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Sharpening the blades

Any and all knives or other edged things. Special preference for BUCK knives
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PT7
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Sharpening the blades

Post by PT7 » Sun Aug 28, 2016 9:10 am

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!
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Re: Sharpening the blades

Post by DWD445 » Sun Aug 28, 2016 11:26 am

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.
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Re: Sharpening the blades

Post by clovishound » Sun Aug 28, 2016 1:11 pm

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.
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Re: Sharpening the blades

Post by RetiredSeabee » Sun Aug 28, 2016 6:39 pm

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
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Re: Sharpening the blades

Post by PT7 » Sun Aug 28, 2016 10:00 pm

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! :lol:
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Re: Sharpening the blades

Post by clovishound » Mon Aug 29, 2016 2:18 am

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.
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Re: Sharpening the blades

Post by Steve51 » Mon Aug 29, 2016 6:42 am

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
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Re: Sharpening the blades

Post by daytime dave » Mon Aug 29, 2016 3:37 pm

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.
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Re: Sharpening the blades

Post by PT7 » Mon Aug 29, 2016 11:16 pm

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.
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Re: Sharpening the blades

Post by clovishound » Tue Aug 30, 2016 11:37 am

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.
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