Knife Sharpening Article by Crazy Crow Trading Post
Knife Sharpening Article by Crazy Crow Trading Post

Sharpening Your Knife

Knife Making Articles

Crazy Crow Trading Post ~ May 23, 2006

Rate This Article

 

Sharpening Your Knife

Knife Making Articles

Crazy Crow Trading Post ~ May 23, 2006

The most difficult knife care task is said to be sharpening a blade. Modern stainless steel is very hard and when sharpened properly, will hold a good edge for a very long time.

When sharpening a knife, you must have a high quality sharpener that features a rough stock removal surface of diamond abrasive and a finishing surface of hard stone or ceramic abrasive. The diamond and ceramic materials will cut away the blade’s cutting surface easily as these materials are much harder than steel. A hard stone will also perform this task, but the stone is only slightly harder than the steel and this requires more effort on your part. Before you put your knife on the stone you should coat the stone with a little oil. The oil will float the metal and stone particles that are produced in the sharpening process, enabling you to wipe them off at the end of the process so that the pores in the stone do not get clogged.

As you sharpen your knife on a stone, there are several factors to keep in mind: the angle of the blade, the pressure of each stroke, the number of strokes per side of the edge and sharpening the entire edge. A General rule of thumb is to sharpen hunting knives at 20 to 30 degrees and kitchen knives at 15 to 20 degrees. See above image.

Once you have the proper angle, draw the knife across the stone toward the edge. Try to imagine that you are slicing a very thin piece off the stone. Draw the blade in a sweeping motion so that the entire edge comes in contact with the stone. Make sure to hone the tip of the knife too. Grind one edge along the stone edge-first until a burr is formed on the other side of the edge. You can feel the burr with your thumb, on the side of the edge opposite the stone. The presence of the burr means that the steel is thin enough at the top that it is folding over slightly, because the bevel you have just ground has reached the edge tip. If you stop before the burr is formed, then you have not ground all the way to the edge tip, and your knife will not be as sharp as it should be. The forming of the burr is critically important – it is the only way to know for sure that you have sharpened far enough on that side. Once the bur r is formed on one side, turn the kni fe over and repeat the process. Make sure and use the same number of strokes on each side to make a keen edge. After the knife has been sharpened, use progressively finer stones to hone the knife to razor sharpness.

Native American Online Resources

Crazy Crow Trading Post Crow Calls Sale

Current Crow Calls Sale

March – April 2024

Take advantage of great deals during our March – April Crow Calls Sale! SAVE 10%-20% on popular powwow, rendezvous, historic reenactor, bead & leather crafter supplies. Don’t miss the savings on many popular items like Missouri River Deluxe Hunting Bags, Plains Hard Sole Moccasin Kits, 18th & 19th Century Footwear: Men’s & Women’s Colonial Shoes with Buckles, Riflemen’s Half Boots & Civil War Brogans, Colonial Clothing: Waistcoats, Knee Breeches, 1850s Waistcoats & Frockcoats, Pow-Wow Drums, Hand Drum Kits, Plains Style Lance & Spear Heads, Dream Catchers & Mandalas, Traditional Serapes & so much more!

Sharpening Your Knife – Related Products (click images to view product detail)

The following items are used in the above-article, or may provide added reference and helpful information.

Pocket Sharpener with Pen Holder - Crazy Crow Trading Post

Pocket Sharpener with Pen Holder

Diamond sharpeners cut fast, producing a keen edge quickly and last almost indefinitely. These sharpeners will give you uninterrupted sharpening in any direction. Diamond sharpeners are not messy like oil stones and are great in the field. Use them on your hunting knife, fish hooks, homeware, or tools.   Product No. 4920-230-022

8

8″ Sharpening Stone

Sharpening stones, like Crazy Crow’s 8″ Sharpening Stone, are the most traditional way to sharpen knives and tools. They are versatile and can be used to sharpen almost any edge. Our Sharpening Stone is made from an Aluminum Oxide construction and measure 8″ x 2″ x 1″. Each stone has both a coarse and medium grit side. Product No. 4920-010-008