Sharpening

[Vulcan]

Aha Gotcha! You just couldn’t help yourself. After all the discussions and heated words about the topic you just had to click on this thread. Relax.

On any thread about sharpening there is always one guy who can sharpen really large, or really tiny, or really complex shaped tools totally by hand, no jigs, on his kitchen step in under a minute. Impressive! The problem is, I don’t have a kitchen step. I think I had one years ago but I’m sure the grit size was too fine … So, where do you get these kitchen steps and what grade should I buy? But wait, I don’t have an outside door to my kitchen. Oh well. What about this chaps, what grit mug should I buy?



Edit: Apologies, in case it’s not obvious this thread is supposed to be humorous.

 

[TRITON]

On older type high carbon knives(the type that blackens when it comes into contact with lemon juice), you can hone/sharpen on the bottom of a ceramic dinner plate.

 

[niall Y]

In a sense a dinner plate or mug, is a ceramic stone shaped for eating off, or drinking out of. I wonder if a terra cotta flower pot would work as well?

 

[Jacob]

Not quite the kitchen step but I've been using a piece of building stone I found in the garden, for sharpening my little axe. I've been chopping up a lot of small stuff on a block, woody hedge trimmings etc to get them to compost heap size.
If you are using an edge tool it's best to keep touching up the edge so that you never need to "sharpen" in the usual sense.
Takes a few seconds, every now and then, the difference is obvious and it will never need a more elaborate sharpening procedure. Ditto any edge tool, but on a better stone than this for finer work!
Sorry to be boring but sharpening really is really easy!

 

[Vulcan]

In a sense a dinner plate or mug, is a ceramic stone shaped for eating off, or drinking out of. I wonder if a terra cotta flower pot would work as well?

Let us know!

 

[Jacob]

In a sense a dinner plate or mug, is a ceramic stone shaped for eating off, or drinking out of. I wonder if a terra cotta flower pot would work as well?

Well yes why not? Splash of water helps. You'd need to stroke it over a few times, one side then the other, quickly and lightly, pulling the edge back, not forcing it forwards.

 

[imageel]

TBH anything abrasive and loaded with material harder then your steel will do - think concrete doorstep for example
For sure it ain't gonna produce a refined edge for fine wood carving but it'll be fine for a mortice chisel or a carving knife, the latter easier to do because of the broadness and length of the bade....

I'll take cover now.....

 

[Jacob]

....
For sure it ain't gonna produce a refined edge for fine wood carving ...

It will if the stone is fine enough. I reckon my lump above is about same as Norton "medium" stone and for most purposes all you need.

 

[paulrbarnard]

When I was about six we visited Clovelley and walking down along an old guy was sharpening his kitchen knives on a flat stone by his front door. My Dad said to him I bet that will last longer than the knives. Well I’ve been back there many times over the almost 60 years since then and sure enough the stone is still there. I suspect the knives and there owner are long gone.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

My mother always sharpened kitchen knives on the doorstep.

 

[Chubber]

+1 for Phil's Mum, but the way my mother cooked the Sunday roast a panel saw would have been more useful.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

With vegetables you needed a spoon to eat?

 

[Chubber]

Yup, the Christmas day sprouts went on 5th November....

 

[pe2dave]

I use this for my (very similar) garden knife. Finish with a fine stone if needed.

 

[Jacob]

Basically you can sharpen on almost any old stone and get a result. If your door-step happens to be slate or similar you can probably get a very fine surgical edge.
The only interesting thing about this thread is that people seem surprised!

 

[Jacob]

Cleaned up my chunk of stone and am now sharpening 2 pairs of garden shears - drawing the blade towards me and across, face side up and about a 70º bevel. Very handy to have a big stone.
Cleaned up the blades first on the face side. Interesting to reveal the grinder marks where the blades are very slightly hollowed out to within a few mm of the edge, but not at all at the hinged end around the bolt holes
Water on stone good in the garden as it can just be hosed away and leave no trace, unlike in the workshop where oil is obviously much more practical.
Could be handy to have an outdoor water-sharpening "station" i.e. chunk of stone on concrete slab on a few bricks.
Haven't tried a plane blade on it yet that's next.

 

[Fitzroy]

Whilst on holiday at a friends mountain cabin I was attempting to chop wood with their 'axe', it was more like a cudgel the edge was so blunt. Asking about a sharpening stone or a file and I was met with bemused expressions as to such a thing . I went out searching for a suitable stone in the local vicinity, I could only find some pretty nice fine grain stone and after an hour I had to give up as it would have taken me all week to get the thing back to any sort of edge. On my next visit I packed some tools from home and wood chopping was much more pleasurable. I'm there again next week,first time in 5years, perhaps I'll take the diamond stones again just in case.

 

[Jacob]

Whilst on holiday at a friends mountain cabin I was attempting to chop wood with their 'axe', it was more like a cudgel the edge was so blunt. Asking about a sharpening stone or a file and I was met with bemused expressions as to such a thing . I went out searching for a suitable stone in the local vicinity, I could only find some pretty nice fine grain stone and after an hour I had to give up as it would have taken me all week to get the thing back to any sort of edge.

Must have been in really bad nick!
You need a flattish stone of good size for an axe and apply axe to stone, not vice versa. Hold end of handle fairly steady with one hand and pivot the head in an arc whilst holding it down firmly and forcefully. There's a sort of easy natural movement which you soon pick up.
A little and often maintaining the edge rather than re-sharpening it.