I agree. This is a highly efficient video on how to get 90% of the kitchen knives sharp. From here on out, the diminishing returns rise steeply. He could spend other 5 minutes to bring that percentage to 93% of the best kitchen knives. Other 10 minutes to take it to 95%... He could have given a two hour lecture of many other nuisances of what makes a good edge on which kind of steel, sharpened on what kind of grit, on what kind of geometry, to do what kind of cuts on what kind of material being cut.
The number of videos that dont explain what,why or how to strop is maddening, led to me spending hours of wasted time dulling my knives instead of sharpening them. Also most of them dont mention the pressure to apply when sharpening at all. One thing this video is missing for me though is that my knives dont have a bevel at the apex, ive heard of reprofiling but im still not quite sure what I should be doing in my case.
I have seen so many sharpening videos. This is the best one, the first one everyone should watch. It has the key important elements. It gives details on how that almost all miss, like how to maintain angle (most just say “practice”) or why it doesn’t require an afternoon of spare time to do it. You don’t get confusing by discussing angles that would reprofile the edge, don’t get into steels or stone types and don’t make it seem like a commercial. Just how to make the knife sharp with a stone. Really amazing that i haven’t seen a beginners guide this spot on without the tangents, fluff, or missing the little tricks that make the viewer say, oh that’s simple I can do that. Well done!
@@vcommandarv5916 I like to take my sharpie and mark that indent, so it's easier to index to quickly, even if the dip is gone, along with a mark on the blade for where to place my thumb/finger, so it's also in the same spot along the spine.
I wish I could like this video twice. I went from someone who spends two hours making a blade duller and quitting out of frustration to someone who can get a knife shaving sharp in the time it takes to brew a pot of coffee. I am bewildered by the fact that something that mystified me so much could be accomplished by watching a six minute video.
Yeah, great comment. I started sharpening at a reasonable level around three years ago after watching Alex’s videos. Now Ive mastered the basics I can pretty much sharpen in a few minutes. Anyone wanting to learn freehand sharpening should just watch these simple vid’s
What helped you be able to sharpen yours? I keep reading threads and watching videos from people who are like experts doing it and I just can't understand what they're saying or what I'm doing wrong. I tried the sharpie trick and was able to grind it down to just the apex but I can't get a burr and my knives feel exactly the same as before I started. I tried all different pressures too, and I use only my lower body to pull the knife across the stone. It's the same no matter what knife or what I try. You seem to have had the same problem and I was hoping you might have some insight before I just give up on this.
@@zackmagic4242 My best guess is that your knife has a specific, factory bevel angle that you need to grind it down before you reach apex. You have 2 options: either sharpen with factory angle or get a 120 (sic!) grit stone and reprofile.
@@Tilosag Thanks for the tip. I didn't measure the angle where the stone meets the apex but it looks close to 20 degrees. I tried again and I think I had too sharp of an angle originally. It's not paper sharp yet but it's working much better for vegetables and that's good enough for a kitchen knife until I have time to try again.
I've been half-assing it when it comes to knife sharpening for about 20 years now. You've given me everything I need to fix that in under 6 minutes. That's impressive.
Bro. I don't normally comment on any video. But yours I will. Even if you don't read this. I just wanted to say thank you. Just a normal Joe blog who wants a sharp knife in the kitchen. Had a pull through. I thought that was sharp. Had an electric pull through. Again I thought that was sharp. Had those table angle things but the stone kept clogging up. Then a cheap Asian store wet stone. somehow stumbled on to your channel. Watched your vids for 2 weeks. Bought the sharpal 325/1200. In less than 2 mins i had a sharp knife. Now I know the feeling when all those chefs say let the knife do the work. Thanks
Hi mate, I am a butcher by trade I watched your video on knife sharpening yesterday and thought I would try and do it with my knifes, my knifes stopped sharp all day ,you’re way of sharpening has made a big difference for me thank you I have struggled for so long.
Alex your photography and editing have become outstanding! This has got to be the best video I've seen that succinctly describes and demonstrates how easy it is to sharpen on stones, and believe me when I say I’ve watched hundreds. Bravo!👏.
This should be a RUclips sticky, that comes up first when someone searches for "how to sharpen a knife by hand". Well done (technique and camera work).
Your guide has helped me out immeasurably. I inherited some diamond stones from my dad but really had no idea how to use them and didn't feel confident in sharpening my knives, especially my expensive kitchen knives. I decided one day I needed to learn how to do it and stumbled across your video. I honestly couldn't believe how easy it was and didn't know what I was so nervous about. After about 5-10 minutes of practicing on a cheaper knife, I had it sharper then my more expensive kitchen knives and it was holding it's edge. I believe I speak for us 400K+ viewers of this video, Thank You.🔪
You've done something mighty impressive with this - I've watched hours of sharpening videos and still never been able to get an edge shaving sharp. Now I did it in 15 minutes. Thanks for making a short video with accessible materials and simple techniques, that gets impressive and durable results! Now the only problem is I have to for the hair to grow back on my arm...
Your sharpening videos are a great public service. I share them with folks knowing you won't firehose them with complex jargon and irrelevant info. They are great for beginners and more experienced folks, presumably as you intended. Bravo.
I find your videos really helpful. One thing I would appreciate some more info on is how to maintain the sharpening angle all the way to the tip of the knife, especially when the tip is curved. I've experimented with raising the handle of the knife by raising my shoulder so that I keep my wrist and arm locked, but my tips are not getting as sharp as the rest of the blade. Would be helpful if you did a video about free hand sharpening of the tip.
Been using your sharpening forever (it seems) ... always solid advice. After lots of practice and use time and again, I have zero challenges freehand sharpening. The close ups add a lot more insight to your already thorough explainations. Thanks for all your content!
I was someone who never thought they could sharpen a blade despite collecting them, but I thought I would give it one last try and started watching your videos and got the stones you suggested and using the technique you explained and now every blade I own, my mother's knives, and my fiance's knives are like razors lol, I even bought the naniwa diamond pro and I'm amazed that I went from trying everything to get a sharp blade to being able to widdle hairs thank you
Love your videos. I have found a way to use trigonometry as a guide to finding the right sharpening angle. The sine for 20 degrees is 0.2 and for 15 degrees is 0.15. Sine is opposite side over hypotenuse. Opposite is the distance from the blade to the whetstone and hypotenuse is the width of the blade. So if you’re shooting for a 20-degree angle, lift the blade 1/5 the width of the blade (hypotenuse * sine of the angle, which is 0.2).
Thank you for your tip about moving with your torso. I was wondering what I was doing wrong. My arm movements were obviously changing my angle a bunch!
Man you just watch this video, you perfectly understand everything and follow his instructions and then it's like magic. You know it's a good tutorial when you get this feeling...
Well you convinced me to get the hexagon pattern stone and a strop, and it really is easy to get a good edge following your tips. I've tried on even the worst, pressed steel kitchen knives and the edge I got at first attempt was unbelievable. I'm a convert.
Only way I could get my knifes razor sharp. Tried waterstones and everything else but this is the best, fastest and easiest way to sharpen knifes I have found. The other secret to sharpening is mentioned here too: dont be afraid to remove material. I learned the hard way. My waterstones are way to fine to get a burr so I never got sharp knifes with them. Not even after half an hour. So go coarse till you get a burr and the get finer. Thats the message here and its so true!
Been watching your videos for a while in preparation for the day I'd get my sharpening stones. I was all ready to spend a lot of time messing up knives, but it was a piece of cake. Can't believe how easy that was after a little bit of getting my bearings.
Perfection...every time I sharpen something your words and voice take over my head...keeping this video offline to be transferred to the next generation ... Thank you
You are my knife sharpening hero. I'm an old guy that has never been able to consistently sharpen a knife with a stone in my life because I can never keep the angle consistent. Several years ago, I purchased the Wicked Edge system and, even I, can sharpen pretty well using this. I also purchased an inexpensive wifi microscope that allows me to see what is actually happening to the blade, even with the WE. Your suggestion to use your thumb/finger to maintain the angle has inspired me to attempt sharpening with a stone again. I purchased the stone from Amazon that you recently recommended along with a pre-built strop. I will comment back when I receive the stone and attempt to use it. Thanks for the excellent videos. Keep up the good work.
@@tricky48I did reply elsewhere but here is the short version. I bought the stone, an Amazon strop and used Wicked Edge 4 micron diamond compound on it. I have been very successful using these to sharpen various knives while carefully following Outdoor55’s video. The included angle guide pyramids have been helpful in establishing the same angle each stroke. This stone is unbelievably better than trying to use wet stones, etc. No regrets and this is the first time I have been able to consistently sharpen by hand.
@@bobc3144L That's awesome bro! Glad it worked out for you! I wish I had had some video back when I first got interested in all things sharp, and making them sharper lol... but I had to figure it out the hard way... even so, I learn something new from just about every one of Outdoor55's vids... dude is doing good work out here! Keep 'em honed, keep 'em dry, and for the love of all that is useful, keep 'em on you!
Dad was a fabricator 30 years plus. Use to sharpen his blades to razor sharp on similar stones one handed while watching TV cigarette in his mouth. Was always in awe of his and some other artisans amazing steel craft, seeing videos like these just heightens my respect and amidration for the humble heroes of our world. The people who build it.
I was using wet stones before but thanx to your videos I can see that technology evolves and I plan to move away from stone soacking rituals and try diamonds :) Have quite some number of knives to work with. Thanx again. Good videos you have!
My favorite stone is a plain old Norton ndia fine (400 grit) stone. Fast cutting. just get that burr and then start slowly eliminating it with less and softer strokes. That one stone/grit combo is mo0re than good enough for most purposes. (yes I have other finer stones and strops as well but sometime.....just too lazy to get them all out)
It's interesting to see the difference between your draw & push strokes. When drawing towards yourself it's a very straight, linear movement. When you push away from yourself, it's a rotation of your core. It would be interesting to see the scratch pattern on the two sides as a result.
Dude you are really good at this. No joke. Good camera work, good production, good scripting. I work with a channel that has around 400k subs and you’ve got a lot of things figured out that we’re still working on. I’m impressed as heck and also learned a bunch about something I thought I already understood well (knife sharpening and making a good RUclips channel both).
Thank you, Alex, for another great video. My technique is similar. I learned at an early age the key to freehand sharpening is a constant consistency. The edge must meet the sharpener at the same angle every stroke. And the other side has to be the same angle or very nearly so. I think that is the main thing to sharpening knives, axes, hatchets, even swords. Of course, swords are usually held still & the sharpener moved. I've used sword-sharpening on my Mora knives w/ very good results. But I have 3 DMTs, the Coarse, the Fine, & the Extra-Fine. I bought them mostly for sharpening plane irons but I will use them for knives, too. Keep up the great job, you are really getting good at this. Have a GREAT day, Neighbor!
Best knife channel by a pretty good margin. No BS, no 10 minute sponsor promos, no "Wow! you can't survive without this $800 keychain knife! Click the link below!" Just good, accurate information presented and photographed very well. Here's wishing continued success to you, Alex.
Thanks! I still do some "recommended products" affiliate stuff since its the only way id survive trying to make money for the channel financial support. But everything is products id actually buy amd have bought myswith my own money. Anyway thanks for the comment I really appreciate it 👍
@@OUTDOORS55 I get it. You need income just like everybody else. And I hope you're selling the crap out of your recommended products. Because I believe you recommend a product on its performance. Not because X% of 300 is greater than X% of 30. Hence this is the only knife channel I have ever subscribed to. Have a good week and feel appreciated.
Your channel is very helpful, I'm glad I stumbled across it. I carry around my pocketknife almost everywhere because its just handy to have a lot of times, especially while camping or at work. It's gotten quite dull over the years and I honestly had no clue how to sharpen it before.
Great video. I just bought an electric knife sharpener and now I'm questioning the wisdom of that decision! The finger and thumb trick might be game changing. That and the sharpie technique. Really useful stuff. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! At last someone explained the skill involved in a precise and clear way. As a complete beginner, after watching so many videos on this topic and getting nowhere fast, now there is a hope that one day I might master this essential in the kitchen skill. Thank you
I found my late dad's sword which was rusty and need serious restoration... I worked on it for months and now it's my home defence weapon and it's extremely sharp and strong carbon steel (I mean If I hit an Axe 's edge with full force with will cut through the axe without loosing much of edge or chipping of it's own) can cut Hard wood chop wood and also make Shivering for fire wood but it's a curved sword short 12 inch blade with 8 inch strong Wooden handle(that I did custom leather wrap) and full tang... Hardest part was removing the rust that turned into black and solid it took days of grinding with hands and finally getting polished brushed steel surface
Thanks for the content. Can you make a video about sharpening larger kitchen knives? These are nice but when knife gets larger a lot of things get harder (e.g. maintaining the angle, sharpening the tip of the blade etc)
Thanks for your videos I've been going through them all. I bought all your recommended hand sharpening tools. Now I'm taking the time to learn this skill. Can you make a new video with bullet points for dummies like me?
One of the best How-To sharpening videos I have seen. No bullshit, no fancy equipment or movement, just facts and good advice. Will recommend it to my friends who want to start sharpening.
This is one of the most underrated edge sharpening channels on youtube. Been following for a long while now and it never ceases to impress me how well your videos are edited and how informative they are!
Thanks for this video. I subscribed to this channel a while ago but only recently watched knife sharpening videos. Based on the videos I’ve ordered a Shapton Pro 1000 as a Christmas present for my wife. We have a decent knife set but rarely sharpen them and only with a cheap roller sharpener which from the videos appears to do more harm than good. All of our knives fail the paper cutting test. So there is hope for sharper knives in 2024.
Brother the amount of knowledge you have regarding sharpening these knives is truly impressive. I'm new to edc/knives, last year was my first year in this community and I love it, but I'm still learning how to properly sharpen my knives, I knew I would have to mess up a few before I really got it right, and I'm doing okay now, my blades are sharp and slice paper no problem, but I still feel like theres so much to learn. Keep up with these awesome videos!
I have recently bought a Boker S-rail.. it has a straight cleaver blade. I believe it’s just under 2”. I’m having a heck of a time getting the angle right.. very frustrating. It’s a D2 blade. Not super hard to sharpen but when you’re struggling.. ugh. I’ll try this out
Awesome. This also looks like the perfect prep for a summer side job as a mime... X"D This is a nice summary of your advice that you gave across many videos in the past. Any of your tips that I have used, always proved to be very effective. What surprised me the most, was how little passes are needed to fully sharpen a blade.
I love these simplified videos. Years ago as a girl, I worked at RJReynolds and the old guys would even bring me their knives to sharpen 😂 I had a job where I cut burlap sacks of tobacco opened and started with a new blade and made it sharper than mfr did. My job depended on it so I got good at it. I love your videos and your attitude is top knotch. Keep it up ✊
just tried my first sharpening. the locking in is even easier if you sit in an office chair. just lock the whole upper body and let the legs swivel the chair
Great video, great demonstration. I sharpen exactly as you, but since I don't cut bricks, a few strokes on the stone and a *hard* (rawhide) 1micron diamond loaded strop, and done. I can sharpen in 20 seconds per knife if I really tried.
Thank you for creating videos for knife geeks like me who struggle to get a knife super sharp. My question is, how are you making sure that the tip of the knife is getting ground down?
You convinced me to go with the DMT whetstone. My local store didn't have the extra coarse stone, so I opted for the 600u fine stone. This fine stone is so aggresive that I can't imagine how fast that extra coarse removes material. I started my journey with a 1000grit King waterstone and the difference using the DMT stone is amazing. I don't have to wait 10-15minutes for the stone to soak and I don't have to flatten the DMT stone ever. I had to adjust my sharpening pressure as with the King stone I had to press hard to get any material removal happening. I apologize for not using your link on Amazon, but I wanted the stone now. Thank you for your no nonsense knife sharpening videos.
Thanks for the info. I have to say that once I got used to how the DMT stone cut I loved how fast it was. I am going to look at strops and diamond paste now.@@OUTDOORS55
One lathe sharpening demo stands out. The turner dulled his skew chisel on the cast iron lathe bed. He took it to a 60 grit CBN wheel, removed the damage, then stropped it. He clean shaved his arm in one pass. Getting rid of the burr is essential.
great explanation. can I ask two follow up questions? 1. are you putting pressure down the whole time when you push it away and also return back to start? 2. how much time should you spend on the fine side of the diamond plate? thanks!
This video has been very helpful for me. I have that same combo stone and just now sharpened a knife on only the coarse side and stropped with the fuzzy side with 6 micron diamond compound. This I am told is the "saw tooth" edge. I cannot see the edge, but the paper in my wife's pounds of catalouges has great respect for it. I am starting to catch on and I like the medatitive aspects as well. Thanks so much!
Thank you for this video. Best sharpening video I’ve seen. I do an ok job of sharpening, but my kitchen knives lose their edge too quickly. probably bc of the burr. I’m going to try this method.
Thanks for all your guidance. I thought my technique was solid. This video showed me a couple things to work on. I am able to get an nice edge, but I know I can do better. The best thing I've done for my sharpening is to by a strop (recommended by you). I think I will try the stones from this video now. I am ok with my wet stones, but can do better. Update: I bought the DMT course stone. The first time I ½ arse sharpened a knife on it today very quickly, then lightly stropped. I could shave with it! Can't wait to use it properly! I will get other grits too. Thanks for the recommendation.
Beginner here just trying to sharpen kitchen knives, thanks for the video. What if I don’t have a strop? I do have a honing rod. Can that be used to remove burr?
Well, you got crystal clear explanation and as good a video as I could imagine on the matter.... all in less than 6 minutes. Thanks, man. Guess it just comes down to time on the stone for me!
Practice a little everyday. Even 1 minute a day can build the muscle memory needed very quickly. Just focus on practicing correctly, and not enforcing bad habits by over practicing with the wrong technique or angles 🙂
We have an array of DMT diamond stones from extra course extra fine. The wife is really hard on the edges and you can only do so much with a steel sharpener. I have also had to use them to take chips out of the ceramics we have as well. Most of the time fine and extra fine are more than good enough. A few alternating passes with a very light touch at the end yields a shaving sharp blade. Guess I need to get a stroping block to round out the sharpening kit. The MDF on the grinder works very well too. The extra fine plate I reload every 30 or so uses with a small amount of diamond paste distributed on the entire surface and then rolled in with a 1" tungsten rod. Last a few passes with an old silicon carbide seal face and it is ready again.
Watched you for years, and I always appreciate your distillation down to the essentials. And BTW, your camera work and microscope camera work are uber appreciated. 👊
Thanks for the great tutorial! I grabbed a cheap 1000 diamond stone on Temu and a leather strop and followed the this, my kitchen knife passed the paper test no problem, extremely happy.
Damn dude. You rock. I mean, I really don't know what else to say, but you've prompted me to leave comments when I never leave. Comments, so I'll figure I'd say something. Cuz, it seems like everybody wants you to leave a comment. That's probably why I don't, but when something is it's good. I mean, total information, no bullshit. No drama, no telling us what you had for dinner. I mean, I don't even expect you to read this shit but you rock. I have been trying to sharpen a knife forever and now I can you rock?
Thank you! This is a great video! But after watching this video, and many others, I still have a couple questions that I hope you won't mind answering... When sliding the knife across the stone, are you putting pressure on the knife when the cutting edge is moving forward into the stone, OR when the cutting edge is being pulled backwards over the stone, or in both directions?? Also, will the burr ever exist on both sides of the blade, or only ever on one side at a time? Thank you!
I incorrectly state my stone is the DMT coarse, in fact, it is the EXTRA coarse. I left a link to it in the description. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the info I'm new to this but I want to master the skill. Subscribed 🍺
YOU'RE extra coarse!
... and we appreciate it.
Whats that comparable to the shapton stones 320?
Oh you really screwed us with that mix up 😂
Best tutorial thanks
I think you've done it, this is definitely the ultimate 5 minutes learn how to sharpen a knife video that actually doesn't skip the important details
💯
I agree. This is a highly efficient video on how to get 90% of the kitchen knives sharp. From here on out, the diminishing returns rise steeply. He could spend other 5 minutes to bring that percentage to 93% of the best kitchen knives. Other 10 minutes to take it to 95%... He could have given a two hour lecture of many other nuisances of what makes a good edge on which kind of steel, sharpened on what kind of grit, on what kind of geometry, to do what kind of cuts on what kind of material being cut.
@@izayus11yeah. I would be interested in the higher percentages too
For real. A beginner who has no other reference could do almost infinitely worse than this video.
The number of videos that dont explain what,why or how to strop is maddening, led to me spending hours of wasted time dulling my knives instead of sharpening them. Also most of them dont mention the pressure to apply when sharpening at all. One thing this video is missing for me though is that my knives dont have a bevel at the apex, ive heard of reprofiling but im still not quite sure what I should be doing in my case.
I have seen so many sharpening videos. This is the best one, the first one everyone should watch. It has the key important elements. It gives details on how that almost all miss, like how to maintain angle (most just say “practice”) or why it doesn’t require an afternoon of spare time to do it. You don’t get confusing by discussing angles that would reprofile the edge, don’t get into steels or stone types and don’t make it seem like a commercial.
Just how to make the knife sharp with a stone. Really amazing that i haven’t seen a beginners guide this spot on without the tangents, fluff, or missing the little tricks that make the viewer say, oh that’s simple I can do that. Well done!
Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to watch 🙏🙂
IKR! like printing the knife on your skin, this alone saves from a huge headache
@@vcommandarv5916 I like to take my sharpie and mark that indent, so it's easier to index to quickly, even if the dip is gone, along with a mark on the blade for where to place my thumb/finger, so it's also in the same spot along the spine.
@@rhyswilson7806 wow that's very good aswell! and wipe it clean with wiping alchole when your done
I agree totally. I don’t think I ever learned how to properly remove the burr. Also, Fantastic tip on maintaining angle with thumb.
I don’t have a dad so this helped me a lot to sharpen my mama’s knives for this weekend to surprise her
I wish I could like this video twice. I went from someone who spends two hours making a blade duller and quitting out of frustration to someone who can get a knife shaving sharp in the time it takes to brew a pot of coffee. I am bewildered by the fact that something that mystified me so much could be accomplished by watching a six minute video.
Yeah, great comment. I started sharpening at a reasonable level around three years ago after watching Alex’s videos. Now Ive mastered the basics I can pretty much sharpen in a few minutes. Anyone wanting to learn freehand sharpening should just watch these simple vid’s
What helped you be able to sharpen yours? I keep reading threads and watching videos from people who are like experts doing it and I just can't understand what they're saying or what I'm doing wrong. I tried the sharpie trick and was able to grind it down to just the apex but I can't get a burr and my knives feel exactly the same as before I started. I tried all different pressures too, and I use only my lower body to pull the knife across the stone. It's the same no matter what knife or what I try. You seem to have had the same problem and I was hoping you might have some insight before I just give up on this.
@@zackmagic4242 My best guess is that your knife has a specific, factory bevel angle that you need to grind it down before you reach apex. You have 2 options: either sharpen with factory angle or get a 120 (sic!) grit stone and reprofile.
@@Tilosag Thanks for the tip. I didn't measure the angle where the stone meets the apex but it looks close to 20 degrees. I tried again and I think I had too sharp of an angle originally. It's not paper sharp yet but it's working much better for vegetables and that's good enough for a kitchen knife until I have time to try again.
I've been half-assing it when it comes to knife sharpening for about 20 years now. You've given me everything I need to fix that in under 6 minutes. That's impressive.
Bro. I don't normally comment on any video. But yours I will. Even if you don't read this. I just wanted to say thank you. Just a normal Joe blog who wants a sharp knife in the kitchen. Had a pull through. I thought that was sharp. Had an electric pull through. Again I thought that was sharp. Had those table angle things but the stone kept clogging up. Then a cheap Asian store wet stone.
somehow stumbled on to your channel. Watched your vids for 2 weeks.
Bought the sharpal 325/1200. In less than 2 mins i had a sharp knife.
Now I know the feeling when all those chefs say let the knife do the work.
Thanks
Hi mate, I am a butcher by trade I watched your video on knife sharpening yesterday and thought I would try and do it with my knifes, my knifes stopped sharp all day ,you’re way of sharpening has made a big difference for me thank you I have struggled for so long.
Alex your photography and editing have become outstanding! This has got to be the best video I've seen that succinctly describes and demonstrates how easy it is to sharpen on stones, and believe me when I say I’ve watched hundreds. Bravo!👏.
Thanks I really appreciate the feedback 🙏👊
Could not agree more with that statement! I subbed just because of the that!👍😊😁❤️🎯
This should be a RUclips sticky, that comes up first when someone searches for "how to sharpen a knife by hand". Well done (technique and camera work).
Your guide has helped me out immeasurably. I inherited some diamond stones from my dad but really had no idea how to use them and didn't feel confident in sharpening my knives, especially my expensive kitchen knives. I decided one day I needed to learn how to do it and stumbled across your video. I honestly couldn't believe how easy it was and didn't know what I was so nervous about. After about 5-10 minutes of practicing on a cheaper knife, I had it sharper then my more expensive kitchen knives and it was holding it's edge. I believe I speak for us 400K+ viewers of this video, Thank You.🔪
@@vanriperje awesome! Thanks so much for the support 🙏🙏
Even with limited practice and one of the cheaper recommended sharpening stones, I’m getting great results, thanks to your videos. Thank you!
Sorry I missed this! Thank you so much for the support! It's really appreciated 🙏🙏
You've done something mighty impressive with this - I've watched hours of sharpening videos and still never been able to get an edge shaving sharp. Now I did it in 15 minutes. Thanks for making a short video with accessible materials and simple techniques, that gets impressive and durable results!
Now the only problem is I have to for the hair to grow back on my arm...
WOW awesome to hear! Thanks so much for the support, I really appreciate it 🙏🙏🙏
Your sharpening videos are a great public service. I share them with folks knowing you won't firehose them with complex jargon and irrelevant info. They are great for beginners and more experienced folks, presumably as you intended. Bravo.
This man is the absolute best teacher on this subject that i have ever found on youtube. Thank you sir!
With all due respect to Mr Outdoors55, I'd also recommend Murray Carter. Another legend in the blade sharpening community.
Where others overcomplicate, you keep it simple. I appreciate that tremendously.
the GOAT of knife sharpening!!!
I think so too!
I find your videos really helpful. One thing I would appreciate some more info on is how to maintain the sharpening angle all the way to the tip of the knife, especially when the tip is curved. I've experimented with raising the handle of the knife by raising my shoulder so that I keep my wrist and arm locked, but my tips are not getting as sharp as the rest of the blade. Would be helpful if you did a video about free hand sharpening of the tip.
I've seen many sharpening tutorials, and this taught me something new
Been using your sharpening forever (it seems) ... always solid advice. After lots of practice and use time and again, I have zero challenges freehand sharpening. The close ups add a lot more insight to your already thorough explainations. Thanks for all your content!
I was someone who never thought they could sharpen a blade despite collecting them, but I thought I would give it one last try and started watching your videos and got the stones you suggested and using the technique you explained and now every blade I own, my mother's knives, and my fiance's knives are like razors lol, I even bought the naniwa diamond pro and I'm amazed that I went from trying everything to get a sharp blade to being able to widdle hairs thank you
Love your videos. I have found a way to use trigonometry as a guide to finding the right sharpening angle. The sine for 20 degrees is 0.2 and for 15 degrees is 0.15. Sine is opposite side over hypotenuse. Opposite is the distance from the blade to the whetstone and hypotenuse is the width of the blade. So if you’re shooting for a 20-degree angle, lift the blade 1/5 the width of the blade (hypotenuse * sine of the angle, which is 0.2).
Thank you for your tip about moving with your torso. I was wondering what I was doing wrong. My arm movements were obviously changing my angle a bunch!
Brilliant. I love the thumb guide, the locking of both wrists and arms and just moving the body!
Man you just watch this video, you perfectly understand everything and follow his instructions and then it's like magic. You know it's a good tutorial when you get this feeling...
Well you convinced me to get the hexagon pattern stone and a strop, and it really is easy to get a good edge following your tips. I've tried on even the worst, pressed steel kitchen knives and the edge I got at first attempt was unbelievable. I'm a convert.
Only way I could get my knifes razor sharp. Tried waterstones and everything else but this is the best, fastest and easiest way to sharpen knifes I have found.
The other secret to sharpening is mentioned here too: dont be afraid to remove material. I learned the hard way. My waterstones are way to fine to get a burr so I never got sharp knifes with them. Not even after half an hour. So go coarse till you get a burr and the get finer. Thats the message here and its so true!
Been watching your videos for a while in preparation for the day I'd get my sharpening stones. I was all ready to spend a lot of time messing up knives, but it was a piece of cake. Can't believe how easy that was after a little bit of getting my bearings.
Perfection...every time I sharpen something your words and voice take over my head...keeping this video offline to be transferred to the next generation ... Thank you
You are my knife sharpening hero. I'm an old guy that has never been able to consistently sharpen a knife with a stone in my life because I can never keep the angle consistent. Several years ago, I purchased the Wicked Edge system and, even I, can sharpen pretty well using this. I also purchased an inexpensive wifi microscope that allows me to see what is actually happening to the blade, even with the WE. Your suggestion to use your thumb/finger to maintain the angle has inspired me to attempt sharpening with a stone again. I purchased the stone from Amazon that you recently recommended along with a pre-built strop. I will comment back when I receive the stone and attempt to use it. Thanks for the excellent videos. Keep up the good work.
Results? (IDK if you posted it somewhere else in this comment thread, as there are a LOT of comments now lol)
@@tricky48I did reply elsewhere but here is the short version. I bought the stone, an Amazon strop and used Wicked Edge 4 micron diamond compound on it. I have been very successful using these to sharpen various knives while carefully following Outdoor55’s video. The included angle guide pyramids have been helpful in establishing the same angle each stroke. This stone is unbelievably better than trying to use wet stones, etc. No regrets and this is the first time I have been able to consistently sharpen by hand.
@@bobc3144L That's awesome bro! Glad it worked out for you! I wish I had had some video back when I first got interested in all things sharp, and making them sharper lol... but I had to figure it out the hard way... even so, I learn something new from just about every one of Outdoor55's vids... dude is doing good work out here!
Keep 'em honed, keep 'em dry, and for the love of all that is useful, keep 'em on you!
Dad was a fabricator 30 years plus. Use to sharpen his blades to razor sharp on similar stones one handed while watching TV cigarette in his mouth. Was always in awe of his and some other artisans amazing steel craft, seeing videos like these just heightens my respect and amidration for the humble heroes of our world. The people who build it.
I never sharpened my knife until very recently, about a month ago. This channel has been a godsend for learning the proper techniques!
This comment hits differently with that PFP.
Appreciate the lesson, thank you so much. Sharpal coming tomorrow.
People like yourself are the reason this app is so essential
I agree. This is the best training I have ever seen on this subject.
I was using wet stones before but thanx to your videos I can see that technology evolves and I plan to move away from stone soacking rituals and try diamonds :) Have quite some number of knives to work with. Thanx again. Good videos you have!
My favorite stone is a plain old Norton ndia fine (400 grit) stone. Fast cutting. just get that burr and then start slowly eliminating it with less and softer strokes. That one stone/grit combo is mo0re than good enough for most purposes. (yes I have other finer stones and strops as well but sometime.....just too lazy to get them all out)
I appreciate the fantastic introduction to sharpening video! The close-up shots are truly impressive, effectively illustrating the discussed concepts.
It's interesting to see the difference between your draw & push strokes. When drawing towards yourself it's a very straight, linear movement. When you push away from yourself, it's a rotation of your core.
It would be interesting to see the scratch pattern on the two sides as a result.
Dude you are really good at this. No joke. Good camera work, good production, good scripting. I work with a channel that has around 400k subs and you’ve got a lot of things figured out that we’re still working on. I’m impressed as heck and also learned a bunch about something I thought I already understood well (knife sharpening and making a good RUclips channel both).
Thanks, I appreciate the kind words🙏👍
Thank you. Been looking for a way to sharpen kitchen knives quickly and effectively without buying some crazy gadget.
Just tried this with my existing 400/1000 diamond stone. Totally worked. I’d given up for a few years before seeing this video.
Thank you, Alex, for another great video.
My technique is similar.
I learned at an early age the key to freehand sharpening is a constant consistency.
The edge must meet the sharpener at the same angle every stroke.
And the other side has to be the same angle or very nearly so.
I think that is the main thing to sharpening knives, axes, hatchets, even swords.
Of course, swords are usually held still & the sharpener moved.
I've used sword-sharpening on my Mora knives w/ very good results.
But I have 3 DMTs, the Coarse, the Fine, & the Extra-Fine.
I bought them mostly for sharpening plane irons but I will use them for knives, too.
Keep up the great job, you are really getting good at this.
Have a GREAT day, Neighbor!
Absolutely, fantastic ending in this video!
Amazing teaching, at least for me!
Thanks and greetings from Antwerp!
Awesome video! Correct me if I'm wrong but the one thing you might have missed is detailing how much pressure we should be applying when sharpening:)
Best knife channel by a pretty good margin. No BS, no 10 minute sponsor promos, no "Wow! you can't survive without this $800 keychain knife! Click the link below!" Just good, accurate information presented and photographed very well. Here's wishing continued success to you, Alex.
Thanks! I still do some "recommended products" affiliate stuff since its the only way id survive trying to make money for the channel financial support. But everything is products id actually buy amd have bought myswith my own money. Anyway thanks for the comment I really appreciate it 👍
@@OUTDOORS55 I get it. You need income just like everybody else. And I hope you're selling the crap out of your recommended products. Because I believe you recommend a product on its performance. Not because X% of 300 is greater than X% of 30. Hence this is the only knife channel I have ever subscribed to. Have a good week and feel appreciated.
Best instructional videos on sharpening knives that I have seen. Thank you!
Thank you for your tutelage
Thanks for all the great tips appreciate it 🎉
Your channel is very helpful, I'm glad I stumbled across it. I carry around my pocketknife almost everywhere because its just handy to have a lot of times, especially while camping or at work. It's gotten quite dull over the years and I honestly had no clue how to sharpen it before.
Great video. I just bought an electric knife sharpener and now I'm questioning the wisdom of that decision! The finger and thumb trick might be game changing. That and the sharpie technique. Really useful stuff. Thanks for sharing.
Do you apply pressure when u push or when u pull?
Great video!!! It is the coarse stone that renews the apex of the blade. Seek out the hard creative work, and your mind will stay sharp.
What is the holder you have the stone in?
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
At last someone explained the skill involved in a precise and clear way. As a complete beginner, after watching so many videos on this topic and getting nowhere fast, now there is a hope that one day I might master this essential in the kitchen skill.
Thank you
amazing demonstration. love it.
I found my late dad's sword which was rusty and need serious restoration...
I worked on it for months and now it's my home defence weapon and it's extremely sharp and strong carbon steel (I mean If I hit an Axe 's edge with full force with will cut through the axe without loosing much of edge or chipping of it's own) can cut Hard wood chop wood and also make Shivering for fire wood but it's a curved sword short 12 inch blade with 8 inch strong Wooden handle(that I did custom leather wrap) and full tang... Hardest part was removing the rust that turned into black and solid it took days of grinding with hands and finally getting polished brushed steel surface
Excellent video. No fluff. No unnecessary talking. No self-promotion. Well done.
Thanks for the content. Can you make a video about sharpening larger kitchen knives? These are nice but when knife gets larger a lot of things get harder (e.g. maintaining the angle, sharpening the tip of the blade etc)
It's that "lock your wrist" thing that gets to be the problem when you get older. That's why I like my KME so much. GREAT VIDEO! THANK YOU!!
Thanks for your videos I've been going through them all. I bought all your recommended hand sharpening tools. Now I'm taking the time to learn this skill. Can you make a new video with bullet points for dummies like me?
One of the best How-To sharpening videos I have seen. No bullshit, no fancy equipment or movement, just facts and good advice. Will recommend it to my friends who want to start sharpening.
This is one of the most underrated edge sharpening channels on youtube. Been following for a long while now and it never ceases to impress me how well your videos are edited and how informative they are!
the best all in one video
Thanks for this video. I subscribed to this channel a while ago but only recently watched knife sharpening videos. Based on the videos I’ve ordered a Shapton Pro 1000 as a Christmas present for my wife. We have a decent knife set but rarely sharpen them and only with a cheap roller sharpener which from the videos appears to do more harm than good.
All of our knives fail the paper cutting test. So there is hope for sharper knives in 2024.
Brother the amount of knowledge you have regarding sharpening these knives is truly impressive. I'm new to edc/knives, last year was my first year in this community and I love it, but I'm still learning how to properly sharpen my knives, I knew I would have to mess up a few before I really got it right, and I'm doing okay now, my blades are sharp and slice paper no problem, but I still feel like theres so much to learn. Keep up with these awesome videos!
I have recently bought a Boker S-rail.. it has a straight cleaver blade. I believe it’s just under 2”. I’m having a heck of a time getting the angle right.. very frustrating. It’s a D2 blade. Not super hard to sharpen but when you’re struggling.. ugh. I’ll try this out
Awesome. This also looks like the perfect prep for a summer side job as a mime... X"D
This is a nice summary of your advice that you gave across many videos in the past. Any of your tips that I have used, always proved to be very effective. What surprised me the most, was how little passes are needed to fully sharpen a blade.
I love these simplified videos. Years ago as a girl, I worked at RJReynolds and the old guys would even bring me their knives to sharpen 😂 I had a job where I cut burlap sacks of tobacco opened and started with a new blade and made it sharper than mfr did. My job depended on it so I got good at it.
I love your videos and your attitude is top knotch.
Keep it up ✊
I don't own any stones but I applied the techniques in this video to a diamond file and my blue jeans. It worked!
just tried my first sharpening. the locking in is even easier if you sit in an office chair. just lock the whole upper body and let the legs swivel the chair
Great video, great demonstration. I sharpen exactly as you, but since I don't cut bricks, a few strokes on the stone and a *hard* (rawhide) 1micron diamond loaded strop, and done. I can sharpen in 20 seconds per knife if I really tried.
Thank you for creating videos for knife geeks like me who struggle to get a knife super sharp. My question is, how are you making sure that the tip of the knife is getting ground down?
You convinced me to go with the DMT whetstone. My local store didn't have the extra coarse stone, so I opted for the 600u fine stone. This fine stone is so aggresive that I can't imagine how fast that extra coarse removes material. I started my journey with a 1000grit King waterstone and the difference using the DMT stone is amazing. I don't have to wait 10-15minutes for the stone to soak and I don't have to flatten the DMT stone ever. I had to adjust my sharpening pressure as with the King stone I had to press hard to get any material removal happening. I apologize for not using your link on Amazon, but I wanted the stone now. Thank you for your no nonsense knife sharpening videos.
The fine will beak in after a while and not feel so coarse. It can take 20-30 knives or so to break in completely.👍
Thanks for the info. I have to say that once I got used to how the DMT stone cut I loved how fast it was. I am going to look at strops and diamond paste now.@@OUTDOORS55
One lathe sharpening demo stands out. The turner dulled his skew chisel on the cast iron lathe bed. He took it to a 60 grit CBN wheel, removed the damage, then stropped it. He clean shaved his arm in one pass. Getting rid of the burr is essential.
great explanation. can I ask two follow up questions? 1. are you putting pressure down the whole time when you push it away and also return back to start? 2. how much time should you spend on the fine side of the diamond plate? thanks!
This video has been very helpful for me. I have that same combo stone and just now sharpened a knife on only the coarse side and stropped with the fuzzy side with 6 micron diamond compound. This I am told is the "saw tooth" edge. I cannot see the edge, but the paper in my wife's pounds of catalouges has great respect for it. I am starting to catch on and I like the medatitive aspects as well. Thanks so much!
Dude thank you so much. This video is the best!!
Best sharpening video since the invention of the knife.
Thank you for that knowledge.
Thank you for this video. Best sharpening video I’ve seen. I do an ok job of sharpening, but my kitchen knives lose their edge too quickly. probably bc of the burr. I’m going to try this method.
Thanks for all your guidance. I thought my technique was solid. This video showed me a couple things to work on. I am able to get an nice edge, but I know I can do better. The best thing I've done for my sharpening is to by a strop (recommended by you). I think I will try the stones from this video now. I am ok with my wet stones, but can do better.
Update: I bought the DMT course stone. The first time I ½ arse sharpened a knife on it today very quickly, then lightly stropped. I could shave with it! Can't wait to use it properly! I will get other grits too. Thanks for the recommendation.
You just saved my life man , thanks a lot
Beginner here just trying to sharpen kitchen knives, thanks for the video. What if I don’t have a strop? I do have a honing rod. Can that be used to remove burr?
After trying to use my thumb as a reference I wore it down until it bleed.
How to use my thumb as a reference without touching the stone?
What is the Best way to sharpen serrated knives? Really like the two videos I’ve seen so far.
Well, you got crystal clear explanation and as good a video as I could imagine on the matter.... all in less than 6 minutes. Thanks, man. Guess it just comes down to time on the stone for me!
Practice a little everyday. Even 1 minute a day can build the muscle memory needed very quickly. Just focus on practicing correctly, and not enforcing bad habits by over practicing with the wrong technique or angles 🙂
Great video Alex, you and Jared are the best around when it comes to teaching sharpening fundamentals man. Keep up the awesome work.
We have an array of DMT diamond stones from extra course extra fine. The wife is really hard on the edges and you can only do so much with a steel sharpener. I have also had to use them to take chips out of the ceramics we have as well. Most of the time fine and extra fine are more than good enough. A few alternating passes with a very light touch at the end yields a shaving sharp blade. Guess I need to get a stroping block to round out the sharpening kit. The MDF on the grinder works very well too. The extra fine plate I reload every 30 or so uses with a small amount of diamond paste distributed on the entire surface and then rolled in with a 1" tungsten rod. Last a few passes with an old silicon carbide seal face and it is ready again.
Love your sharpening vids.
You are amazing. Bravo. Very easy to understand you ,Well done ,
I appreciate the videos. I've been pretty not great at sharpening, used pull throughs, etc, and you've really helped a lot.
Watched you for years, and I always appreciate your distillation down to the essentials. And BTW, your camera work and microscope camera work are uber appreciated. 👊
I love your videos, You are Amazing
Thank you! Wonderfully taught!!
This is the kind of video I'm looking for when I want to learn how to do something.
The perfect content. Can't be better. Love you
Thanks for the great tutorial! I grabbed a cheap 1000 diamond stone on Temu and a leather strop and followed the this, my kitchen knife passed the paper test no problem, extremely happy.
Damn dude. You rock. I mean, I really don't know what else to say, but you've prompted me to leave comments when I never leave. Comments, so I'll figure I'd say something. Cuz, it seems like everybody wants you to leave a comment. That's probably why I don't, but when something is it's good. I mean, total information, no bullshit. No drama, no telling us what you had for dinner. I mean, I don't even expect you to read this shit but you rock. I have been trying to sharpen a knife forever and now I can you rock?
Thank you! This is a great video! But after watching this video, and many others, I still have a couple questions that I hope you won't mind answering... When sliding the knife across the stone, are you putting pressure on the knife when the cutting edge is moving forward into the stone, OR when the cutting edge is being pulled backwards over the stone, or in both directions?? Also, will the burr ever exist on both sides of the blade, or only ever on one side at a time? Thank you!