Knife Sharpening Tips

[Alamo]

This video is specifically about the burr:

 

[dvd1955]

That will work, but if you are not good a free hand sharpening, you may become frustrated with it. i would recommend one of the guided systems. Something like a work sharp precision guided would work pretty well and is not as expensive as some of the more Gucci systems. I have a work sharp precision, among many others, and it does a really nice job of getting a very sharp knife pretty quickly.

Went with a stone set, despite your advice. Just wanted to use it to develop a new skill. Plus I'm a cheapskate. This: Stone kit
30 minutes after getting it, my $10 knife that I've been carrying for a couple years actually cuts stuff again, instead if ripping stuff
It was on sale for $20, looks like $23 now.

 

[Kdf101]

Went with a stone set, despite your advice. Just wanted to use it to develop a new skill. Plus I'm a cheapskate. This: Stone kit
30 minutes after getting it, my $10 knife that I've been carrying for a couple years actually cuts stuff again, instead if ripping stuff
It was on sale for $20, looks like $23 now.

Good! Free hand just takes practice, lots of it. If you get a knife that cuts, even if it isn’t “YouTube scary sharp “, that is all that matters. I recommend a leather stro, actually really about any piece of leather will do. A quick strop after using will normally keep it sharp for a long time, and stropping after sharpening will take it up a notch for sure. Happy sharpening!

 

[dvd1955]

Good! Free hand just takes practice, lots of it. If you get a knife that cuts, even if it isn’t “YouTube scary sharp “, that is all that matters. I recommend a leather stro, actually really about any piece of leather will do. A quick strop after using will normally keep it sharp for a long time, and stropping after sharpening will take it up a notch for sure. Happy sharpening!

Strop came with the kit. I didn't try it yet. Actually didn't even try the finest grit stone either.

 

[DadSmith]

This guy has some nice close-ups using a microscope of a knife edge before and after sharpening, and the burr resulting from sharpening:


A more recent vid from him on stropping, and it has some good pics of the edge and burrs:

Got these videos saved to watch later.

 

[Kdf101]

I recently bought a wicked edge sharpener. I have many many sharpeners, from stones to guided systems. They all work, but this wicked edge is by far my favorite. Super sharp and nice clean, even bevels. They are expensive, but worth it to me.