Razor edge knife sharpening

Here is a short video showing the tools I use to get a razor sharp edge on my knives.

If you watch your angles, and use the right tools, you can get a long lasting razor sharp edge.
Vital in survival, a sharp knife can save your ass.

media.abovetopsecret.com...

edit because embed code not working

[edit on 5-9-2009 by imd12c4funn]

Thanks for the video.

I think I will keep the orange juice close by.

reply to post by imd12c4funn


you go through a lot of work there. I usually just use a whet stone and a honing stone.
I don't keep my knife extremely sharp, it only needs to be so sharp to cut skin.

I might try the leather belt idea though.

Could you do a close up of the angles in slow motion. Its hard to tell exactly what ange you are holding the blade since you go a bit fast.

LMAO I always have vodka handy!!

I think I need some new tools and you need a new cameraman
I've just been using a 'steel' (chef's sharpener) and its decent for quick jobs... and I bought some thing called 'Speedy Sharp' which is a POS it just peels the steel off... only use in emergency it will ruin your good knives.

Might I ask what 'quality' is your knife, I dont know the term, but you know 420 1050 etc.

oo heeel yea! just what i was looking for thanks man star and flag
man i love me some sharp kitchen knives

Nice work. Stones have their place in the hands of those that know how to use them. Personally I use the '___' diamond stones to sharpen my chisels and plane irons. However, I attach those tools to a honing guide to keep it consistent which enables me to shave ribbons of wood with my jack plane.

For the average Joe who wants a sharp edge on their knives I would recommend the Spyderco Sharpmaker with an assortment of rods. To maintain an edge in the field I just use a little Gerber hand held ceramic sharpener or a small folding '___' pocket stone.

I know of some knifemakers and collectors who use the Wicked Edge. www.wickededgeusa.com...

or the Edge Pro www.edgeproinc.com...

to create or maintain a proper edge. These tools are a little spendy but will give you a perfect edge every time including the complex edges on Kitchen cutlery. Especially, if you have a lot of knives.

Not to spoil the party but that video was awful! first he uses a gazillion stones and other items (some homemade), he doesn;t tell you what angle to set your blade at, whether to lucbricate the stone or not, how many passes, etc. Then he refers to "honing" his edge with a piece of leather. that's not honing, it's "stropping".
There are many very good videos out there on knife sharpening that do a much better job of explaining what you're trying to do. For example:



I do appreciate the thought in what you posted, it Is an extremely important skill particularly in a survival situation.

[edit on 5-9-2009 by Asktheanimals]

Put some lapping compound or valve gringing compound @ least 600 grit or finer! On a long leather strap.. Ending with 2000-5000 grit and sharp will have a new meaning to most ppl...
Of course this means you need to start with a good edge weather it is from stones or diamond files.

It depends greatly on the Rc rating of your steel I prefer an Rc rating of 55-60 but that is to hard for most ppl, a blade that hard is either razor sharp or chipped, it don't dull..
Most store bought knives Rc rating is 45-50 "The edge can and will Roll"
If you look straight on at the cutting edge with a 30-50x loupe and the edge is easily seen you have more work to do.
Most ppl think the edge created with a stone is sharp, do to micro-serrations, it will cut great, and maybe even shave, but truely sharp, "not really"

Originally posted by Asktheanimals
Not to spoil the party but that video was awful! first he uses a gazillion stones and other items (some homemade), he doesn;t tell you what angle to set your blade at, whether to lucbricate the stone or not, how many passes, etc. Then he refers to "honing" his edge with a piece of leather. that's not honing, it's "stropping".
There are many very good videos out there on knife sharpening that do a much better job of explaining what you're trying to do. For example:

I do appreciate the thought in what you posted, it Is an extremely important skill particularly in a survival situation.

[edit on 5-9-2009 by Asktheanimals]

It may have been as you describe, but different angle for different knives.

I use all those when starting with the worst blades.

If it is simply dull, I don't use the course stones.

I also figured those curious would find ample examples of degrees to angle the edge for knife types.

I was demonstrating using a skinning knife, which has a lot thicker blade than say a pocket knife, thus a bit more difficult to bring to a razor edge.

With a pocket knife (for example), I use a circular stroke when sharpening.

Not too popular as I have not seen this application so far after viewing other techniques, but find that compared to traditional sharpening strokes, it has some advantages, at least for me.

One is safety working with small stones or rods - or using my home-made insulator sharpener instead of rods.

I felt the relevent point was to show my tools to fine the blade and the import of honing to extend the life of a sharp edge.

Also, it gives a few ideas such as home-made sharpening and honing tools.

Plus, as I expected, it got a few of you to investigate other sharpening techniques and to research what angles suit different blades.

Kind of creates an interactive role for those interested in knife maintenence.

One thing I did not mention but may have been noticed is that the knife I demonstrated has had the blade toned to eliminate reflection which otherwise could give away your position should a light source hit your blade.

If you really have an axe to grind, maybe I'll make a very detailed axe sharpening video.

reply to post by imd12c4funn


Hey man, I'm sorry I was kinda harsh on your video - it didn't occur to me
that someone might get off their butts and make their own.

I might suggest that if your going to make video keep it basic so morons liike me can take if point A to point B.

Really sorry, I was being a #$#$hed. You gave a good explanation with your text. thanks, it was very informative.

Creating a fine durable edge is a true craft, verging on art. It takes skill and talent combined.

I have practiced and tried and practiced and failed. My dad does mine for me.

I use 200 600 and 1000 grit diamond Whetstone's
These will even sharpen old buck knives that are so hard that regular stones are useless or take all day.
I even use them to dress my carbide lathe tools.

The as a final step i use a Cerium Tungsten TIG welding electrode to finish to "cut your fingers off" razor sharp.
The person i learned to sharpen knives and other tools from used to sharpen surgical scalpels before hospitals changed to one use throw away scalpels.

The best part is my diamond Whetstones are only 3/16 thick(1/16 metal and 1/8 plastic) x 2"x 6" that means the three stones and the electrode fit into a package 9/16 thick by 2 1/4" x 6''

This is small enough and light enough to fit in my BOB.

Sounds crazy but my mother always used the bottom of a ceramic coffee cup where the ceramic is exposed and kept all her knives pretty sharp with it. I've been using the same method but I added a butcher steel to the recipe when it's done to straighten it up and I can get a decent edge on most of kitchen knives with it. Works great if it is true ceramic.
I would love to have one of those old tube shaped ceramic electrical insulators though, I bet that would work really nice. Pahge is right, it is an art. Different angles for different edges on different knives, it's not as easy as most folks think it is.

Sorry for the double post but my computer is doing funny things tonight.

When i hit post, it does nothing but it still posts to response.
ten minutes later i still am waiting for it to post.

[edit on 6-9-2009 by ANNED]

ANNED, do you use a 200 600 and 1000 grit diamond Whetstone? Will they even sharpen old buck knives that are so hard that regular stones are useless or take all day? How about using them to dress your carbide lathe tools? What about, as a final step, using a Cerium Tungsten TIG welding electrode to finish to "cut your fingers off" razor sharp? lol
Just ribbing you man, I think we were able to get that from your first post though.

Great video excepted as noted.

Can you do a homemade one for dummies... I can keep an edge on my beef cutting blade and my cleaver in the kitchen but can't seem to keep an edge on my hatchet, axe or buck knife to save my life.

You know what you're doing and have a cool cam and decent bench to make a film... Steady-cam (don't let the videographer at the vodka and OJ before filming =)

Home made is best ... and if you make it for Knife Sharpening Dummies like me add some descriptions and definitions... it's not for advanced people anyhow.

Thanks In Advance!
Cheers for great effort... BTW what's with those cigarette packs ... looks like they were soaked with water (or vodka)?

is there any statistical evidence or any research done to show process of sharpening vs how long the edge lasts? or specific materials the knife is made out of that holds an edge better/longer? i agree that this process seems to take entirely too long, i know that when i worked produce, the electric knife sharpener we had was a two stage process

so how much more of a difference does this process allow?

Good stuff in here. Sharpening is an art...one that can take decades to perfect.

As a knife collector I own and have used everything including Lansky, Spyderco Sharpmaker, Norton and my current favorite the Gatco Diamond stone sharpening system.

I still use the Norton 3 stone system on my kitchen knives but when I want a pocket scalpel I reach for Gatco diamonds.

I should add that if you have top end knives with say D2, S30V, VG-10 steel you need diamond hones. These steels are hard and will just eat away natural stone.

This guy has a really good set of instructional videos:











[edit on 9/7/2009 by kinglizard]

In a pinch, a piece of cardboard (yes, cardboard) can be used as a 'strop' as well.