I recently started honing my knives. It went very well. Been using a 300/600 diamond plate. And then stropping on some poly "linen" Anyway pal of mine uses a 1x30 belt sander and finishes on white compound on leather same size as the belt. I have the same sander from my scale making days. Gave it a shot. Very fast. And wicked sharp edge. I don't think I will free hand.one again. There are more than a few videos on YouTube. I'm not saying anybody shouldn't free hand them. But I'm saying I will not. Lol. I don't think I spent 4 minutes on the first one. It was a beater stainless cheap knife that was dull as a spoon. I used 600 to 1k AO belt. And white compound on a leather belt that was 1x30.
Knife honing free hand. Why bother?
- Thread starter buca3152
- Start date
I spent decades chasing the perfect knife edge. I have owned nearly every honing machine, gadget and guide ever conceived, including a 100 or so various synth and natural stones. I have finally found the one that gets it done. Quick, easy and repeatable. The "Ken Onion" version of the "WorkSharp" belt sander with the belt grinder attachment.
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There's absolutely no doubt that using a power tool to sharpen/hone your knife is the fastest way to achieve a razor sharp edge. For me though, I get great personal satisfaction from doing it by hand.
I just purchased this as it was cheap on sale and an added 20% off coupon on top of that. I have not had time to unbox or use yet. Do I need the belt grinding attachment too? I got this to really cut done on grunt work on old knives and machetes to get them sharp and then just do touch ups with the stones. I do know that attachment has a power strop option.
I originally bought it without the belt grinder and it worked OK. After watching some videos, I bit the bullet on the belt grinder attachment and its a whole new ballgame. I also got the leather stropping belt and sprayed it with some CBN and WOW! I don't think knives can be any sharper. Becuase the belt flexes, you get a convex bevel which is very strong and won't sit well on flat stones. You won't bother with the stones, I guarantee it. I just bought the "Tool grinding" attachment for sharpening brush hooks and mower blades, but I haven't used it yet.
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- #6
I am a novice with knives for sure. But I haven't come close to the sharpness that I got so easily the first time on a belt sander. That tool looks tempting and it seems that it can be used on your kitchen table. As opposed to a my sander that is kind of dusted over with anything and everything I ever used to sand with it.
I’m with you Bill. I think I can put a descent edge on a razor. I suck at free handing knives.
I use a Spiderco triangle sharpener most of the time. Will have to try the 1x30 leather belt method.
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I use a Spiderco triangle sharpener most of the time. Will have to try the 1x30 leather belt method.
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You need a lot of body control to do a great job freehand. I have had good days where I have got my chef's knife shaving hair freehand and other days where I was just bum juice at it. Probably because I don't do nearly enough knives to get the muscle memory ideal
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- #9
Im sure with enough practice it can be pulled off. To me the fastest quickest way to accomplish this is what Im after. The convex edge is a good thing. I do have a speed control and did this all at low speed. Not sure I would want to run it full speed. But the videos on youtube havent mentioned doing this. I need to find some gold dollar chef knives to practice with, maybe buy 10 or so. LOL.
The ken onion is variable speed (down to a crawl) and you can lock it at any speed. Almost no learning curve. It worked as well the first time as it does after dozens of knives. Also it removes very little material, so its easy on your knives.
C'mon guys, you can do better than that. I remember calling one of Dan's secretaries a few years back about an angle guide for knives with Arkansas stones. She just laughed and said that it wasn't necessary, that they had weekend sessions with the kiddies that showed them how to hone free-hand and that that was enough. Put as much effort into honing knives as into hollow-ground razors, and I'm sure success will arrive.
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IMightBeWrong
Loves a smelly brush
Hand honing often seems more difficult due to the prominence of highly wear resistant stainless steels being used nowadays. I definitely think that fast cutting synthetics are the best for knives with really hard steels like this so that sharpening doesn’t take long. For example, I have a very fine Ozuku Asagi Koppa from CKTG that works great with an A2 steel knife I have that’s my go-to knife for outdoor activities. The same stone is a no go for my German stainless steel kitchen knife set, though, simply because it takes far too long to cut the steel. Same with my usual carry knife made with Elmax steel. Those knives don’t seem to like being finished on very fine stones, they prefer a diamond pasted paddle strop after coming off of about an 8K or so. Just gotta know your steels and the stones they like.
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- #13
I don't think it's difficult. It takes more time to do by hand and the result coming off a pasted strop is really wicked sharp. Is there a better edge than this? Maybe. My hand honing was good. The knives cut much better than they were. But to take a beater knife and be done so fast was well worth it. 600 to 1k belt to pasted strop. Boom. There's nothing wrong with hand honing knives is my point.
I have been free hand sharpening knives since I was a kid. It doesn't take me any more time than when using a belt grinder/sander for a quick touch-up of an undamaged edge. And those edges will shave my face with no irritation. I use a few strokes on a pasted strop for any final burr removal. Now for reprofiling, heavily neglected or damaged knives it is a totally different story. There the belt is King for sure.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
I will first state that I do not have any fancy knives. No artisanal stuff made by ancient masters. No super high tech stuff. Nothing with special magic metal or non metal. I don't have any kitchen knives that cost me over $10. I have a few higher tech pocket folders stuffed into drawers and boxes, but my two workhorse knives are my Buck 110 and a $5 stainless folder with shackle key and marlinspike. So please, no horrified gasps at my knife sharpening kit and method. I no longer use any stones nor any magical late night tv infomercial gadgets. I use a very nice pull through sharpener with 4 slots that Cabelas sells and it is the bee's knees. 5 seconds or so, 10 or 20 at the most, and it carries in my pocket when I am working. Colleagues are amazed at how sharp my Buck always is. Where someone else will cut a 12" nylon mooring line for splicing by taping and using a hacksaw, I gitter done with my pocketknife in 1/4 the time. The slightly toothy edge has a lot of cutting power and takes a fair amount of abuse. I use my thumb as a guide when pulling the blade through the slot, and it is pretty easy to keep it consistent that way. I never really liked pull throughs until I found this one. It, and my Buck 110, are an excellent, efficient match. And it handles my cheapie stainless cooking knives really well, too. If I had some $300 knives I might feel compelled to use what some would consider a more appropriate method of sharpening, so thank goodness I don't.
I assume you meant 1/2" not 12" mooring line? I push cut those in one shot against a block of wood, takes about a second. I am not very fond (to put it mildly) of the carbide tooth pull through sharpeners, but the ceramic ones are decent.
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- #17
I decided to try a knife at 220 grit on the belt sander. Deburred it. It cuts pretty well! Cuts paper no problem too. Toothy edge for general use like chopping veggies is fine and other kitchen use. A more refined edge does a better job. But it's certainly acceptable at that. Even for ripe tomatoes. The only decent knife I have is a Kuma. Japanese stainless I got on Amazon for $25. The "chef" here lol likes to chop on the counter at times and on ceramic plates. I do have a slew of cutting boards. But they aren't always used. Stainless is a must too. The dishwasher runs daily. And I don't feel like dealing with carbon and the rust that will certainly form. Push sharpeners I never had good results with. But like anything else I'm sure there are good ones and bad.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
No. 12". large rope is always measured in circumference. Small stuff is diameter. So about 4" diameter.
I freehand on stones as I enjoy it. A few stones cover all my sharpening needs.
A fairly large power tool which is noisy, potentially dangerous with lots of moving parts is not high on my list of wants.
Using a stone is kinda KISS to me but granted my needs are not particularly high, a few razors, kitchen knives and pen knives.
A fairly large power tool which is noisy, potentially dangerous with lots of moving parts is not high on my list of wants.
Using a stone is kinda KISS to me but granted my needs are not particularly high, a few razors, kitchen knives and pen knives.
Gotcha. Ever tried hot wire cutting? I try to use it whenever I can on nylon. No need to whip the line if you get it right.
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