Page 4 of 4

Re: What should I buy to practice sharpening on?

Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2019 2:58 pm
by Woodpuppy
ChrisinHove wrote:
Tue Nov 13, 2018 1:08 am
I’ve found the diamond SM rods to be extremely useful, essential even.

Back to the original question ... old kitchen knives, for sure. You’ll benefit from the sharpening practice AND have sharp kitchen knives!

You can sharpen family knives when you visit them, then you ask to sharpen your friends’ kitchen knives when you visit .... you then start getting odd looks, but hey, they will probably appreciate it when they realise just how blunt their utensils were.
Bring your elbow grease if sharpening friends & family kitchen knives. Those things are usually butter knives shaped like kitchen knives.

Re: What should I buy to practice sharpening on?

Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2019 3:49 pm
by Pelagic
GarageBoy wrote:
Mon Aug 12, 2019 2:39 pm
I should get good at vg10,8cr etc before even thinking about s30v/90v/110v/m390 etc?
Or are they different animals?
No one wants to mess up an expensive knife they love. You want a clean, consistent bevel and very high sharpness.

I will never buy a guided system and only sharpen freehand, so I can't help but recommend the same. It is a skill that takes a lifetime to master but can be very fun and rewarding along the way. But no matter what method you choose, you should start on a knife you don't care about. Remember, you can technically fix any mistakes made in sharpening, but once steel is removed it's gone for good. Once you can get a knife in 8cr13mov or an old hickory kitchen knife (1095) extremely sharp with a good looking bevel, I say dive right in to any steel you'd like. If you catch on quickly head straight for s110v. Once you master that steel you can sharpen anything. Next would be challenging yourself to achieve the same high sharpness but with lower grit finishes. After a while, you'll be able to manipulate the finish to your needs whenever you want. And all you really need are a few stones. A strop is nice also.

Re: What should I buy to practice sharpening on?

Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2019 7:39 pm
by Cambertree
I practiced on Opinels and kitchen knives when I was first learning to sharpen, but if you want a Spydie to practice on, then how about the AEB-L Urban or a Tenacious?

Re: What should I buy to practice sharpening on?

Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2019 9:03 pm
by JD Spydo
Donut wrote:
Tue Nov 06, 2018 10:38 pm
You should get a Sharpmaker to practice sharpening on. :)
Yeah you can't go wrong with a 204 Sharpmaker to learn angles and technique. But if you're trying to get better at freehand sharpening I would get a set of Spyderco's 302 Benchstones. The cases that they come in make a great holder to use while sharpening. And those 302 Benchstones are very good and produce a great edge when used correctly.
Also what SF Native had to say about "Mora" or "Frost Mora" Swedish made knives that are a super good buy for the quality you get. Actually I don't see how they sell them as cheap as they do for as good as they are. Also anything that Victorinox makes is good to learn on as well. They aren't junk either. Actually I've gotten those Victorinox Swiss Army knives to take a really good edge as well.

One other item I could recommend for you would be to get the book entitled "The Razor Edge Book Of Sharpening" by John Juranitch. You can get those from the website of "Razor Edge Systems" out of Ely, Minnesota.

Re: What should I buy to practice sharpening on?

Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 7:39 pm
by GarageBoy
Thanks, I have a sharpmaker, but a lot of my knives need reprofiling to thin them down. Also, I worry about rounding the tips off with it

I tried to freehand, and can get useable, but not good edges, and I feel like Im removing too much material without getting any results.

I like Moras but that scandi grind throws me off - also a different feel than a normal edge bevel?

Re: What should I buy to practice sharpening on?

Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 8:43 pm
by vivi
GarageBoy wrote:
Tue Aug 13, 2019 7:39 pm
Thanks, I have a sharpmaker, but a lot of my knives need reprofiling to thin them down. Also, I worry about rounding the tips off with it

I tried to freehand, and can get useable, but not good edges, and I feel like Im removing too much material without getting any results.

I like Moras but that scandi grind throws me off - also a different feel than a normal edge bevel?
It's easy to learn not to drag the tips off the flats. Just go slow, and try to do your stroke so that the edge hits the base of the sharpmaker before the tip gets more than halfway across the width of the stone. It's a lot tougher managing this with the corners, which is one reason I suggest never to use the corners if you can avoid it. Save them for SE knives and recurves, use flats otherwise.

There's nothing to worry about when it comes to removing a lot of metal, as long as you aren't removing it from the apex. Check your work frequently under light, and magnification if you need. When you thin out a bevel, such as taking a knife ground at 20 degrees per side down to 15, it will remove a lot of steel. But removing steel from the sides won't reduce blade life the way removing it from the apex. That's the only part to really worry over.

Scandis are dead simple to sharpen. Lay the bevel flat to the stone and grind away.

Re: What should I buy to practice sharpening on?

Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2019 4:46 am
by Woodpuppy
You can use a sharpie marker to blacken the edge and watch your progress. Sharpen until the marker is all gone, and check the apex periodically with a 7x or 10x hand lens / jewelers loupe. Also, if you are reprofiling or removing lots of steel, you may need to clean the stones. They load up and become inefficient.