Yanagi sharpening questions

[Staystrapped]

Good day,

im a new sharpener and have a few questions that I’m sure will be easily answered here.The blade face on my yanagi has areas that don’t seem to touch the stone. Should I grind it flat with a course stone?

 

[DHunter86]

Hi, it depends on whether they are lowspots, or whether it's a whole strip on the blade.

If they are low spots, you could either grind it flat in one go, or flatten it out with time, assuming it's not at the edge.

If it's a whole section of the blade, then it's probably due to the fact that it's a hamaguri grind, and you'll slowly flatten it out over many sharpening sessions. It'd help if you colored it in with a sharpie, do a quick sharpen, and share some photos of the spots that aren't hitting the stone.

If you haven't watched this already, I'd recommend this video from JKI for more info:

 

[Qapla']

Also, check if the entire blade is in fact straight. If the blade is warped, that's a separate type of problem.

 

[dafox]

Could also be that the bevel face was ground on a stone sharpening wheel leaving a concave surface.

 

[Staystrapped]

Thank you all for the replies, it’s three distinct dime size areas on the blade. Granted it’s a cheap 68$ Masahiro. I’ll try to sharpen it and take photos. I can tell you it seemed very sharp after my initial session. I ordered a king 300 to see if I can grind it out.

 

[Staystrapped]

I did watch that video prior to sharpening and followed those steps. I actually got a decent finish besides those few spots. I’m sharpening with a suheiro cerax 1000/3000 combo and a cheap amazon 6000. Adding a king 300

 

[Unstoppabo]

Grinding out those low spots on the hira/flats is easiest to do with sand paper. A lot of work upfront but it's a onetime thing and once you've ground it flat, it should stay that way. Skip the 6k and buy a rika! Add a kitayama if you want to finish at a higher grit. Both are very reasonably priced.

 

[Staystrapped]

I already have the cheap amazon stones a 400/1000 and 3000/6000 I got them to sharpen my moraknives that get hard use. Then I added the suheiro when I got the yanagi.
I will get the kitayama 8000 In the near future.

I wouldn’t recommend the suheiro combo, I thought it would be the same 1000 as the stand alone cerax 1000 but it seems very soft especially if you over soak it. But it’s what I have and works fairly well.

 

[Nemo]

G'day.

Cheaper single bevels often have uneven grinds which will frustrate an accomplished hamiguriba sharpener and will be quite frustrating to learn on.

Pictures might help here, but it does sound like you are describing low spots in the grind. If so, I'd personally leave them alone -they will eventually sharpen out and you will waste a lot of stone and steel (and time) getting them out. I'd focus more on maintaining an even shinogi line.

 

[Staystrapped]

Thank you for the response

I bought the knife with learning in mind I plan to rehandle it and polish the face above the shinogi

 

[Staystrapped]

Not the best pics but you can see the uneven spots on the hira

 

[zizirex]

Not the best pics but you can see the uneven spots on the hira

what do you mean is not flat on Kireha? it's common for a single bevel knife, esp at a lower price point.

 

[Staystrapped]

Good to know thank you

 

[zizirex]

Uneven Kireha is easier to be fixed, but to make sure it's fixed properly you need to know that if the knife is straight. Sometimes cheaper SB is not straight and worse, it is warped and twisted. so do your research first before continue removing material.

 

[Staystrapped]

Thank you

 

[Staystrapped]

I can say that after king 320, cerax 1000,3000 progression it is adequately sharp.