Progression -How long time did it take u 2 get satisfying results?

Hey

Just recived my japanese carbon knife and sharpening stones First thing i did was beating and dulling my knife, to attempt to sharpen in. I manage to get not the worst result, it could barely shave armhair. I guess its an art getting the razor sharp edge? I didnt flattened or break in the stones at first, dunno if that matters?
How long did it take u guys getting results you were happy with?

Sharpening is not a one stop shop. This is a journey not a destination. You're definition of "happy with it " will be yours and yours alone. Everyone has their own idea of what is right and wrong. Hence all the different opinions on here from a lot of great folks. You will know it when you hit your sweet spot. I stress YOUR sweet spot for sharp. There are so many types of edges and so many variations. There is no ONE sharp enough. Or too sharp. Just keep plugging away until YOU are happy.

you dont want razor sharp, you want knife sharp meaning for cutting food.

panda said:

you dont want razor sharp, you want knife sharp meaning for cutting food.

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Good point. Does he want to drop thru a grape with no weight and the edge not last as long or one with slightly more weight yet the edge lasts longer? This entire edge debate is almost as bad as the jnat rabbit hole. LOL. So many options.

Friends come over and use my blades and it still amazes me how every person will choose a different blade ( with a different edge ) to do the same task. I should add my friends are starting to get into the "sharp" kitchen knife phase so when they come over we have fun with it and experiment.

The first thing I do with a brand new out of the box knife is test the factory edge. See how cleanly it cuts paper. And how many weeks the factory edge will last. Then brag about how my sharpened edge is better than the knife maker's factory edge.

I'm relatively new and the first time I sharpened my knife I got pretty bad results. However about 6 or so sharpennings later it takes me significantly less time and I'm able to get a satisfactory result.

I don't think it's taken me so much time to get satisfying results but getting them faster. When I started it felt awkward when I was sharpening edge towards me so I switched hands. Ended up working through it on the same hand because it was just so much cleaner doing so. Still feels a little awkward but I get by

it took me a few years before i got consistent results, it was always a crap shoot lol

4-5 attempts to feel comfortable getting a good working edge. Another 10 more attempts to get a shaving sharp result inconsistently; making sure the wire edge is fully removed. Consistency still alludes me but progressing step by step. Thinning is important to learn too. My longest lasting edges and best sharpness usually comes after thinning.

To me, every sharpening better than the last is a satisfactory result. When my sharpening skills were crap, sharpening something to a-little-less-crap was a success.
In my opinion that's what you should be aiming for - get the basics down, and then try and reach the same level or better each time - try and find aspects of your sharpening technique that you would like to improve and focus on those.
Also take note that possibly even more important than the sharpness is that you sharpen evenly and don't change the profile of the knife much. This would be a real pain to fix, and especially so for a beginner.

Bobblybook said:

Also take note that possibly even more important than the sharpness is that you sharpen evenly and don't change the profile of the knife much. This would be a real pain to fix, and especially so for a beginner.

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+1 -- excellent advice. Knowing what you want to change and not change on your knife is really the first step. Sometimes all you want to do is touch up a factory edge, and other times you might need to change the profile, fix chips, correct asymmetry, address an over grind, etc.

Which knife is involved? Have you used the marker trick?

Benuser said:

Have you used the marker trick?

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most important advice indeed, especially for a beginner.

use the marker trick -- use the marker trick -- use the marker trick -- use the marker trick -- use the marker trick -- use the marker trick -- use the marker trick -- use the marker trick

In doubt: use the marker trick
even if you are confortable: use the marker trick
Drunk or sober: use the marker trick
big knives, small knives: use the marker trick
night and day: use the marker trick

If you do not have a marker: do not sharpen

unprofessional_chef said:

The first thing I do with a brand new out of the box knife is test the factory edge. See how cleanly it cuts paper. And how many weeks the factory edge will last

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I do this too to give me an idea of what I can expect out of the knife and if I want to alter it on the stones in any way.

Also, for brand new synthetic stones I find that they work best if you've a) flattened them and b) lapped off the outermost layer of stone to expose untouched grit right away before ever using them.

Depending on the knife and the state of the edge, if zero thinning is involved it takes me anywhere between 10 and 30 mins from ass dull to finished and deburred properly, if I'm taking my time to actually enjoy it..plus a few cold ones

More than a year before i got consistent results.

Because i am no professional, i asked friends and neighbours to give me their knives for sharpening. By now i think i sharpened 200+ knives. I feel quite confident now but still have failures in between.

I use a lot coarser stones now than i started with, i find it much easier to get consistent results if you minimize the sharpening time and focus on precision.

This entire thread is making me question how well I did this past weekend. I thought it was pretty straight forward. Watched a video and figured it out. Able to push cut paper with my final edges.

The knives weren't completely dull to begin with so maybe I'll find a really dull one and see how it goes.

nevrknow said:

Sharpening is not a one stop shop. This is a journey not a destination. You're definition of "happy with it " will be yours and yours alone. Everyone has their own idea of what is right and wrong. Hence all the different opinions on here from a lot of great folks. You will know it when you hit your sweet spot. I stress YOUR sweet spot for sharp. There are so many types of edges and so many variations. There is no ONE sharp enough. Or too sharp. Just keep plugging away until YOU are happy.

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Exactly. Well put 👍

I think I spend about ten hours before I got the knife sharper at the end of each sharpening. Then I started sharpening for neighbors and everyone. Becoming quicker and more consistent as the number of knives fixed got by. I think I felt really confident and started charging money after appeox 200 knives. This did not include polishing or making pretty wide bevels. That is a whole new chapter. If sharpening really grabs you, you will always have another level to strive for. I love that part 😀
- Kim

It really depends on what you mean. For many, the sharpening itself is the hobby and those people tend to chase the perfect edge. Or rather the perfect edge for the given situation. They also chase specific cosmetic finishes and may use natural stones. I rather enjoy this aspect of sharpening so for me, I may never be happy. From a utility standpoint I was happy after probably a few dozen sharpening or maybe a few months. That is to say that I could take a dull edge and make it at least somewhat sharper. Maybe a few more months before that became consistent and I still learn things to this day and think I will for quite some time.

zetieum said:

most important advice indeed, especially for a beginner.

use the marker trick -- use the marker trick -- use the marker trick -- use the marker trick -- use the marker trick -- use the marker trick -- use the marker trick -- use the marker trick

In doubt: use the marker trick
even if you are confortable: use the marker trick
Drunk or sober: use the marker trick
big knives, small knives: use the marker trick
night and day: use the marker trick

If you do not have a marker: do not sharpen

Click to expand...

The reason for insisting on the marker trick is you may work for hours with too fine a stone just behind the edge, with no result. Because of an overly convexed edge, or a micro-bevel you haven't seen.

I started about 9 months ago and am just starting to get some pretty good results, though I'm still somewhat inconsistent, and Im certainly nowhere near the level of many of the people on this forum. For the first 7 months I had no good instruction and just practiced on my own and my family's old western style knives. I pretty quickly got functional results but definitely nothing impressive. For the past couple months I've used Jon's videos and advice on this forum and have gotten much better pretty quickly. If you start here you'll probably move faster than me.

Honestly though, just make sure its fun and you enjoy the process. If you enjoy it and keep working on it you'll eventually get good results.

Depends how you like to learn, mastering sharpening on your own can take a long time, with the right advise and trouble shooting you might get excellent results much faster. I spend about a year before I got satisfactory consistent results i think