Knife sharpening

[daddyeaux]

What method do you use to sharpen your knives? I have several different knife sharpening devices but would like to know if there is a preferred method to keep them sharp. I also have the jewelers rouge and a stropping stapl

Thanks 

[AzShooter]

I use a medium then a fine diamond stone to get the blade sharp.  After that I strap it with my leather strap.  I use a Tandy HeadKnife and keep it sharp after every project.  I can easily cut through 10 ounce leather.  It does take a lot of time to get it just right.  I sharpened one side of the knife and it didn't cut at all, then I  spent another hour on it and got it to work just great.  

There are a lot of good videos on YouTube to show how to do a good job.  Weaver Leather had one of the best videos.

[zuludog]

My Dad was a carpenter, and I was brought up on oil stones. I inherited his tools, including the oil stones, and added another couple at some time. So now I have a range from coarse to very fine

I follow the fine stone with a strop - 2 mm veg tan on wood, flesh side up, with Veritas green stropping compound

I've tried Japanese water stones and diamond stones, but I don't like them

To a greater or lesser extent knife makers only provide a cutting edge that is basic to adequate, and you are expected to do the final sharpening and polishing yourself. That's one of the reasons that top class knives that are ready to use straight out of the box are so expensive; they've done that for you; but it takes time and effort, and so adds to the cost. However, once you've got your knife into a fit state you usually only need a strop to keep it there, or perhaps occasionally a fine stone 

There are lots of videos on YouTube about sharpening knives, including round & head knives. I like the one by JH Leather

If you use a utility or craft knife with replaceable blades, even new blades re better when they've been stropped

[Spyros]

My main line of defense against the GIGANTIC RABBIT HOLE of sharpening is to avoid knives at all costs and only use things that take replaceable blades: utilty knife, exacto, safety skiver, rotary cutter, strap cutter etc.

If I can't help myself, and I go ahead and buy one of those awesome leatherworking knives (because I'm only human), I then make a nice leather sheath for it and hang it high on my wall to make as difficult as possible to use.   

If all else fails, I begrudgingly do a few quick passes on a couple of diamond stones (typically 800-1600) while avoiding any thoughts of buying a wet grinder that would consume the last usable space on my bench.  And then inevitably I get sucked in and keep dialing in that sucker on the diamond stone, and then the strop, until it can split the wings off a fly into 3 different thicknesses. 

Τhats my 3-step process 

 

Edited August 14, 2020 by Spyros

[Matt S]

I've got a toolbox full of various grit stones, mostly cheap oilstones, for establishing an edge on a new tool or reestablishing an edge on a damaged tool. However for daily use I just strop. A tool starts to snag in the leather, strop it. Tool starts to make noise going through the leather, strop it. Pick up a tool, strop it. Look at a tool, strop it. Think about a tool, strop it. You get the idea.

I was lucky enough to get a basic Tormek machine and it's bloody brilliant. The wet wheel is big enough to only slightly hollow the edge, which is no problem for practical purposes and produces a good edge a whole lot faster than bench stones. Obviously there is no heat buildup like you get with a grinder. As for the stropping wheel I think it'd be worth the cost of the machine on its own. I've barely touched my (perfectly functional) manual strop since I got this thing. In fact I spent an eye watering amount of beer tokens on the extension kit. Those special profile wheels are great at getting into the awkward little bits that are common on leather tools.

[mike02130]

 For carbon steel I use Arkansas stones with a mix of oil and kerosene and strop on MDF or a horse butt strop charged with Dialux green compound.  I find the diamond stones leave too deep a scratch pattern on my carbon knives.  My D2 steel knives I use DMT diamond stones followed up with a Spyderco ultra fine ceramic stone and strop with Dialux white compound.  I have Japanese water stones but only use them on my kitchen knives.

[Rahere]

I go for water stones - use around an 800 for the edge, 1500-2000 for the polish. It depends on how attentive you are to the edge, if you let them go blunt as hell, then yes, diamond roughing out may be a precursor. I sharpen more often.

[chuck123wapati]

i use several methods depending on the type blade and the work it is doing. Most often to put an edge on a typical knife i use oil stones after that i use very hard Arkansas stone then go to a steel,  or 2500 grit sandpaper. It is possible to make sharpening a knife so complicated it becomes overwhelming, I don't do that. 

[Hardrada]

These:

https://www.danswhetstone.com/product/bench-stones/

A soft Arkansas (medium) and a hard Arkansas (fine). Finish with a strop and green compound.

[Danne]

I sharpen my skiving knives with wet and dry sand paper from Mirka on my granite plate. 1000-2500 grit and finish with stropping (Stiff leather with grain side up glued to wood) and green chrome oxide. Skives leather like butter after sharpened.