How do you rate your sharpening skills?

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chinacats said:
I find sound to be almost equally important to my sharpening.
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This is an interesting comment, care to elaborate more...
eg, on 'ways to use the sound' to listen to the edge?

cheers
 
I, too, would rate my sharpening ability better than most people that I know but on the middle to low end of forum members. Seems every time I think I master something, I notice something else I need to work on. But that's at least half the fun of sharpening.
 
You listen/feel the vibrations on metal. This helps for .1 or 3. for exemple.

But ears lie, our memory can not remember accurately what you did the whole last minute.
I guess only eyes comes to control. The time stopped, you can watch the whole blade. And you can see the sum of the vibrations that came on the blade.


I use to design hi-fi turntables, these are like vibration machines to sum up.
Sometimes we did modifications based on the listening sessions only without measure, they often failed or made us lose much time.
 
zitangy said:
Most people just use their eyes.. as their main input or feedback source. I noticed that those who excells in their field of endeavour ,instinctly.. use all their 5 senses whenever possible. The better ones hv 2 or 3 senses heightened... Some only use their eyes only.. and it is indeed tragic.... when they look but do not see..., touch but cannot or do not feel....

Generally...a heightened sense of touch/ feel.. or any of yr senses which can be developed over time... gives you an advantage in anything yu do.... so feel it

Just my observations...
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This. For consistent results, it's important to have the same amount/thickness of slurry on your stone when you start with a knife. While you can read the slurry tactilely, or by sight, I find it's more accurate to taste it. Your tongue is more sensitive than your fingers in this kind of situation. I usually try to aim for a texture that's like a thick cream of mushroom soup (where the mushrooms were just picked and not cleaned of the grit), blended in a vitamix for 20 seconds.
 
I'm going to assume that Ian is making a parody here.

ianbiringer said:
This. For consistent results, it's important to have the same amount/thickness of slurry on your stone when you start with a knife. While you can read the slurry tactilely, or by sight, I find it's more accurate to taste it. Your tongue is more sensitive than your fingers in this kind of situation. I usually try to aim for a texture that's like a thick cream of mushroom soup (where the mushrooms were just picked and not cleaned of the grit), blended in a vitamix for 20 seconds.
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panda said:
you want to hear consistent sound, not change pitch or loudness.
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Thanks, this is a more useful tip (at my level of experience anyway) than listening for a particular sound. My carbon steel knives sound different on the stones than the ones with PM steels, and blade size can affect this too. But a consistent sound during the sharpening is something I can aim for.

I've also been working on a progression from heavier pressure to lighter strokes on each stone, in three discrete steps. There is a change in volume there, but again I can aim for consistent sound at each pressure level.
 
panda said:
you want to hear consistent sound, not change pitch or loudness.
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Also, the sound will change when you begin to hit the edge. Eventually you'll use multiple senses together...if the sound changes then look and feel...you'll begin to notice how all your senses tell you what is happening.

Parrafin, I'd work on light, lighter and almost no pressure...save heavy pressure for after you develop your touch.
 
chinacats said:
Parrafin, I'd work on light, lighter and almost no pressure...save heavy pressure for after you develop your touch.
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Right, I wasn't clear with that. The "heavier pressure to lighter strokes" starts with fairly light pressure. And yeah, almost none at the end.
 
People talk about using all senses in sharpening. Well, I used to smoke and as a consequence I would take a 'smoke break', which in turn led to having stone mud on my filter and I can assure you that taste is not a part of sharpening that I intend to expand upon. Most natural stones smell fairly good in use but taste does not seem to follow suit. (It was Monzen-to mud for those curious...)

So folks, wash your hands before and after your smoke break!
 
I certainly found that unless you have an EXTREMELY sturdy table or bench to work on, making a sharpening pond that you can comfortably use cross legged ON THE FLOOR has more benefits than just hipster credit :)
 
LifeByA1000Cuts said:
I certainly found that unless you have an EXTREMELY sturdy table or bench to work on, making a sharpening pond that you can comfortably use cross legged ON THE FLOOR has more benefits than just hipster credit :)
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If I sat cross legged on the floor to sharpen a knife,when I got done,somebody would have to help me up.I'll leave that kind of stuff for Kevin at Korin.:wink:
 
My point was, the floor is much more unlikely to rock with the stone and bash the stone back into your edge than the average tabletop...
 
LifeByA1000Cuts said:
I certainly found that unless you have an EXTREMELY sturdy table or bench to work on, making a sharpening pond that you can comfortably use cross legged ON THE FLOOR has more benefits than just hipster credit :)
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Yeah, my island does not move...I would never get back off the floor if I sat like that.
 
LucasFur said:
Only people that i have met better than I are Jude, Jon, and Jeremy. And each has had a sacrificial knife where they have thinned too much, sharpened too acute, and generally ruined a knife to know what to look out for and to get the most out of their knives. I have not ruined a knife yet, soon, soon though.

Fun thought, Some sharpening markers or "check points" you need to experience.
*Double edged knife Edition*
0. Understanding that sharpening/ polishing is a removal process.
1. Make a truely sharp edge, Micro-bevel allowed, (insert cutting paper test)
2. Create a perfectly even bevel on both sides. (able to hold constant angle, understanding Burrs)
3. Make a exceptionally sharp edge with no mico-bevel. (insert bob kramer round magazine paper cut test // Cutting paper towel) ( able to hold very acute angle, able to "touch up a knife" on finishing stone easily)
4.Thin a knife, make it better then what it was by a significant margin while keeping its original proportions. Polish it to a mirror (compounds allowed) / Level 4.5 polish with Finger stones
5. Fix something Damaged on your knife, wonky steering issues, Tip, Grind problems, etc. (knife assessment and knowledge to enhance properly)
6. Create a fantastically even finish on both sides of a wide bevel (beta Togi)
7. Fix steel road on wide bevel so its straight no waves. (see Kiriba / Shinogi Line) & polish Hamaguri edge so its even through out the blade.
8. Make Finger stones/ polish Japanese style (3 ways) / Slice a pig in one swipe.
9. Able to do ALL the above.
10. Able to ALL the above blind-folded, on touch alone.
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Fantastic post. Thx
 
@zetieum maybe it is a matter of accepting "OK, what I done to that knife leaves it in that and that usable state, with a caveat. Let's use it until next sharpening is due. It might be thick, I shall mince. It might be too thin, I shall draw slice. Sharpen, repeat."
 
i still have the phone number of the guy that shows up in a van to sharpen knives. :( just in case. :D
 
boomchakabowwow said:
i still have the phone number of the guy that shows up in a van to sharpen knives. :( just in case. :D
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TFW Bob Kramer ;)

Kramer has been approached by dozens of professional chefs ...mostly during his six-year stint as a knife sharpener—a business he once operated out of the back of an old bread truck.
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HRC_64 said:
TFW Bob Kramer ;)
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haha.

coincidentally, it is a Kramer youtube video that really helped me sharpen. he is the ONLY guy that i found that talked about how hard you press the knife down onto the stone. IIRC: 3lbs.

he even mentioned pushing down on a kitchen scale to get the feel of what 3lbs feels like. it was a turning point for me, for sure.
 
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