Thread: Gotta Love Knife Sharpeners

What happens when you trust your Heljiestrand SR to a guy that Sharpens Knives for a living



He almost destroyed it completely on his wee little grinder

I took off all the crap ass scratches from his belt grinder, fixed the heel then finessed a pretty darn even bevel back on there, yeah I am bragging 😎

Chosera 1-5-10 final finish on the test slate from Colorado











Hone On !!!

Nice save most people would have thrown it in the bin.

Yep. Id have tossed it. Nice one Glen.

It is amazing how many guys think sharpening a razor and sharpening a knife are similar processes.

Many guys can get a good edge on a knife, but cannot sharpen razors. I am the opposite. I can put a very nice edge on a razor, but have always been lousy at knife sharpening. The later is pretty embarrassing as I worked as a supervisor in a papermill for ten years where nearly everyone could put a superb edge on a knife. Not me, I always had to ask one of my crew members to sharpen mine.

I am in awe of those who can sharpen knives freehand AND put a great edge on a razor.

A very famous Italian razor maker posted a video several years ago. Saying one of his razors was chippy. So he sent it back to him. He said that it was so because he used a too low grit synthetic stone. And the proceeded to remove the chipping with a belt sander. Lol.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

What happens when you trust your Heljiestrand SR to a guy that Sharpens Knives for a living



He almost destroyed it completely on his wee little grinder

I took off all the crap ass scratches from his belt grinder, fixed the heel then finessed a pretty darn even bevel back on there, yeah I am bragging ��

Chosera 1-5-10 final finish on the test slate from Colorado











Hone On !!!

Wow you really wanted to save that one! Whatever was he THINKING? Just like I always say. Never trust someone to hone your razor who does not shave with a straight razor.

I woulda tossed it. Well done, good save.

One of the biggest steps in learning to hone a razor is realizing that it is not a knife and cannot be honed like one.

I use a 1x30 belt sander on my knives. I sand a burr on the blade with 400-500 grit paper, then finish off with a leather belt. I've been told many times that it will ruin my blade. I've been doing this a couple of decades, with no ruined knives yet. My EDC is about 10 years old and the blade almost looks new. I must admit, I've thought about stropping a razor on a clean leather sanding belt. If I ever get a razor I don't care about, I might give it a go.

I did one once. A gold dollar. I used a 1000 grit belt to set the bevel and then 2000 grit belt that was the highest grit belt I had. Then proceeded to finish it on a paper wheel. Stropped it and shaved it. It shaved. Not used to it as it was definitely missing something. I proceeded to try a pasted strop which did nothing. Then I inked the bevel and found that the edge was short on the stone. So a bevels width away from the edge. I did it once for science sake! But I will never do it again. Ive sharpened plenty of knives on a belt grinder and paper wheel. It can ruin it if your reckless. But I never did. I don't.use power tools anymore unless my neighbors bring me their abused knives. Otherwise I use dmts dry most of the time.

Originally Posted by Steve56

One of the biggest steps in learning to hone a razor is realizing that it is not a knife and cannot be honed like one.

I've found that to be the biggest thing that newbies can't understand. So often you hear the 'I've been sharpening knives and tools all my life it can't be any different'.

Well it is.

NOW! Every once in awhile a guy comes along who can learn but they usually pay attention to the advice and watch the recommended videos.

I waited a year and had others hone for me before I took the plunge and I'm damn glad I did.

I was a meat cutter for a few years and I quickly found that sharpening a knife and honing a razor are as different as night and day/black and white.

But really made a difference was attending Glen's (gssixgun) meet in Spokane. Hands on learning is highly recommended.