3 ms·

Any tips to hold the angle steady?

ofalkaed 3y ago
Practice. It is one of those things like riding a bike that you have to put in the time and mess up at if you want to master. It might take an hour or two to get that first blade sharp but once you develop the skill it will become easy. The biggest thing is to pay attention to what you are doing, how you hold the blade and the movements you are making and how that affects the edge. Check the edge often and examine the marks left by the stone, nice straight parallel even grooving tells you things are as they should be; they will appear slightly curved and/or look as if they fade away if you are changing angle during the stroke. The marks will actually tell you everything you are doing wrong or right once you learn to read them and some purposeful and exaggerated 'mistakes' can be helpful in learning to read them.
btbuildem 3y ago
He had different wedges of wood with angles matched to different plane irons -- the wood would slide on the table/bench while the edge of the blade would go over the stone. Holding the iron against the angled block seemed to keep the angle consistent.
oldpersonintx 3y ago
you can buy guides to hold blades at a set angle do not believe other answer that says to just "practice" - you cannot hope to steady a blade with sub-millimeter precision, you must secure it...if you are off by a fraction of a mm you are resetting the edge
- c0pium 3y ago
  This is nonsense. Every chef I know sharpens by hand and they get an insanely sharp edge.
  - oldpersonintx 3y ago
    Kitchen knives are a laughably low bar for sharpening and most chefs don't care because their knives are destroyed, damaged or stolen in short order anyway In kitchens I have worked in, knives were delivered by a service once a week, no one wastes time honing. Those chefs showing off their $5k custom knives get them stolen by dishwashers, these are for home users only imho Sharpening straight razors is where you actually learn how to hone
- eternityforest 3y ago
  I think it depends on skill. I'm not great at sharpening, others get to razor sharp in seemingly no time with just a single stone. Not everyone has time and a decent level of natural dexterity but it is possible, since people seem to do it.
rashkov 3y ago
Roll the blade forward until the oil/water squeezes out from under it. You’ll see that happen when the blade is flat. Check out Rex Krueger’s sharpening videos on YouTube to see this in action
bsder 3y ago
1) Use a big knife for practice. I can't tell you how difficult it was to sharpen my little paring knife accurately. And then I tried on my big chef's knife, and it was soooo much easier to hold the angle properly. 2) Your knife doesn't need to be razor sharp I see this all the time, but putting that good an edge on a functional knife is useless wankery (if you're shaving with a straight razor, this does not apply). Studies show that the edge dulls itself down almost immediately upon usage. The edge still works well, but it won't cut your hairs anymore.

Practice. It is one of those things like riding a bike that you have to put in the time and mess up at if you want to master. It might take an hour or two to get that first blade sharp but once you develop the skill it will become easy. The biggest thing is to pay attention to what you are doing, how you hold the blade and the movements you are making and how that affects the edge. Check the edge often and examine the marks left by the stone, nice straight parallel even grooving tells you things are as they should be; they will appear slightly curved and/or look as if they fade away if you are changing angle during the stroke. The marks will actually tell you everything you are doing wrong or right once you learn to read them and some purposeful and exaggerated 'mistakes' can be helpful in learning to read them.

btbuildem 3y ago

He had different wedges of wood with angles matched to different plane irons -- the wood would slide on the table/bench while the edge of the blade would go over the stone. Holding the iron against the angled block seemed to keep the angle consistent.

oldpersonintx 3y ago

you can buy guides to hold blades at a set angle do not believe other answer that says to just "practice" - you cannot hope to steady a blade with sub-millimeter precision, you must secure it...if you are off by a fraction of a mm you are resetting the edge

c0pium 3y ago
This is nonsense. Every chef I know sharpens by hand and they get an insanely sharp edge.
- oldpersonintx 3y ago
  Kitchen knives are a laughably low bar for sharpening and most chefs don't care because their knives are destroyed, damaged or stolen in short order anyway In kitchens I have worked in, knives were delivered by a service once a week, no one wastes time honing. Those chefs showing off their $5k custom knives get them stolen by dishwashers, these are for home users only imho Sharpening straight razors is where you actually learn how to hone
eternityforest 3y ago
I think it depends on skill. I'm not great at sharpening, others get to razor sharp in seemingly no time with just a single stone. Not everyone has time and a decent level of natural dexterity but it is possible, since people seem to do it.

rashkov 3y ago

Roll the blade forward until the oil/water squeezes out from under it. You’ll see that happen when the blade is flat. Check out Rex Krueger’s sharpening videos on YouTube to see this in action

bsder 3y ago

1) Use a big knife for practice. I can't tell you how difficult it was to sharpen my little paring knife accurately. And then I tried on my big chef's knife, and it was soooo much easier to hold the angle properly. 2) Your knife doesn't need to be razor sharp I see this all the time, but putting that good an edge on a functional knife is useless wankery (if you're shaving with a straight razor, this does not apply). Studies show that the edge dulls itself down almost immediately upon usage. The edge still works well, but it won't cut your hairs anymore.