Thoughts on thinning process?

[tbott]

Hello good people of KKF!

I was wondering if anybody could offer some pointers on the thinning process. I have a Konosuke Fuji in white #2 which I've had trouble getting really sharp for the longest time. I decided to try and thin a bit behind the edge and the cutting performance improved dramatically, so it's nice to claim a bit of success. However, the problem is the job just looks like sh*t. I did it with my Chosera 1000 (good choice? bad choice?), and it left it a bit scratchy. Now I suppose I know to polish behind the edge as well.

But I suppose my real question is this: does anybody have any advice/tricks for keeping a consistent angle when maintaining it that low? Though I was trying, I struggled to maintain my thinning angle consistent throughout, which lead to a kind of ugly wavy line behind the edge. Frankly, I'm not really much of a perfectionist, all my knives are for work and get beat on hours a day, so what I care mostly about is cutting performance, but I can't help but think performance would improve a bit with more consistent tune-ups anyways. As usual, any help is greatly appreciated.

T

 

[brainsausage]

Check out Jon's vids on youtube. All of them.

 

[brainsausage]

Sorry, I forget that not everybody knows who Jon is. This might help: http://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLEBF55079F53216AB&v=3jsTtnidY3w

 

[ThEoRy]

You can just buff out the scratches with wet dry automotive sandpaper and micromesh pads.

 

[JDA_NC]

Call me weird, but I think a scratched up knife is a good thing. I don't see much a point of polishing out all the scratches with sandpaper etc if you're using your knives for work. They're going to get scratched again and you're going to be sharpening/thinning often anyways. I take it as a sign you are active in caring for and maintaining your knives.

I don't have a Chosera 1000 but you might want to consider investing in a coarser stone. It'd save you time & help extend your Chosera's lifespan. There are a lot of options but I absolutely love my Gesshin 400. It feels great, cuts extremely, extremely quick, and leaves a nice even scratch pattern/finish that isn't hard to make look good with other stones. Just a thought.

 

[Geo87]

I guess it just depends if you care about the scratches. If you don't like them get rid of them. But you don't have to take it all the way to mirror polish... Mirror polish would have some stiction issues. Just stop at a lower grit wet & dry where your happy with the look. I can completely understand wanting to remove wavy sharpening scratches. Please note thinning angles are pretty hard to hold if your using an extremely low angle. You would not be the first or last to scratch the face when thinning.

 

[rick alen]

The Gesshin 400 is a great stone and worth the money, but if you intend to be ordering anything from CKTG, a Beston 500 is very good and $30 less. You'll do a far better thinning job with either one as you will be able to create a much steeper angle, at least in 20 min as compared to probably 20 hours with the 1000 for the same result.

I personally go for .010" just behind the edge, but I've gone done to .005 on something like a pairing knife. But .012-14 isn't bad. Of course you'd need a micrometer, vernier caliper, or precise snap gauge if you're going to be measuring that. Places like Harbor Freight, WT Tool, etc, have such for less than $25 shipped.