What do you think about? The DMT. Diamond whetstone It's the fine one. Red And get a knife short. But not shaving Sharp Wonder what you thought about. Is it me or the stone? LOL Do I need a new stone? Thanks.
@@rogersmith6752 you can get a knife shaving sharp on a bathroom tile if you have the skill. Some stones are easier certainly but if you dont want to spend money on a new stone the one you have is probably just fine
@@csaszargyula1949 this TH-cam channel has a series of videos on sharpening where he specifically uses the bottom of a mug to consistently dull the knives before sharpening them against.
Great vid. Thank you! This is exactly what TH-cam is all about. I can’t tell you how many times I watch and rewatch your old sharpening vids. 99% of my sharpening ability comes directly from your tutorials. This one is an amazing addition. Again, thank you!
Thank you. I've been doing sharpening for a while, practicing and watching hundreds of tutorials. I got pretty decent but couldnt get my blades even to start shaving, but ultimately it's your videos that made that last missing puzzle piece fall into place and got me to my first shaving edge. Still working my way up to hair whittling, but I'll get there. Also, glad to see you back with another video. Salutations from Ukraine!
I have been on my own personal quest for the holy grail level of sharpness you indicate in this video. I watched, learned, ordered your strops/paste, and applied. I want to personally thank you, after trying every imaginable devise on the market, following your simple guidance I have attained for the first time in my life - "hair whittling sharp". It is such a joy and the deep feeling of satisfaction can not be overstated. For anyone considering this program, it is definitely attainable with very little practice. I am very happy!! Thank you sir!!
glad there are videos like this - i really don't want to spend a small fortune on a guided system - rather buy a cheap knife and practice - practice - practice... it also gives you bragging rights when you finally get it right
Dude, your videos are seriously awesome. You are a gifted teacher, and unlike soooo many other youtubers, you don't just like to hear yourself talk. I learn a lot, and I never feel the need to skip ahead. Once I begin your videos, I basically always watch the whole thing. Thanks for thr great content, and keep up the good work. Sorry it took me so long to realize I wasn't subscribed
I have absolutely no knife experience let alone sharpening them, as a 30 year old Alaskan lady, I thank you. Love your sense of humor too in your videos.
I got a worksharp guided system with the upgrade as a gift. Pros. Less skill needed as it pivots to accommodate the curve of the blade. Con is it’s small. 1/2 x 6 inch. (13 year old minds comment now). I’m 54 and I’ve been sharpening over 40 years man and boy and I’m so glad you make your vids. I’ve used a barbers strop forever and you, just now, got me to get another strop attachment for the worksharp. Brilliant. As a reference I have the motorized worksharp and can’t recommend that. Way to fast.
Been watching this for a while and finally tried it.. Never could do sharpening free hand before.. but OMG I made three blades razor sharp last night.. I know I need to practice more.. but awsome!
@@OUTDOORS55 probably worth mentioning that if you start with your imperial finger you get a left handed knife, start with your metric finger to get a right handed knife. 👍
I use the Naniwa Pro stones, 400 1000 and 3000 and a two sided strop with 1 and .25 micron diamond spray. I’m new to sharpening and may have gone a bit overboard and the stones but I like nice stuff. I’m still struggling to get shaving sharp edges, but my knives get plenty sharp for bushcrafting and food prep. Hopefully I’ll get to that elite sharpness soon. Thanks for the vids!
I doubt your still having this problem but I was having same problem with Norton stones and a knives plus strop block. I found a Lansky turn box I got when I was 11 with my first knife and had never used it in about a hour and a half I was producing a hair whittling edge. I now use it and a edge pro 220 grit I got glued to the side along with 2 strops one with green compound and one with .5 micron Diamond spray and I can produce a crazy sharp edge.
I'm a LOT slower at sharpening than this very streamlined technique, but I eventually work my edges up to a 0.1 micron stropping compound. In theory, my edges should be hair-whittling, but I'm totally bald, so I guess I'll never know for sure. :-(Loved the video!
New sharpener here, trying to use the best as to not waste money in the future. I've got a 325 grit diamond stone, 1200 grit diamond, DMT 3 micron diamond paste & DMT 1 micron diamond paste. I've been practising using a cheap 400/1000 diamond stone so I don't wear out my good ones with mistakes lol Thanks for the great videos, this helped a lot along with your stropping video!
I am currently using the Ken Onion version of the worksharp tool while i practice my free hand sharpening. The worksharp is easy tpo use and makes a super sharp knife with little to no skill required, which works well for me lol. I have bought the edgepro stones and made a strop as well from your earlier videos. I have had great success with the worksharp and DIY strop, the edgepros stones are more capable than myself at the moment but am working to get there.
Atoma 400 and 1200 diamond stone. Followed by Spyderco 302fine or a and 302ultrafine ( bought mainly for maintenance) and white/green compound double sided leather strop. All for my Japanese leather/skiving knives...which are all single bevel like a planing iron or chisel. Have a Spyderco 302medium on the way... cos I’ve been watching this channel
I don't have a knife sharpening setup. But I'm very interested in getting into sharpening my own knives, hence why I watched this video. I'm going to give your setup here a try after I order the stones. Thanks for the video.👍🏻
I have been sharpening my PM2 S110V on a handheld DMT medium and fine. I use my knife at work and even get it dull depending on what I use it for. The little DMT sharpens very well on this super steel. I only started stopping it after watching Cedric and Ada. On my D2 I just finished it on a pasted suade strop and then a smooth one. Your system is great for pocket knives!
Hey Alex! Your videos got me to the point where I’m now sharpening my knives to an awesome level. Without any bs and making it super complicated and expensive. Took practice, and at times I thought I wouldn’t be able to get the sharpness I wanted, but, after not too long it made “click” and now it’s super easy and fun. Thanks for that. Now, for the actual comment 🙈. In the links you posted of the DMT stones, the fine says it’s 25micron; but, there are also extra fine (9microns) and extra extra fine (3microns). With those values being similar to the ones you used on your strop; do you think you could ignore the strip and get the same results?? Another question is: what’s the point of super high grit stones (10000+) if you can achieve such an amazing degree of sharpness with just your 2/3 steps/“stones”?? Is there any advantage let’s say in cooking, or tools? Or it’s just another marketing scam just to make people spend money on something they don’t even understand? Take care dude and thanks again for showing us your method. Hopefully you’ll reply back, will be checking for your response often. Best of luck. Greetings from Colombia
I use the Worksharp guided system still. I bought it about 3 years ago because i wanted to learn how to sharpen a knife and I got a killer discount through work. I also bought the upgrade kit for it so I have extra coarse, coarse, fine, extra fine, a ceramic hone and a strop. One of these days I will buy some DMT plates so I have a bigger surface area to work with but the kit I have still works like a charm. I really want to try some Japanese stones one of these days also but idk if there really is a reason to switch from diamond.
Just jumped into the deep end and got my first bench stone (DMT Fine) and a Beavercraft strop with standard green compound. Can't wait to try freehand out!!
I eventually "broke down" and bought the Edgepro system. I have a lot of knives and cycle through them so none ever really gets extended heavy use. So I sharpen so infrequently that I have been unable to develop good technique r skill to freehand as you do. I needed help, so I got some.
I currently use the Smiths tri-stone system and a stropping block with the green Formax honing compound. I use your sharping technique and I get a really good edge on my knives, but looking to take it to the next level and this video helped me see what I needed to do. Thanks for the helpful videos and product links.
I use a Lansky in a cheap vise because I’m poor lol. Take it to 600 then strop on this thing I made watching videos from some guy in PA...! Thanks for the video. Always learning something new.
Thanks for the honest review ... For a long time I looked for a system for sharpening knives that was easy to use and long lasting ... I don't need my blades to be sharp as razors ... I just want them to do their job ... Best regards from Brasil!
"FULL DISCLOSURE If you purchase from these links I get a small commission that goes towards supporting the channel. Thanks." I don't have a lot of money to spend but your disclosure that you will get a cut makes it seem all the more worth it for me knowing it will help you out too. Win, win.
Sharpening a knife is a art and you are a very good "knife artist" lol I have been sharpening knives for a while and I still suck lol so I just bought the paper sharpening wheel for the bench grinder , I might have to stick with that. Great videos , keep it up.
I would like to see you sharpen a blade with more belly. I stuggle to get the tip sharp on my Benchmade Freek and Crooked River. I find it easier on the Spyderco PM 2 and Delica since the edge is a consistent arc. The blades that transition from a straight edge to a belly are more difficult for me. Love your sharpening videos!
I have had issues sharpening some of my knives that have large straight sections like my blackbird and pr4. Sometimes when trying to sharpen the belly it begins to straighten out. I think I’ve mostly solved that problem but I do have issues keeping the straight portion straight and even. I’ve used different techniques like the push-pull method and cutting strokes and can’t decide which one I prefer. I have no issue getting my knives to be sharp but trying to achieve that without changing the geometry and keeping the bevel even has been a challenge with certain knives.
I use and Edge Pro Apex 3. I used to do all my sharpening completely by hand with diamond stones but decided to give a fixture type sharpener a try. I really like it. With just a little bit of a learning curve you can you can get perfect angles and some very, very sharp blades. I'll still do touch ups by hand but for dull blades or blades that need reprofiled they will go onto the Edge Pro. Used it to sharpen a couple of blades today.
I'm currently using a KME guided sharpening system with diamond stones (up to an 8,000 grit DMT Aligner stone) and kangaroo leather strops with diamond emulsions (2 micron, 1 micron, & 0.5 micron). My other system is a Work Sharp KOE with the Blade Grinding Attachment. Both work really well. In the past I've never had much success with free hand sharpening, but I'm considering investing in a good set of stones and trying again. Admittedly, I've never had a decent set of stone to learn on.
Just for regular "maintenance" of my edges, I just have a bunch of balsa strops, with various cheapo amazon diamond paste on,, seems to work OK for me,, !! I just chuck em when they get too black, ! (which proves they are actually removing steel, !),, I find this is a very affordable alternative, to expensive diamond plates which I can't afford,,,, Thanks for this great video 'tho,,,,
really practical especially if you're using high carbide steels. I'm gonna get a medium spyderco benchstone as alternative since I don't have even 1 high carbide steel. My current setup is: KME Super-Tuff Ceramic Benchstone (Medium-Fine) and lapped it 60 grit 400 grit Chinese ceramic from online Hoyama Fine Stone (cheap fine stone) then strop on green compound
New to freehand. Thanks to you and your demos, I just got the coarse and fine DMT Diamond stones. Made a couple of strops also, using leather from Hobby Lobby glued to strips of wood. From just using the stones I’m able to cut arm hair but I haven’t had much luck with the strops. I’m using the dia paste 6, 3, and 1 micron. The strops don’t seem to be doing anything. They aren’t turning black like my old strop with green compound did. Wondering if you have and ideas or suggestions on what could be wrong with the strops or what I could do differently. Like maybe add more dia paste to the strops? All three feel like leather with no compound.
I would like to let everybody know, I have a bench made 940 as my edc, have been carrying it for about a year and every time I had to sharpen it I used a 4 different grit system of over something from amazing and a crappy strop, have always wanted my blade to be razor sharp but could never do it especially on the s30v blade steel, i bought that dmt stone, and I bought his strops and diamond compound and let me tell you, i took the blade off the last strop, and I practically shaved my entire arm in astonishment, if you are contemplating buying this set up, do it and buy his stops and compound from knife point gear to support him, as for he has been the first person to steer me in the right path for a razor sharp blade
I'm starting to think your "dull" blades are my sharpest blades lol, I want to get into this practice but the options are as vast as the questions, I appreciate the videos very informative and helpful 🤙
I use spyderco medium and fine stones finished with a strop with green compound. Not sure if green is a standard or not but I got it from Bark river years ago and have been using it on my convex edge blades forever. I recently started using the strop on my non convex edge blades and have been liking the results, just have to use super light pressure, just the weight of the blade.
I've been sharpening on paper wheels for a while now, it's the first system that has given me consistently good results. I suck at hand sharpening but I may have to give another crack at it with this setup
This really helped! Typically I could dull and edge in about 30 seconds (trying to sharpen or hone it)! I was able to take a couple of knives that I wouldn’t use because I couldn’t get them sharp and have them slice right through some paper with no drag! Thx so much. You helped one for sure.
I would argue getting hair whittling footage is more difficult than the actual sharpening 😂. I sharpen a lot myself. I use a combination of different diamond stones. For repair work I use an atoma 140 if it is in really bad shape but typically I use the Venev resin bonded diamond water stones from Gritomatic. They’re the best bang for the buck as far as diamond abrasives go in my humble opinion. You get two grits per stone with 1mm of diamond suspended in extremely slow wearing hard resin on each side. Great video ✌️
Because I'm a newbie its a Sharpmaker + FlexCut Strop (BHQ). Also give my edc knife for that day a couple runs thru a Benchamde WS maintenance tool strop each morning. Goal is to upgrade to something better, don't know if its a KME or Lansky or your simple setup.
Simple Quick Effective. Love it. I use a Chinese copy of the Edge Pro, with very cheap diamond stones and a modified Cliff Stamp methodology that forms an apex from non burred (i.e. non stressed and weakened) metal. Restoring a profiled blade to shaving hair takes a few minutes and it stays sharp fairly well, due to the Cliff Stamp metallurgy and experimental knowledge, that avoids the burr as much as possible. As soon as a knife shaves hair from my arm, it's sharp enough for me. Cheers Sincerely David
that simple system's a compelling proposal. you said your approach is totally different for knives you make - i wonder if that's a slower approach focused on mirror-polishing (for appearance's sake), or conversely an efficient machine-based approach (since you're running powered belts in the shop anyway).
I use a 2x72 with water cooling for knives i make. Mainly because once they are in the jig i can do the sharpening right there. It would take more time to do that approach on knives that are not already in a jig. I still use the strops though to finish everything off🙂
Current sharpening setup-none Currently looking for that perfect match. I really like this because I can see myself sharpening kitchen knives often because of the ease and quickness of use. I do have a Spyderco sharpener but I HATE cleaning the stones. So I end up never using it.
I'm still using basic king whetstones and leather strops, but one interesting thing I've been messing with for the past few months is making own stropping/honing compound out of whetstone dust that breaks down and falls off the stone. I just place my larger wide strops under the stone and dry sharpen to create dust, then rub the dust over the strop and break it down more, then go ahead and use the strop. I'm looking at getting some more recurve belly EDC's like the blur and similar shaped knives, and I think whetstones probably aren't the best way to sharpen these, so I got a lansky turnbox ceramic rod set up just for recurve belly knives. Not that interesting probably pretty boring lol. -Shrugs-
@greg mccarter Aren't valve grinding compounds very low grit usually? I have no experience with them, but I think for stropping regular green and rogue compounds would be better no?
I use a knockoff of the edge-pro for my kitchen knives. I finish with a leather strop plate on the "edge pro." I am not as good at sharpening as you. But I get them sharp enough. When I have used whetstones in the past, I have not had great results. Not sure why. Maybe inconsistent angle or maybe because back then I didn't know how important stropping is.
Hand sharpening is something I've never mastered. I sharpen with compressed paper wheels, they work so fast that I don't have time to screw up. I'll give this method a shot at some point though, thanks for the upload!
Love your vids. I've been sharpening since the early 90's, and one of the best things I learned was to train my left hand so that I only use strokes coming toward myself. It allows me to constantly observe the apex contacting the stone. It's awkward at first but I believe it's good in the long run. If you're bored, experiment with it.
I'm a neophyte at this, but I use the Lansky LKDMD set with the addition of the ceramic S1000 ultrafine, the S2000 Super sapphire and the strop which I use with the green compound. Most of the time I use the brown for a few strokes, then a few strokes with the the ultra fine, the sapphire then the strop while watching TV. Takes just couple of minutes. I don't use the coarser stones much unless I really "F" up an edge.
I use the Ruixin Pro RX-008 Knife Sharpener on all my knives. I got 4 diamond stones for it and since then I haven't used anything else . The Best Sharpener I've Used
Just received two of your strops with the 3 and 1 micron compounds you recommend / sell. Love my stones. These are an awesome complement to them. Many thanks.
Spyderco duel stone medium and fine. I put 3 micron diamond compound on the leather case it came with. Perfect for 90% of the stuff I do. For the heavier stuff I have a few very course diamond stones that i use for chips.
Cool video! I will try this system... For my pocket knives i do washita, soft Arkansas and translucent ark. Kitchen knives i do 2 jnats(Japanese natural stones). For my straight razors i have naniwa chocera 1k and naniwa gouken 4k and suehiro 10k,15k,20k... or jnat progression
Thanks for this vid, huge help, I've watched a million of these and I think you have simplified and helped the most. I use dmt coarse, fine, x fine and do okay but need that next level of sharp. Going for the strop next, and want to get the flat diamond stone like you have here.
I use the smith's tri hone to shapen my pocket knives. It does take forever to sharpen s30v on aluminum oxide stones, but it can be done. Thinking I need some Dimond stones
I do exactly what you showed except I use fine Emory cloth, freehand and I follow with a ceramic with progressively fewer strokes. Most important thing is the consistent angle. It takes a slight of touch if that makes sense
Spiderco ultra fine cermic and double sided strop. I have a smith diamond thing thay has 350 and 700 grit if I need to take off a lot of metal. But I rarely grab those.
Thank you so much for these videos. I originally bought the popular amazon stone that you reviewed and had no luck in sharpening with it (novice over here). But after acquiring the DMT, my knives are sharp again.
Best I can afford is a small Arkansas stone. 1 fine and 1 extra fine. I'm on a small fixed income nowadays so best I can afford. Maybe one day I'll be able to get a strop and a better edge. Thanks for the vid.
You can get an amazing edge with an Arkansas stone and a strop. You can make a strop for almost no cost -- I buy a leather belt from a thrift store for around $0.25 and glue it to a piece of scrap wood. Pallet scraps work great but almost anything can work. Another cool strop that works well is a piece of cardboard, believe it or not. 8-)
@@CarnivoreRonin Cardboard? Really!? I never would have thought that could work. I'll have to try it. Thank you for the tips, they will be most helpful. Any special way of using the cardboard?
@@donwilson9939 The cardboard doesn't have to be anything special. I've used the cardboard from the back of a writing tablet and the flap from an Amazon box. I use some green polishing compound which is quite inexpensive rubbed on it. Then strop it lightly. Warming it up with a blow dryer before adding the compound helps it too.
@@CarnivoreRonin Amazing what you can do with just a little imagination sometimes. I will surely try it and let you know the results. Thank you again for the ideas they should be very cost effective and simple.
when you sharpen a knife, should you do even amount of passes on each side when trying to form a burr? Or do you just sharpen a side up until a burr is formed and then switch sides?
I was using a Spyderco Sharpmaker on my folding knives, S30V, VG10, 440 etc. On my Scandi knive I use 2 King Japanese Waterstones, 250/1000 combination & a 3000.had no problems. Then onto a homemade strop. However I just swopped a Spyderco para 3 S110V blade into a Para 3 lightweight and was no having great results using either system on it..... However, now I'm going to try this system on it. Cheers for the heads up :-)
I use a small 750 grit diamond plate, then a ceramic rod , then I finish on a strop with a fine powder compound. It takes me under 5 minutes to achieve a shaving-sharp-mirror-polished-edge. And for knives that are damaged or need reprofiling I use whetstones. I’ve also used coffee mugs, brick, concrete floor in basement , sandpaper. carbide. I think I have a problem.
Shapton glass 320 for more serious work, then per your old system, the spyderco medium and fine bench stones, then some green compound on a strop. If I feel like getting dirty or have bigger knives to do I will use my chosera 800 then strop. I love that stone for kitchen knives. It never dishes and really feels good. But if I’m just sitting in front of the tv watching your vids I like to hold the bench stones in my hand. I haven’t tried diamonds bc I heard they leave deeper scratches and wear quicker than a ceramic like the shapton 320. One thing I keep trying is removing the burr on the stone like burrfection does. Maybe I’m making too big of a burr but I can never get it off just by going backward on the stone...I always have to strop. Looking forward to more vids from you!
Your sharpening skills are far beyond mine so nothing to comment on there BUT if you want to focus on something with a tiny depth of field, first set the focus to manual and put a ruler down, where the numbers come into focus that's where you want your subject/hair to be. Thank you for all the great and just down to earth videos!
I had my focus plane set to the front of the strops. The problem was reached over the camera without getting into the lighting so the hair could actually be seen. As well as looking into the monitor while holding the hair in the focus plane😂 it's always a challenge😂😂 Thanks for the comment and for watching it's always appreciated 👍👍
I'm obsessed with your ability to get knives *so* sharp, so fast with this method. Couple question(s) if you have a sec: 1. how much pressure are you applying on the DMT plate? 2. do you not try to minimize the burr with very light, alternating passes before you move to the strops? Your whole process is captured on the video?
Not op but I have a similar setup and can answer them. 1. I start with some medium force. With diamond stones, you can literally slice off diamonds if you put too much pressure. A bit more force then the weight of the knife. Let the diamonds do the work. 2. Yes. Less and less force to minimize the burr.
Could you make another video on how you sharpen the other knives you make or possibly even kitchen knives? My current sharpening setup is a cheap amazon stone (400&1000 grit) and a strop with medium compound, not the best but it puts a serviceable edge on my pocket knives and my carpet knife.
Stone in video ⬇️
amzn.to/2H2krs0
As an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.
What do you think about? The DMT. Diamond whetstone It's the fine one. Red And get a knife short. But not shaving Sharp Wonder what you thought about. Is it me or the stone? LOL Do I need a new stone? Thanks.
@@rogersmith6752 First you need an English translator so Alex can understand your question. Or maybe it's just me. :)
@@rogersmith6752 you can get a knife shaving sharp on a bathroom tile if you have the skill. Some stones are easier certainly but if you dont want to spend money on a new stone the one you have is probably just fine
@@stormlord4719 lol mostly just you.... mostly
@@stormlord4719 ok smarta$$ I posted before editing. I'm glad you have time to be a smarta$$
My wife won't let me watch your videos until the hair on my
arms grows back. Tis a small price to pay. Thanks for the
free master's classes.
My wife always makes fun of me as well😂 Haha more like a beginner class😉 Thanks for the comment my friend 👊
I’m grounded also but until the hair on her arm grows back. She was pissed when she woke up
@@jimmys3153 You might wanna shave her legs instead then😜
Esoteric I’ll try that next time 💩
funny
Everyone knows it isn't properly dull unless you use the mug.
Not sure you want to try and dull a knife on your mug ;^)
@@Reploidx9 you're completely right! I prefer to use someone else's mug.
@@Bocahj4 Hah! So do I! Just makes life SO much easier
What mug
@@csaszargyula1949 this TH-cam channel has a series of videos on sharpening where he specifically uses the bottom of a mug to consistently dull the knives before sharpening them against.
Im not sure whether its harder to get the hair feathering edge or to record it on camera! Great vid as usual
Getting it on camera is the unicorn of the knife sharpening tricks for sure. Especially with a relatively shallow depth of field🦄 😂 Thanks Pete👊
Nerf Lerb!
Great vid. Thank you! This is exactly what TH-cam is all about. I can’t tell you how many times I watch and rewatch your old sharpening vids. 99% of my sharpening ability comes directly from your tutorials. This one is an amazing addition. Again, thank you!
Thank you. I've been doing sharpening for a while, practicing and watching hundreds of tutorials. I got pretty decent but couldnt get my blades even to start shaving, but ultimately it's your videos that made that last missing puzzle piece fall into place and got me to my first shaving edge. Still working my way up to hair whittling, but I'll get there. Also, glad to see you back with another video. Salutations from Ukraine!
By far the best instructional channel for beginners. Well edited, no rambling or hours of sharpening/ polishing.
The macro shots are fantastic. As you say, it's not easy at all.
I have been on my own personal quest for the holy grail level of sharpness you indicate in this video. I watched, learned, ordered your strops/paste, and applied. I want to personally thank you, after trying every imaginable devise on the market, following your simple guidance I have attained for the first time in my life - "hair whittling sharp". It is such a joy and the deep feeling of satisfaction can not be overstated. For anyone considering this program, it is definitely attainable with very little practice. I am very happy!! Thank you sir!!
🤘
glad there are videos like this - i really don't want to spend a small fortune on a guided system - rather buy a cheap knife and practice - practice - practice... it also gives you bragging rights when you finally get it right
Dude, your videos are seriously awesome. You are a gifted teacher, and unlike soooo many other youtubers, you don't just like to hear yourself talk. I learn a lot, and I never feel the need to skip ahead. Once I begin your videos, I basically always watch the whole thing. Thanks for thr great content, and keep up the good work. Sorry it took me so long to realize I wasn't subscribed
I bought a strop an hour after watching this video... All my knives thank you! :)
Thank you for the support 🙏
I have absolutely no knife experience let alone sharpening them, as a 30 year old Alaskan lady, I thank you. Love your sense of humor too in your videos.
I'm going to learn how to do this properly because of you. Thanks. Keep up the great work.
I got a worksharp guided system with the upgrade as a gift. Pros. Less skill needed as it pivots to accommodate the curve of the blade. Con is it’s small. 1/2 x 6 inch. (13 year old minds comment now). I’m 54 and I’ve been sharpening over 40 years man and boy and I’m so glad you make your vids. I’ve used a barbers strop forever and you, just now, got me to get another strop attachment for the worksharp. Brilliant. As a reference I have the motorized worksharp and can’t recommend that. Way to fast.
Been watching this for a while and finally tried it.. Never could do sharpening free hand before.. but OMG I made three blades razor sharp last night.. I know I need to practice more.. but awsome!
A video from Alex? Day much improved. I seriously love the sharpening content.
When you mentioned the length of the index finger you forgot to mention if it's an imperial or metric index finger.
My right is imperial the left is metric 🙂
@@OUTDOORS55 probably worth mentioning that if you start with your imperial finger you get a left handed knife, start with your metric finger to get a right handed knife. 👍
I use the Naniwa Pro stones, 400 1000 and 3000 and a two sided strop with 1 and .25 micron diamond spray. I’m new to sharpening and may have gone a bit overboard and the stones but I like nice stuff. I’m still struggling to get shaving sharp edges, but my knives get plenty sharp for bushcrafting and food prep. Hopefully I’ll get to that elite sharpness soon. Thanks for the vids!
I doubt your still having this problem but I was having same problem with Norton stones and a knives plus strop block. I found a Lansky turn box I got when I was 11 with my first knife and had never used it in about a hour and a half I was producing a hair whittling edge. I now use it and a edge pro 220 grit I got glued to the side along with 2 strops one with green compound and one with .5 micron Diamond spray and I can produce a crazy sharp edge.
Excellent tutorial. I sharpen knives night and day to do my job making oboe reeds. Did this with one of my dull knives and it came back to life.
I'm a LOT slower at sharpening than this very streamlined technique, but I eventually work my edges up to a 0.1 micron stropping compound. In theory, my edges should be hair-whittling, but I'm totally bald, so I guess I'll never know for sure. :-(Loved the video!
New sharpener here, trying to use the best as to not waste money in the future. I've got a 325 grit diamond stone, 1200 grit diamond, DMT 3 micron diamond paste & DMT 1 micron diamond paste. I've been practising using a cheap 400/1000 diamond stone so I don't wear out my good ones with mistakes lol Thanks for the great videos, this helped a lot along with your stropping video!
I am currently using the Ken Onion version of the worksharp tool while i practice my free hand sharpening. The worksharp is easy tpo use and makes a super sharp knife with little to no skill required, which works well for me lol. I have bought the edgepro stones and made a strop as well from your earlier videos. I have had great success with the worksharp and DIY strop, the edgepros stones are more capable than myself at the moment but am working to get there.
Atoma 400 and 1200 diamond stone. Followed by Spyderco 302fine or a and 302ultrafine ( bought mainly for maintenance) and white/green compound double sided leather strop. All for my Japanese leather/skiving knives...which are all single bevel like a planing iron or chisel.
Have a Spyderco 302medium on the way... cos I’ve been watching this channel
I don't have a knife sharpening setup. But I'm very interested in getting into sharpening my own knives, hence why I watched this video. I'm going to give your setup here a try after I order the stones. Thanks for the video.👍🏻
”I like alcohol sometimes“
Me too...
hah ;D
Oddly enough I read your comment as he said "I like alcohol sometimes"
I have been sharpening my PM2 S110V on a handheld DMT medium and fine. I use my knife at work and even get it dull depending on what I use it for. The little DMT sharpens very well on this super steel. I only started stopping it after watching Cedric and Ada. On my D2 I just finished it on a pasted suade strop and then a smooth one. Your system is great for pocket knives!
Just started trying wet stones... bit of a wake up call when you use the one i just bought to dull the knives😅
Hey Alex! Your videos got me to the point where I’m now sharpening my knives to an awesome level. Without any bs and making it super complicated and expensive. Took practice, and at times I thought I wouldn’t be able to get the sharpness I wanted, but, after not too long it made “click” and now it’s super easy and fun. Thanks for that.
Now, for the actual comment 🙈.
In the links you posted of the DMT stones, the fine says it’s 25micron; but, there are also extra fine (9microns) and extra extra fine (3microns). With those values being similar to the ones you used on your strop; do you think you could ignore the strip and get the same results??
Another question is: what’s the point of super high grit stones (10000+) if you can achieve such an amazing degree of sharpness with just your 2/3 steps/“stones”??
Is there any advantage let’s say in cooking, or tools? Or it’s just another marketing scam just to make people spend money on something they don’t even understand?
Take care dude and thanks again for showing us your method.
Hopefully you’ll reply back, will be checking for your response often.
Best of luck. Greetings from Colombia
I just use a cheap 2 grit stone like the one you showed, can’t get it shaving sharp but your videos definitely help
I use the Worksharp guided system still. I bought it about 3 years ago because i wanted to learn how to sharpen a knife and I got a killer discount through work. I also bought the upgrade kit for it so I have extra coarse, coarse, fine, extra fine, a ceramic hone and a strop. One of these days I will buy some DMT plates so I have a bigger surface area to work with but the kit I have still works like a charm. I really want to try some Japanese stones one of these days also but idk if there really is a reason to switch from diamond.
Just jumped into the deep end and got my first bench stone (DMT Fine) and a Beavercraft strop with standard green compound. Can't wait to try freehand out!!
How did it go?
Thanks for making an intelligent guide that doesn’t watch like an infomercial or a clip from CSPAN. Good balance
I eventually "broke down" and bought the Edgepro system. I have a lot of knives and cycle through them so none ever really gets extended heavy use. So I sharpen so infrequently that I have been unable to develop good technique r skill to freehand as you do. I needed help, so I got some.
I currently use the Smiths tri-stone system and a stropping block with the green Formax honing compound. I use your sharping technique and I get a really good edge on my knives, but looking to take it to the next level and this video helped me see what I needed to do. Thanks for the helpful videos and product links.
Here in 2021, got the DMT fine on your recommendation - its awesome! Subscribed.
I use a Lansky in a cheap vise because I’m poor lol. Take it to 600 then strop on this thing I made watching videos from some guy in PA...!
Thanks for the video. Always learning something new.
Thanks for the honest review ... For a
long time I looked for a system for sharpening knives that was easy to use and long lasting ... I don't need my blades to be sharp as razors ... I just want them to do their job ... Best regards from Brasil!
"FULL DISCLOSURE
If you purchase from these links I get a small commission that goes towards supporting the channel. Thanks."
I don't have a lot of money to spend but your disclosure that you will get a cut makes it seem all the more worth it for me knowing it will help you out too. Win, win.
Thank you for the support 🙏
Sharpening a knife is a art and you are a very good "knife artist" lol I have been sharpening knives for a while and I still suck lol so I just bought the paper sharpening wheel for the bench grinder , I might have to stick with that. Great videos , keep it up.
I would like to see you sharpen a blade with more belly. I stuggle to get the tip sharp on my Benchmade Freek and Crooked River. I find it easier on the Spyderco PM 2 and Delica since the edge is a consistent arc. The blades that transition from a straight edge to a belly are more difficult for me. Love your sharpening videos!
I have had issues sharpening some of my knives that have large straight sections like my blackbird and pr4. Sometimes when trying to sharpen the belly it begins to straighten out. I think I’ve mostly solved that problem but I do have issues keeping the straight portion straight and even. I’ve used different techniques like the push-pull method and cutting strokes and can’t decide which one I prefer. I have no issue getting my knives to be sharp but trying to achieve that without changing the geometry and keeping the bevel even has been a challenge with certain knives.
Man simple and easy. Awsome content. Thank you so much for taking the time to educate us man.
I use and Edge Pro Apex 3. I used to do all my sharpening completely by hand with diamond stones but decided to give a fixture type sharpener a try. I really like it. With just a little bit of a learning curve you can you can get perfect angles and some very, very sharp blades. I'll still do touch ups by hand but for dull blades or blades that need reprofiled they will go onto the Edge Pro. Used it to sharpen a couple of blades today.
I'm currently using a KME guided sharpening system with diamond stones (up to an 8,000 grit DMT Aligner stone) and kangaroo leather strops with diamond emulsions (2 micron, 1 micron, & 0.5 micron). My other system is a Work Sharp KOE with the Blade Grinding Attachment. Both work really well. In the past I've never had much success with free hand sharpening, but I'm considering investing in a good set of stones and trying again. Admittedly, I've never had a decent set of stone to learn on.
How sharp can I get it if I were to just sharpen using the stone as you say and use the same stone but one direction as you do on the strops
Just for regular "maintenance" of my edges, I just have a bunch of balsa strops, with various cheapo amazon diamond paste on,, seems to work OK for me,, !! I just chuck em when they get too black, ! (which proves they are actually removing steel, !),, I find this is a very affordable alternative, to expensive diamond plates which I can't afford,,,,
Thanks for this great video 'tho,,,,
really practical especially if you're using high carbide steels. I'm gonna get a medium spyderco benchstone as alternative since I don't have even 1 high carbide steel.
My current setup is:
KME Super-Tuff Ceramic Benchstone (Medium-Fine) and lapped it 60 grit
400 grit Chinese ceramic from online
Hoyama Fine Stone (cheap fine stone)
then strop on green compound
Why not sharpen your knives for sale the same way? Just wondering. Love the simplicity of this system.
Could you make a video about steeling?
(Passing the striated steel stick along the knife)
New to freehand. Thanks to you and your demos, I just got the coarse and fine DMT Diamond stones. Made a couple of strops also, using leather from Hobby Lobby glued to strips of wood. From just using the stones I’m able to cut arm hair but I haven’t had much luck with the strops. I’m using the dia paste 6, 3, and 1 micron. The strops don’t seem to be doing anything. They aren’t turning black like my old strop with green compound did. Wondering if you have and ideas or suggestions on what could be wrong with the strops or what I could do differently. Like maybe add more dia paste to the strops? All three feel like leather with no compound.
I would like to let everybody know, I have a bench made 940 as my edc, have been carrying it for about a year and every time I had to sharpen it I used a 4 different grit system of over something from amazing and a crappy strop, have always wanted my blade to be razor sharp but could never do it especially on the s30v blade steel, i bought that dmt stone, and I bought his strops and diamond compound and let me tell you, i took the blade off the last strop, and I practically shaved my entire arm in astonishment, if you are contemplating buying this set up, do it and buy his stops and compound from knife point gear to support him, as for he has been the first person to steer me in the right path for a razor sharp blade
Just received my DFT fine, it’s great. Thank you for the recommendation 👍👍
I'm starting to think your "dull" blades are my sharpest blades lol, I want to get into this practice but the options are as vast as the questions, I appreciate the videos very informative and helpful 🤙
I use spyderco medium and fine stones finished with a strop with green compound. Not sure if green is a standard or not but I got it from Bark river years ago and have been using it on my convex edge blades forever. I recently started using the strop on my non convex edge blades and have been liking the results, just have to use super light pressure, just the weight of the blade.
I've been sharpening on paper wheels for a while now, it's the first system that has given me consistently good results. I suck at hand sharpening but I may have to give another crack at it with this setup
Awesome work. Free hand sharpening is a great talent to have
This really helped! Typically I could dull and edge in about 30 seconds (trying to sharpen or hone it)! I was able to take a couple of knives that I wouldn’t use because I couldn’t get them sharp and have them slice right through some paper with no drag! Thx so much. You helped one for sure.
I would argue getting hair whittling footage is more difficult than the actual sharpening 😂. I sharpen a lot myself. I use a combination of different diamond stones. For repair work I use an atoma 140 if it is in really bad shape but typically I use the Venev resin bonded diamond water stones from Gritomatic. They’re the best bang for the buck as far as diamond abrasives go in my humble opinion. You get two grits per stone with 1mm of diamond suspended in extremely slow wearing hard resin on each side. Great video ✌️
My current setup is a piece of ceramic armor plate in about a 6x6" square, and stropping I just use my leather belt.
Best sharpening video. Hands down
Dude come back u straight up dipped. 2020,
Ur like my new fave super helpful videos
Come on brooo
Ill be back☺️
Because I'm a newbie its a Sharpmaker + FlexCut Strop (BHQ). Also give my edc knife for that day a couple runs thru a Benchamde WS maintenance tool strop each morning.
Goal is to upgrade to something better, don't know if its a KME or Lansky or your simple setup.
I have the Knife center version with CTS-XHP. I love how light this knife is
Please do a review of the best portable pocket stone set up
My favorite knife is also my para 3 s110 so I think this setup will get me where I want to go
Update: now it’s the Sharpal 162N coarse / fine block and strop with diamond paste 4-6 micron lol
Simple Quick Effective. Love it.
I use a Chinese copy of the Edge Pro, with very cheap diamond stones and a modified Cliff Stamp methodology that forms an apex from non burred (i.e. non stressed and weakened) metal.
Restoring a profiled blade to shaving hair takes a few minutes and it stays sharp fairly well, due to the Cliff Stamp metallurgy and experimental knowledge, that avoids the burr as much as possible. As soon as a knife shaves hair from my arm, it's sharp enough for me.
Cheers Sincerely David
that simple system's a compelling proposal. you said your approach is totally different for knives you make - i wonder if that's a slower approach focused on mirror-polishing (for appearance's sake), or conversely an efficient machine-based approach (since you're running powered belts in the shop anyway).
I use a 2x72 with water cooling for knives i make. Mainly because once they are in the jig i can do the sharpening right there. It would take more time to do that approach on knives that are not already in a jig. I still use the strops though to finish everything off🙂
I recently got into sharpening.. I just use a Worksharp Guided Field sharpener; works great so far, and cheap too
Great knife I have the orange handle one I think it's s90v. Fits the hand perfectly and so lightweight
Current sharpening setup-none
Currently looking for that perfect match. I really like this because I can see myself sharpening kitchen knives often because of the ease and quickness of use.
I do have a Spyderco sharpener but I HATE cleaning the stones. So I end up never using it.
Thank you for sharing this very informative video. All the best to you. 🤗
I'm still using basic king whetstones and leather strops, but one interesting thing I've been messing with for the past few months is making own stropping/honing compound out of whetstone dust that breaks down and falls off the stone. I just place my larger wide strops under the stone and dry sharpen to create dust, then rub the dust over the strop and break it down more, then go ahead and use the strop. I'm looking at getting some more recurve belly EDC's like the blur and similar shaped knives, and I think whetstones probably aren't the best way to sharpen these, so I got a lansky turnbox ceramic rod set up just for recurve belly knives. Not that interesting probably pretty boring lol. -Shrugs-
@greg mccarter Aren't valve grinding compounds very low grit usually? I have no experience with them, but I think for stropping regular green and rogue compounds would be better no?
I use a knockoff of the edge-pro for my kitchen knives. I finish with a leather strop plate on the "edge pro." I am not as good at sharpening as you. But I get them sharp enough. When I have used whetstones in the past, I have not had great results. Not sure why. Maybe inconsistent angle or maybe because back then I didn't know how important stropping is.
Hand sharpening is something I've never mastered. I sharpen with compressed paper wheels, they work so fast that I don't have time to screw up. I'll give this method a shot at some point though, thanks for the upload!
where do you get these?
Love your vids. I've been sharpening since the early 90's, and one of the best things I learned was to train my left hand so that I only use strokes coming toward myself. It allows me to constantly observe the apex contacting the stone. It's awkward at first but I believe it's good in the long run. If you're bored, experiment with it.
I got the same knife but in black G10 and S30V steel. Best knife ever
My current setup is a KME. I wish I saw your videos before I got it.
I'm a neophyte at this, but I use the Lansky LKDMD set with the addition of the ceramic S1000 ultrafine, the S2000 Super sapphire and the strop which I use with the green compound. Most of the time I use the brown for a few strokes, then a few strokes with the the ultra fine, the sapphire then the strop while watching TV. Takes just couple of minutes. I don't use the coarser stones much unless I really "F" up an edge.
I use the Ruixin Pro RX-008 Knife Sharpener on all my knives. I got 4 diamond stones for it and since then I haven't used anything else . The Best Sharpener I've Used
Sharpening systems are boring, expensive, and not worth it. Learn to properly sharpen.
Thanks for the info, needed the simplicity and ease.
Just received two of your strops with the 3 and 1 micron compounds you recommend / sell.
Love my stones. These are an awesome complement to them. Many thanks.
Spyderco duel stone medium and fine. I put 3 micron diamond compound on the leather case it came with. Perfect for 90% of the stuff I do. For the heavier stuff I have a few very course diamond stones that i use for chips.
Cool video! I will try this system...
For my pocket knives i do washita, soft Arkansas and translucent ark.
Kitchen knives i do 2 jnats(Japanese natural stones).
For my straight razors i have naniwa chocera 1k and naniwa gouken 4k and suehiro 10k,15k,20k... or jnat progression
Thanks for this vid, huge help, I've watched a million of these and I think you have simplified and helped the most. I use dmt coarse, fine, x fine and do okay but need that next level of sharp. Going for the strop next, and want to get the flat diamond stone like you have here.
Ordered this morning!
I use the smith's tri hone to shapen my pocket knives. It does take forever to sharpen s30v on aluminum oxide stones, but it can be done. Thinking I need some Dimond stones
I do exactly what you showed except I use fine Emory cloth, freehand and I follow with a ceramic with progressively fewer strokes. Most important thing is the consistent angle. It takes a slight of touch if that makes sense
Spiderco ultra fine cermic and double sided strop. I have a smith diamond thing thay has 350 and 700 grit if I need to take off a lot of metal. But I rarely grab those.
Thank you so much for these videos. I originally bought the popular amazon stone that you reviewed and had no luck in sharpening with it (novice over here). But after acquiring the DMT, my knives are sharp again.
Best I can afford is a small Arkansas stone. 1 fine and 1 extra fine. I'm on a small fixed income nowadays so best I can afford. Maybe one day I'll be able to get a strop and a better edge. Thanks for the vid.
You can get an amazing edge with an Arkansas stone and a strop.
You can make a strop for almost no cost -- I buy a leather belt from a thrift store for around $0.25 and glue it to a piece of scrap wood. Pallet scraps work great but almost anything can work.
Another cool strop that works well is a piece of cardboard, believe it or not.
8-)
@@CarnivoreRonin Cardboard? Really!? I never would have thought that could work. I'll have to try it. Thank you for the tips, they will be most helpful. Any special way of using the cardboard?
@@donwilson9939 The cardboard doesn't have to be anything special. I've used the cardboard from the back of a writing tablet and the flap from an Amazon box. I use some green polishing compound which is quite inexpensive rubbed on it. Then strop it lightly. Warming it up with a blow dryer before adding the compound helps it too.
@@CarnivoreRonin Amazing what you can do with just a little imagination sometimes. I will surely try it and let you know the results. Thank you again for the ideas they should be very cost effective and simple.
Remember its all about skill, not equipment
Nice video.
It is a great System.
Thanks You for the video
when you sharpen a knife, should you do even amount of passes on each side when trying to form a burr? Or do you just sharpen a side up until a burr is formed and then switch sides?
I was using a Spyderco Sharpmaker on my folding knives, S30V, VG10, 440 etc. On my Scandi knive I use 2 King Japanese Waterstones, 250/1000 combination & a 3000.had no problems. Then onto a homemade strop. However I just swopped a Spyderco para 3 S110V blade into a Para 3 lightweight and was no having great results using either system on it..... However, now I'm going to try this system on it. Cheers for the heads up :-)
Yeah s110v can be a pain on non diamond. Not that it cant be done, just takes a lot longer.🙂👍
My current set up is DMT coarse, extra fine and Spyderco ultra fine ceramic and for the strop I use 1micron and .25micron
Love your videos! I use a disappointing coarse fine Norton combination stone. Reason : We don't have anything better where I live.
I use a small 750 grit diamond plate, then a ceramic rod , then I finish on a strop with a fine powder compound. It takes me under 5 minutes to achieve a shaving-sharp-mirror-polished-edge. And for knives that are damaged or need reprofiling I use whetstones. I’ve also used coffee mugs, brick, concrete floor in basement , sandpaper. carbide. I think I have a problem.
Shapton glass 320 for more serious work, then per your old system, the spyderco medium and fine bench stones, then some green compound on a strop. If I feel like getting dirty or have bigger knives to do I will use my chosera 800 then strop. I love that stone for kitchen knives. It never dishes and really feels good. But if I’m just sitting in front of the tv watching your vids I like to hold the bench stones in my hand. I haven’t tried diamonds bc I heard they leave deeper scratches and wear quicker than a ceramic like the shapton 320. One thing I keep trying is removing the burr on the stone like burrfection does. Maybe I’m making too big of a burr but I can never get it off just by going backward on the stone...I always have to strop. Looking forward to more vids from you!
Your sharpening skills are far beyond mine so nothing to comment on there BUT if you want to focus on something with a tiny depth of field, first set the focus to manual and put a ruler down, where the numbers come into focus that's where you want your subject/hair to be.
Thank you for all the great and just down to earth videos!
I had my focus plane set to the front of the strops. The problem was reached over the camera without getting into the lighting so the hair could actually be seen. As well as looking into the monitor while holding the hair in the focus plane😂 it's always a challenge😂😂 Thanks for the comment and for watching it's always appreciated 👍👍
I'm obsessed with your ability to get knives *so* sharp, so fast with this method. Couple question(s) if you have a sec:
1. how much pressure are you applying on the DMT plate?
2. do you not try to minimize the burr with very light, alternating passes before you move to the strops? Your whole process is captured on the video?
☝
Not op but I have a similar setup and can answer them.
1. I start with some medium force. With diamond stones, you can literally slice off diamonds if you put too much pressure. A bit more force then the weight of the knife. Let the diamonds do the work.
2. Yes. Less and less force to minimize the burr.
Could you make another video on how you sharpen the other knives you make or possibly even kitchen knives? My current sharpening setup is a cheap amazon stone (400&1000 grit) and a strop with medium compound, not the best but it puts a serviceable edge on my pocket knives and my carpet knife.