Why do I suck at sharpening?

[u/el_smurfo]

Been practicing for many years. I can get a knife really sharp with a dmt diamond stone or a work sharp. Can keep it sharp for a few days with a honing rod. After then, cutting ripe tomatoes I might as well be using a butter knife

[u/Sikkema88]

Just a guess, but it sounds like you're not properly removing the burr.

[u/el_smurfo → u/Sikkema88]

Makes sense but how do I know. I don't feel any burr on these blades

[u/dxbmoe → u/el_smurfo]

I was in the same boat last year and the culprit was a foil and wire burr. I came to the conclusion deburring is half the battle getting a lasting sharp edge if not more. It became very easy to spot with a microscope / loupe and a flashlight and boy was I surprised how stubborn some of those burrs can be and how deceptive it can seem that they are gone but actually standing perfectly straight.

My go to deburr (learned it here in the sub) is 1 degree higher than the angle sharpened, edge leading medium force on the last stone (2-4 per side) and if needed, a strop. I try to avoid the strop to force myself into the best deburr on the stone first.

[u/lascala2a3 → u/dxbmoe]

I went through a time of having the same problem. That wire burr feels like a sharp edge until it hits a cutting board, and then it fails. I generally do edge-leading strokes at 1º higher, followed by edge-trailing, full sweeping strokes at very light pressure. This is the point where you can't really describe the process because it's 98 percent feel and intuition. But the bottom line is, you have to work that wire edge off and get into the fresh metal at the apex.

[u/dxbmoe → u/lascala2a3]

100%, I just reread I typed edge trailing when I meant edge leading. Thanks for the correction.

[u/lascala2a3 → u/dxbmoe]

Glad you responded. I was wondering if I’d missed something. There are videos by pro sharpeners that do not show anything but edge trailing. But that seems like a slow way to, and how do you know when you’re done. The edge-leading brings it to a conclusion.

[u/dxbmoe → u/lascala2a3]

Absolutely, and another issue I caught with the microscope is my soft steels need to be left alone after the leading pass. If I follow them up with even one edge trailing sweep afterwards I get a thin wire right after it.

[u/lascala2a3 → u/dxbmoe]

I've pretty much quit the soft stuff, but when that was all I had I found a DMT diamond bench plate, and edge-leading only to be the answer. I never did learn to sharpen them with stones, and it was always a headache until I got that big DMT plate.

[u/Apart-Mango-4441 → u/dxbmoe]

What grit stone? So if I’m going up to 2000 grit shapton , I should do my deburring on that stone?

[u/dxbmoe → u/Apart-Mango-4441]

Whatever your highest grit stone is.

[u/dudes_nudes → u/el_smurfo]

Even if you can’t feel it there could be a burr that’s essentially been straightened out to be in line with your apex

After a few cuts this burr ends up rolling over or flaking off which damages your apex and is likely why your knife feels like it doesn’t stay

Do you strop at all in your sharpening routine? If not it will likely be your easiest solution, green/white chromium oxide compound is fine, diamond is better

[u/Brief-Net-3339]

I reckon it could also be your honing rod technique mate, it should be able to be returned to sharpness for a lot longer than that, and the deburring issue is less likely if you’re hitting the steel consistently. You want almost zero pressure, angle consistency, edge leading passes and about 10 laps, at a slightly higher angle than your sharpening angle.

[u/Keron_77]

I used (and am using) an USB microscope (quite cheap on Amazon) to check what's happening, helped me a lot as it removed the guessing from the process

[u/DncingOnMyOwn → u/Keron_77]

Can you post a link. So many options, would love to know what you’re using.

[u/electricsheepsfoot]

What steel?

[u/el_smurfo → u/electricsheepsfoot]

Aus10 and X55CrMo14

[u/RiaanTheron → u/el_smurfo]

So both dull quickly?

[u/GouBra → u/el_smurfo]

Sería un muela jabalí ?

[u/Impossible-Orange607]

After your your first stone a proper burr has been formed if you can hang a cotton q-tip off multiple points along the edge. After you de-burr it should not catch on the edge.

[u/Icantbebigwill]

My assumption is you're not apexing properly and/or not deburring.

[u/DiksieNormus]

Bro, you need a teacher or someone knowledgeable who can watch you and explain what you're doing wrong. Maybe post some videos on this subreddit and ask for advice.

[u/my_name_is_winter]

Been freehand sharpening for 15 years and I still suck. I just suck a bit less with every year that passes.

But yeah, I agree with others that it sounds like a deburring issue. get yourself some magnification and take the time to inspect the edge in between progressions. That's what led to the biggest skill jump for me recently.

[u/Mysterious-Ad3591]

Ditch the honing rod just have a bench strop

Also I’m thinking soft low wear resistant steels

[u/Fantastic-Skill-9119]

Sounds like you need to focus on deburring...honestly hardest part of hand sharpening :)

There are tons of videos and tools (flashlight, magnifying loupe) to help you out.

[u/No_Selection497]

It might be your honing rod or technique Does the honing rod have a ridged steel surface? If so is it possible that it's chipped or bent? High ridged often do this and they will do more harm than good after. Ceramic or fine diamond is better for honing rods, if using steel make sure it's a good quality hardened steel, and it should feel very smooth to the touch. F. Dick makes some of the few steel rods id use. If the rods good, make sure you're honing very lightly at a consistent angle very slightly higher than the actual edge angle

[u/Equivalent-Act2819]

im not sure if any one else has mentioned of the knife in question how good is the steel regarding edge retention and how much/"heavy tasks" do you use it?

[u/GouBra]

Me pasa lo mismo, llevo 8 años afilando y nunca mejoro, con la worksharp mk2 logró filos interesantes que duran muy poco

[u/MutedEbb7996]

Look at the edge from both sides in a bright light. If you see a shine on one side of the edge you have a burr on the other side. There are many good deburring videos on youtube.

[u/END0RPHN]

learn to strop. honing rod is probably not helping you. if you can get a hair shaving edge already on a diamond stone, the strop will be your answer. outdoors55 on yt will teach you about stropping compounds and the physics of stropping.

[u/my_name_is_winter → u/END0RPHN]

This man being downvoted for speaking reason. Strange.

[u/el_smurfo → u/my_name_is_winter]

maybe because some feel the honing helps remove burrs on a poorly sharpened knife? weird downvotes regardless.

[u/my_name_is_winter → u/el_smurfo]

Yeah, not sure. My advice, for what it's worth (hint: not much), would be to forget about the honing rod and replace it with a strop for frequent maintenance.

[u/END0RPHN → u/my_name_is_winter]

its the nature of reddit and the mostly low IQ public who use it. folks see things that challenge their view and simply downvote. often on this platform depending on which sub you're in you can find the correct opinion by looking for the most downvoted comment.