I have a lot of knives that are starting to dull. I was in the boyscouts when I was young and learned to sharpen a knife. I've tried to sharpen many knives over the past years but I feel like I'm doing it wrong. I can never get a knife sharp enough to even shave my arm. I'm wondering if I was taught incorrectly when I started.
I'm looking for a little bit of help on this. Right now the equipment I have for sharpening are stones made by smith. I've one of the portable diamond stones with a rough and fine side, I don't recall the grits but I'm thinking like 450 and 600. I've also got a smith's tri hone sharpening system or something. It's got three stones labeled fine, medium, coarse. Not sure the grits on these. I'll go into the processes I've tried later in the post.
I'm looking for maybe a good video, possibly made by someone here if you have the time? Also tips that I can read will be helpful. Do you use stones dry, wet, or with oil? If you use oil what type of oil do you use? What grit stones should I be sure to have? How much time does it take? Basically any tips that you would give to someone who has never sharpened a knife before is what I'm looking for because I feel like I need to be retrained. I've pocket knives, kitchen knives, fixed blades, razors, etc. to practice with.
I've used different processes to attempt to sharpen my blades. I've tried stones with oil, water, and dry. I believe the purpose of having oil or water on the stone is to remove the shavings of metal from the stone so the poors don't get blocked, correct? If this is true then I feel like I should use at least water every time I sharpen and oil is preferable. I also read that if oil is used on a stone then it must always be used with oil. Can anyone explain this?
I have tried to find the current angle of the blade by laying the blade flat against the stone and lifting it up until it matches when I'm looking at it from the side. I have also tried to find the angle by sliding the stone slowly lifting it until it grabs the stone, then lowering it slightly. Are either of these viable options for finding the angle?
When actually attempting to sharpen I have tried both a straight push and a sort of half moon push (not sure what you would call it). Also, I have used different amounts of pressure varying from almost none at all to a fair amount. I tried the fair amount because I've seen many people say to "act like you're trying to shave the stone." This seems like it would be a waste of both the stone and the knife though so any help here would be appreciated.
I have not yet tried a method I've seen online called the sandpaper mousepad method. It looks like it uses the same process as stropping except you use varying sandpaper grits to sharpen the blade. Has anyone tried this and would it be a viable option?
I'm hoping to get some help here both for me and my fiancee's sake. I get frustrated and I'm sure she's sick of hearing me grumble
.
I'm looking for a little bit of help on this. Right now the equipment I have for sharpening are stones made by smith. I've one of the portable diamond stones with a rough and fine side, I don't recall the grits but I'm thinking like 450 and 600. I've also got a smith's tri hone sharpening system or something. It's got three stones labeled fine, medium, coarse. Not sure the grits on these. I'll go into the processes I've tried later in the post.
I'm looking for maybe a good video, possibly made by someone here if you have the time? Also tips that I can read will be helpful. Do you use stones dry, wet, or with oil? If you use oil what type of oil do you use? What grit stones should I be sure to have? How much time does it take? Basically any tips that you would give to someone who has never sharpened a knife before is what I'm looking for because I feel like I need to be retrained. I've pocket knives, kitchen knives, fixed blades, razors, etc. to practice with.
I've used different processes to attempt to sharpen my blades. I've tried stones with oil, water, and dry. I believe the purpose of having oil or water on the stone is to remove the shavings of metal from the stone so the poors don't get blocked, correct? If this is true then I feel like I should use at least water every time I sharpen and oil is preferable. I also read that if oil is used on a stone then it must always be used with oil. Can anyone explain this?
I have tried to find the current angle of the blade by laying the blade flat against the stone and lifting it up until it matches when I'm looking at it from the side. I have also tried to find the angle by sliding the stone slowly lifting it until it grabs the stone, then lowering it slightly. Are either of these viable options for finding the angle?
When actually attempting to sharpen I have tried both a straight push and a sort of half moon push (not sure what you would call it). Also, I have used different amounts of pressure varying from almost none at all to a fair amount. I tried the fair amount because I've seen many people say to "act like you're trying to shave the stone." This seems like it would be a waste of both the stone and the knife though so any help here would be appreciated.
I have not yet tried a method I've seen online called the sandpaper mousepad method. It looks like it uses the same process as stropping except you use varying sandpaper grits to sharpen the blade. Has anyone tried this and would it be a viable option?
I'm hoping to get some help here both for me and my fiancee's sake. I get frustrated and I'm sure she's sick of hearing me grumble
.
