Sharpening techninques

[paulraphael]

Does anyone have opinions about the information on this site?

http://users.ameritech.net/knives/

I'm especially curious about

-the use of angle guides on stones

-the woodworker's trick of using sandpaper mounted to glass, wood, or a mousepad

Thoughts?

[Joe Blowe]

Did you search the author's name? It's come up before

[Octaveman]

I've seen this sight before and it has some good information but for users of wetstones, there's not a whole lot that applies. I've never read the entire thing but there wasn't a whole lot to learn from that I didn't get elsewhere. Regarding the guides they would be fine if one was concerned about keeping the same angle manually. But there are a few issues. Like I don't think you can get the acute angles needed for Japanese knives, would be cumbersome to work with having to constantly move the guide down the length of the knife after a few strokes which loses any momentum built up, couldn't work the whole stone due to it's size. Regarding the sandpaper mounted to glass, that's a very good way to sharpen knives. Many people use the 3M paper mounted to granite slabs or glass plates and can get very good results. Here is a link to the paper to use. Sharpening on a mousepad is also another way to go. I've never done it but from what I remember people saying, it's great for making a convex edge.

Edited October 11, 2007 by Octaveman (log)

[paulraphael]

I just realized that I read about the mousepad trick here in the EG sharpening tutorial. Steve Bottorff's site only seems to mention sandpaper on wood or glass, so sorry for any confusion.

As far as you know, do the people who use sandpaper use as a substitute for waterstones, or in addition to them? I'd be curious to know what the pros and cons are.

Also if the pros and cons of the kind of convex edge you'd get from stropping on a mousepad.

[Octaveman]

Sorry, Paul, I've used wetstones exclusively and can't recall what I've read on knife forums regarding the use of the sharpening films. I suggest potsing this on KF or FF as those people have direct experience and can answer any question you may have.

[JimH]

Paul, I use the sandpaper trick on my chisels but I use the Lansky system for my knives.

[paulraphael]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I'll take a look at those other forums. I hae a gatco system (looks a lot like the lansky) .. it works, but I think I'd like something with a bigger surface to work with.

[_john]

I use sandpaper and finish with 3M #4000 on top of mouse pad like material to get a convex grind. I use marble and the same paper for my Japanese knives. It works great, is cheap, and very easy to do. In my mind all other methods are a huge waste of cash. the convex grind FAQ