Honing knife blades

[drmitchgibson]

I'm assuming someone on here can sharpen a knife very well. But I can't seem to do it with a stone. I can file a very sharp edge, very close to razor sharp with a good clean file or a single-toothed carbide bit, but I can't ever seem to use a stone on a knife edge to produce anything acceptable. Acceptable being dangerously sharp. Is there some secret to this?

 

[TroyF]

Very interested in the answer as well......

 

[dennishoddy]

The secret is to maintain the same angle on the blade during the process.
I can pretty much make any blade you have shave the hair on your arm freehand.
If you need a blade "dangerously" sharp, I can direct you to a business in Stillwater ok.
Dave Mcrosky and his brother produce some of the finest knives available at the lowest price in my opinion as well as others.
When Dave sells you a knife, you can fillet the ink off of a piece of paper.
I called bullcrap and went to his house.
I can assure you it's true and have done it with the two I now own.
He will sharpen the knives for free as a lifetime warranty if you hand carry them to his house, or free if you pay shipping both ways.
He will also sharpen the knife you currently own for a small fee.
For the record, I have skinned two elk with my elk skinner model, and it still shaves.
My home computer crashed, but I will post pics when I get it back, or go to Mcrosky knives.com.
That may be spelled wrong, but google will correct

 

[The Antichrome]

We have a semi-retired gentleman working in our fly fishing dept that sharpens knives like nobody's business.
He's an old school wood carver and cabinet builder.
He uses multiple stones and multiple oils. When he's sharpening a knife, it looks like he's polishing jewelry.
They come out amazingly sharp.

Of course I use my knives cutting open taped, cardboard boxes all day, so they get gummed up and dull really fast.

 

[Jeff T.]

The secret is to maintain the same angle on the blade during the process.
I can pretty much make any blade you have shave the hair on your arm freehand.
If you need a blade "dangerously" sharp, I can direct you to a business in Stillwater ok.
Dave Mcrosky and his brother produce some of the finest knives available at the lowest price in my opinion as well as others.
When Dave sells you a knife, you can fillet the ink off of a piece of paper.
I called bullcrap and went to his house.
I can assure you it's true and have done it with the two I now own.
He will sharpen the knives for free as a lifetime warranty if you hand carry them to his house, or free if you pay shipping both ways.
He will also sharpen the knife you currently own for a small fee.
For the record, I have skinned two elk with my elk skinner model, and it still shaves.
My home computer crashed, but I will post pics when I get it back, or go to Mcrosky knives.com.
That may be spelled wrong, but google will correct

What Dennis Said! The Angle and maintenence of that angle is the key. I learned this in high school asking questions of a butcher. He could make almost anything metal very sharp, I saw him make a piece of metal banding off of a pallet sharp enough to cut paper, in about 3 minutes of work.
I don't know the Mcrosky knives, but will Check it out, next time I am in Stillwater.

 

[Jefpainthorse]

after you figure out angle and such... every grit of stone etc will leave a "wire edge" or other jagged stuff on the edge of a blade.

The strop gets that out. I keep a old patch of leather around.... some times I clamp a old smooth leather belt to the bench.... add a little oil and strop that edge like an old time barber's razor. Stropping takes the wire edges and imperfections off.

In a pinch you, can strop on a work boot's top (while your wearing it) the tounge of your trouser's belt,,, my uncle could do it on the heel of his hand (at your own risk- he never got cut).

I have been able to strop blades on very fine emery paper too... add a little oil and it works good.

Small angles (less than 30 degrees) make thin edges... razor sharp potential but they don't hold up as they are too thin. Most using knifes like a 30 to 45 degree angle.

 

[drmitchgibson]

I think I've been trying to put an edge on knives with too wide a blade edge angle. I'm going to file one thinner toward the edge and then hone and strop, see how that goes.

 

[Jefpainthorse]

I think I've been trying to put an edge on knives with too wide a blade edge angle. I'm going to file one thinner toward the edge and then hone and strop, see how that goes.

Mitch... we used to sharpen up cheap stuff with a file. Hardware store hawkbills, linolum knifes- stuff like that. File those with a fine file... and strop em on a strip of emery paper . We had work for those that favored a razor blade result

...Good knife blades need to be worked with a stone (or two)

 

[Rustyzx9]

I've been using Lansky sharpeners for years in order to maintain edge angle and have gotten good results. The "clamp" used with this kit takes all of the guess work out of things.

Also remember that the geometery of the blade will also play into how sharp it can be made. I EDC two pocket knives, one is a CRKT M16-14 with a fairly thick blade that has a chisel type edge and the other is a Swiss Army knife. The CRKT edge can be made fairly sharp but it is designed to be "sharp enough" and remain durable. The Swiss Army knife can be made seriously sharp because the blade is thin and the angles steep.

 

[Mitch Rapp]

I've been using Lansky sharpeners for years in order to maintain edge angle and have gotten good results. The "clamp" used with this kit takes all of the guess work out of things.

Yup. I gave up on being able to conventionally sharpen a blade.

 

[dennishoddy]

There is another method. Ceramic crock sticks, preset at the correct angle work well and never wear out. They do load up, but a quick scrub with ajax cleanser gets them right back to business.
The operator keeps the blade at a 90 degree angle and the ceramics do the rest.
If you know an electrician that works in an industrial environment, some of the old mercury vapor and metal halide light bulbs had ceramic elements in them.
Our shop has a set on every bench.

 

[Jefpainthorse]

There is another method. Ceramic crock sticks, preset at the correct angle work well and never wear out. They do load up, but a quick scrub with ajax cleanser gets them right back to business.
The operator keeps the blade at a 90 degree angle and the ceramics do the rest.
If you know an electrician that works in an industrial environment, some of the old mercury vapor and metal halide light bulbs had ceramic elements in them.
Our shop has a set on every bench.

If you ever get a chance. The high voltage bushings on a round distribution transformers have a nifty cone shape on the tank end. That porcelein makes a dandy knife sharpener if you get a chance to salvage a old bushing that's flashed over or cracked/