[TheForge] Knife sharpening

[Robert Ehrenberger]

Terry,

When I worked in a Locker they had a little belt sander with a guide 
that supported the knife and put the desired angle on the edge. They 
then used a steel to refine the edge.

My son who is a knife maker sharpens free hand on a belt sander and then 
uses diamond stones to clean up and finishes with a strop.

The guy who took over as BAM editor when I retired, makes a cute little 
device that has a magnet and a bubble gauge which he clamps to the 
blade. By watching the bubble you can kind of free hand to the right 
angle. He got the idea off the internet so you can probably find a video 
about the method there.

The important thing is to sharpen back far enough so there isn't a 
shoulder too close to the final edge. Just a general note you can tell 
if a knife is sharp by looking straight at the edge in good light, if 
you can see the edge it isn't sharp yet.

The method you use kind of depends on your skill level and the equipment 
you have available. As you have already figured out there is no one best 
way to sharpen a knife.

When I was a kid I would send my pocket knife to work with my dad who 
was a machinist. I always thought that they had a machine for sharpening 
stuff at work. I found out later that he sharpened them on a whet stone 
during his lunch break.

-- 
Bob Ehrenberger
Shelbyville, MO.
573-633-2010

------ original message   --------
From: "terry l. ridder"<terrylr at blauedonau.com>
Subject: [TheForge] knife sharpening question


hello;

would anyone have a simple to follow outline of how to sharpen kitchen
knives?
I have searched online. most of the results are ads pushing three sided
whetstones, electric knife sharpeners or expensive electric knife
sharpeners.
I have several whetstones and gun oil.
this should be a simple task but all the online info just complicates
it.


-- terry l. ridder ><>


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