Thread: Knives

Yes, yes, I know this is meant for razors, but I honestly don't like any of the knife forums. I figure there are enough nice people here that know how to hone a knife with the equipment we already have that I may as well ask here.

I'm working with a DMT plate, trying to hone knives. I've had a little success, but I'm having issues with consistency of angle. How do you hone your knives?

mr. Orange: Consistency of angle comes with practice. I'm a FT blacksmith and maker of forged blades and I have not found any fitting or jig that works better than a practiced eye and proper stones. Generally speaking, you get the best results when:

1. Using the proper stone for the material your knife is made of. Often, the natural stones will not cut the high-alloy steels that contain vanadium. I prefer the Norton crystolon and smooth India oil stones for the best compromise between cutting ability and long stone life. Diamond hones are generally too aggressive for my taste.

2. Your angle should be steep enough so ONLY the secondary bevel is being abraded. Scratches up the side of the blade are the dead giveaway of too shallow a hone angle. Such edges are often very fragile as well.

3 I prefer oil stones for knives, but I use water stones on my razors. I have not had good results with dry stones, though some swear by them.

4. make an effort to learn the types of cutting edges that work best for differing knife types. I hope this helps Grant

www.grantsforge.com

A little, thanks. I find my angle often isn't too shallow, but actually too aggressive. Besides that, it's just hard for me to figure out where 22.5 degrees is. I guess I just need some more muscle memory training

The angle isn't a hard and fast number, and 22.5 deg. per side is pretty steep in my book.

Set your hone up so that the edge facing you is on the table, then set some kind of block under the other end, so that it is angled up toward the back. Then make a slicing motion away from you with the blade as close to horizontal as possible, so that the angle is set by the block and not by your eye judging that angle (it's easier to visualize a level surface than an angled one).

A razor is around 16 degrees, you could lay one on the hone and use it to visually measure when your hone is set close to 20 degrees.

The quality of the knife will also affect how thin of an edge you can put on it, better steel will tend to hold an edge at a lower angle longer than the alternative. And the type of knife will be a factor as well; a tactical knife ought to have a steeper angle than something like a gent's folder, but the choice is ultimately yours.

Step one - Buy a lot of cheap knives

Step two - Practice

Neat trick, Russel! I had never heard that one.

22.5 or thereabouts is standard for off-the-shelf kitchen knives, even high quality ones. This leads to a 45 degree angle of the edge, which is pretty big. Russel is absolutely right that, depending on the steel of the knife, you can get much finer -- but it all depends what you're doing with the knife. It's all about trial and error.

I've never used Russel's angle-the-sharpening-stone trick, which sounds pretty cool. There are, of course, angle guides -- but frankly, a clip binder, like you use to clip a bunch of papers together, will give you about the right angle to start out with for practice. You can also get a good starting angle by using a stack of quarters (four or five for a chef's knife, depending on the width of the blade), and just hold that angle through the pass.

As everyone is saying, practice, practice, practice is the key. And just like with razors, a thrift-store junker is a good place to start.

cass

Originally Posted by Russel Baldridge

The angle isn't a hard and fast number, and 22.5 deg. per side is pretty steep in my book.

Set your hone up so that the edge facing you is on the table, then set some kind of block under the other end, so that it is angled up toward the back. Then make a slicing motion away from you with the blade as close to horizontal as possible, so that the angle is set by the block and not by your eye judging that angle (it's easier to visualize a level surface than an angled one).

I've actually been using this method with varied success. It does seem like the most painless method I've found. Mine is pretty ghetto though- I'm setting my DMT on my keyboard for the angle

Mr Orange: I wouldn't be too preoccupied with angle numbers, but rather with the appearance of the cutting bevel. Ideally, this will be an even, smooth ribbon from ricasso to tip.

Assuming you are using a water or oil stone, look for a smooth wave of oil or water in front of the edge as you move it along the stone. If your edge is contacting the stone, this wave will be present. Try to keep a wave throughout each stroke of the edge on the stone.

It might be helpful to get some machinists magnifying goggles to review your work. Look for a smooth, even bevel.

If the edge passes muster, burnish off the burr on the linen, followed by leather, strops.

On my forged blades, I test sharpness first by slicing paper ribbons, then by skiving leather and then by shaving a mild steel bar. Edge must survive steel test with no chipping. Slight curling, limited to the very edge only, is okay if removable by stropping.

You can get a feel for sharpness by gently stroking your fingertips across the edge at RIGHT ANGLES to the edge. The ridges on your fingertips will really pick up uneven edges. Practice as much as you can, even offering to sharpen friends knives.

Good luck

Grant8