Inexperienced Stupid Knife Question

[LuxLuthor]

I use a Spyderco sharpmaker and sometimes strop on an old leather belt if I want shaving sharp. I don't need it any sharper than that. Alhough it is cool to impress yourself or freinds if you can get it "scary" sharp.

Until I read those last links, I had thought that making a blade "scary" sharp & able to shave hair was the ideal goal. Now I understand better about the wider angle giving a more durable edge when you have a more average (softer) steel.

The Shun knives can have a very thin 15-16° angle because they start with a higher quality, harder steel. I just sharpened my two "Al Capone" knives to about a 22° angle on the 220 grit stone, and was able to get them easily slicing paper, but stopped short of using finer grit stones to get them arm hair sharp.

I can see how I ruined the edges using the carbide (Samarai Shark) type sharpeners, but it was very easy to put back an ideal angle for the particular knife. I have sharpened about 10 of our home knives so far.

I took these shots of the 3 Shun knives. Used different camera settings trying to show the blade design. Still have to pick up some green acorn squash.



The beauty of these is indescribable.

 

[kwkarth]

Until I read those last links, I had thought that making a blade "scary" sharp & able to shave hair was the ideal goal. Now I understand better about the wider angle giving a more durable edge when you have a more average (softer) steel.

The Shun knives can have a very thin 15-16° angle because they start with a higher quality, harder steel. I just sharpened my two "Al Capone" knives to about a 22° angle on the 220 grit stone, and was able to get them easily slicing paper, but stopped short of using finer grit stones to get them arm hair sharp.

I can see how I ruined the edges using the carbide (Samarai Shark) type sharpeners, but it was very easy to put back an ideal angle for the particular knife. I have sharpened about 10 of our home knives so far.

I took these shots of the 3 Shun knives. Used different camera settings trying to show the blade design. Still have to pick up some green acorn squash.



The beauty of these is indescribable.

Those are beautiful Lux!

 

[Patriot]

Great pics Lux. I really like the warm one. Sort of looks like you used an incan to bring some of the color out.

 

[stallion2]

from my own experience i've found that sharpening kits, while nice and at times convenient, are largely overrated. i could see investing in a good one for the purpose of maintaining a high grade kitchen set but my kitchen knives are more modest. i do have 4 different fillet knives that i use often and there aren't too many types of knives out there where a sharp edge is as crucial. it took a few years of practice but now i can hand sharpen them w/ a diamond stick and deburr w/ a ceramic stick and get them sharper than any of the other gadgets now stashed in various closets and doors.

i remember when i first read about finishing your edge on a 25° angle...seemed completely counterintuitive but it really does make it easier to get a sharp, consistent edge...especially w/ pocket or field knives. pains me how much time i wasted sharpening knives incorrectly prior to that.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Reading the egullet guide, they say

The best compromise in the kitchen has proven to be a 15/20 double bevel. That is a 15 degree back bevel with a 20 degree primary edge face.

(shown in this line drawing). So first grind to 15°, then add a 20° second edge.

I just did that on an older chef's knife, and it does look and feel quite nice.

 

[Patriot]

Sounds nice Lux. That back bevel will be very nice when pushing through certain media. I reprofile the back bevel on nearly all of my knives and it really adds to the pleasure and practicality of using them.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Sounds nice Lux. That back bevel will be very nice when pushing through certain media. I reprofile the back bevel on nearly all of my knives and it really adds to the pleasure and practicality of using them.

Certain media? 😛 You slice up your CD & DVD's? I was having so much fun sharpening these, I forgot all about using them. Still have to get some squashies.

 

[Patriot]

Certain media? 😛 You slice up your CD & DVD's? I was having so much fun sharpening these, I forgot all about using them. Still have to get some squashies.

DVD's? Heck you should see my spare TV set. :laughing:

When you get around to reprofiling your new kitchen set please post a macro of the newly sharpened edge. It may sound kind of silly but guys like me and kw we enjoy seeing that kind of thing. Your other pictures and lighting were so good that I could nearly see the edge on them!

 

[kwkarth]

Lux,
Three questions...

1. What folders did you end up with?
   
2. Have you found any acorn squash victims yet?
   
3. Now that you've lived with the KO Kaji's for a while, what do you think of them?

Wife and I are going to look for some acorns today. Muhahaha! 😀

Cheers!

 

[kwkarth]

Hey guys,
I found an interesting article about the Bob Kramer/Shun collaboration. Y'all may have already read the article, but in case you haven't;

http://www.chadwrites.com/blade-show-kramer-shun-collaboration/

This collaboration is yet another design apart from the Shun/Kramer Meji collaboration done for Williams-Sonoma. Won knife of the year.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Lux,
Three questions...

1. What folders did you end up with?
2. Have you found any acorn squash victims yet?
3. Now that you've lived with the KO Kaji's for a while, what do you think of them?

Wife and I are going to look for some acorns today. Muhahaha! 😀

Cheers!

1) Folders:

a) Lone Wolf Prankster cocobolo handles.
b) Lone Wolf US 45
c) Kershaw Ken Onion Black Bur with SS
d) SOG FSA-8 Flash II

​

2) Got some acorn squashies yesterday. Sliced with Shun Chef easily with one hand, and trimmed the bottom off. This was the acid test and it performed way beyond my wildest expections. Mind boggling.

3) I am so so so so so very very very very happy I was able to get your in-store testing, even to find that discontinued model. It is a wonderful, larger grip, superb balance, and like you said they all just melt through things that were a pain to cut. These are so beautiful you just want to find things to use them on.
​

I'm also amazed how easy and reliable the Edge Pro is to learn and get exactly the edge you want on any knife. It is really fun to use it and know that you can get 100% perfect and consistent edges. Regular white paper is too easy to get shaving sharp. Better to us newspaper of wrapping tissue paper.

 

[kwkarth]

1) Folders:

a) Lone Wolf Prankster cocobolo handles.
b) Lone Wolf US 45
c) Kershaw Ken Onion Black Bur with SS
d) SOG FSA-8 Flash II

​

2) Got some acorn squashies yesterday. Sliced with Shun Chef easily with one hand, and trimmed the bottom off. This was the acid test and it performed way beyond my wildest expections. Mind boggling.

3) I am so so so so so very very very very happy I was able to get your in-store testing, even to find that discontinued model. It is a wonderful, larger grip, superb balance, and like you said they all just melt through things that were a pain to cut. These are so beautiful you just want to find things to use them on.
​

I'm also amazed how easy and reliable the Edge Pro is to learn and get exactly the edge you want on any knife. It is really fun to use it and know that you can get 100% perfect and consistent edges. Regular white paper is too easy to get shaving sharp. Better to us newspaper of wrapping tissue paper.

That's awesome!!You're on the cutting edge Bro!!

 

[LuxLuthor]

On a totally unrelated note.

 

[LuxLuthor]

I'm not sure of the best way to sharpen my Alaskan Ulu knife in the Edge Pro. Maybe I'll call Ben and ask him....also give him feedback on a newbie's experience with it.

 

[kwkarth]

I'm not sure of the best way to sharpen my Alaskan Ulu knife in the Edge Pro. Maybe I'll call Ben and ask him....also give him feedback on a newbie's experience with it.

I'll bet it's a bit of a challenge to find a way clamp that sucker down in a stable position eh? On the unrelated note... Precious! Someone you know?
Regards,
kevin

 

[LuxLuthor]

Talked to Ben (owner of Edge Pro) who is very available. He said the only way is to put a 1/4" wood spacer under blade, which works fine and he has done it. Blade is very thick and stiff, so wood only needs to give spacing support. Just tried it, and works perfect.

That video of "Charlie Bit My Finger" is the #1 ranked video on Youtube of all time, with 131 million views.

 

[Patriot]

Lux, did he give you an angle suggestion for the Ulu? I was going to guess steeper, perhaps 24 degrees but ..... yeah dunno.

 

[kwkarth]

Coffee / Tea Lovers, check out the Coffee brew thread for the latest edition...

Coffee thread.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Lux, did he give you an angle suggestion for the Ulu? I was going to guess steeper, perhaps 24 degrees but ..... yeah dunno.

The Ulu only has an edge on one side, and their edge depth is a full 1/4" so he suggested just working on about 1-2mm. His method of determining angles is you cover edge with black magic marker, then find the angle you want which removes that part of the ink. If you want a double bevel edge, he recommends 13° & 19° angles.

Of course, I had to see the capability of the coarsest 120 grit stone, and found the Ulu's default edge uses a 19° angle. I was able to sand off just a surface layer bezel just enough to see a clean metal on entire 1/4" with only about 12-15 strokes. Switched to 220 and 320 stones, and finished with ceramic rod. I kept their 19-20° angle.

I had two of these Ulu's, and the sharpened one slices paper easily, while the unsharpened one (previously "sharpened" with Billy Mays Samarai Shark carbide) would not.

First thing I learned was how to use the Ulu knife with the rocking motion in this Quicktime video here. This newly sharpened Ulu blew through carrots and potatoes like crap through a goose.

 

[kwkarth]

The Ulu only has an edge on one side, and their edge depth is a full 1/4" so he suggested just working on about 1-2mm. His method of determining angles is you cover edge with black magic marker, then find the angle you want which removes that part of the ink. If you want a double bevel edge, he recommends 13° & 19° angles.

Of course, I had to see the capability of the coarsest 120 grit stone, and found the Ulu's default edge uses a 19° angle. I was able to sand off just a surface layer bezel just enough to see a clean metal on entire 1/4" with only about 12-15 strokes. Switched to 220 and 320 stones, and finished with ceramic rod. I kept their 19-20° angle.

I had two of these Ulu's, and the sharpened one slices paper easily, while the unsharpened one (previously "sharpened" with Billy Mays Samarai Shark carbide) would not.

First thing I learned was how to use the Ulu knife with the rocking motion in this Quicktime video here. This newly sharpened Ulu blew through carrots and potatoes like crap through a goose.

That's pretty cool Lux. I am sure one of those sharpeners is in my future!