Knife Sharpening for Knife Fanatics

This was a great opportunity to show technique. We recently featured some videos on our Instagram page where we sharpened knives so sharp that we could put a paper towel on the blade, blow on the paper towel and sever the paper towel! Everyone wanted to know what we did. Here you go. We reproduced the same results using the exact same stones. We go step-by-step, and teach you which whetstones to use. We also changed some things with the technique. Hopefully the changes will mean a lot to you. Receiving a burr is not the only goal. Removing scratch marks is very important. We refine the edge. Japanese natural stones are used. They're not necessarily necessary. If you wanted to get the same results, do as I did. I do offer stone substitutions. We had fun, and the results were quite obvious. Listed below are the different stones we used.
500 grit Morihei, 1000 Suehiro Debado, 4K Tojiro, then to Japanese natural stones from @lacasadetoishi. / lacasadetoishi Maruoyama then Nakayama followed up with .5 µm. Gunny juice on Gunny cloth from @gunnys_sharp_talk / gunnys_sharp_talk @gunny_edc_products / gunny_edc_products
Nanohone NL - 4 Lapping Plate
tokushuknife.c...
500 grit Morihei
carbonknifeco....
1000 Suehiro Debado
amzn.to/3Ehn8Up
4000 Grit Knife Sharpening Stone Professional Grade
www.districtcu...
Maruoyama Japanese natural stone
/ lacasadetoishi
Nakayama Japanese natural stone
/ lacasadetoishi
Gunny juice products
us-aces.com/de...
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[@american1911]

Wow! I have a new goal in sharpening my knives.

[@wolfingitdown2047]

Dude I love how thorough you are with your talk throughs. Really answers some of my uncertainties as I hone this skill.

[@nadm]

I appreciate your comment very much and you don't know it but your comments are basically our only currency, so I really appreciate you taking the time. Ask me any questions or if you want a certain video made and we will look into it.

[@wolfingitdown2047]

Anytime. I would say maybe a grit range limit for different progressions depending on what the knife is used for would be helpful for many. Like you mentioned stropping could harm your ability to cut tougher skinned fruits and veggies

[@billylallen2662]

The fun thing about sharpening, is learning more and I am doing that watching and then giving it a try for myself. Thank you Gregory, this was fun….

[@nadm]

I appreciate you noticing. This was a lot of fun. This is who I've always been at the core. Now I'm feeling around trying to tighten all the screws. I like what's going on. I've definitely heard little things from people and taking it all in and tried to apply it. The success speaks for itself. We're gonna keep working on it though.

[@andrebaran7337]

Great video, I really enjoy looking at different techniques . Always be learning.

[@nadm]

We are evolving. I am definitely moving away from trying to always get a burr on each side. I think you got to get it on the original stone and do it when you set the Apex. After that I just want you to remove the scratch marks.

[@manuelbousquet]

This video was so useful to me ! I’m late to the party but I have to say it : I really really appreciate your channel.

[@nadm]

I'm so glad! I need to apologize for taking so long. I've had a surgery on my knee and some other things going on. We've had the court case for my car accident. We had to deal with that as well. We've also had some other major things happening personally. Deaths in the family and lots of arrangements to be made. Also, I'll let you know that I will be having another major surgery in June and will not be making it to the Blade show. I will be out of work for two weeks because I'm having all the extra skin cut off of my body. We do apologize for an interruption of videos if it were to happen. Will try to shoot some head for you guys so we can fill the space. That being said, thank you for checking out the show. Thank you for your support and your comment.

[@tim_tool_man]

I love how thorough you are!

[@nadm]

Thank you for your comments. You do understand that people really do rip you a new one if you're not. It's made me not like people sometimes. People will let you have it. If you mess up and now I'm guarded. Thank you for taking the time to really see it through and I appreciate you taking the time to make a comment

[@gtrzero2157]

Sweet a sharpening video. Always fun and informative. U changed ur sharpening style.

[@nadm]

Thank you for noticing. Thank you for commenting. I'm evolving too. I really like where it's going. I think it's going next level and to a new place and I'm excited. I'm getting back to my roots and it's been very meditative for me. Hopefully I can keep bringing new update information.

[@kencrane9726]

I would like to see the same progression with synthetic stones for comparison purposes. I only have synthetics at this point but your results speak volumes. Very impressive!

[@nadm]

I hear yeah and we will do it. I didn't mean to leave you out. I do believe that you can do it on synthetics provided that you have a good ones. You got to be able to do it yourself or the stones won't matter.

[@sonkekoster3105]

I like the new Greg!!!

[@nadm]

Thank you sir. Sorry it took so long to get back. We've been busy but thank you.

[@dylanmorrison951]

Thank you for another great video loaded with so much usefull info. Folowing your style and your alternative options based on what i have availible tool wise has uped my skills tramendusly. Went from unable to do the standing push cut on paper to now pushcutting rolling papers and doing the grape and blueberry test.

[@nadm]

Did you really? That's amazing. I'm glad I was a part of that. That's just crazy and outstanding. You have my personal messenger on Instagram so maybe send me a link. I'd love to see some of your work. Again, Barry and Preston congratulations.

[@torsen1987]

You sir make it look so easy (:

[@nadm]

I appreciate you very much, but I definitely took a lot of years getting to that point. There’s so much about pressure. Sometimes it’s very frustrating and my wife is seeing me walk away from certain things and then one day it finally clicks and you get it. But I do appreciate you taking the time to leave a nice comment. Thank you for your support

[@knife.spa.berlin]

Hey Greg, I just saw that video today. Well done. I do it the same. One little tip. Use a finer diamond on the jnats. It will get more sharp ;) Jnats tend to decrease the grit while sharpening. Since you are only polishing a short time, that will make sense. I hope my comment is understandable and makes sense.

[@nadm]

I understood you perfectly and thank you. I'm glad I'm not alone. We will look into it. I think I have the super find diamonds with that one by Nano Hone.

[@dimmacommunication]

That's a tan for sure man

[@nadm]

It's nice to live at the beach. Thank you.

[@cattjake]

Could you walk me through your thoughts on pressure throughout your progression? Additionally, what are your opinions on edge trailing vs edge leading strokes?

[@nadm]

It’s amazing that you say that. I am a big fan of Edge leading strokes. Proven to be much cleaner and really helps to take away all of the little metal bits that make up the burr. I definitely believe in finishing on each stone with edge leading strokes tube just refine the edge with very light pressure. I have since adopted some new philosophies that I went over in last weeks video. I believe that you should set the Apex on the course stone and then once you spend the same amount of time on each side of the blade, then you can start to just remove scratch marks with white pressure and grow through each stone of your progression. The work must be done on the first stone when you initially set the Apex.

[@enobil]

Thanks for another great video. It was great to see your technique up close. Also the maruoyama and nakayama were very exciting for me. I also got a nakayama recently but always getting smooth edges, I can't get the toothy edge I want. I will work on it more. I also I got the white vs green suehiro 8k but didn't have time to compare in depth. But as a first impression green/gc seems hard to flatten with a worn atoma 400 which bothers me, because other suehiros are usually very effortless to flatten (more friable). Other than that I need to check the actual performance comparison better to comment further on those. In this video I hoped you'd also give it a try without the strop but I agree strop/emulsion makes a huge difference regardless of which stone we're comparing, it is very visible on a cheap digital microscope. It is like if between 4k to 8k there is a 50% scratch removal, after the strop it is like 95% scratch removal compared to 4k if makes sense. However for my toothy edge goal strop wasn't very useful, so of course most of the technique is based on personal preference, at least for an amateur like me.

[@nadm]

Just do what you're doing and get a real refined Edge and then do a stropping technique on a low gritstone and you'll be fine. I need to apologize for taking so long. I've had a surgery on my knee and some other things going on. We've had the court case for my car accident. We had to deal with that as well. We've also had some other major things happening personally. Deaths in the family and lots of arrangements to be made. Also, I'll let you know that I will be having another major surgery in June and will not be making it to the Blade show. I will be out of work for two weeks because I'm having all the extra skin cut off of my body. We do apologize for an interruption of videos if it were to happen. Will try to shoot some head for you guys so we can fill the space. That being said, thank you for checking out the show. Thank you for your support and your comment.

[@enobil]

I hope everything gets better for you and your family. Thanks very much for your reply and take care

[@lone-wolf-1]

Great lesson here! Thanks! Just noticed 22:02 the angle on the strop while pushing the knife away is pretty steep. Steeper than the sharpening angle. Same happens to me too, but just while pushing. If I pull the knife towards me I see the upper edge and have visual control. So I force myself to maintain a very shallow angle while stroping away from me.

[@nadm]

So you always want to stay the same sharpening angle on the strap if the steel is harder than a 61 or a 61. Do you want to go a little higher if it's softer but sometimes I do a very light tension and a little higher just to make sure I remove the metal edge. If you rea the book by knife grinders, then it'll teach you more about that and we have a great video series on it.

[@lone-wolf-1]

@@nadm Thank you for your advise! Very appreciated! 👍🏼🤝🏼

[@CrisGar76]

Good job fantástico

[@nadm]

Thank you for finding us and supporting us.

[@scotpelletier7672]

Great video. I know that a couple of times you said you changed the direction of the knife to change the scratch pattern direction. Maybe I missed it , but I don’t think you explained why you do this?

[@nadm]

Sorry about that. If you were to take a fork and run it through mashed potatoes, then you would have lines running in One Direction. This would create grooves which can cause drag. I would tell you to go the opposite direction so you can collapse the grooves, which will then make the surface smoother, and reduce friction

[@scotpelletier7672]

Thank you for the information, very helpful!

[@janvrancken85]

Hi greg i would like to ask when i sharpen on the lower grit to get a new apex and trying to make a burr i never seem to get a burr on the top side off the knife where i see you trying to feel it. but always on the edge that is facing the stone what could i be doing wrong ? Love your video's btw . I am a profesional chef and dull knives give me chilles on my spine 😂. Trying to get the best technique dailed in as i am using my knives 7+ hours a day i want the edge to last Thanks

[@janvrancken85]

My setup is naniwa 800 Suehiro 3000 All carbon and powdersteel knive's And i have also suehiro 400

[@nadm]

Yes, indeed something is not correct. You should be pushing the knife with Edge trailing strokes then the burr should be on top. You might have to reach out to me through an email found on my KZbin information. We can even find time to FaceTime and help you.

[@janvrancken85]

@@nadm i have left you a message on instagram

[@nadm]

@@janvrancken85 I’ll go look for it

[@l26wang]

Will you do a series on focusing on technique of sharpening while minimizing the number of stones and steps, at the same time minimizing BESS? Like just see how far you can get with a 320, 2k, leather strop+green compound. This setup a beginner is likely to have.

[@nadm]

If you want it, I can do something like this specific, but did you not see the video I did for beginners. I did sharpening on a budget and I did beginner set ups and stuff like that. I've proven that you can make a really sharp knife with very minimal stuff in other videos. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mImQfqSGr5KjhZYsi=q17GlkVRJPSzM-IU kzbin.info/www/bejne/bofZiYuuhZeJbc0si=sQfc3hEQkY1vnqxJ

[@l26wang]

@@nadm I remember the King 1k one focusing on budget. I'm after one focusing on time (320 is course and faster) and result (2k+strop result) compare the BESS of that 3 step setup to this full process with natural stone, diamond spray, fancy strop etc. My hope is to highlight how far you can get on just technique on simple equipment, while striving for sharpness, before adding the more expensive equipment.

[@nadm]

@@l26wang will take time to do that. I’ll show the technique wins. We will get there.

[@Dominochaney]

How long would you expect to need the next sharpening considering it used moderatley

[@nadm]

It depends on how badly you use the knife. If you do everything right and then it should take a while. Also depends on the cutting board. Don't use it on bone or frozen food. It also depends on the steel that you're doing.

[@michaelbyron9688]

You have mentioned in earlier videos Ken Schwartz's Nano cloth and praised it.. How do I buy some or a good substitute?

[@nadm]

So that particular cloth was designed to have zero abrasive contribution. Jende industries was trying, but if you push too hard, then there is a honeycomb Shell below it and you can scratch by pushing too hard. Scott Gunn went a different route and his cough is designed to help accentuate the diamond emulsion that you're using.

[@Doowickeybob]

Hi Greg, what are your favourite sharpening stones? Starting with the 200-300 grit then 1k, 3k, 5k. What are the best stones for you. Kind regards Bob.

[@nadm]

If you've been watching my latest videos, then you'll know that I always pick the winner of the whetstone wars. I tend to go with the Shapton 220. Then I'm probably gonna go to the Morihei 400 or I could do the king 300 or the Imanishi. The 1000 is definitely the Imanishi then, after that I like Suehirom and Nano Hone. When you get a little higher, I go back to Imanishi/Kitayama for the 8000. Morihei if I'm going to do a 9000 and then you have Shapton or Nano Hone for the 10 K and then I only have the Nano Hone for the 30 K. But I do love my Japanese stone so a lot of times when I get about 3000 then I'm headed over to Japanese natural stones.

[@jeronimomacias481]

Where did you get your nano cloth?

[@nadm]

So Gunny Cloth can we gotten from any dealer that sells Gunny Juice products. us-aces.com/ But if you're looking for actual nano cloth, then it's no longer made because it was made by Ken Schwartz. If you get the product by Jende industries, then it is a different nano cloths from Ken Schwartz even though he tried to make a copycat it is not the same.

[@sspeedy1975]

Hi, thank you for the video. Do you have to have a burr from the 3000 grid or from which grid isn't it necessary (but then when do you know that you have to change to next grid ?) Thank you

[@nadm]

You do not have to have one at 3000. I have recently changed part of my sharpening. I truly believe that you need to get one on the opening stone. I believe you said the Apex and you get the burr. After that, I really don't see the need and trying to do it again. I feel like you just need to remove the scratch marks from either side of the Apex. If you seen my latest video, I have had tremendous success with this philosophy. I no longer feel for the burr after the original Apex is put on with either the 500 or 400 grit or the 1000 grit. After you've done all the work on the original stone, you just remove, scratch marks to refine the Apex.

[@sspeedy1975]

I'll try like that. Thank you so much 👍😊

[@carlosvelasco1766]

facts 👏👏👏

[@JeffSmith-eq3kc]

I appreciate the "because i like them" line! I've got a lot of stones. Too many. I'm sure you know the feeling. I tend to finish blue super these days on, of all my expensive stones, naturals and such, on a stinking Shapton Pro 12k. Why? I dont have any scientific reason but the blue super just likes that stone. I bought it as a straight razor stone actually. Does well leading into a stropping progression on straight razors. I think everyone just kind of has stones they like. Then when you get more advanced you find stones you like on particular steels. I like natural finishes on white #2 for example. Dont know why really. Just does what i want it to do. Or i prefer a Naniwa Pro 800 over the 1k. Why? I just like it more. To me sharpening is super subjective and feel oriented. Some people hate stones that i love. I hate stones that others swear by. I think thats part of what makes it so fun.

[@nadm]

You and I are on the same page. You were speaking very advanced to those who don't know. I agree with you with everything you said. There are certain stones that make certain steels shine.. That was incredibly insightful of you. You do have to work with them to understand what you like. Everyone has their own thing. I like feedback. That's why you like the 800 more than the 1000. It gives you more grainy feeling. More aggressiveness. I don't like things super glassy unless I'm at the end. You have to have time and experience. People don't understand touch and feeling. Congratulations on getting to the next level of enlightenment.

[@sonkekoster3105]

Hi Greg, one recommendation. You have so many knives in your collection. Try out to finish one knife on your natural stone. Test it and optimize the process. That's the only way to find out the full potential of your natural stond. And bring another knife to a 10k synthetic stone and a thrid one to the full progression with leather and compound. And than compare the knives in real use. That is the real challenge. I personally use compareable equipment as you. I have a Morihei 500# & 9000#, a Chroma 1000# and the green brick of joy. And I have a natural beligum brick (~6000#). But I do not apply alll stone in full progression to all of my knives. In addition I do not make so many small jumps. I like to stop on the green brick of joy for many knives and only for some I use the natural stone finish or the Karasu Morihei. And sometime I start the sharpening on the brick of joy or I touch a knife up on the natural stone to bring it back. In general the last device you use bring the final results and it's very exciting to test the different finishes. But I totally agree to use a leather strop to optimize the result, if needed. And I use the leather strop to maintain my knives for daily use for longer edge live. Thank you for the great videos on your channel. Please continue your excellent work.

[@nadm]

I did and it turned out pretty good. I removed a whole Lotta metal off of that knife to get to where I was going. You didn't see the video because I was just working on it and people would probably think it's pretty funny to see how much medals been removed off of the knife

[@DonsWoodies]

About what angle per side are you using roughly? Always interesting and informative videos.

[@nadm]

I would say 15. Sometimes maybe it's lower by accident but I'm not trying to be lower on purpose.

[@zenrazor659]

Its a lot I have ni make comments. I have an interesting question. Can you confirm Miyabi stones are the same Choosera stones? Bye

[@nadm]

I don't know if I have the resources to find that out but I currently do not know. Ask me in a week so it'll pop up again. Make sure I can find you.

[@dadadadave100]

Aloha brother Greg and Mrs

[@nadm]

Aloha, my friend

[@CoffeeggSPWL]

First !

[@xonerate]

How does anyone ever know they are Done Stropping; If you want the Sharpest Possible I think you would need a 30X or 60X magnifying Glass or Loop and visually inspect if the Burr is Totally Gone.

[@sonkekoster3105]

Believe me or not! Sometimes it's better to give a knife a touch up on the Morihei Karasu (9000#) to bring the knife back to live and use it as it is.

[@nadm]

And there you go!