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Was recently shown what may be the very best shrpener (system)

27K views 44 replies 39 participants last post by  lhare 
#1 · (Edited)
I have a close friend , an old Bulgarian Mechanical Engineer, who upon watching me do what I thought was a rather espectable job of sharpening, aksed me 'Why are so determined to destroy such a beautiful piece of steel?'.

Cutting out some superfluos banter, I replied' Okay, show me how the Bulgarians do it.'.

Here's the method. Get acouple of grades of emery or the equivalent (any auto store has this) @ 400 grit, and 6-800 grit. Find a scrap piece of wood that is perfectly flat (if its not simply sand it until it is). The cut a strip of each emery to the same size as the board and glue one on each side. Let them dry thoroughly.

You now have a 'whetstone finer than the finest 'stones' you can buy.

Begin by laying the knofw flat on the coursest side. Lift the knife a MAXIMUM of 10-12 degrees and draw it carefully in the direction of the BACK of the blade. If necessary to reposition the knife to get the entire length move it and do the same number of strokes for each section. Flip the knife and repeat.

Now flip the board to the fine side and repeat the above. The finer grit will take more strokes, so be patient. If you are real 'hardcase' you can build another board with even finer grades and wind up with a mirror finish razor. For a final finiosh place the blade at the same angle and make a couple of passes pulling towards the tip each time. This removes any tiny extended edge and removes any remaining grit scorinng. Do this last only on the finest grit side.

I had the stufff handy so we built one with quick drying glue. He took my knife, and in 15 minutes I had a blade that you could let slide down your arm of its own weight and that patch was a smooth as a babies bottom.

I have used this method for 2-3 years now on all my knives including our best kitchen knives, It is so simple, cheap and good that it amazes me every single time.

Yes, you can get some pretty fine edges using some fairly expensive new sharpeners, but with no better results, and often far worse ones. Give it a try.
 
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#2 ·
morning
that is a great tip, i had heard of this type of sharping system, but have yet to try it . i also have read, that some people use a 1/2'' piece of glass and it will get the same result. i will be looking into this method, i like it, and it's cheaper than some of the stone systems out on the market..

thanx again


swampdog58
 
#3 ·
It is called the "scary sharp" method and has been around for a very long time. There are lots of videos on YouTube. It is best to use a granite tile square or glass from Home Depot. It obviously is a lot more expensive than use sharpening stones that last forever.

The professional sharpeners use various belt sanders and can very quickly raise a burr. Then strop to finish. They don't make a career out of sharpening a knife.
 
#5 ·
Stones are a art. MY grandfather could take one stone a big ******* he got in Japan where he was stationed after the war and spend 5 to 10 min ans produce a blade you could shave with.

I myself simply do not have whatever is needed to do this I have tried. I use a set of Lansky stones with guide rods and a clamp for keeping them at the correct angle and LOVE it. So much so that I wore the first set out the med and course stores where wore right down. The set I have now has 5 stones and I have been using it for about 10 years and can take any blade of good steel and produce a razor sharp edge either super fine for shaving or a little less so for heavy work.
 
#8 ·
Sharpening a knife.

I'm as lazy as a person can be and not need a heart/lung machine to breath and beat my heart for me. I have tried quiet a few sharpening methods out there and I have found it's the best practice to not let the knife get dull in the first place. My work knife get a few licks everyday, even if I don't (almost never happens) use it sometime. I have done the "scary sharp" method with my woodworking tools and it's great. Recently I bought a set of DMT diamond stones from course all the way up to extra extra fine and I love these stones. Love them! I would marry them if I could LOL. Mt father had given me a Buck Kalinga a long long time ago, back in the 70's. I had one of the auto chef knife sharpening things and I wrecked the knife edge back by the ricasso (I threw it out) and figured one day I will have to find someone to fix the blade for me. Well, those stones fixed the blade for me and the weight on the knife and gravity took hair off my leg with out tugging. Of course I have a steel plate completely flat that I put 1 micron diamond paste on to finish yp the edge before going to the leather.
Thanks
PatrickB
 
#37 · (Edited)
I'm as lazy as a person can be and not need a heart/lung machine to breath and beat my heart for me. I have tried quiet a few sharpening methods out there and I have found it's the best practice to not let the knife get dull in the first place. My work knife get a few licks everyday, even if I don't (almost never happens) use it sometime. I have done the "scary sharp" method with my woodworking tools and it's great. Recently I bought a set of DMT diamond stones from course all the way up to extra extra fine and I love these stones. Love them! I would marry them if I could LOL. Mt father had given me a Buck Kalinga a long long time ago, back in the 70's. I had one of the auto chef knife sharpening things and I wrecked the knife edge back by the ricasso (I threw it out) and figured one day I will have to find someone to fix the blade for me. Well, those stones fixed the blade for me and the weight on the knife and gravity took hair off my leg with out tugging. Of course I have a steel plate completely flat that I put 1 micron diamond paste on to finish yp the edge before going to the leather.
Thanks
PatrickB
THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I learned this dern near 30 years ago just NEVER EVER let your knives get even the slightest of dull. When elk hunting I carry 3 VERY high quality A1 tool steel scary hair popping sharp knives and that has successfully gotten me through skinning and de-boning a even half dozen elk. There are few (none I've ever done) tougher tests of a knife's ability to hold an edge than skinning out and de-boning a 800-1klb dusty old bull elk. I carry a credit card sized med/fine ceramic sharpener made by Gerber to touch up if needed.

Its one h***lof A LOT easier to keep a sharp knife sharp than to re-sharpen a dull one.
 
#9 ·
I use one of these. The Lansky sharpening system. It has different grit stones. The thing I like is that if you're careful, you sharpen at the same angle EVERY time. That means when you need to put a new edge on, you're not removing a lot of material. Just enough to get it back to a fine edge. One thing I'll mention about a polished edge...it is my opinion that this type of edge, while easy to shave with, will not last long on a pocket knife. I actually finish my edges with a medium-fine stone. This leaves the edge with a little "tooth" to it, which helps it cut a bit easier. I'd only use the fine stone for the final edge if I was sharpening a razor.

 
#10 ·
I agree

But a hunting knife is not a camp knife or a pocket knife. It has one task and one task only for me and that's to separate the skin from the animal as easily as I can. I had the Laski sharpening system and it's a good system but I have to say that the satisfaction I get from being able to put my own edge on a knife is wonderful. I used to hate sharpening knives because I just plain stunk at it but one day it just clicked for me.
Pat
 
#12 ·
I was taught years ago to raise the back of the blade equal to the thickness of the blade's spine. I use a KISS method. One of Eze-Lap's diamond dust coated steel bars, and a Coghlan's carbide sharpener. A few passes with the bar, and a draw or two through the carbide to smooth. I get a good working edge that lasts. hddriver1 is right, don't let an edge get dull, it's more work and easier to mess up.

I have a foot square of tempered glass from an old store display for whenever I need a flat surface, but nothing is exactly flat except expensive surface plates.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I use a version of the first post, however instead of the smooth wood I use a computer mouse mat with the wet/dry paper laid on top not glued over the edge of a table drawn towards you as with a conventional stone, because of the foam/padding the result is a slight convex finnish resulting in a stronger edge. all my blades are shaving sharp and work knives but depending on the job it will do depends how coarse the abrasive paper that I use fine for most of my chef's knives, not so fine ie 500 grade for working knives this leaves a slight "tooth" on the edge as an aid to cutting .

This method works well with axe heads where the convex edge is more commonly used
 
#15 ·
I prefer my knives to be sharp enough to make you bleed just looking at them. A sharp knife is far easier to control than one that is almost sharp. It also allows the blade to do the work for you rather than force. You also have to sharpen it at the proper angle for the type of work it will be doing to keep that edge sharp.
 
#16 ·
You are almost describing how to create a convex edge. Try not gluing the sandpaper and use a phonebook or mouse pad under the sandpaper. I usually start with 600 grit and then 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 and finish with 3000 grit. The edge you get is tough and very durable. I also use a leather strop with black then green rouge. You can get edges that will cleanly cut phone book paper strips. However not every knife is a candidate for a convex edge. It depends on how it was constructed. All Scandinavian knives can usually have convex edges.
 
#34 ·
Agreed. I use this method (solid piece of granite with a variety of wet/dry papers of increasing fineness) to sharpen Scanid grinds and scandi grinds only. I feel it saves my proper whetstones which I use for flat or V grind blades. The surface area of a scandi grind is large and eats the stones more, so I use the paper method. Very easy to sharpen Scandi's, as the angle is already set for you as long as sharpen it correctly from day 1. I stop at 2500 with even that resulting in a polished semi mirrored edge. It will happily shave.

I believe in using a variety of sharpening systems depending on the type of knife you are using. I like a Gatco/Lansky type system for large kitchen knives, as I just sit in front of the telly putting a fine edge on it before maintaining that edge for months just by stropping before and after each use. There is a leather board in my kitchen for this.

I like Apex pro for small knives or normal whetstones if I have time to get them out, soak etc.

The trick with knives is to maintain the blades on leather or whatever material you like. Top of a car window is a nice edge straightener or the bottom of a coffee cup.

I have just bought a tiny little ESEE 2.5CR carbon steel blade (my favourite type of knife steel) for dealing with our small deer here in the UK. It is a tough looking but beautifully honest knife. I can see it becoming a regular.
 
#21 ·
I have a Speedy Sharp for fast edges in the field. The downside is how aggressive the carbide is and how fast it can change the edge angle - if not ruin it. Cora WY is the place you mention. I cowboyed there back in the early 50's. Near the small town of Pinedale WY which is on most maps while Cora isn't!
Happy New Year
 
#20 ·
When I use to enjoy sharpening chores and did it by hand I used the wet/dry sand paper with HEAVY plate glass. Worked fantastic but alas I became old and wanted to spend time doing other things (like shooting 22.s again LOL) so I went for the power method and haven't looked back.
 
#22 ·
For a flat surface, I discovered you can often get scrap flat pieces of granite from the local supplier of headstones at little or no cost. Wet the granite and wet or dry paper will stick to it like glue and yet easy to change it out for different grits.
I also use the granite flat for leatherwork. Have 2-3 pieces for different needs. Most of the time you can get a piece of 12" scrap for nothing except digging through the scrap pile! A polite asking at the front desk is all it takes for me.
Happy New Year
 
#25 ·
I use a medium sharpie marker to draw a thin line down the current cutting edge (also known as the "bright edge") then adjust my sharpening angle by watching where the sharpening material is removing the sharpie coating.

I use a fine grit stone in this initial step so the incorrect test-angles don't remove too much material in the wrong places, such as the rear of the bevel.

When your sharpening media is removing all the sharpie ink evenly across the bright edge, there's your original angle. It should only take a few light passes to find your original grind angle.
 
#26 ·
I am a huge fan of both the Edge Pro and the Wicked Edge .Prior to owning them I was never very good at sharpening knives. These systems take most of the guesswork out of sharpening and with a little practice you get very professional results and more importantly you can get hair whittling edges. For some people these systems may seem a little expensive but you won't ruin your blades and the learning curve is very quick. Both systems are very versatile to boot
 
#28 · (Edited)
Speaking of convex edges:

An article many years ago in "Popular Science" described knife sharpening. Their contention was that when creating the edge, you should remove enough material to achieve something like a 22.5 degree angle. Then, for the final edge, you should make that "tip of the edge" be double that first angle.

In other words, the final polish, at the tip of the edge, should be a more blunt angle.

That makes the edge stronger and less likely to fold over, and also causes the material being cut to push out away from the rest of the edge, sort of like the wake of a boat, so that there is little or no sliding friction from the material being cut rubbing against the edge.

In preparing a metal cutting tool, that is sometimes called "relief".

I should try to find that article. But it really was sort of a "stepped convex" kind of system.

Tabbed in.

Edit to add:

I found a "sort of" reprint of that article!

http://sharpeningmadeeasy.com/Juranitch1977Feb.htm
 
#30 ·
This is the wicked Edge and I agree it's expensive ,but if you're serious about sharpening knives and you're looking for something repeatable for retouches I think this is the best sharpener on the market .For people looking for hair whittling edges , polished edges, sharpening expensive knives or possibly sharpening knives to make money you can't go wrong with this system! Circuit component Engineering Electronic engineering Computer hardware Auto part
 
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