Thread: Knife Sharpening 101 help

First a brief background: I got into Straight Razors because I wanted to learn to sharpen my knives better, I found some youtube video's of HHT and said "Hey I want that, if I can learn to sharpen a straight razor I can learn to sharpen a knife"

So it's been close to a year later, and I am still no better at learning to sharpen my knives than before (I am pretty decent at Razor honing) and figure with the stone I have purchased, I should be able to get a good edge. but I cant seem to get it down.

here is my list of what I have to work with:

knife type stones:
Norton India combination oilstone
Norton translucent stone
Norton Black stone
cheap diamond thing from walmart

razor stones:
Suehiro 1200gritt
Norton 4k/8k
several thuri's
Chinese 12k


To be honest I know I can go over to blade forums or something and get some help, but this is my home. so I prefer to ask you guys for help.

Where do I start? despite my many attempts at google, I am just not finding a technique with the equipment I have.


Please help a brother out.

My first thought is to get a Lansky system. Damn near foolproof way to sharpen your knives. That being said, when freehanding your knives, the best thing you can do is practice. You have to build some muscle memory in keeping the correct angle and stroke.

Knife sharpening, as Theseus said, is just another skill that takes practice to master. There are a few different "strokes" you can use, like in honing, and some work better than others depending on the person and the knife. My only advice would be to slow down and be more deliberate in your movements until you get the motion down. This will take time, but learning any skill properly does.

I think I recall someone having used the "magic marker test" when sharpening knives before, maybe give that a shot too.

start with your lowest grit hone and put a black paper clip thing on the back that will hold your angle. get the knife started on that then get a coffe mug and flip it over use the bottom ring as a ceramic hone. run the knife across it in small circles and flip and repeat do this about 8 times and it will be shaving sharp, all i have is a smiths hone and coffe mugs and my knifes are sharp enough to skinn a coon or buck.

what kinds of knives are you sharpening?
Kitchen, hunting?

Originally Posted by mainaman

what kinds of knives are you sharpening?
Kitchen, hunting?

I want to be able to learn to sharpen All my knives both Kitchen and hunting, but for now I am concentrating on getting my Kershaw Leek( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...00_i00_details ) with the carbon edge as sharp as it was when I received it in the mail. (It was shaving hair, but now it won't despite my many sharpening sessions)

I also have a CRKT neck knife ( Amazon.com: Columbia River Knife and Tool 2385 Folts Minimalist Razor Edge Knife: Home Improvement ) with me at work today I purchased deliberately because I thought my honing of it would be similar to razors.

so those are the two blades I am focusing on right now. and have my stones with me at work as well

Also, I had thought about the lanskey systems, but I know darn well I can use the hundreds of dollars of hones I already purchased for razor honing and use them. it's the SKILL I am wanting to learn the way my grandpa would have done that I want. not a modern sharpening system. there is no learning in that, and defeats the purpose of why I want to learn to sharpen knives.

I have to confess that up until about 6 months ago I had never "Honed" a Knife I had used an old set of Spyderco Crock stixs I bought back in the early 80's and it got me by...

I got on the Internet one day at work and looked at a ton of Youtube vids deciding to take it on just like a beginning Razor Honer would do, yes I had a slight advantage of about 7000+ razors under my belt..

I watched quite a few videos (yes that is when I found the Carter straight razor vids ) one set of videos using the Henckels 220/1k 3k/8k caught my attention, the way the guy explained how to find the correct angle clicked with my brain.. I went home that night got out the Henckels hones and our worst Chef's knife sat down after dinner and damn well figured it out... Am I great ??? nope but our knives are a quantum leap sharper than they were.. I only went as high as 1k then used the crock sticks to "Steel" them in which the vid I watched suggest would work

For kitchen knives there are many of videos on youtube. With practice you will acquire muscle memory and be able to keep consistent edge during the strokes.
Now you need to also know that crappy brands such as what you can find @ Walmart will never sharpen to a good and lasting edge, if you are looking for quality blades you need to consider Japanese kitchen knives.

Some videos that I think are good to learn from.

The Basic Movements of Sharpening- Japanese Knife Imports - YouTube