Knife sharpening

[ehb102]

Asking the question here because there are a lot of folk knowledgeable about knives.

Please would anyone be able to advise me what grit I should look for in a oilstone to sharpen a decent kitchen Sabatier? My oilstone is apparently very fine, which is why I can't get the edge on it that I know that knives can hold.

Many thanks in advance for sharing your wisdom. 

[rovercoupe]

Dont know about oilstones but water stones for General sharpening are 1000 and 6000, 

been using fine wet and dry on a offcut of granite worktop to sharpen plane plades recently and they have been the sharpest i have ever got them. Think they were grade 800, 1000, 1500

[johnnytheboy]

My sharpening stones are 600 and 1200 and they get a mirror edge

 

 

[bigman]

Is there any chipping to the edge of the blade ? If so you'll need something between 200-300 grit for fast removal of steel and establish a new bevel 

then move to 600 grit to hone the new edge then onto 1000g if you like it hair popping sharp , a good stropping on leather with blue compound completes the job 

Ill add I use diamond plates by dmt myself , there superb 

Edited January 4, 2018 by bigman

[Wb123]

I do mine at 600 then 1000 and stop there (but do strop my opinels a little further with medium grinding paste to bic razor sharp). My brother starts with 1000, works in small increments to 6000 then uses a few different levels of polishing paste on glass, then leather....

 

What kind of edge do you want?

[ehb102]

Just now, bigman said:

Is there any chipping to the edge if the blade ? If so you'll need something between 200-300 grit for fast removal of steel and establish a new bevel 

then move to 600 grit to hone the new edge then onto 1000g if you like it hair popping sharp , a good stropping on leather with blue compound completes the job 

 

No, no chipping. I look after my knives and have been lucky so far. So 600 grit and then a finer one for a final sharpen? I will look at stropping, I never considered it before.

 

3 minutes ago, Wb123 said:

What kind of edge do you want?

 Sharp enough not to hurt if you cut yourself :-) I'd rather have a deep clean cut from a sharp knife than a shallow cut from a blunt knife. 

[Wb123]

1 minute ago, ehb102 said:

No, no chipping. I look after my knives and have been lucky so far. So 600 grit and then a finer one for a final sharpen? I will look at stropping, I never considered it before.

 

 Sharp enough not to hurt if you cut yourself :-) I'd rather have a deep clean cut from a sharp knife than a shallow cut from a blunt knife. 

Try the diamond dust plates, cheap and stay flat. I think I paid £3.50 for one in1000 grit including shipping. At that price you can get a few different grades and experiment, i also have a bit of leather on some board with green paste.

[ehb102]

3 minutes ago, Wb123 said:

Try the diamond dust plates, cheap and stay flat. I think I paid £3.50 for one in1000 grit including shipping. At that price you can get a few different grades and experiment, i also have a bit of leather on some board with green paste.

Thanks, I am looking at those as I can't find an oilstone in 600 grit at the moment. Still searching. I'm old fashioned, I like carborundum. 

[Walker570]

Cannot add further to the excellent advice above.

[grrclark]

Have a look at Axminster.co.uk or Rutlands.co.uk Liz, they generally have a decent range of sharpening stones, whether oil or water stones.

[ehb102]

4 hours ago, grrclark said:

Have a look at Axminster.co.uk or Rutlands.co.uk Liz, they generally have a decent range of sharpening stones, whether oil or water stones.

Axminster have it I think, thank you. I can find medium/fine stones cheaply but not coarse oilstones.

I am being very tempted by the variety. Keep seeing things and thinking "ooh, good idea!" Like this: http://www.rutlands.co.uk/sp+knives-knife-maintenance-knife-sharpeners-hand-held-sharpeners-hunting-kitchen-knife-sharpener-work-sharp+wsgfs

Shame Christmas has just gone :-(

[Fatcatsplat]

Cheap option would be to get some wet and dry and use that, coarse to fine to see if that works. A fine oilstone should work quite happily on a Sabatier (it does on mine), but just take a little longer to get the edge. Is it your technique? Worth looking at a few (Non American) youtube videos on sharpening blades 

[grrclark]

20 hours ago, Fatcatsplat said:

Cheap option would be to get some wet and dry and use that, coarse to fine to see if that works. A fine oilstone should work quite happily on a Sabatier (it does on mine), but just take a little longer to get the edge. Is it your technique? Worth looking at a few (Non American) youtube videos on sharpening blades 

Wet and dry spray mounted onto a piece of granite or even glass so it is flat is a fantastic option to get a great edge and cheap as chips too.

[welshwarrior]

I use a Lansky system with all my knife including the sabbati kitchen knife 600, 800 1200 leather strop and they are lovely and sharp but also hold the edge welll 

[Dunkield]

For hunting knives I never use anything finer than a Lansky medium, as I feel that a very slightly ragged edge helps starting the cut through fur and skin.

Do the folks who for the finely polished edge use those for hunting or more bushcraft type applications? just curious

[welshwarrior]

I use mine for hunting as well as the kitchen knife and work tools. 

[haynes]

It might not be the grit that's the problem. It could be the angle. you might need to regrind some of the meat from the bit behind the cutting edge ie 2mm back. If its been poorly sharpend in the past. Then the working edge can be re honed with the correct angle on it. Too many knives ive seen have only been steeled and the edge is too fat to get sharp. With my chisels I often take some meat from behind the blade with a belt sander. Careful not to get too hot. Then put the 25 degree edge on with a 600 grit diamond stone. 

[ehb102]

Thanks for the input. My coarse/fine oilstone arrived and is just what is needed. Does in three strokes what the medium would do in six to eight. I use a lot of knives in my kitchen and I like them professionally sharp.

My technique is fine, thanks for the thought. I confirmed it was the stone when the friend who does my knives occasionally as a favour tried using my stone. 

[Walker570]

On 15/01/2018 at 11:37, Dunkield said:

For hunting knives I never use anything finer than a Lansky medium, as I feel that a very slightly ragged edge helps starting the cut through fur and skin.

Do the folks who for the finely polished edge use those for hunting or more bushcraft type applications? just curious

Over many years of unzipping large animals I have also found that slightly ragged edge helps with the greasy, gristly stuff.   Recently given a Havalon which uses surgically sharpened blades. Useless, gone back to my old Buck. HOWEVER, it is of course based on your needs, unzipping an 8-10yr old wild boar or thinly slicing onions prior to frying.

 

on edit. If I can't cut my steak with a blunt knife then it ain't worth eating

Edited January 16, 2018 by Walker570