Know anything about sharpening knives?

[Pointedstick]

I'm just getting started with knife sharpening and was wondering if anyone here had any experience with it. I have a king combination 250/1000 grit waterstone and I figured I'd start with a dull kitchen knife. I don't think I made it any worse, but I don't think I made it much better, either! Holding the knife at a consistent angle through the stroke seems to be a real challenge. Anyone have any tips or pointers?

[stone]

I'm just getting started with knife sharpening and was wondering if anyone here had any experience with it. I have a king combination 250/1000 grit waterstone and I figured I'd start with a dull kitchen knife. I don't think I made it any worse, but I don't think I made it much better, either! Holding the knife at a consistent angle through the stroke seems to be a real challenge. Anyone have any tips or pointers?

I guess you need to have an understanding in your mind of what you need to be grinding the edge to and then carry that out. I think looking closely at the edge and feeling it with your thumb will show you when you are on the right tack. Basically you need to grind it to a regular narrow wedge shape. I guess your previous attempt didn't bring each side of the wedge to an actual appex. It will suddenly become sharp once that is done. With a fine grained sharpening stone, a knife will get razor sharp. Have fun .

[2thefuture]

Pointedstick,  A good knife with steel made of the right stuff is important. Most kitchen knifes wouldn't be my first pick. Try a good pocket knife. Enjoy.

[AgAuMoney]

I'm really bad with a whetstone.

I've discovered I prefer water rather than oil so I bought a new stone that I can use with water and that helps.  But still I typically only use a stone for quick touchups with a few long strokes on each side of the blade.  (e.g. about to carve a roast or turkey)

When real sharpening is needed I use a Lansky:  http://lansky.com/index.php/precision-sharpening-kits/

[craigr]

I've done a fair bit of knife sharpening, even made my own knives in the past in a forge, etc. So I can probably give some tips:

1) Cheap stainless steel knives (such as kitchen knives) are probably the hardest to get a keen edge on. The metal is just too soft in most cases. Better stainless is very hard and the problem is being patient enough to get it to a fine edge with hand tools. But most kitchen knives do not use these super stainless steels (too expensive).

2) Carbon steel sharpens the easiest, but can rust. However it's easiest for beginners to get good at sharpening.

3) The edge shape will make a big difference. If it is a Scandinavian grind the bevel is flat and easy to sharpen on a stone (just follow the bevel). If it is convex you need to do more free hand, but it will still work great. Concave edges can be a pain due to the edge geometry.

4) When sharpening, unless the edge is very bad, little pressure is needed. Pressing down too hard often is counterproductive.

5) On the stone, place the edge on the knife and move it forward as if you are shaving off the top layer of the stone. Again I use little pressure as the edge gets to the point I want it to be.

6) You are unlikely to mess up the edge with hand tools. The best way to mess up a knife is with power tools. They can not only damage the edge by taking off too much metal, but they will heat up the steel and remove the temper. You know you've messed up the temper if the metal changes color when using power tools. You have to keep the blade cool by dipping it in water constantly. I've seen very good knives destroyed when people used power tools to sharpen them and held them just a little too long.

Just practice and you'll get it. You may want to buy a cheap Mora carbon steel knife as well to get some practice in. Here are some good fixed blades I have listed in my store. Check out the Mora knives, they are razor sharp out of the box and really good all-around outdoor blades. They are so cheap that even if you lose/mess one up sharpening it is no big deal:

http://astore.amazon.com/crawlingroad-20?node=25&page=1

I also have listed some sharpening supplies that are good all-around use out in the field or at home:

http://astore.amazon.com/crawlingroad-2 ... F8&node=27

[Storm]

I find it's best to start with a good set of knives.  I was lucky enough to buy a set of J.A.Henkels knives in 2001 for $39.99 on amazon...  They were normally around $400.  They came with a diamond coated sharpening rod... Not sure how to describe it but it is a long pointy metal stick with a wood handle that fits in the wood block with the rest of the knives.  Anyway, I simply lightly slide the metal knives against it about 5 times on each side and I end up with an edge that can slice the softest tomato without spilling one drop of juice.

Here are the keys I've found:

Slide the knife against the grain, being careful to very evenly slide across the entire edge.

Rotate the sharpening rod (or stone) so that you are not generating friction against the same spot in the rod or stone, but rather, evenly distributing friction across the entire surface of the rod or stone.  Each stroke simply move the rod a small amount so the next stroke will not hit the same surface areas.

That's pretty much it.  I think the key is to start with a good knife.  If you can't afford a complete set, you can pick up a single good large kitchen knife for about $50, which will handle most of your needs as long as you take care of it.