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> You'll even get better at it till you usually get something good. This is the crux. Sure, if I bake a loaf of odd bread every couple of days, I will EVENTUA

by bsder 3mo ago

> You'll even get better at it till you usually get something good. This is the crux. Sure, if I bake a loaf of odd bread every couple of days, I will EVENTUALLY get good enough to produce something good rather than just edible. After how long? A week? A month? A YEAR? So, in the interim, I am WASTING those ingredients and my time. I liken this to knife sharpening. Sure, EVENTUALLY you will get the feel for sharpening on whetstones and then sharpening your kitchen knives is quick and straightforward. But how many times will it take--especially if you have no mentor to teach you? Alternatively, you can get a fixed-angle sharpener and have sharp kitchen knives tonight.

throwaway173738 3mo ago
What’s cool about sharpening knives is it teaches you how to sharpen all kinds of stuff. For example I’m building a fence and I have to cut some roots in the posthole using my San Angelo bar. The chisel is dull because I’ve been using it to break up concreted rock. So I grab a file and put a little edge back on it.
IAmBroom 3mo ago
Off-topic: what finally allowed me to gain the ability for high sharpening on a whetstone was watching a YT video of a master at the craft who worked slowly [0]. He wasn't one of those chefs doing the whoosh-whoosh-whoosh and it's sharp off a hone, nor even on the stone. He stared and concentrated and carefully made each pass. That leads to a lot of idiocy out there. I've twice handed knives to (amateur) others only to find them duller after "sharpening" than before. One had a hone; the other had a diamond-grit stone. The muscle memory to keep your edge at the same angle through the draw along a curved knife face takes a looooong time to perfect. He didn't trust in it; he always watched and moved with care. Once I accepted that as the end goal, I too could get knives that routinely shaved paper. [0]: OUTDOORS55 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pagPuiuA9cY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pagPuiuA9cY

by bsder 3mo ago

throwaway173738 3mo ago

What’s cool about sharpening knives is it teaches you how to sharpen all kinds of stuff. For example I’m building a fence and I have to cut some roots in the posthole using my San Angelo bar. The chisel is dull because I’ve been using it to break up concreted rock. So I grab a file and put a little edge back on it.

IAmBroom 3mo ago

Off-topic: what finally allowed me to gain the ability for high sharpening on a whetstone was watching a YT video of a master at the craft who worked slowly [0]. He wasn't one of those chefs doing the whoosh-whoosh-whoosh and it's sharp off a hone, nor even on the stone. He stared and concentrated and carefully made each pass. That leads to a lot of idiocy out there. I've twice handed knives to (amateur) others only to find them duller after "sharpening" than before. One had a hone; the other had a diamond-grit stone. The muscle memory to keep your edge at the same angle through the draw along a curved knife face takes a looooong time to perfect. He didn't trust in it; he always watched and moved with care. Once I accepted that as the end goal, I too could get knives that routinely shaved paper. [0]: OUTDOORS55 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pagPuiuA9cY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pagPuiuA9cY