Sharpening a knife is not difficult to do, but some practice is required to obtain the very sharpest edge your knife is capable of. Putting a keen edge on a knife is a process affected by a number of variables. Some of these variables include the sharpening system being used, the blade steel, the condition of the knife and the experience of the user.
Personally, I recommend using one of the sharpening systems that clamps and holds the knife blade in a fixed position while a hone is moved across the blade at a predefined angle. The Lansky sharpener is the most well known of these systems, although there are numerous variations available. The benefit of this system is in the consistent angle that may be obtained for each stroke of the hone and allows a novice to sharpen a blade to a very fine edge.
Typically these systems will have at least 3 angles of cut to choose from. Your choice would depend on the type of knife or tool being sharpened. The Blade Master system I use has 4 angles: 15, 19, 24 and 29 degrees. As the number increases the angle becomes more shallow and cuts a finer, although thinner, edge. The thinner the edge the sharper the blade will be. However an angle of 29 degrees is so shallow that it should be used only for fine kitchen knives with very thin blades. As the number decreases the angle becomes steeper and sharpens the blade to more of a chopping point. Obviously a thin edge will not stand up to rough use such as chopping or aggressive cutting and the smaller angles should be used here. In general, a daily carry knife will be best sharpened at a 19 degree angle or thereabouts.
To sharpen, the user clamps the knife in the holding device and beginning with a coarse hone, strokes are made on each side of the blade to remove enough material to reset the edge. Finer hones are then used in the same way to refine and polish the edge.
Another popular knife sharpener is exemplified in the many “pocket sharpeners" that are on the market today. These sharpeners will often have a pair of sharpening rods, usually made of ceramic or similar material, that are fixed into a handle at a predetermined angle to form a “V". There is no angle selection possible with these systems. To sharpen, the user simply holds the sharpener in one hand, puts the knife blade into the “V" shaped slot made at the cross section of the two sharpening rods and pulls rearward in a reverse stroke. As the blade moves along the bottom of the V, the rods sharpen the blade to the angle at which they are set. These systems are useful for a quick touch up in the field, but I would not use them as a mainstay for blade care as the angle can change according to how the knife is held while stroking, the sharpening rods cannot be adjusted, nor is there any choice in the grit of the hone.
Wetstones have been used longer than any other method and do work well, although they require practice if sharpening freehand. In this method there is no assist with the cutting angle or maintaining the angle through the sharpening motion, the sharpening surface is the only offering. Here, a user must hold the blade at an angle believed to be correct and moves the blade across the hone in a forward shaving motion, as if trying to shave off a thin slice of the stone. Swirling movements are sometimes employed and once sharpened the blade is turned over to repeat the process for the other side. The danger here is twofold. Firstly, the angle being sharpened may not be the ideal angle, nor is it likely this angle can be consistently maintained through the freehand movements of sharpening. In the end, the knife will usually be sharper, but will not have the consistency of a clamp system. Doing a poor job with a wetstone can actually make the blade worse, which is why this method is best reserved for experienced users. Sometimes a wetstone system will come with a clamp device that holds the blade at a consistent angle while moving across the stone. This helps greatly in achieving a proper edge.
The blade steel will also have an impact on the edge sharpness and retention. As a general rule of thumb, chromium is added to steel to increase the stainless properties but this can also have a detrimental effect on the ability to achieve a top flight edge. The higher the Carbon content of the steel, the better the edge it will take, but is also more susceptible to discoloration. Premium knife steels such as the Sandvik steel, ATS-34 and 154CM are formulated for the best of both worlds. Other lesser steels will experience trade off between these two extremes.
You're sharpening your knife and have tested it to confirm for sharpness. You know that you've achieved it because you've found a burr on the knife's edge. This burr is how we know that the edge has reached the point of absolute sharpness. It confirms it. Should you stop there? Oh, but you must. There's only so much sharpening that can be done to an edge. To continue after that only results in unnecessary loss of metal on your blade edge. To continue gains nothing. Are you done then?
You've got a burr on your blade edge and it should be removed. At this point, tiny bits of metal still cling to your knife's edge. These bits feel like sand on the edge. But you'd like to get it as fine as it can be, even slippery sharp at that.
Maybe you've got knives that are going on display. Maybe they're going to be included in a ceremony of some sort. Or maybe you'd just like to show off your fine knives to your friends and family. I'm sure you want your edges to be slippery sharp. Well, then. It's time to strop it.
Stropping is a technique used to clean off a blade's edge after sharpening. It is meant to bend and twist those clinging metal pieces until they fall off. It's also done to realign the microscopic teeth created on the edge while sharpening. Stropping is done by swiping both sides of your blade's edge over a leather strap. When you can no longer feel clinging bits, you have successfully stropped your blade edge. It should be shining nice and bright at this point. This is how stropping was always done in the past, but times are changing.
Who would've thought that one day you could electrically strop an edge? I sure didn't. The world of electric knife sharpening has come a very long way. Some electric knife sharpeners are quite remarkable. Many of the high priced sharpeners are equipped with their own stropping abrasives. How about that? It's true. All it takes is over $50 to a few hundred dollars to get a fantastic electric sharpener that'll both sharpen and strop your edges for you. Just like that. Yes, I know. It seems like an awful lot of money for just an electric knife sharpener. But if you've got the means and don't care to diddle with it, electric knife stropping is surely possible now. It is entirely up to you.
Let's make one point very clear. Stropping is not sharpening. It isn't, really. But stropping with a polishing compound or an abrasive compound sure is. When you do this, when you add such a compound to the strap, the stropping has now become its own form of sharpening. Now that it's able to remove metal from the edge, it has become a sharpener. All by itself, however, the strap can do no more than strop an edge. Therein lies the difference.
For fine knife sharpening, stropping is always the last step. It is done after absolute sharpness has been achieved. It makes each knife edge as fine as it can be. They will shine and shine. Isn't that special?
Both Bob Holder & Len Q are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Bob Holder has sinced written about articles on various topics from Hunting, Recreation and Sports. Bob Holder is the owner of Knives Town, an online knife retailer of high quality hunting knives, pocket knives and folding knives.. Bob Holder's top article generates over 1600 views. to your Favourites.
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