”, you might want to be a little more specific. In my head, I was expecting 12”-18” piece of leather the width of a belt, so I could strop like an old-timey barber.

Well, this is what I came home with after meeting him for lunch. Gonna have to fire up a chainsaw just to cut it!! 😂

5A6EDD3C-1FD8-44E2-A179-9C61BA262558.jpeg
 
Time to get it back out and see if I have any idea what I’m doing 2.5 months later. 😂

03C94C27-6A52-446E-8CDF-C0BC99926245.jpeg
 
I used to keep my pocket knives razor sharp as a kid
but now i can't remember how to sharpen worth crap
maybe all those times of slicing myself open because i didn't know how to USE a knife built up a mental block...
 
I have sharpened all my old kitchen knives. I repeatedly ask my wife to please not cut her fingers off.
Nothing in life compares to a sharp knife, I would say a good sharp knife but I have sharpened some real crappy ones too.
 
Tailhunter said:
I have sharpened all my old kitchen knives. I repeatedly ask my wife to please not cut her fingers off.
Nothing in life compares to a sharp knife, I would say a good sharp knife but I have sharpened some real crappy ones too.
Click to expand...
tell her to treat the kitchen knives like my wife treats ours.
bang the blade edge on the bowl to knock off stuck food, then stuff them in the dish washer with all the other silverware.
before long she won't be able to cut herself is she tries...
 
DrScaryGuy said:
tell her to treat the kitchen knives like my wife treats ours.
bang the blade edge on the bowl to knock off stuck food, then stuff them in the dish washer with all the other silverware.
before long she won't be able to cut herself is she tries...
Click to expand...
they teach that some where in life before they teach them that they can control a man's life with that thing of theirs
 
1626701221601.png

Bringing this back to life. I'm thinking of getting a sharpener. Now that @BigWaylon has had some time with his sander, I'm curious if he would go that way again or get the Ken Onion Work Sharp.
 
I’ve never used anything else, other than one of these cheapo sharpeners…

1116A9D1-0382-4938-8147-77AC9A981401.jpeg

I did get the Worksharp kit that @RR (I think?) mentioned earlier in the thread. I’ve messed with it a time or two just to see how it works. I could see carrying it in a bag if camping or something else.

But for sharpening something at home, this belt sander does the trick for me. I don’t yet have the feel for exactly how many passes with each grit, knowing when to move on or back up. But I’ve taken a bunch of my wife’s kitchen knives and my mom’s kitchen knives and made them sharper than they’ve ever been.

If I’m not messing around, I could probably resharpen a dozen knives in 10 minutes.
 
I've got a Ken Onion Work Sharp. It can get a blade stupid scary sharp. I have yet to get a blade stupid scary sharp near the tip though. As I pull the blade through the guides you end up having to freehand the tip a bit and that always results (for me) in a sharp tip and a stupid scary sharp blade belly. It's still way more useful than anything else I've tried, and easy enough to use that I'd recommend it. I'm in S/E Charlotte/Matthews if you ever want to try it out, but that's a long way from TX.
 
Another vote of the work sharpe system, need to get the blade guide....practice on a cheap don’t care knife first, build up some confidence then start on a good one!


image.jpg
image.jpg

I have 2 bushlore knives and I’ll put a work sharp edge on one then a edge from my Gatgo stone sharpening system then test them out on some stuff. Then I’ll report back on the results.
 
Last edited:
Got the sander back out last weekend and sharpened up 9 folders and 7 kitchen knives. Just a quick few passes with 800 grit on 14/16, and then leather strop for all of them. (2 folders were brand new and I didn’t use the 800 on them)
 
Any tips on how to fix the tip of a blade that got rounded off because I'm a dummy?

20211206_120221.jpg
 
Last edited:
You can shape it back up with a stone, it shouldn't take too long if you have a coarser one.

I could clean it up for you if you want to mail it.
 
@Geezer FWIW I'm still happy with the Work Sharp. If space is an issue it is likely much smaller too. I finally got the freehand attachment and added leather strops to it that I finish with. The freehand attachment is nice for larger blades and my leather round knives.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom