That is the $64,000 question isn’t it?
Well the answer is certainly not as simple as some seem to want to make it. There are a wide range of systems and formulaic methods for sharpening that people seem hell-bent on convincing us all to buy or use. For me producing an edge that I could shave with is almost a spiritual thing. I know there are a lot of people out there who will laugh at that. But, think of it this way, the perfect cutting edge is one which consists of two faces of metal which come together at an angle and the resultant “ridge” is thin enough to cut through between the molecules of a material. If I could create a sharp enough edge from a material with small enough particles I could cut anything. Of course, not being a physicist or chemist I don’t need to concern myself with atoms and molecules. What I’m interested in is will the edge of my tools cut through wood and leave a lovely smooth surface behind. Will it cut as thin a sliver as I want it too and will it do that all day without getting dull.
I strive for an edge in which I cannot see or feel any imperfections. I’m looking for two absolutely smooth faces that slide towards each other to create a thing of beauty.
So, how do I do it? Well the simple answer is to use hard flat surfaces for all sharpening and honing. Many people use strops and I’ve seen many posts and comments from people on Facebook and others who espouse stropping edges as being the way to go. No! I say.
As soon as you start rubbing your newly sharpened blade up and down any surface that is soft enough to deform you will start to round off your edge, a rounded edge is a blunt edge.
My sharpening preferences are to use flat hard sharpening stones and I don’t really mind whether they are stone, ceramic or diamond. I use a cheap India oilstone for my coarse sharpening or a diamond bench stone if I want to take off more metal quicker.
Once I’ve got the two planes of the edge in more or less the right angles and fairly uniform, then it’s time to get more precise. I now move onto an arkansas stone, one of the hard, fine grit ones. I’ll spend a lot of time working the edge on this. Some might say I’m a little obsessive about it.
After this the edge will be incredibly sharp and will easily take the hair off an arm or leg.
Now it’s time to hone it to perfection. I use a large flat slate slab. It’s actually a piece of “honed” slate wall tile. It’s a very fine grained stone and actually quite soft, it polishes the edge of the knife rather than sharpening it. The slate will create a mirror polished edge and my knives end up scarily sharp. I have no idea what grade the slate is but I do know it works.
Of course I haven’t even touched on the angle of approach or whether you push the blade or pull it. These are kind of where the hands and the feel take over. The common wisdom is the a knife edge should have a 22degree angle between it’s two faces.
Personally I don’t care much for whether my knives have a 22, 30 or 10 degree angle. I go with the angle that feels right.
The edge of a knife has to cut what you need to cut. As long as it cuts well and performs the way you want it to what does the angle matter?
I use a shallow angle which I reckon is around 15 to 18 degrees. That means I get very sharp but quite delicate edges. That’s ok though because I look after my knives and I can accept the fact that they aren’t screwdrivers or crowbars.
One thought on that last point, if you want to cut something use a knife. If the knife isn’t big enough then use an axe. But if you want to lever or unscrew something, DON’T ABUSE YOUR KNIFE!! Buy a screwdriver or a crowbar…
Carved by Trev 