Impressive. I’m one of those who would like a real long sharpening session video. I’ve discovered your channel 1 week ago and you open my eyes on a completely new world when it comes to sharpening. Can’t thank you enough for that. Take care
I love sharpening Opinels, they take such an insane edge. So glad I decided to learn how to sharpen knives a few years ago, it's so enjoyable and useful
Brilliant Michael! Now that's what I want on my 1.5" zero ground woodcarving knife. That would plunge cut basswood just how i'm after. Of course they come factory sharp and I need to keep them THAT SHARP through regular stropping while working. Excellent demo and not at all boring. ATB. Pete.
Yep, they are high carbon not stainless. My fault. I bought a set of three different length blades and only used two so far. Being new to all this I didn't know to pop some oil or such on to protect them. One lives and learns I suppose. Pete.
I loves this video man. It was very informative and I liked that you did a full sharpening without skiping. I learned alot from this one. Hope you will do more like it. Thank you ...
Somehow Opinels have eluded my attention and I am kicking myself for not knowing about these sooner. They hold an insane edge comparatively. I have a couple Benchmade knives and getting their edge back takes a lot more work than the Opinel. Great video! Now I have to get more stones!
Opinel cuts on the geometry... I've been thinking about blades and sharpening a lot lately. I looked at a utility razor blade, thickness behind the edge and angle of the bevel. It would seem that they cut cardboard on geometry after the edge is shot. I change blades just to make the cutting easier. Great Video 👍. I picked up 4 of the #9 Opinel blades. 2 carbon and 2 stainless. A lot of fun for $16. Thanks again 😎👍
Checks off all of the boxes on an exceptional sharpening video. Well done. I'd like to see your take on a quick & dirty (1 minute or less) sharpening video to touch up blades.
Great vid as always on this channel I have literally stopped using fixed angle sharpener and adopted your stone up edge facing method and have had lots of good results still a lot to learn but I have been able to bring up hair whittling edges as a result what I'm trying to say is great vids keep it up man!!
Andrew Sandefur if you're dealing with high carbide steels like HAP40, M4 and S110V, I would say look into DMT's medium double sided plates and Spyderco's ceramics. If you're using basic carbon steels, you can use anything, and water stones are a good start. King makes good stones to start with that are not too expensive.
Michael, Very much appreciate your sharing your knowledge/experience with those of us who wish to improve our skills. Don't know if this is a good way to get a question answered but here goes. My question has to do with honing. If I understand correctly, the edge of a knife is malleable and will "bend over" slightly with use and the function of honing is, primarily, to bring that bent/curved edge back into alignment. That being the case, why do we hone by sliding the knife against the rod edge-first? It would seem to me that, if the bend on the leading edge was severe enough, one would risk bending it over further (particularly if the knife was held at too acute of an angle relative to the rod). Rather, wouldn't it make more sense to run the blade along the rod such that the edge was pointing opposite to the direction of travel? That way the bend at the tip of the edge would be guaranteed to be bent back in the direction of the "cutting axis" of the blade. Of course, just as with the currently-used method, the angle of the blade relative to the rod would still be critical to optimum results but it would seem to me that this would be a more prudent way of honing. Or am I missing something? Thanks
Michael Rubeis the definition of honing that you’re using may be the common one. However, the term is being misused in this instance. To hone means to sharpen or smooth with a whetstone by the dictionary definition.. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no difference between honing and sharpening. Honing (by your definition here) is an activity that causes fatigue in the steel, which is why I never do it. I’ll never use a sharpening steel because they’re terrible for the edge and I don’t do touch ups with fine stones. I’ll strop in between sharpenings, but that’s it. Additionally, with what you’re asking about, it’s the micro serrations that are straightened out. I guess you could think of this as the edge. I’m not sure how effective using a steel or rod would be with an edge trailing motion, but it’s an interesting question for those who use steels and rods.
Spyderco is dropping the para 3 in various steels soon, Cf/s90v, grey g10/CRU-WEAR, grey g10/maxamet, blurple g10/s110v as well as a pm2 in maxamet. Do you plan on picking any of those up for review?
Hello, you said you don't bother to treat the burr before moving to next stone. Just because this knife has soft steel that you can easily apex it on next stone? Want to know if you do the same with s110v? I mean without straighten the burr before moving to next stone? Some people say that if you can't apex the knife in coarse, it will make it difficult to apex it with higher stone. What do you think? Thank you!
Thanks for the Video. Burr side to side is how I usually sharpen. Not that there is a right or wrong. It's good to wait until you actually need a sharpening. I keep my blades stropped regularly.
Do you like those smaller stones better? Is that all you use? I'm gonna go through your videos. I just started free hand after doing a couple hundred knives on my kme sharpener and after failing free hand before I got the kme I am pretty good at it now. I get what you need to do if you know what I mean. I really like whetstones and have up to the 10k chosera for my kme but for my free hand I have a dmt dia-sharp xcoarse, duo-sharp coarse/fine, Spyderco fine ceramic stone, and spyderco ultra fine. And then my strops. I can get a really nice mirror edge but I was wondering if you had one budget friendly whetstone to use after the spyderco uf and before the strops what would it be? Thanks!
I noticed that your very consistent with your technique in how you hold the stone, and as you progress in the grits you keep the same pressure on the blade. Very good job. Makes me want to see how fast I can get a hair whittling edge on my no8 I have.. it probably won't be as fast as you.. 9:56 seconds is pretty fast!
This video is very helpful, thank you! Your videos are super inspiring to me. I am a novice sharpener and I always end up dulling my knife when i strop it. I would like to experiment with a balsa strop that has less give to it than the leather. If I just get a piece of balsawood from a craft store would I need to do any preliminary work to it aside from putting a compound on it?
Alan no, wood doesn’t need any prep work. Try basswood as well as balsa. It’s usually sold in the same section of the store. Basswood is a little more firm.
I see that, at each stone, you alternate from sharpening one side to the other without feeling the edge until the last time you alternate. Does this mean you are trading the burr more than once per step? I use the same freehand technique, but I form the burr once per side and move on after that without taking the burr off until the ultra fine stone and strops. I don't sharpen a side more than once on any step of my process, but I still get consistently whittling sharp edges. Is there a benefit I'm missing out on?
George Stevenson this sharpening was done very fast so I could avoid boring the internet to death. I would normally check the edge more often for a burr.
Dear Michael, I have a sharpening question. When I start with Coarse let's say, I form a burr on one side, then I form a burr on the opposite side then I move to Medium stone and start from the side with the burr that was formed by the Coarse stone, and basically do the same until the FInest stone I have right? Is the burr formed on the UF stones? How do you know you are done with the stone and move to the next? How do you know how long to work on diamond sprayed wood? Sorry if my questions are too easy and not that interesting for you. PS, in one of your videos you said you dont touch the knife until it gets dull (if I am not mistaken), why dont you use rods to maintain the edge always sharp? It's like every time after use you just slide it back and forth and get the edge back in shape no?
Peter Dmitrenko your questions are fine. No worries. Knowing how long to work on certain stones and on strops has to do with burr identification. You need to know when it's completely gone. I don't do touch ups on my knives because you leave weakened steel on the edge. Leaving weakened steel on the edge lowers edge retention and increases the chance of chipping.
Do you test or check for slicing aggression or slicing sharpness? If so, can I ask how? I am wanting to get a polished edge that push cuts well and will still slice. Thank you!
Hey Mike. Thanks for the educational and inspirational videos. The edges you get are always super impressive! Had a couple questions. What would be a good next-step finishing stone if I wanted to go a bit further than the Spyderco ultra-fine? Also, where could I get some abrasives for strops that get down to such low microns? Thanks!
thegreatchug if I’m working with steels that have little to no vanadium, I like to finish with a 20K Suehiro. If I’m working with high vanadium steels, the Spyderco UF is the best I’ve found to finish with. I got the low micron sprays directly from Ken Schwartz.
Would I have to sharpen my opinel any diffrent from yours because it is stainless steel? Also how many stones do I need and what grit should they be? This video has been pretty helpful.
Brandon Tejeda the stainless Opinel’s are still using a pretty basic steel, so any stones and technique should be fine. (That being said, higher quality stones with better and better technique will always give a better edge). The number of stones is up to you. Look at your budget and decide what you want to put into the hobby. Which stones to buy is a very open question.
Any concerns with dishing the way you sharpen? You're only using the middle 50%-60% of the stone and not hitting the edges. Sure 1 Ipinel won't do much but if that's how you constantly do it(since you hold the stone in hand) over time I'd imagine the middle would wear. Then if you flatten your stones(as you should) you're "wasting" the abrasive on the sides. Then again this was a quick sharpening so maybe when you do it off camera you hit more of the stone, who knows .
D00MTR33 it was a quick sharpening. I usually use more of the stone, but the middle does dish more then the edges. I flatten quite a bit and I don’t worry about waisted abrasive... I worry about the sharpening being as good as it can be. There’s always new stones you can buy.
Hello, nice and informative videos you make. What is your opinion or pros/cons on a v-edge? Many sharpening videos favor convex edge geometry. But there is a lot negative talk about V-edges, why is that?
Geto Leper I can sharpen both ways, but I'm more comfortable switching from hand to hand. The main reason I did it here was just to see who would notice.
I used to use water bottles just like you did in this video, down to the x you cut in the top. I've since moved onto spray bottles. I have a chemical spray bottle. The kind you get at hardware stores. Definitely works well v
Hello! I'm watching your sharpening videos, also BBB ones, and I dont get why I cannot achieve hair whittling sharpness on my knives. I have 400 - 1000 - 3000 naniwa professional, and a 8000 Kitayama + 1micron and 0.25 micron diamond sprays on leather, and I cannot get my opinel hair whittling sharp. My burr is fully formed and fully removed one stone after another, apex is apexed, even when I check with a magnification glass, but it would not whittle a hair. I can cut paper, shave myself, cut a tomato in 1000 pieces but not hair whittling... I don't get why and it's quite frustrating
Opinel is simply the best slicer you ll get for the buck you'll spent. For people having problem to open it. Bump his rear end of the handle on a hard surface, the blade automaticaly pops out. Even soaked you can rock it on the flor it'll end up to be open. It's called the savoyard shot. I want a PM2 and a Para3 but for the money, go to opinel.
Thanks, I was pretty excited when I seen you had posted this. Gives a lot of us a better idea of what it takes to get great sharpening results. I'm sharpening my m390 pm2 right now and I think watching this helps. Btw the owner of chef knives to go said he doesn't sell the diamond sprays anymore that's why I couldn't find them. He does sell cbn which I'm not sure yet if I should give those a try or to get the diamond sprays from jende. I really don't know much about cbn emulsions do you?
crf450r bullet david CBN is cubic boron nitride. It's close in hardness to diamond. CBN would be used the same way diamond is used. Either choice should give you good results if it's a well made product.
shannonandsheila1 there is a difference between the finish left from a 1 micron stone and the finish left from a 1 micron diamond abrasive on a strop. Both are removing material, and maybe the difference is due to diamond being a better choice for removal, but the difference is still there. It's something you can immediately see and feel, so no, it's not the same thing. Not to mention the fact that diamond stones (plates) only go down to 3 micron (unless there's products I don't know about, which I would love to find out about), so using a strop to attain the performance of diamond (under the idea that diamond gives a huge advantage over alumina, if that is the case) at 1 micron and below is really your only option. (Unless you're adding diamond abrasive to the slurry of a waterstone, but that doesn't really help your point.) There's also the argument that trailing strokes on a stone increase burr size. I'm not sure that I agree with that argument, but it is an argument that some would make.
Hi Michael. I want to keep my no9 as a FLAT ground edge. Do I still lift the belly & tip while having the main part flat to the stone or keep the entire blade flat and push through belly & tip. Thanks if you can help a novice. ATB. Pete.
pete wright the term “Flat ground” refers to the primary bevel. The edge bevel is the secondary bevel. I’m not sure what you mean by having your edge bevel flat ground, but take a look at my recent video on the GEC 78. That video has discussion on hand placement. You might get the answer you’re looking for there.
My wish for trying to bring the primary bevel sides to an apex comes from me being a whittler/carver using Basswood and Flat ground carving knives. With those knives there is no secondary bevel. The two sides of the blade meet to form the apex, and there's no curve in the blade at the tip. You just lay the blade flat on a stone (spine to apex contacting the surface). I wanted to have the same effect on the Opinel with it being flat ground. I think I've done a pretty good job of it actually by experimenting, just lifting the belly & tip as I sharpen. Of course the blade needs to loose contact doing this unless you can suggest something but the straight part of blade is like my carving knives. Link to my kind of flat ground knife being stropped. ruclips.net/video/Anvhv9FFv1Q/видео.html PS. Just watched your 78 vid. Fabulous knives. I have a kitchen knife which caused sharpening problems with having that same THICK front primary! ATB. Pete.
pete wright I understand now what it is that you’re looking for. With the Opinel, as far as handling the tip, I think it’ll depend on the small details of how you shape the bevel. You may need to lift the handle to connect properly with the tip of the knife.
Thanks Michael. Just ordered another no9 to put a secondary bevel on!!! Thanks too for your patience with me. Would be an interesting project for you to try doing a full flat grind vid. You can always put a new bevel back on it after solving MY problem lol!!! Love your passion. ATB. Pete. PS. It's really just a depth increased scandi grind dont you think!
Michael Christy haha awesome man I just started hand sharpening about two months ago and I've been practicing very diligently I re profiled my delica and applied my own convex edge super shallow angle it's a real razor, I really enjoy your videos keep it up man.
Your sharpening regime on a £15 pen knife is going much further than most people would go on a high quality Japanese/Solingen/Sheffield steel £700 straight razor. Is it really that necessary?
Are you raising a burr on both sides & testing with your thumb on each successive stone please. Thats what Im seeing ( I think!) I don't see you looking for lights on the apex too. BTW, we don't need "entertaining" as you mentioned, just the transference of your wisdom & knowledge, that's entertaining in itself anyway!!! ATB. Pete.
pete wright yeah, when you see me dragging my thumb with the angle of the edge instead of across it, I’m feeling for drag, which would let me know a burr is there. It gets difficult to find if your fingers are beat up from the sharpening, (like from holding the stone), but it’s something you can learn to be sensitive to finding.
Thanks for the reply Michael. I do also feel for the edge but normally only on the first stone then use alternate counted strokes for each side going up through finer stones. So are you going for burrs on each change of stone and would you recommend I try this. I've got an Opinel 9 being delivered today!!! ATB Pete.
Thanks Michael. Its the first time i've heard this but it makes sense. ATB Pete. PS. My Opinel arrived and looks great! A strop made it sharper but needs work on the tip area tomorrow.
Michael Christy That's what I've always been lead to believe. Of course other elements will play a role but at the most basic sense that more carbon = better edge retention
k1llsh0t666 who says a carbon steel has more carbon? 1095 HIGH CARBON steel has .90 to 1.03 carbon, while S90V (which is stainless) has 2.30 carbon. M390 (also stainless) has 1.90 carbon. And who says carbon content is the only factor. S110V has 2.80 carbon, and it will hold an edge longer then ZDP which has 3.0 carbon. It's more complicated then just the carbon content.
This video showed that sharpening is all about consistency. Nothing else matters as much as having the correct technique. Great video
Impressive. I’m one of those who would like a real long sharpening session video. I’ve discovered your channel 1 week ago and you open my eyes on a completely new world when it comes to sharpening. Can’t thank you enough for that. Take care
You are a blast to watch! I did not know whittling hair was even possible! Just amazing.
So cool to see this Opinel video... made my night. I have been messing around with mine lately. Love it, thanks Michael!
Kat Fish glad you liked the video. Opinels are great knives.
I have always got my knives shaving sharp but as for whittling hairs I have never seen that before. I'm amazed and impressed!
I love sharpening Opinels, they take such an insane edge. So glad I decided to learn how to sharpen knives a few years ago, it's so enjoyable and useful
Xa Ru yes it is.
Brilliant Michael! Now that's what I want on my 1.5" zero ground woodcarving knife. That would plunge cut basswood just how i'm after. Of course they come factory sharp and I need to keep them THAT SHARP through regular stropping while working. Excellent demo and not at all boring. ATB. Pete.
pete wright thank you Pete. I would imagine wood carving knives would polish up nicely.
Its the edge I want Michael!!! Funnily enough I found one of my NEW unused knife blades covered in rust today! Completely lost its shine.
pete wright that sucks that it rusted and hasn't even been used. Time to sharpen.
Yep, they are high carbon not stainless. My fault. I bought a set of three different length blades and only used two so far. Being new to all this I didn't know to pop some oil or such on to protect them. One lives and learns I suppose. Pete.
I loves this video man. It was very informative and I liked that you did a full sharpening without skiping. I learned alot from this one. Hope you will do more like it. Thank you ...
Gamma Rayburst thank you.
Great video again Michael. Thanks.
45acpP90 thank you.
Enjoyed the video. I've been experimenting with your sharpening technique and getting good results with some folding knives. Thanks for the vids.
James Miller thanks. I'm glad you're getting good results.
Somehow Opinels have eluded my attention and I am kicking myself for not knowing about these sooner. They hold an insane edge comparatively. I have a couple Benchmade knives and getting their edge back takes a lot more work than the Opinel. Great video! Now I have to get more stones!
Opinel cuts on the geometry...
I've been thinking about blades and sharpening a lot lately. I looked at a utility razor blade, thickness behind the edge and angle of the bevel. It would seem that they cut cardboard on geometry after the edge is shot. I change blades just to make the cutting easier. Great Video 👍. I picked up 4 of the #9 Opinel blades. 2 carbon and 2 stainless. A lot of fun for $16. Thanks again 😎👍
Checks off all of the boxes on an exceptional sharpening video. Well done. I'd like to see your take on a quick & dirty (1 minute or less) sharpening video to touch up blades.
MrSteve280 might be interesting
Great vid as always on this channel I have literally stopped using fixed angle sharpener and adopted your stone up edge facing method and have had lots of good results still a lot to learn but I have been able to bring up hair whittling edges as a result what I'm trying to say is great vids keep it up man!!
Thank you. I'm glad you like the videos, and I'm glad you're getting good results.
Nice. I've wanted this video for some time. Thanks Michael.
What do you feel like would be a good "starter" setup for learning freehand on a budget?
Andrew Sandefur if you're dealing with high carbide steels like HAP40, M4 and S110V, I would say look into DMT's medium double sided plates and Spyderco's ceramics.
If you're using basic carbon steels, you can use anything, and water stones are a good start. King makes good stones to start with that are not too expensive.
Michael,
Very much appreciate your sharing your knowledge/experience with those of us who wish to improve our skills. Don't know if this is a good way to get a question answered but here goes. My question has to do with honing. If I understand correctly, the edge of a knife is malleable and will "bend over" slightly with use and the function of honing is, primarily, to bring that bent/curved edge back into alignment. That being the case, why do we hone by sliding the knife against the rod edge-first? It would seem to me that, if the bend on the leading edge was severe enough, one would risk bending it over further (particularly if the knife was held at too acute of an angle relative to the rod). Rather, wouldn't it make more sense to run the blade along the rod such that the edge was pointing opposite to the direction of travel? That way the bend at the tip of the edge would be guaranteed to be bent back in the direction of the "cutting axis" of the blade. Of course, just as with the currently-used method, the angle of the blade relative to the rod would still be critical to optimum results but it would seem to me that this would be a more prudent way of honing.
Or am I missing something?
Thanks
Michael Rubeis the definition of honing that you’re using may be the common one. However, the term is being misused in this instance. To hone means to sharpen or smooth with a whetstone by the dictionary definition.. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no difference between honing and sharpening.
Honing (by your definition here) is an activity that causes fatigue in the steel, which is why I never do it. I’ll never use a sharpening steel because they’re terrible for the edge and I don’t do touch ups with fine stones. I’ll strop in between sharpenings, but that’s it.
Additionally, with what you’re asking about, it’s the micro serrations that are straightened out. I guess you could think of this as the edge. I’m not sure how effective using a steel or rod would be with an edge trailing motion, but it’s an interesting question for those who use steels and rods.
Spyderco is dropping the para 3 in various steels soon, Cf/s90v, grey g10/CRU-WEAR, grey g10/maxamet, blurple g10/s110v as well as a pm2 in maxamet. Do you plan on picking any of those up for review?
Derek White I'm interested in the S90V, Cru-Wear and Maxamet. Don't know if I'll pick them up, but I'm interested in them.
Hello, you said you don't bother to treat the burr before moving to next stone. Just because this knife has soft steel that you can easily apex it on next stone? Want to know if you do the same with s110v? I mean without straighten the burr before moving to next stone? Some people say that if you can't apex the knife in coarse, it will make it difficult to apex it with higher stone. What do you think? Thank you!
Thanks for the Video.
Burr side to side is how I usually sharpen. Not that there is a right or wrong. It's good to wait until you actually need a sharpening. I keep my blades stropped regularly.
Daniel Williams I agree, burr side to side is how I go about it.
Do you like those smaller stones better? Is that all you use? I'm gonna go through your videos. I just started free hand after doing a couple hundred knives on my kme sharpener and after failing free hand before I got the kme I am pretty good at it now. I get what you need to do if you know what I mean. I really like whetstones and have up to the 10k chosera for my kme but for my free hand I have a dmt dia-sharp xcoarse, duo-sharp coarse/fine, Spyderco fine ceramic stone, and spyderco ultra fine. And then my strops. I can get a really nice mirror edge but I was wondering if you had one budget friendly whetstone to use after the spyderco uf and before the strops what would it be? Thanks!
Paul Lonardo I use all kinds of stones. For high vanadium carbide steels, I usually finish with the Spyderco UF and then go to strops.
I noticed that your very consistent with your technique in how you hold the stone, and as you progress in the grits you keep the same pressure on the blade. Very good job. Makes me want to see how fast I can get a hair whittling edge on my no8 I have.. it probably won't be as fast as you.. 9:56 seconds is pretty fast!
This video is very helpful, thank you! Your videos are super inspiring to me. I am a novice sharpener and I always end up dulling my knife when i strop it. I would like to experiment with a balsa strop that has less give to it than the leather. If I just get a piece of balsawood from a craft store would I need to do any preliminary work to it aside from putting a compound on it?
Alan no, wood doesn’t need any prep work. Try basswood as well as balsa. It’s usually sold in the same section of the store. Basswood is a little more firm.
thanks! I'll give both a try.
I see that, at each stone, you alternate from sharpening one side to the other without feeling the edge until the last time you alternate. Does this mean you are trading the burr more than once per step? I use the same freehand technique, but I form the burr once per side and move on after that without taking the burr off until the ultra fine stone and strops. I don't sharpen a side more than once on any step of my process, but I still get consistently whittling sharp edges. Is there a benefit I'm missing out on?
George Stevenson this sharpening was done very fast so I could avoid boring the internet to death. I would normally check the edge more often for a burr.
Dear Michael, I have a sharpening question. When I start with Coarse let's say, I form a burr on one side, then I form a burr on the opposite side then I move to Medium stone and start from the side with the burr that was formed by the Coarse stone, and basically do the same until the FInest stone I have right? Is the burr formed on the UF stones? How do you know you are done with the stone and move to the next? How do you know how long to work on diamond sprayed wood?
Sorry if my questions are too easy and not that interesting for you.
PS, in one of your videos you said you dont touch the knife until it gets dull (if I am not mistaken), why dont you use rods to maintain the edge always sharp? It's like every time after use you just slide it back and forth and get the edge back in shape no?
Peter Dmitrenko your questions are fine. No worries.
Knowing how long to work on certain stones and on strops has to do with burr identification. You need to know when it's completely gone.
I don't do touch ups on my knives because you leave weakened steel on the edge. Leaving weakened steel on the edge lowers edge retention and increases the chance of chipping.
Do you test or check for slicing aggression or slicing sharpness? If so, can I ask how? I am wanting to get a polished edge that push cuts well and will still slice. Thank you!
Hey Mike. Thanks for the educational and inspirational videos. The edges you get are always super impressive! Had a couple questions. What would be a good next-step finishing stone if I wanted to go a bit further than the Spyderco ultra-fine? Also, where could I get some abrasives for strops that get down to such low microns? Thanks!
thegreatchug if I’m working with steels that have little to no vanadium, I like to finish with a 20K Suehiro. If I’m working with high vanadium steels, the Spyderco UF is the best I’ve found to finish with.
I got the low micron sprays directly from Ken Schwartz.
Thanks Mike!
Would I have to sharpen my opinel any diffrent from yours because it is stainless steel? Also how many stones do I need and what grit should they be? This video has been pretty helpful.
Brandon Tejeda the stainless Opinel’s are still using a pretty basic steel, so any stones and technique should be fine. (That being said, higher quality stones with better and better technique will always give a better edge).
The number of stones is up to you. Look at your budget and decide what you want to put into the hobby. Which stones to buy is a very open question.
Any concerns with dishing the way you sharpen? You're only using the middle 50%-60% of the stone and not hitting the edges. Sure 1 Ipinel won't do much but if that's how you constantly do it(since you hold the stone in hand) over time I'd imagine the middle would wear. Then if you flatten your stones(as you should) you're "wasting" the abrasive on the sides.
Then again this was a quick sharpening so maybe when you do it off camera you hit more of the stone, who knows .
D00MTR33 it was a quick sharpening. I usually use more of the stone, but the middle does dish more then the edges. I flatten quite a bit and I don’t worry about waisted abrasive... I worry about the sharpening being as good as it can be.
There’s always new stones you can buy.
@@michaelchristy4982 👍
Hello, nice and informative videos you make. What is your opinion or pros/cons on a v-edge? Many sharpening videos favor convex edge geometry. But there is a lot negative talk about V-edges, why is that?
Wow great video and amazing technique. What type of wood is that strop? Do you treat the wood with compound? Thanks
Roy D thanks. The wood is basswood. You have to use compound on the wood. Stropping on plain wood would do nothing.
Great video, thanks for posting this.
Michael you are amazing..would you use the same technique with chef knives. Have you ever cut yourself sharpening holding stone in one hand?
Just out of curiosity, how much time do you typically put into sharpening a knife? I enjoyed seeing the whole process in this video.
Thank you to put this video on finally! See you sharpening only use your right hand, is that your new technic or is just because of the limited time?
Geto Leper I can sharpen both ways, but I'm more comfortable switching from hand to hand. The main reason I did it here was just to see who would notice.
Michael Christy Aha! I think most people will notice, maybe they didn't say it. :)
Excelent content as usual.
Christian Johnston thanks.
What kind of stone do you use to thin the primary grind? Someday when you get time id be interested in seen you thin a knife.
Michael Shults anything coarse... around 250 grit if it’s available. It’s much faster to use a belt sander.
I used to use water bottles just like you did in this video, down to the x you cut in the top.
I've since moved onto spray bottles. I have a chemical spray bottle. The kind you get at hardware stores. Definitely works well v
Hello! I'm watching your sharpening videos, also BBB ones, and I dont get why I cannot achieve hair whittling sharpness on my knives. I have 400 - 1000 - 3000 naniwa professional, and a 8000 Kitayama + 1micron and 0.25 micron diamond sprays on leather, and I cannot get my opinel hair whittling sharp. My burr is fully formed and fully removed one stone after another, apex is apexed, even when I check with a magnification glass, but it would not whittle a hair. I can cut paper, shave myself, cut a tomato in 1000 pieces but not hair whittling... I don't get why and it's quite frustrating
Amazing! Thanks for the video. I'm just starting out. Lots to learn... 😀
Opinel is simply the best slicer you ll get for the buck you'll spent.
For people having problem to open it. Bump his rear end of the handle on a hard surface, the blade automaticaly pops out. Even soaked you can rock it on the flor it'll end up to be open.
It's called the savoyard shot.
I want a PM2 and a Para3 but for the money, go to opinel.
Thanks, I was pretty excited when I seen you had posted this. Gives a lot of us a better idea of what it takes to get great sharpening results. I'm sharpening my m390 pm2 right now and I think watching this helps. Btw the owner of chef knives to go said he doesn't sell the diamond sprays anymore that's why I couldn't find them. He does sell cbn which I'm not sure yet if I should give those a try or to get the diamond sprays from jende. I really don't know much about cbn emulsions do you?
crf450r bullet david CBN is cubic boron nitride. It's close in hardness to diamond. CBN would be used the same way diamond is used. Either choice should give you good results if it's a well made product.
shannonandsheila1 no, stropping has benefit, even after very fine stones. Burr removal and edge refinement using strops really makes a difference.
I see what your saying but I don't think I've ever seen a stone at 3.2 million grit. Or some of the other sizes of diamond sprays for that matter.
shannonandsheila1 there is a difference between the finish left from a 1 micron stone and the finish left from a 1 micron diamond abrasive on a strop. Both are removing material, and maybe the difference is due to diamond being a better choice for removal, but the difference is still there. It's something you can immediately see and feel, so no, it's not the same thing. Not to mention the fact that diamond stones (plates) only go down to 3 micron (unless there's products I don't know about, which I would love to find out about), so using a strop to attain the performance of diamond (under the idea that diamond gives a huge advantage over alumina, if that is the case) at 1 micron and below is really your only option. (Unless you're adding diamond abrasive to the slurry of a waterstone, but that doesn't really help your point.)
There's also the argument that trailing strokes on a stone increase burr size. I'm not sure that I agree with that argument, but it is an argument that some would make.
Hi Michael. I want to keep my no9 as a FLAT ground edge. Do I still lift the belly & tip while having the main part flat to the stone or keep the entire blade flat and push through belly & tip. Thanks if you can help a novice. ATB. Pete.
pete wright the term “Flat ground” refers to the primary bevel. The edge bevel is the secondary bevel.
I’m not sure what you mean by having your edge bevel flat ground, but take a look at my recent video on the GEC 78. That video has discussion on hand placement. You might get the answer you’re looking for there.
My wish for trying to bring the primary bevel sides to an apex comes from me being a whittler/carver using Basswood and Flat ground carving knives. With those knives there is no secondary bevel. The two sides of the blade meet to form the apex, and there's no curve in the blade at the tip. You just lay the blade flat on a stone (spine to apex contacting the surface). I wanted to have the same effect on the Opinel with it being flat ground. I think I've done a pretty good job of it actually by experimenting, just lifting the belly & tip as I sharpen. Of course the blade needs to loose contact doing this unless you can suggest something but the straight part of blade is like my carving knives. Link to my kind of flat ground knife being stropped. ruclips.net/video/Anvhv9FFv1Q/видео.html PS. Just watched your 78 vid. Fabulous knives. I have a kitchen knife which caused sharpening problems with having that same THICK front primary! ATB. Pete.
pete wright I understand now what it is that you’re looking for. With the Opinel, as far as handling the tip, I think it’ll depend on the small details of how you shape the bevel. You may need to lift the handle to connect properly with the tip of the knife.
Thanks Michael. Just ordered another no9 to put a secondary bevel on!!! Thanks too for your patience with me. Would be an interesting project for you to try doing a full flat grind vid. You can always put a new bevel back on it after solving MY problem lol!!! Love your passion. ATB. Pete. PS. It's really just a depth increased scandi grind dont you think!
pete wright yeah, it’s a single bevel blade.
Good video where do you get your stones from ?
little woody the Shaptons I got from Sharpeningsupplies.com.
The Suehiro I got from Ken Schwartz.
thanks, you are a true master!
Burak Yilmaz brother, I'm just a guy who likes to learn.
Michael Christy is there any thing left to learn? Brother :)
Burak Yilmaz there's always more to learn.
Can you tell me in which angle you sharpened them?
Yasin Coban it’s usually 30ish. If I’m testing, it’s a solid 30. If I’m just sharpening, it’s at 30 or close to it, usually.
Thanks for the reply. I want to sharpen mine for the first time...should i start with a lower grit or can i start with a 1000 grit?
Yasin Coban for an Opinel, 1000 is ok.
what kind of wood are you using for your strops?
Nice work!
why do you sharpen it on that angle? these knifes already have an angle easier to sharpen?
Jeroen Kuppens I’m not sure what you mean. Rephrase your question.
Where do you get your hairs for whittling?
Steven Vaughn my wife's hairbrush.
Michael Christy haha awesome man I just started hand sharpening about two months ago and I've been practicing very diligently I re profiled my delica and applied my own convex edge super shallow angle it's a real razor, I really enjoy your videos keep it up man.
Michael Christy oh that makes sense I was wondering that lol
Your sharpening regime on a £15 pen knife is going much further than most people would go on a high quality Japanese/Solingen/Sheffield steel £700 straight razor. Is it really that necessary?
Amazing
thanks good vid...that cool to watch. amazing!!!
OMG... I want to achieve that on my blade...
Very Nice
Where do you get all that cardboard
Hi Dude amazon deliveries.
I thought you where failing to cut the hair but you where actually stripping it 😭👌🏻 wauw
I have a wetstone what can i do
my neckbeard has just fused with the carpet
Are you raising a burr on both sides & testing with your thumb on each successive stone please. Thats what Im seeing ( I think!) I don't see you looking for lights on the apex too. BTW, we don't need "entertaining" as you mentioned, just the transference of your wisdom & knowledge, that's entertaining in itself anyway!!! ATB. Pete.
pete wright yeah, when you see me dragging my thumb with the angle of the edge instead of across it, I’m feeling for drag, which would let me know a burr is there. It gets difficult to find if your fingers are beat up from the sharpening, (like from holding the stone), but it’s something you can learn to be sensitive to finding.
Thanks for the reply Michael. I do also feel for the edge but normally only on the first stone then use alternate counted strokes for each side going up through finer stones. So are you going for burrs on each change of stone and would you recommend I try this. I've got an Opinel 9 being delivered today!!! ATB Pete.
pete wright I form a burr on each side with each stone.
Thanks Michael. Its the first time i've heard this but it makes sense. ATB Pete. PS. My Opinel arrived and looks great! A strop made it sharper but needs work on the tip area tomorrow.
You smashed the blade pretty hard against the wood!
But it worked for you.
IF such a knife accidentally falls from the table - it can cut off a toe :)
Well do a vid when you’ve got more time
So hot. The science of course
This is not how you sharpen a knife or use a wetstone 'Dry'
why would the stainless hold an edge longer than carbon? that seems contradictory to me unless talking about a steel like m4 in humid conditions
k1llsh0t666 carbon doesn't equal longer edge holding. Was that your impression?... that carbon steels hold an edge longer.
Michael Christy That's what I've always been lead to believe. Of course other elements will play a role but at the most basic sense that more carbon = better edge retention
k1llsh0t666 who says a carbon steel has more carbon? 1095 HIGH CARBON steel has .90 to 1.03 carbon, while S90V (which is stainless) has 2.30 carbon. M390 (also stainless) has 1.90 carbon.
And who says carbon content is the only factor.
S110V has 2.80 carbon, and it will hold an edge longer then ZDP which has 3.0 carbon.
It's more complicated then just the carbon content.
@@michaelchristy4982 so why should anyone buy opinel carbones instead of inox ones? for patina only?
Zemzem Dağdelen I do.