Thanks, that's very clear.

leomitch wrote:


Thanks Leo, much appreciated!

gofly wrote:


Well firstly I'd argue that if it's just a guouge in the surface it may not even need repairing at all, most defects that are depressions below the surface don't usually need any corrective action. It's the raised defects that cause the problems as they screw up your honing angles and can catch on the blade's edge.

But with balsa you don't usually get these raised areas, and if you do you can sand it flat by laying some wet and dry paper on a flat surface (granite slab, piece of float glass, etc) and just rub the balss hone on it. And if you've a serious depression that's causing problems (by catching on an edge say) you could fill it with any wood filler and then sand it flush.

The leather strops are more fussy, any deep nick will usually produce a hollow and a corresponding raised section around the lip of the nick, and these are that bit trickier to deal with on leather.

dschur wrote:


I agree with that...but oddly when I'm using the honing wheel on my Tormek sharpener I charge the honing wheel with fresh paste every time. I guess I'm as random and inconsistent in my strategies as the next sharpener!

If you're slicing up your strops regularly you might get better results from the balsa hones.

Firstly they're a bit more robust, and secondly they're easier to repair if you do take a chunk out of them. The problem with repairing leather strops isn't the carved out divot, it's the raised seam around it that then throws your honing angles out!

Just a thought.

wickededge wrote:


I agree. I think it's a mistake to just pick an arbitrary bevel angle, or choose a very acute angle just because it implies a sharp blade. A better strategy is to pick the bevel angle that works best with your blade for your applications.

I keep one folder exclusively for fishing, in reality it's only used for applications where ultimate sharpness is needed, such as cutting braid line, and applications such as bait preparation which don't really wear down a fine edge very quickly. Consequently I've found a 20 degree included angle works fine, only needing light honing every few weeks.

Alternatively I keep another folder in my car that gets used for much rougher work, including an impromptu can opener, consequently unless it's sharpened at 28 to 30 degrees the edge can't stand the abuse.

Does anyone know the exact implications of the thicker Chosera stones in terms of bevel angles?

In other words if you set the angle guide to say 20 degrees, does the thicker Chosera stone produce a 19 degree bevel or an 18 degree bevel or a 17 degree bevel, or what?

Thanks!

I'm new to the Wicked Edge system, but I've been sharpening woodworking tools for over thirty years.

One thing surprises me, as far as I can see the accepted custom and practise with knife sharpening is to work with a single bevel. Maybe I've missed something but I read on this forum about people going to quite complex lengths to maintain the same single bevel angle when they switch from diamond stones to the thicker waterstones.

However, in sharpening woodworking tools, such as plane blades, multiple bevels are increasingly the default method. For example with a plane blade it's common to use a power grinder at one bevel angle (lets say 25 degrees), then on subsequent honing to use an 800 grit waterstone to achieve a wire edge at say 28 degrees, and finally to use an 8000 grit waterstone at say 30 degrees to achieve a polished micro bevel. In fact it doesn't stop here, a very influential woodworker called David Charlesworth flips over to the flat side of the plane blade and removes the wire edge with another tiny micro bevel.

Coming to knife sharpening from this multi-bevel woodworking culture it seems to me more reasonable to do initial sharpening and wire edge formation at say 20 degrees, then back off to say 22 degrees for waterstones or honing with the objective of producing an almost invisibly narrow, highly polished micro-bevel with just three or four strokes. Of course you don't get that beautiful fat polished single bevel, but you would save an awful lot of time! Am I missing something?

dschur wrote:


Good point, fully agree!

Reading these posts a couple of points come to mind,

1. Honing only off the blade rather than on to the blade (so the stone moves upwards rather than downwards) has the advantage that it develops the appropriate muscle memory and technique for stropping, where if you hone downwards onto the blade there's a good chance of cutting into the leather strop. If you're the kind of person who is happier switching onto auto-pilot and just having one automatic technique then let that be off the blade so that you don't inadvertently shred your strops.

2. No one's mentioned that it's important not to swivel or roll the stone, especially the coarser diamond stones, or else the corner of the stone can turn your beautiful knife into a serrated blade pretty quickly! Seriously, a good stroking technique (and stroking speed) is one that keeps the stone flat to the blade at all times and discourages any tendency to swivel or roll the stone.