Thread: Question on Murray Carter's honing technique

This probably doesn't belong in a razor forum since it's a knife question, but this is the only place I know of where there is a plentiful supply of honing gurus who give reliably good information.

In Murray Carter's videos, is he holding the angle of the knife freehand? Or do Carter knives have a large bevel that serves as an angle guide when laid flat, as Swedish Mora knives do?

I ask because I am unable to hold the knife the way he does. When I try, I rock the spine subtly while honing, thus (severely) convexing the bevel. I do a much better job when I hold the knife in one hand with my index finger on the blade for stability, and describe circles on the hone. I'm not perfect, you can't shave with my knives the way Murray does, but you can cut tomato slices thin enough to see through, so they're sharp enough for all practical purposes.

Note: I don't own any Carter knives, nor have I ever seen one up close. My knives are very old carbon steel Chicago Cutlery.

I never heard of him so I probably ought to keep my mouth shut...... but since I seldom do ..... is he the Tiger Woods of knife sharpening ? I have a putter but I just can't get the ball in the way Tiger does.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

...I have a putter but I just can't get the ball in the way Tiger does.

Try sleeping with more women....

Originally Posted by BingoBango

Try sleeping with more women....

Hadn't thought of that approach but I'm open to the suggestion.

I haven't seen Carter videos but usually i hone our knives freehand. It comes natural, but it needs a some amount of practice. So do not start practicing with your best knives.
Some large knives and specially tools like plane or chisel blades have bevels so wide that it is easy to feel the right angle when honing. With narrower bevels it just comes in time.
There's also some honing guides available (Veritas etc), but i've found them too impractical. Tormek and some other makers has a bulletproof systems for honing any kind of tools but that is of course totally different than honing freehand.

your question will be very well answered here
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its where the kitchen knife nuts reside

I have never paid much attention to him. I would think his knives are not mora like. It just takes practice.

I'm not sure what you are describing but i think i sometimes do similar. Some I do 1 handed.

I am not shaving with my cutlery either but they do work well enough.

I have seen one gizmo at Hida tool that clips on the blade. you could probably come up with something similar a couple narrow strips of wood with some electric tape. that would get you bevels back to flatness and then practice freehanding again.

@JimmyHAD: In fact, yes, Murray *IS* the Tiger Woods of sharpening. His videos are the only ones I've seen that aren't (a) flat-out wrong, or (b) missing vital details. However, he's also a bladesmith & I am wondering if his instructions subtly favor his own knives.

@maniaman: Thanks for the link. I usually start with people I know & trust (i.e. the people here) but if all else fails, I'll try there.

@Sailor: I've gotten pretty good at freehanding it too, but Murray can shave with his knives, and I cannot shave with mine. Carter hones by holding the blade in both hands and using a back-and-forth motion, straight forward & straight back, on a 1000/6000 waterstone. So either Murray is a human sharpening machine, or his knives have a very wide bevel that's very easy to lay flat. I don't know which.

@kevint: I did fix the bevel I wrecked by starting again with 220 grit wet/dry and holding the knife the way I know: one-handed grip. index finger extended. But I can't get the results Murray gets. I'm wondering if maybe those results are impossible when you're freehanding with the spine in the air. Again, that's why I'm wondering if Carter knives have a Mora-like design.

Originally Posted by Johnny J

@maniaman: Thanks for the link. I usually start with people I know & trust (i.e. the people here) but if all else fails, I'll try there.

no problem, thought to give you a link since a lot of talk about knife sharpening happens there.

Murray Carter has been doing that kind of thing for most of his life. Heck he is the 17 generation of a promonent Japanese family of knife makers. It's all on his website (carter cutlery).

I've talked to him at shows and watched as he sharpened peoples knives at shows, amazing skills there. His knives are crazy thin and very well made. This pic is my Nakiri he made for me, longer and custome fit handle, that I stropped up and for the hell of it I shaved the parts I could see over/around the blade with. Scary smooth shave but not something i'd do again... I had problems with the blade sticking into the cutting board till I put a micro bevel on it

His videos had a lot of info in them, and his first one will put insomiacs into a comma... But they are great for learning to free hand sharpen.

If all your used to are western style knives you may not need to know all the things or use all the skills Carter talks about. But if your into Japanese steel, you will at some time or another use them all.