Finally managed 'shaving sharp'

[Lynn LeFey]

Wohoo!

I am by no means a great knife sharpener. I've been at it for a while now, since joining this site, but it just doesn't seem to be a skill I'm great at.

Well, I got three used Campers from the MTO store to stick in survival kits, and managed to get a shaving sharp edge on 5 of the 6 blades. I used a lansky stone, ceramic rods and a leather belt to strop. The blade that isn't shaving sharp is still as sharp as i usually sharpen to, able to cut thin receipt paper.

I'm particularly proud of this because one of the blades had a rolled edge when it arrived.

If anyone ever wonders why I love Victorinox blades, it's this. I'm not great at sharpening, and i can get them crazy sharp. And it's not that hard. Given the choice between holding an edge a long time or being able to be resharpened, I'll take easy resharpening. And they DO hold an edge surprisingly well.

And they're not partially serrated.

[WolfyW]

Congrats !!! It's pretty rewarding, isn't it ? 

[glenfiddich1983]

[T14]

Good on ya Lynn.
I have always sucked at freehand sharpening.
I recently tried the lansky controlled angle system at a friends house, and boy does it make a difference.
It might not be the best or fanciest system out there, but it works, and it doesnt break the bank, so I reckon Santa will get me a basic set for the holidays 
-Tom

[Sparky415]

 

Good to see you are still around Lynn, keep on stropping 

[Butch]

Good on ya Lynn.
I have always sucked at freehand sharpening.
I recently tried the lansky controlled angle system at a friends house, and boy does it make a difference.
It might not be the best or fanciest system out there, but it works, and it doesnt break the bank, so I reckon Santa will get me a basic set for the holidays 
-Tom

I love the Lansky, as you say It works & it doesn't break the bank doing it. I would suggest that you look at the diamond coated set. It works even better & still doesn't cost an arm & leg.

[Poncho65]

Congrats Lynn I always love it when I get an edge that is shaving sharp It never seems to get old

[Rich S]

No offense to anyone, but who shaves with a pocket knife?? I've found that the phone book paper test is quite sufficient. If it slices cleanly with no drag, then it is sharp enough for any use I would ever have.  I am glad that you have learned to properly sharpen a knife.  Free hand is always the best; never have to rely on sharpening "systems" or gadgets.

Rich

[VICMAN]

Wohoo!

Well, I got three used Campers from the MTO store to stick in survival kits, and managed to get a shaving sharp edge on 5 of the 6 blades. I used a lansky stone, ceramic rods and a leather belt to strop. The blade that isn't shaving sharp is still as sharp as i usually sharpen to, able to cut thin receipt paper.

I'm particularly proud of this because one of the blades had a rolled edge when it arrived.

Congratulations Lynn! Persistence pays off. 

[Marc_in_NS]

Big milestone Lynn, you can now bring your blade’s edge to the next level. Very good on you. Might me a little proud even. Ok the sobbing grand father is coming out now...

Well done and feel good about it.

[SteveC]

Good job !   

[Lynn LeFey]

Thanks all.

Rich, I almost never sharpen beyond the point you describe as well, as, like you, I find no practical point to it. This was really a practice of CAN I, not do I need to.
And i use thin receipt paper, instead of phone book, but they're pretty much the same for determining sharpness.

The system i use isn't 100% without assistance. The ceramic rods are the kind that stick into a block, and make a V, so the angle of sharpening is kind of predefined, assuming you hold the blade vertical while working. But ALMOST entirely freehand?

[Rich S]

Lynn -

Doesn't really matter how you do it, just as long as you get the edge you want. I've been freehand sharpening all my life (65+). I just have a "thing" about the term "shaving sharp" - IMHO it's overused (especially on other knife forums) and basically meaningless. A) No one actually shaves with a pocket knife that I know of and B) shaving arm hair is much different from beard hair (much coarser). I did try it once though; nearly required plastic cosmetic surgery to fix all the cuts, nicks and skin lost    Fortunately no major blood vessels like the vugular vein were cut. 

Rich

[G-Dizzle]

Lynn -

Doesn't really matter how you do it, just as long as you get the edge you want. I've been freehand sharpening all my life (65+). I just have a "thing" about the term "shaving sharp" - IMHO it's overused (especially on other knife forums) and basically meaningless. A) No one actually shaves with a pocket knife that I know of and B) shaving arm hair is much different from beard hair (much coarser). I did try it once though; nearly required plastic cosmetic surgery to fix all the cuts, nicks and skin lost    Fortunately no major blood vessels like the vugular vein were cut. 

Rich

I have shaved my face with both a SAK and an opinel in a pinch. Not fun but it worked.


I love my knives being sharp

[Higgins617]

I can sharpen to a good, sharp, working edge. Never to hair popping sharp, but I do love when my blades are that sharp, not because there's any real benefit, it's rather nice cutting something with a blade so sharp it takes almost no effort to do so

[Aloha]

Great job Lynn. 


As a user of the Lansky I can only say using "training wheels"  is nothing to be ashamed of.  Freehand is great but to me the whole point is getting your knife sharp so its a safe knife.  I don't care how you get the blade sharp just get it sharp as you require.  Personally I like to take my edges a bit further than most but, but I find the experience relaxing.     

[Higgins617]

Great job Lynn. 


As a user of the Lansky I can only say using "training wheels"  is nothing to be ashamed of.  Freehand is great but to me the whole point is getting your knife sharp so its a safe knife.  I don't care how you get the blade sharp just get it sharp as you require.  Personally I like to take my edges a bit further than most but, but I find the experience relaxing.   

+1.... Almost therapeutic

[Lynn LeFey]

Yeah, I think 'therapeutic' is a fair word.

Kind of a zen mindfulness ritual.

[ducttapetech]

Great job Lynn. 


As a user of the Lansky I can only say using "training wheels"  is nothing to be ashamed of.  Freehand is great but to me the whole point is getting your knife sharp so its a safe knife.  I don't care how you get the blade sharp just get it sharp as you require.  Personally I like to take my edges a bit further than most but, but I find the experience relaxing.   

+1.... Almost therapeutic

+2

[Rich S]

Lynn wrote:

"Kind of a zen mindfulness ritual."

Yes, I agree 100%

Rich

[Ron Who]

I get that same feeling every Friday evening, cleaning a week´s worth of dirt off my SAKs.

[gregpost]

It's a cool skill to have, especially in a survival situation. But like any skill worth having it takes time to learn and even some initial investment in a good sharpening set-up. For sharpening certain knives it's not worth it from an economic standpoint. Is it worth it to spend time  sharpening a $10 Mora when I can get a new one that's sharp out of the box, it really isn't worth my time economically.

[Ron Who]

Do you make $ 10 in 5 minutes?

[G-Dizzle]

I wish i had your job, thats 1200 dollars an hour

[G-Dizzle]

2.5 million/yr

[G-Dizzle]

Sendall of the moras you go through to me

[gregpost]

I wish i had your job, thats 1200 dollars an hour

There are 60 minutes in an hour, divided by 5 minutes equals 12. 12 multiplied by $10 would be $120. So your math is very wrong. It also doesn't take me 5 minutes to sharpen any knife that's really dull and used, this might be due to my lack of skill and easy set-up but again there is a cost factor to acquiring those things. Anytime I've had to sharpen anything that was actually dull it takes closer to half an hour going between the various stages and cleaning. If you're talking about maintenance stropping on a chisel that's already sharp, that's 5 minutes or less. If you have Tormek machine, you're done in seconds/minutes but that cost a lot of Mora knives. 

[Ron Who]

I wish i had your job, thats 1200 dollars an hour

There are 60 minutes in an hour, divided by 5 minutes equals 12. 12 multiplied by $10 would be $120. So your math is very wrong. It also doesn't take me 5 minutes to sharpen any knife that's really dull and used, this might be due to my lack of skill and easy set-up but again there is cost factor to acquiring those things. Anytime I've had to sharpen anything that was actually dull it takes closer to half an hour going between the various stages and cleaning. If you're talking about maintenance stropping on a chisel that's already sharp, that's 5 minutes or less. If you have Tormek machine, you're done in seconds/minutes but that cost a lot of Mora knives. 
P

I only have to find the stone. For me, touch up sharpening every week suffices to not let the knife get dull, ever.

BTW Hair shaving sharp doesn´t make sense to me. It won´t last more than a few cardboard boxes. I sharpen my knives enough that they´ll be usable with little effort.

[gregpost]

I only have to find the stone. For me, touch up sharpening every week suffices to not let the knife get dull, ever.

So you're doing maintenance sharpening. Which again is a great functional skill and set-up to have(stones cost money, better ones cost even more). I think knife sharpening, or sharpening any edge tools is a great skill to have for knife collectors, tradesmen, artisans, bushcraft etc. For the lay person it just might not be worth learning or investing in. I am speaking only from an economical standpoint. Without getting into the practicality of it.

Why don't we sharpen utility knife blades? They're hard to sharpen and inexpensive, so not worth the time or effort. Some knives are so good and cheap out of the box like the Moras, that I really have wondered is this worth sharpening? It's worth sharpening because it's a well made product and can be used for a long time, but that has nothing to do with economics. My comment was just food for thought, not trying to discourage anybody from learning a skill.

 

[G-Dizzle]

Yes my apologies my math was way off, but thats not the point. Sharpening is a skill every knife guy should know and it is a waste of a good knife to just throw one out cause you dulled it. My point was not really the money.