Try my hand at free hand sharpening

For years my supervisor would bring in his kitchen knives for me to sharpen for him. We had some good shop stones so it was an easy hour at the work bench and the Boss was happy.
We've both been retired over 7 years now, I wonder how sharp his knives are these days ..?

Not quite 60 years of freehand sharpening here. I have never owned a diamond surface sharpener.
I have a box of different stones and I use mineral oil with most of them. Everything from scalpels and razors to large double bit axes.
I never let an edge get too far from perfect so I can usually bring them back with minimal effort.

SteadyD said:

I’m also going to start trying my hand at freehand sharpening in earnest

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The trick to any sharpening is understanding what is going on gor not going on) at the edge. Most of the difficulties are caused by faulty assumptions.

So, buy a loupe of at least 6x, but I suggest 10x; a plastic cheapy is fine. The ability to see what you're accomplishing on the bevel vs what you thought you were accomplishing will change everything.

After you understand what is going on at the bevel, then you'll be in a position to know if you need different abrasives.

Give me a sharp knife and a whetstone or sharpening steel and I'll have that knife butter knife dull before you can say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious......... They invented electric sharpeners for people like me.........

I learned how to free hand sharpen a knife on the deck of the USS Mobile in 1972. The knife was a Buck 110 and the stone was the Arkansas that came in a Buck sharpening kit. Both purchased from the ship's exchange.

I can do it, but I've gotten lazier and lazier as the years have gone by. Now I am a big fan of the Ken Onion worksharp.

But I get the zen of free hand sharpening. Enjoy sir and do carry on.

SteadyD said:

I prefer diamond for everything at this point. My KME and Wicked Edge chew through material FAST. I’ve been free-handing completely dull (so dull I can rake them across my skin with no fear) old kitchen knives today. I won’t switch over to my expensive/super steel knives until I can feel confident in nice even edges and I have a setup that will adequately do the job. It’s not like I’m hurting for options, I just really enjoy sharpening and the tactile feedback of the process.

I don’t really want to use water with any of my non-stainless tool steels though.

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I Really Don't Think water will hurt anything as long as you Dry and wipe them Down. If They are Food Knives and carbon steel Any food type Cooking oil will help prevent rust and not contaminate them. I have been Using a Beeswax Based Leather protectant and I find that it works well on leather handles and sheaths as well as the blades.

My first dmt stone was a blue 6" bench stone. It was a display at ace hardware. I got it wen they closed. It was well used then. I used t another ten years and it finally started cutting slow so I sold it on eBay as wornout.

If a knife is real dull I file it before stoning. Course you got to have fine touch to not damage it. But for reshaping the grind or taking a large knick out, or with being dull to the point of bluntness, filing is the fastest way to get back.

JohnKSa said:

Yup. I agree.

I have used files on blades that are in really bad shape, but the file must be a very fine cut and the blade needs to be relatively soft steel. If the file is coarse, it's just going to make a mess. You may find you spend more time cleaning up the blade after you file it than you would have just doing the work with an aggressive stone in the first place. If the blade steel is too hard, the file won't do anything and you can actually dull the file.

There are better options for reshaping--here's a good alternative. They are actually abrasive stones that are shaped like, and can be used like metal files.
https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Abrasive-Files-C248.aspx
https://www.mcmaster.com/abrasive-files/

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Good Options For Sure.

Couple of picks of my stones. It came out of an old packing plant, and the trough was broken. I glued it together and have ordered new stones as needed. I use 3 in 1 oil on the stones. Originally, the trough held oil to rotate the stones through, but I just apply as needed.

JohnKSa said:

That's really important. Keeping a constant angle while you're sharpening is going to give the best results. Imagine trying to maintain a constant angle on a stone that's not flat. You have to constantly vary the knife angle with respect to level to compensate for the valley in the stone. I can't do it, I've tried. I can get a knife usably sharp on a stone that has a valley worn in it, but I can't get it to the level of sharpness I expect from even just a quick sharpening.

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Big reason that I use Diamond Sharpeners.

This magnifying glass is the most important tool I have to ensure that the blade comes out sharp.



If you cannot see what you are doing to the edge, you will never achieve a truly sharp knife. You will see if you are not holding a constant angle on the edge. Ideally, you want one flat angle to each side, you do not want to see multiple grind marks, which happens when the angle is varied.

And then, you want to look at the edge, facing you, and see that the bevels are symmetrical and the edge centered. You want even and equal angles on each side of the edge.

I use coarse DMT stones to set the edge bevels, and then finish with a light sweep over the surface of a medium red india stone to break the crest that always develops.



I am proud of my edges, so proud, that I now am wearing a cut glove on my food supporting hand, because I got tired of all the cuts that occurred! One National Match, I spent the whole time with big bandages on the thumbs of both hands! I stay at Extended Stays and cook my own food, and I managed to mangle my thumbs wiping the blade of this thing: