Knife Sharpening& How I Got Started

[Okanagan]

Nasty,

  Nice link.

  I noticed that they had Razor Edge listed and clicked it. I bought the Razor Edge Book of Sharpening many years ago and at that time it came with the Sharpness Tester pictured below. I have it where I do my sharpening, but have made many others for friends from Delrin. An easy way to check (like the tester does) is to just use a plastic cased pen, like is given away many places. If you put the end of the pen (with the roller ball not exposed) and run that slowly along the edge of a knife you will be able to detect any bumps (many not visible) or problem areas. Also, if you place the pen on a hard surface at a 45 degree angle, hold your knife lightly, and slowly pull the blade across the pen barrel you will be able to see if it is sharp all along the blade of only some parts. The knife will cut when it is sharp and will slide in any area that is not sharp. You can do the same thing with a fingernail, but I like to keep my fingers safe.

Interesting.  Good info re testing sharpness on a plastic pen.  Quick and easy.

My main test is to hold a hair by one end and pull the sharp edge of the blade across the hair at 90 degrees.  It will cut or slide in different sections of the blade.  A sharp knife will split the hair, and a sharper knife will cut it cleanly and instantly.  Fine blond hair is a lot harder to cut by holding one end than black hair.

And I'm sure we all know that different kinds of steel take an edge differently.  Some steel in cheap knives simply cannot be sharpened to a razor edge, just as some fishing hooks cannot be resharpened when the point dulls.

This is a tangent but that's my only beef with Gamatsku hooks:  when they lose their fabulously sharp starting point, (as when bottom bouncing a gravel river bottom)  the point cannot be sharpend by normal means.  I think that they are chemically sharpened and once that point is gone, they kind of crumble right at the fine point when being resharpened with even a fine stone. 

 

[nastygunz]

I strop my knives on my beard