dang thats sharp... possible with any knife?

[MikeGoob]

is this the knife or the sharpener? possible to get any knife this sharp?

[Doyle]

It is the sharpener. You can get a butter knife that sharp with the right skills and tools - but it won't stay that sharp (steel isn't good enough).

Google "scary sharp method" and you'll see a good, repeatable method for sharpening woodworking chisels and plane irons that can easily be adapted to knives. No need to buy fancy sharpening tools, just a perfectly flat surface (glass square, marble tile, etc.) and a selection of the right grades of auto-body sandpaper.

[StukaJU87]

My father enjoyed sharpening knives. He would spend hours, he found it relaxing. He sharpened knives for the whole family. He determined how dull a knife was by seeing if the knife would remove hair as he slowly and gently ran it down his forearm. He used this test to determine how much effort it would take to get it to what he considered "sharp". When he was finished, he would test the knife be holding up a sheet of paper and cutting thin strips. If he was satisfied he would sharpen it some more, since cutting paper can dull the edge. He could get any knife ridiculously sharp. The quality of the steel determined how long it took to get a good edge and how long the knife could hold it.

[bungiex88]

Yeah you can get a knife that sharp. My brother in law but a knife sharpen system for 250 and can make knifes sharper then scalpel. But I bought this knife for skinning animals and it's much easier then having to sharpen http://www.havalon.com it's worth it.

[rickyrick]

Depends on the steel. But most knives can be just that sharp with nothing more than a good Arkansas stone. The bottom of a coffee cup can be used as a quick touch up.
I've sharpened knives and other objects with an OCD fervor from childhood on. You don't need anything fancy, just proper, consistent angle and strokes.

[wogpotter]

As I have 2 left hands, both in the right hand side I need a little help sharpening & honing a knife.
Because of that I blew a few bucks on the Lansky sharpening kit.
http://lansky.com/index.php/products...-stone-system/

I added the leather strop to this & its capable of making any decent blade a razor. Stropping is separate from, but related to sharpening, check it out online it really is that last finishing touch that makes a knife extra sharp.

Will it stay sharp? Maybe, that depends on the bade quality! I have a Chinese made chopping knife that I sharpen about once a year, but I have a stainless kitchen knife that won't keep the edge for a week.

[MikeGoob]

Thanks for the tips! I find it very difficult to sharpen so I might need a tool to help...

[hounddogman]

Look for the spyderco tri-angle sharpcenter kit you'll be able to shave paper in no time

[T. O'Heir]

"...steel isn't good enough..." That's the issue. Soft steels won't hold an edge and it's hard to put an edge on soft steel. And paper is hard on edges.

[rickyrick]

Without any guides, the best way to get a good edge is to go at the stone as if you're trying to slice a piece of it off. I think the lanski system is great to fix a bad angle on your blade; they get pretty sharp as well. If you use the lanski, take a couple of final strokes without the guide to get an even better edge.

As a side tip, you can find really nice chefs knives at goodwill if you look carefully. look for German or Japanese made knives or other European makes.

Google the brand on your smartphone and get the scoop.

I've gotten 400$ knives in this manner.

[Jimbo-Indy]

Yes,you need quality steel,a good stone(s) and even a mirror butcher steel for a fine edge. Many years ago, in a meat cutting class, my boning knife could cut strips off the edge of a Kleenex held by one corner. No tearing, just slice off long strips.

[Pahoo]

is this the knife or the sharpener? possible to get any knife this sharp?

Sharpening a knife this sharp is usually not practical for average use or hunting. However, it can be done. I routinely sharpen knives for a couple of my hunting groups and always stop short of honing. There are times when I sharpen and hone a sheep-foot blade or straight razor but that is the exception. Regardless, I always strop the blade and is a nice way to finish. I "won't" cut paper, cardboard or the hairs on my forearm. Instead I just drag the blade across a taught rubber band and when it parts, it's sharp enough. ...

Be Safe !!!

[rickyrick]

Hoof trimming.... That's some good times right there.

[AK103K]

just proper, consistent angle

Thats the key, that, and progressively polishing the edge to a mirror.

Ive used a Lansky for years with great results. Once you get the edge set, it only takes 10 minutes or so to touch it up again when it starts to dull. Its those consistent angles, and the final polishing stone that get you there.

If you look at the edge under a magnifier, and its a mirror, or as close to that as you can get, thats when its "sharp". If you see scratches, or stone marks, youre not there yet.

No need to buy fancy sharpening tools, just a perfectly flat surface (glass square, marble tile, etc.) and a selection of the right grades of auto-body sandpaper.

I have a couple of knives that require this type of sharpening, and it too works very well, once you get it down. Its more labor intense and time consuming, but it does work well for things like a Gerber MKII, or a Blackjack 1-7, things that dont have your normal, hollow ground blades.

[Pahoo]

If you look at the edge under a magnifier, and its a mirror

I use the cut-diamond analogy and there can be a number of facets. I can usually tell the condition of an edge is by looking at the facets. Tools like the Lansky will give you a good constant facet. I sometimes use a motor driven drum wet-stone. For average use on minor jobs, I just use two grades of aluminum oxide stoned and strop finish, the way old barbers "use" to do it. ...

One important point is the use of a "steel" to recondition the edge. This will increase life-span of a knife. There are just too many knives being destroyed by stones and we have all seen this. ....

Be Safe !!!

[wogpotter]

I usually run a finger across the cutting edge from the back. You can't cut yourself this way but you can feel amazingly small burrs in the edge. A fingernail run from blunt back across sharp edge with little pressure will find any deformation as well. There's an obvious "snag" as the bent edge catches the edge of the nail.

[Kreyzhorse]

Part of it is the steel type but most of it is the sharpener and technique.

Look for the spyderco tri-angle sharpcenter kit you'll be able to shave paper in no time

Great system to start with. Add the fine stones are you are good to go.

[Old_Dog]

I used to collect knives which meant a lot of polishing and cleaning them. On more than one occasion my wife had to let me know that I was bleeding all over the floor. A good knife can be that sharp.

[AK103K]

A good knife can be that sharp.

Yup, and thats what you want if you should get cut.

Ive had a number of stitch worthy cuts with a knife on my hands over the years, and when the knife was "sharp", I felt the pressure of the blade, and a slight "pinch". The pressure was more of an indication of what was to come, than the pinch too. That pressure, even though there was little or no pain, generally was what told me, it wasnt likely going to be good.

On the plus side, those types of cuts are much quicker to heal, and with smaller scars. Some that probably should have had stitches, got by with tape and/or crazy glue. Theres gotta be some plus to it, right?

[geetarman]

I have the Lansky as well as the Wicked Edge system ( expensive ). You can get very good results with the Lansky system. I also have a set of Paul Gesswein Ruby stones, medium and fine grit for touching up blades. The trick is to keep the same angle. The Wicked Edge system is expensive but it uses diamond stones to achieve the edge and you are always taking the stone toward the edge as opposed to the spine of the blade and you are doing both sides at the same time.

I bought the leather strops and ordered the bulk 80 gram tubes of oil soluble yellow and green tubes of Engis lapping compound to charge the strops.

You really can get a fantastic edge. I have some pretty good blades from several manufacturers and they all are good steel and the system brings out the best in them.

The Wicked Edge Pro Pak 1 is going to run you about $425. Don't be intimidated by the price, the goods are there and they do work. The system is pretty good to get the blade fixtured to get the best angle for your application. I would buy either system again. If I was going into the field, I would take the Lansky as it is much easier to carry and to set up. The Wicked Edge is better suited for the work shop to get all of your blades in shape. The Lansky or some Ruby stones and a leather strop will do wonders to maintain a blade in the field.

HTH

[603Country]

I use the diamond plates for my woodworking tools, like hand plane blades. A medium grit and then a very fine grit, followed by a leather stop with jeweler's rouge on it. For the knives, I skip the jeweler's rouge.

If a fellow is going to use stones or the diamond plates for a knife blade, it's important to equally work both sides of the blade. Also important is to find, through experience, a consistent angle of blade to stone. I believe that one of the biggest problems people have when being unsuccessful with stones is that the don't have a consistent angle of blade to stone. That problem is removed from the equation if one buys a sharpening 'system'.

And, as earlier mentioned, the blade steel really matters. For the last 4 or 5 years, I've carried a folding Gerber (I live in the country and always carry a pocketknife). It would take a great edge, but I'd lose the edge pretty fast doing ranch stuff. Just recently I bought a folding Benchmade 4 inch blade pocketknife. Wow, that's good steel. The Gerber would have been dull by now, but the Benchmade is still dangerously sharp. I sharpened it anyway yesterday, using some small diamond plates, and leather. Took me a bit to find the edge angle, but once I did, I got a super edge.

How all this works is that with the coursest stone you get a wire edge. Go to the next finer stone and the wire edge is still there but finer. The eventual remaining wire edge, almost non existent, will be removed by the strop. Then you will have two mirror edges on the blade and no wire edge.

[geetarman]

I believe that one of the biggest problems people have when being unsuccessful with stones is that the don't have a consistent angle of blade to stone. That problem is removed from the equation if one buys a sharpening 'system'.

That, in a nut shell, is the key. I find that for my use, a 25-29 degree angle works best for me.

Wicked Edge suggests using a felt tip marker to mark the edge and then a couple of swipes of the stones to check how much and where the blacking is removed. The problem for me using handheld stones is that it is difficult to a consistent amount of material removed from both sides of the blade. The same occurs using a strop if you are not very careful. You will polish more on one side than the other. If your blade is sharp, you can cut a hair toward the root of the hair. If it is really sharp, you can break that same hair cutting from the root to the end of the hair. If the blade is super good, you can cut from the root to the end of the hair from both sides of the blade. Being able to do that is really impressive and is very hard to do without fixturing the blade to get the same angle on the edge. Once the blades are really finished with the same angle on both sides, a handheld stone ( I really like the Paul Gesswein Ruby stones ) can keep them in pretty good shape for quite a while. The artificial ruby stones in fine grit can be lapped flat enough to create interference fringes under monochromatic light and are then flat enough to stone the burrs off gage blocks without scratching the surface of the gage block and destroying the gage block ability to "wring" to another. They are very expensive and they will shatter when dropped on a hard surface or treated indelicately. I have some that I still use that I bought in 1967. You just have to be very careful with them.