I thought this might encourage the newer, more inexperienced sharpeners. I've been sharpening for about 2 years. I only had 1 knife up until fairly recently, so I haven't practiced a lot. I've been able to make the edge on my Miyabi Kaizen sharper than when I began each session--up until recently. My edges were not so good after a few sessions over the winter. I kept reading the forum and kept working at it until my edges were at least usable.
Today however, I touched up my new Gesshin Uraku 240 for the first time. I was a bit nervous because I wanted the edge that Jon put on to last as long as possible and considering my less than stellar results from previous sessions, I was a bit apprehensive. I went for it. I used the sharpie trick and proceeded SLOWLY. I used my Rika 5000 and to my delight, I could actually feel the bevel on the stones for the first time. When I checked my work, sure enough--I was hitting the bevels that Jon had set. This was very encouraging and I finished my short session and my edge was very good--probably my best to date! I went ahead and touched up the Miyabi as well and had equal results.
Lessons learned: Don't panic. Take your time. Allow yourself to learn--mistakes are no problem with the right attitude. Walk away when frustrated and come back later. Keep learning and be confident that you'll improve over time. Anyway, I hope this helps some of you. Thanks to everyone on this forum.
Today however, I touched up my new Gesshin Uraku 240 for the first time. I was a bit nervous because I wanted the edge that Jon put on to last as long as possible and considering my less than stellar results from previous sessions, I was a bit apprehensive. I went for it. I used the sharpie trick and proceeded SLOWLY. I used my Rika 5000 and to my delight, I could actually feel the bevel on the stones for the first time. When I checked my work, sure enough--I was hitting the bevels that Jon had set. This was very encouraging and I finished my short session and my edge was very good--probably my best to date! I went ahead and touched up the Miyabi as well and had equal results.
Lessons learned: Don't panic. Take your time. Allow yourself to learn--mistakes are no problem with the right attitude. Walk away when frustrated and come back later. Keep learning and be confident that you'll improve over time. Anyway, I hope this helps some of you. Thanks to everyone on this forum.