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OP
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Which do you prefer, and why?
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Joined: Apr 2006
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Campfire Tracker
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I used to be able to get a good shaving edge freehand on a stone followed by a leather strop, but really struggle to do so now. I've been using a Gatco setup for a few years now and get much better results...
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Joined: Mar 2017
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Campfire Tracker
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OP
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Thanks J. Why do you suppose Stones used to work for you but now don't? Is it you or the stones?
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Campfire Outfitter
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I think you know or can accurately guess which camp I am in.
Eat Fish, Wear Grundens, Drink Alaskan.
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OP
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MCH, Stones, for sure. But humor me a little and articulate why please.
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Joined: Dec 2004
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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My father was a tool and die guy, so I had access to plenty of stones as a youth.
I used free hand stones for about 50 years. I got pretty good at it. I ended up buying three larger (longer stokes) bench stones of various grits and made a small fixture to hold them. I always sharpened standing with my elbows locked into my sides and the stones at the same height every time if possible.
I thought I was doing well, but kept hearing about scary sharp. When Boise loaned me his Edge Pro I found out what scary sharp is. I no longer use free stones for sharpening.
Keeping the stones CLEAN and the angle CONSTANT is very important in sharpening blades, especially the newer steels heat treated to higher rockwells.
I fear the old days of setting around the deer hunting campfire spitting on an arkansas stone and working up a slather swishing your high carbon soligen blade heat treated in the mid 50s around is about gone.
I now also use the Work Sharp for my filet and kitchen knives. Does a pretty good job and is quick touch up after setting the convex bevel the first time.
So anyhow, I feel that almost any fixtured system will normally beat free hand for sharpening.
Just my 2 cents. Tim
"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." Albert Einstein
At Khe Sanh a sign read "For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the protected never knew".
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Joined: Mar 2017
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OP
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Thanks Tim! Very useful info for me
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Joined: Dec 2004
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Campfire Tracker
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If going to or staying with stones, I would say that the most important things are
Get 11" stones for a longer sustained stroke. Get three grits, coarse, medium and fine. Keep them clean. Find a way to make your hands and body a fixture for consistent positioning and keep stones at same height. And find a final strop or polish system that works for you. Also remember that until you get a burr, you are not ready for a finer grit.
again just my 2 cents.
Last edited by michiganroadkill; 02/12/20.
"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." Albert Einstein
At Khe Sanh a sign read "For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the protected never knew".
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Campfire Regular
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All of the big knife fora have intermittently hosted blade sharpening competitions. In EVERY case guided systems have won.
You can no more tell someone how to do something you've never done, than you can come back from somewhere you've never been...
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MCH, Stones, for sure. But humor me a little and articulate why please. You are right! But I have a modified method, I don't lay the stone flat I clamp it vertical. This allows me to actually see my angle. Why do I free hand? I suppose because that is how I learned as a young kid.
Eat Fish, Wear Grundens, Drink Alaskan.
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Joined: Jun 2008
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Campfire Outfitter
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All of the big knife fora have intermittently hosted blade sharpening competitions. In EVERY case guided systems have won. A sharpening competition would be purely subjective. A cutting competition is not subjective.
Eat Fish, Wear Grundens, Drink Alaskan.
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Campfire Regular
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All of the big knife fora have intermittently hosted blade sharpening competitions. In EVERY case guided systems have won. A sharpening competition would be purely subjective. A cutting competition is not subjective. Oops,my bad. I should have said "blade sharpness" competitions! The ones I reference use the protocol from BF that Phil uses: Seamount Rope TestingIn addition, I've been a Bladesports member for quite a while now and most of the guys I hang out with from there LOVE Clay Allison and Wicked Edge...
You can no more tell someone how to do something you've never done, than you can come back from somewhere you've never been...
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Could you draw a better circle by hand or when using a compass technical drawing instrument ?
Better straight line by hand or using the edge of a ruler ?
PRESIDENT TRUMP 2024/2028 !!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Bristoe The people wringing their hands over Trump's rhetoric don't know what time it is in America.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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I’m pretty good on stones. But it’s an art, and that means you have to settle for a bit less than perfection. Anymore with my really expensive Japanese kitchen knives I’ve gone to a mechanical setup. For the money, I don’t think you can get a better setup than a Hapstone. It has taken the Edge Pro to an entirely different level. I use diamond stones. https://www.gritomatic.com/collections/hapstone-sharpeners
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Thanks J. Why do you suppose Stones used to work for you but now don't? Is it you or the stones? I'm sure it's me not being able to hold a consistent angle - likely due to age and unsteady hands, but who knows...
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I always thought I was good freehand until a buddy of mine showed me his Lansky system. Now I know what scary sharp is. Finish with a strop and it's unbelievable sharp.
I'd rather die in a BAD gunfight than a GOOD nursing home.
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Campfire Regular
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I’m pretty good on stones. But it’s an art, and that means you have to settle for a bit less than perfection. Anymore with my really expensive Japanese kitchen knives I’ve gone to a mechanical setup. For the money, I don’t think you can get a better setup than a Hapstone. It has taken the Edge Pro to an entirely different level. I use diamond stones. https://www.gritomatic.com/collections/hapstone-sharpenersThose Russki stones are a great budget replacement on the EdgePro!
You can no more tell someone how to do something you've never done, than you can come back from somewhere you've never been...
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Could you draw a better circle by hand or when using a compass technical drawing instrument ?
Better straight line by hand or using the edge of a ruler ? This. I figure when you're doing it by hand, you're actually competing to see if your hands and eyes can equal a mechanical device holding a precise angle. And if you like that challenge, more power to you. I'll take the easy way myself.
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Depends. I have a Sharpmaker, Lansky, and Gatco. They all do a better job for me than free hand. The Sharpmaker is the fastest, also the least precise. Also the most used. It will make a knife sharp enough. Quickly. I often use it as a bench stone if in a hurry.
At work, we have the chefs choice machines and several stones. There it's stones, always. We carry sheath knives, and use them constantly. Sharp isn't a dick measuring contest, it's a necessity for doing your job. The stuff we cut dulls a knife quickly, and sharp enough is good enough.
Parents who say they have good kids..Usually don't!
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Freehand for me right now, I get them hair popping sharp in short order.
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