When every knife in my house couldn’t cut butter, I knew that made no stupid sense. I went whetstone to diamond plate to diamond lapping film. After two months of daily practice and watching many videos, my kitchen knives are “dangerously sharp.” It was muscle memory and feel like everything else.

In my never-ending pursuit of perfect edges I've gone from zero edge grind high grit mirror 12 DPS obsession, "zero edge grind" convex terminating at 15 DPS, low grit flat and convex, to 45 degree tiny 3-7 light stroke high grit microbevels, to where I am now. Which is asymmetric microbevels. The grind is not original to me at all, and stems from japanese style edges as used on katanas and by rockstead who finish their edges with one side flat ground and the other convex.

I have been trying this on some high carbide steels, attempting to maximize the benefits of high carbide wear resistance while keeping good edge stability. The thought process for this originated with the revelation that D2 carbides are so large that you need to physically keep the apex reinforced with 20+ DPS so that there's enough steel matrix attached to it. It's also kinda how axe grinds are done where you use a file to get to about 17 DPS but then microbevel to about 30 DPS to support the edge to survive the massive impacts it sees. I've done this on M390 and D2: grind one side flat at 12-15 DPS, then the other side also at the same angle, then microbevel one side (I'm right handed so the convex goes on the right side of the blade from the perspective of using it) to about 45 degrees. To the naked eye you can't tell it's got an asymmetric microbevel because it's a very small microbevel.

So far it's been pretty nice on high carbide! Good slicing feel/ease. My edge stability test is to cut up the top/bottom of an aluminum can where it's thicker for 5 cuts and still be able to shave arm/facial hair afterwards, which this edge has been passing with flying colors so far. Seems to retain decent slicing aggression due to thin grind, especially on the flat ground side. Additional benefits of this grind are stupid quick touch ups, very easy deburring, and really easy feather sticks when carving wood!

I can't be the first to try this out but I never hear of any one talking about it. Any one tried this before?

TLDR: sharpen to 12-15 DPS then microbevel one side to 45 degrees on high grit. So far slicey and durable.

Title says it all. Having an issue with uneven factory bevels between sides and that tip...

How would you clamp it?

I currently have a worksharp adjust. I just got a universal stone holder for it & I have a clamp stabilizing support for it as well. My plan was to buy a nice set of Hapstone stones for it, but I see the tsprof pioneer is on sale for $250 right now.

I’ve never really had issues with my worksharp, it does the job well and I’m sure would do even better with bigger better stones. Will I be better off keeping the system I have and going with a wider variety of better stones, or upgrading to the tsprof and only using the included stones for now?

Today I dropped my saber clippers and none of the teeth or blade broke, and now it will barely cut at all, i have already took it apart and put it together but still same outcome. What should I do?

Getting too lazy to use whetstones and looking for the next best thing to getting the knives as close as possible to a whetstone.

Was looking at the horl and finishing with stropping on a 6000 stone with the final strop on a leather with green compound.

One thing I don't like is the 20 and 15 degree angles and also the price. Is there anything as fast but more customisable for angles out there?

I have a collection of folding knives, mostly Spyderco, and from time to time I need to sharpen/touch up the edge.

What I find really hard is maintaining the angle when going from belly to the tip of the knife.

Are vertical sharpeners (like Spyderco Sharpmaker, Worksharp Angle Set) more forgiving to an inexperienced user?

This is how this device was born. Essentially, it's two 3D-printed parts: a lens tube and a housing.

The tube is simply a tube. On one end, there's an RMS thread for attaching lenses.

On the other, there's just a hole for the eyepiece. Currently, the model archive contains two types of tubes: one for 23mm and one for 30mm in diameter.

The tube is inserted into the housing and secured with a screw.

housing also has an additional hole for a flashlight.

In the "travel position," the tube is inserted inside the tripod.

Now, on to the actual operation. There are two main positions. The first is working suspended with the blade resting against the ground.

The knife is clamped in the sharpener. We rest the sharpener against the vertical section of the tripod and focus by moving the tube.

By adjusting the tilt of the device, we control the illumination of the area.

The second method is working on a flat surface. This way, you can evaluate abrasives and engage in any similar activities related to high-magnification observations.

Here are some example photos. All of them were simply taken with a phone through an eyepiece, handheld, without any mount.

3d models

https://makerworld.com/en/models/2361707-optical-sharpening-inspector-microscope

I am a poor college student with cheap knives who would really appreciate the ability to cut a tomato. Complete beginner, so something with less of a learning curve would be much appreciated.

Under $25 USD if possible (sorry if that’s nonexistent, I have no idea what I’m doing)

Thank you in advance!

"Made" this knife a little while ago.

I didn't have a good knife for de-boning a whole chicken or turkey, or a good knife for cutting any raw meat, so decided to make one from one of my steak knives.

Removed the teeth with a standard bench grinder, and formed a bevel and sharpened it on a Norton India IB8 and finished on a leather strop with green compound.

It's turned out a lovely knife to use. I'm not sure how good the steel is, but it gets very very sharp

I tried to sharpen my Benchmade Crooked River knife in the past, but I didn't really know what I was doing - I didn't hurt it, in fact, I never really got a good burr. Hand sharpening with good Japanese stones, but I realized I really wasn't skilled enough yet with holding an angle. etc.

I have a new TSprof Kadet Pro on the way, and after I sharpen all the kitchen knives I want to sharpen my Crooked River. I don't know what angle it is at currently; I think I was targeting 15 degrees in the past because that sounded "sharp."

Other than chastising me for my ignorance in the past, what tips would you give me when I go to sharpen this knife? Angle to shoot for, etc. Thanks

Hi all, relatively new to sharpening.

Just wondered is it possible to get a SAK hair popping sharp?

I can get mine very sharp (it cut me just from accidently barely touching my skin), it shaves the hair on my legs (easier than my arm hair), but it's not what I'd class as "hair popping sharp".

Am I doing anything wrong, or is that as good as I'll get a Swiss Army Knife?

I'm using a Norton India IB8 and a leather strop with green compound, stuck to a nice piece of flat hardwood.

In my limited experience with a few things I have sharpened, I find I can get carbon steel (in things like chisels and plane blades) sharper than stainless.

Any advice? Thanks

Cheap Rapala, unknown steel 6-1/8th inch blade length.

Thinking of 15 maybe 16dps but not too sure if thats too low. First time sharpening a fillet knife and i know my VG10 Endura 4 at 18dps took major chips on mackerel as a bait knife.

Im assuming the rapala has a harder steel but i have no idea for sure.

What do yall do for filet knives? TIA.

I recently bought my first knife in White 2 and have been using it heavily for about two weeks. Intentionally looking for meals that require a lot of knife work. As you do.

Brand new it would glide through a paper towels, shave hair, do all the party trucks. It no longer does, which I expected eventually but it seems a little premature.

The actual cutting hasn't really changed. I'm guessing that's partly because the knife is so thin behind the edge. So I'm not sure If I'm ready to put it on the stone. I'll probably wait till it starts crushing herbs and such.

So I guess my question is: Is this typical of White 2?

Are you touching it up on a finishing stone as soon as it loses that "hair-shaving" edge? Strop it until performance starts to drop? Or wait until you notice it truly struggling before going back to the stones?

I'm mostly curious what everyone's maintenance routine looks like for carbon.

This is my whetstone. There are many like it. But this one is mine.

I was given this stone by a guy who was closing his sharpening business. We were chatting about sharpening chisels. He gave me this stone to use on them. He said always soak it, and he said it partially dried so there was mildew on the back (pic 2). And lastly he gave me that little whisp of a leveling stone.

I use it to sharpen all my knives its a great stone. But I think I should get a new leveling stone. The one I was given is clay I believe. He didn't have any details on the the stone

Are there any points I should be aware of if I try and find a new leveling stone?

edit: word

I’ve come across this type of device, available for around $50 via AliExpress, I’m attaching photos to this post I don’t think links to AliExpress are allowed on this subreddit, although maybe I am wrong.

I sharpen free hand using a cheap 320 diamond plate, follow by a Naniwa 1000. I keep the angle by holding the knife in a certain position on my thumb. I only own a Wüsthof chefs knife, and a few petty knives of different brands, the steel that I am sharpening is not the best quality. Hopefully this will change soon, I am looking to get a proper Japanese knife, either of Aogomi or HAP40 steel.

Using the current stones, knives, and free hand technique, I’m able to get my knives sharp enough to easily slice through paper, although I have yet to get that hair whittling edge.

Has anybody used one before? Would anybody recommend one? My idea would be to combine one with a cheap electronic angle finder, but then I ask myself is it even needed of my current freehand sharpening is working as is.

After several trials, I came up with the following proportions. Mix 80g of magnesium oxide and 100g of aluminum oxide f320(about 400 grit) in a container until smooth. Dissolve 40g of magnesium chloride in 40g of water, then add it to the remaining ingredients and mix. The consistency is quite thick. I intentionally did this to prevent the aluminum oxide from settling while the mixture was setting.

I used a degassing chamber to remove air bubbles, but due to the mixture's thickness, I couldn't remove all the bubbles.

You either need to thin it out or vibrate it. Alternatively, you can make a very thick mixture and press it into molds.

Our sharpening stones can be removed from the formwork after 24 hours of mixing, then the stones are flatten on glass. Lapping is accomplished with its own suspension, without pre-soaking the stone.

In my opinion, aluminum oxide works better than silicon carbide. Because the abrasive grains roll around in the water suspension during sharpening, they don't split into pieces like silicon carbide, but rather roll around, gradually decreasing in size. Thus, aluminum oxide, while cutting the metal, minimally "traumatizes" the bevel, creating a shallow sharpening line. The edge is polished very well, while the micro-saw remains roughly consistent with the grit.

here's aluminum oxide

The stone works quickly, but gets clogged quite easily.

It's also very easy to clean. During sharpening, you can spray it with water from a spray bottle, and after sharpening, if desired, simply swirl it on a glass surface with its own suspension.

Selling 2 Altstone Rin splash and go stones. I got these after seeing togi dojo's video on these. They just aren't what I expected and needed when tested them out. I was mainly trying to used them for bevel polishing and they are just a bit streaky. But they are great for edges! Which I really don't need more stones just for edges. So if anyone is looking for something to add to their progression these are pretty decent for normal sharpening. They are on the harder side but they cut pretty fast. The 3k comes with a nagura.

If you have not heard about Altstone, they are owned by Suehiro. And this is the Rin line which is a little pricier than their soaker line. They are 180 × 60 × 20 mm (7.09" × 2.36" × 0.79") So smaller than a bench stone.

here is a review done by EdgeWorks

https://youtu.be/okD2J225xzw?si=ojScIyaH9IqDCk-H

These sell for $45 and $50 on amazon.

I am selling for $65 shipped for both conus only. Zelle or paypal f&f. Don't want to split them due to doubling shipping fees.

Cleaning the Boride T2 stones after/during sharpening - bar keepers friend and a nylon brush or King Japanese Nagura Stone #8000?

First attempt at using a 100x macro lens to check my work. Aus10 steel. Atoma 400 > king 1k > kuromaku 3k > 6k natural stone. Finished with leather strop loaded with 1 micron diamond emulsion. Fully freehand. Any comments or suggestions welcome.

Anybody using, or has used, Sean Freese's HollowPro mod for the Nebraska? If so, I'd be interested to hear your impressions of it.

Alternately, has anybody used a different mod or add-on for the Nebraska to improve accuracy and repeatability?

I'm starting to see a lot more clipper blades in my business, which is great, but I'm wondering if there's a way to streamline sharpening on my Nebraska.

Thanks!

And does it matter, unless you are going for a polish/mirror?

FWIW, I moved a roll of shop towels inside and started changing the towel with every stone on one today.

It does seem cleaner in the scratch pattern.