SWORD sharpening is HARD, but I figured it out!

[@ryanramsey9621]

Shad, the water keeps the steel shavings from clogging the pores and thus the grinding performance of the stone. Good job explaining to non sharpener people how the whetstones work! I'm 41 and started to learn to sharpen blades at about 10 years old. Sharpening is not quick but nor is it difficult. just maintain your angles, establish a burr, then polish the burr off, next strop both sides on good leather strop and WHAMMO mate your blade is sharp.

[@butsukete1806]

Cardboard makes a decent strop as well.

[@dogmaticpyrrhonist543]

Yep. Grinding, filing etc are material removal processes, and you need material transport (aka water) or you end up clogging up your tools. The extreme version of this are things like milling machines with constant oil flow.

[@markfergerson2145]

This is the comment I was going to make. Pre-soaking the stone allows for water to seep out to the grinding face helping flush the pores, but it's still good practice to dunk it every so often.

[@ryanramsey9621]

Yes buddy cardboard can work but cardboard is abrasive and can have glue residue. But in a pinch it will work.

[@butsukete1806]

@@ryanramsey9621 A strop is supposed to be abrasive. Granted this is on the micron level, and for that cardboard is about right. As for glue residue, you must have picked the wrong week to quit sniffin...

[@funkiestdig]

The whet in whetstone means to ‘ready’ as in “whet your appetite.” So a whetstone is a stone to prepare or ready a blade. They work better when wet because there is less friction when running the blade across making sharpening easier, and protects the stone from any damage.

[@asherbrunnert3121]

Actually, whet is an old spelling of the modern wet that meant to cover

[@elijahoconnell]

the etymology of whet means to sharpen. when it is used in the sense of to make ready, that is because your sword is ready because you sharpened it and thats like the start point of where you would see it used in other contexts

[@zerberus_ms]

@@asherbrunnert3121 both are applicable.

[@Pink_Noodle]

Mineral oil helps a lot

[@afelias]

@@Pink_Noodle It depends on the stone, most stones are water stones and some stones are oil stones.

[@angelsfallfirst7348]

I have sharpened my swords and knives by hand for years now. I did mess up on a few of my first tries, but now that I have got past the learning curve it has become a relaxing and rewarding pastime

[@jamesmayle3787]

Please read at least three books of the Bible. The first book of each testament and one you chose yourself. As you do practice forgiveness. It is an extremely important step. The Bible is truth. Jesus Christ is Lord

[@angelsfallfirst7348]

@@jamesmayle3787 Already have, mate. Don't know how I feel about any of it though

[@baziwan9407]

I found the same relaxation reloading my own ammunition.

[@jerm2332]

@@jamesmayle3787 Is the church getting low on numbers or something?

[@connorperrett9559]

@@jamesmayle3787 Based.

[@shawnosborne3063]

Tip for beginners or bad eyes, run a sharpie along the edge before starting. This will show you if you're keeping the angle consistent and can help you sharpen the same amount on both sides as you're done when the marker is removed.

[@criowo2376]

I am absolutely using this, thank you

[@alexanderchenf1]

sharpie?

[@NickGuelker]

The marker trick was shown to me by a friend years ago. Genius, it works perfectly.

[@edwardkinzer6493]

That's brilliant. Thank you

[@Ahurd123]

@@alexanderchenf1 he means a permanent marker, sharpie is a brand.

[@brycevernon3725]

As a bladesmith, its awesome to see someone else learning parts of the trade! Dont let the strop intimidate you. Its super simple

[@Robert53area]

Yeah, I recommend a whetstone wheel, the old ones would be better for a sword. As the bottom of them was submerged in water and it was on a wheel, that spun. You could sit on it and press a pedal to spin the wheel. It is longer but it will get sharper, and faster than one of the brick whetstone these are ment for small knives

[@cameronboyle5235]

Not a bladesmith just know how to take care of my tools eg chainsaws axes knifes ect. I just use a old leather belt to strop

[@Making-Winner]

Hey man do you recommend as a smith, sharpening a blade myself that's not cutting at all like the blade is thick on the sides, or do you recommend searching for someone professional

[@tadcooper9733]

its awsome to see what? shitty craftsmanship.

[@Darklon77]

It may help to soak the stones for longer. Clamp the blade down flat by the blade not the guard so the edge you're creating is more consistent. Also try not to push as hard if using a pallet as it's bending the blade and changing the edge angle.

[@erurainon6842]

Good enough. There was cut, if it seems like he put it in and out.

[@murph8411]

That’s the first thing I thought when I saw him clamp the handle and the tip instead of just the blade

[@donald12998]

Those are glued stones and should not be submerged.

[@tsmspace]

@@donald12998 only if your plan is to keep them a billion years. You can soak them and it won't matter, but people leave their stones submerged in water for the duration of the stones service life when they are used in busy kitchens, and glued stones might come apart in that case.

[@matchesburn]

@@donald12998 "Those are glued stones and should not be submerged." ...Broheim, virtually every man-made sharpening stone is made with some sort of glue, epoxy or resin holding them together. Yes, you *_are_* supposed to soak the stones, especially Japanese water stones, unless the manufacturer specifically tells you not to do so (and they better have a *_very_* good reason for doing so). Japanese brand Chosera water stones? Made with aluminum oxide and a magnesia-based binder. And the manufacturer states that if you don't soak their stones they're not being used correctly. There's also the issue that you literally will not be able to weaken the binder of a Chosera stone before you waste away the entire stone into nothing but several flakes of dust with how long they last and how often they need to be flattened. Silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, etc. And the stones that *_aren't_* man-made and don't use epoxy/resin/binder/glue/whatever - like Arkansas stone? You will not hurt them one bit soaking them in water. Albeit most benefit from mineral oils for sharpening over water. There is something to be said not to use harsh chemicals when cleaning your stones, but water ain't gonna hurt them unless you do something like leave them out in the cold while they're still wet (that's how people were apparently cracking Shapton stones despite them being some of the best quality stones available on the market and right up there (IMO better than) Chosera water stones). But that's not the stone's fault...

[@syncrossus]

I just want to take a moment to appreciate this community. I love this comment section. KZbin comment sections are known to be cesspools, but not Shad's (or others' in the sword enthusiast community AFAIK) and I think that's something worth acknowledging and celebrating.

[@R1ck_Ryder]

Lol the cesspools are on the game knights channel. Lots of unhinged right wing theocratic rants from the commenters and shad and his friends thank God they aren't too prevalent on here

[@thisdude9363]

@@R1ck_Ryder Lefties like you calling people right wing is meaningless to begin with, since you identify anything right of your toxic worldviews to be "radical right wing."

[@SergioLeonardoCornejo]

Because Shad's second channel scared away 90% of the nastiest people online.

[@R1ck_Ryder]

@@SergioLeonardoCornejo more like it attracted the 10% of the craziest people lol

[@SergioLeonardoCornejo]

@@R1ck_Ryder nah. you're the 10% who wasn't filtered. If you hate his politics and audience, maybe you don't belong. I didn't even see your comment here, but you're exactly the kind of person who makes fandoms toxic for bringing up while everyone is happy talking about swords.

[@Uncephalized]

Bit of advice to take you to the next level Shad. Whenever you step up a grit, change the direction of your stroke in some way--go from along the edge to circling, for example. When you do this you will always be able to see a difference in texture between the current grit and the last grit. Then you can easily spot any place where you haven't finished. I like to use long strokes along the edge for my final grit as I feel this is superior for minimizing the burr. Then learn how to strop.

[@phoenix7997]

This is great advice. Like Uncephalized said, if you change directions, and look very closely it's easy to see a night and day difference between finished and non finished areas. Most blades if properly cared for only need to be stropped unless they actually get damaged (by impact to hard surface, or rolled edge).

[@zerberus_ms]

Would love to see the other sword community youtubers respond to this, telling us how they do it. I know that Skallagrim sharpens his blades, for example.

[@MercenaryJames]

This is one thing I've yet to attempt. Sharpening my swords just makes me nervous as I don't want to royally fuck up the edge geometry.

[@shadiversity]

Totally get the hesitation, was exactly the same.

[@ganjiblobflankis6581]

If you are nervous, buy some gauge plate from an engineering supplier. 1" × 1/4" × 12" is a common size that is expensive for a bar of steel, but it is cheaper than a sword. It is ground to size and consistent. The steel is close enough to sword steel to learn technique. You will have a lot of grinding to do if you want to create an actual edge, but that is not the real point here.

[@silkwesir1444]

@@shadiversity I am really surprised that you could do the angle by just eyeballing it. All the time I was wondering how you are able to maintain the angle, was waiting for it, none of what you described had anything to do with what I thought would probably be the most important part. And then you said you are eyeballing it, and since then I'm kinda impressed and shocked that that apparently is good enough. Maybe my assumptions about it were all wrong, after all I'm just pondering it without ever having done it.

[@DoctorProph3t]

Go nuts on some old kitchen knives and stuff, try and copy bevels or have fun making up your own edge geometries, this’ll help give you a lot of confidence and feel for what you’re doing.

[@XBullitt16X]

Indeed, just sharpening smaller knives can be tricky without experience and practice, so I can only imagine how hard it is to sharpen a much larger and longer blade by hand, especially without the proper materials and equipment. Really goes to show how tough people had it back then and why swords were so valuable and glorified in cultures around the world.

[@bradbrandon2506]

That's crazy! I've been thinking about this for the past 3 days without telling anyone and here you are!

[@slashsigh9600]

Shad's learning curve is always on the up, proud of you sport.

[@Anyone_Else_Think]

Learning to sharpen is a fun skill to develop, I’ve been doing my own knives for about 8 years now. Just to answer your question Shad the reason the stone works better wet is because it builds up an abrasive slurry that helps with the re-profile/sharpening of a blade, if you really want to get into it I recommend using leather strops and stropping compound and tormeck paste. It’ll get your blades frighteningly sharp.

[@wolfvonversweber1109]

Well, not if you wash off the abrasive paste as soon as it builds....

[@widdershins5383]

The leather is good to finish stuff off, I think from this factory grind you’d need the stones to start

[@chanc9737]

ZELENSKY WAR CRIMINAL

[@seraph1969]

Whet doesn't mean Wet. Whet is basically "sharpening" or "to sharpen". Whetstone means "Sharpening Stone"

[@Sam-xt2gz]

You can hear the blade when Shad slices the paper at 15:35. It's such beautiful sound.

[@ZeroSalvator]

Well Done Shad! Now I have a challenge for you. Go and sharpen the Angus Trim Leaf-Blade that you have on ONE edge and test the difference between the factory edge and your sharpened one. Also I recommend "Burrfection" on KZbin, he mostly does knives but also katanas. That's not the main reason to look at him though. He has the best recommendation on what sharpening stone work the best.

[@michaelmain1990]

If you read whetstone directions, they tell you to soak the stone before use

[@RyanYoxo]

Exactly hahah

[@erurainon6842]

He did.🙄

[@michaelmain1990]

And he also said he didn't know about it

[@andregon4366]

And if he didn't buy the worst whetstones available he wouldn't need to soak it in water. Because the good whetstones don't need to.

[@butsukete1806]

@@andregon4366 Not everyone can afford Shaptons.

[@TheScoundrelsCantina]

Keep up the good work mate, God bless ;)

[@treyboozer2572]

I think if you move the sword down a little so the handle and the gard is hanging off so the blade is completely flat and does not flex when you put pressure on the edge you would have better contact with the edge of the blade and the stone

[@BrennonIsMilak]

You might want to try building a sharpening jig, which holds the blade flat and also keeps your stone at a consistent angle. You also mentioned learning about stropping. See any time you do a grinding operation on metal there will be a burr. When you strop, what you're basically doing is bending that burr back and forth until it breaks off leaving just the sharp edge. All you need is a decent piece of leather.

[@zanderchiasson8064]

With most whetstones you actually want to soak them completely before you use them, it helps the stone break down as it wears out, which keeps the abrasive fresh and prevents clogging. Many people actually just store them in a tub of water so you don’t need to constantly re-soak them

[@Joe___R]

Shad, Firstly there are multiple types of sharpening stones the most common types are water, oil, ceramic and diamond stones. Water sharpening stones are generally softer & more porous than other types. Most water stone manufacturers recommend soaking them in water for a short period of time before each use. Some of them can be safely stored in water others will dissolve if left in water too long. Oil sharpening stones tend to be harder & more porous than water stones. They are generally designed to be used with mineral oil as a lubrican. If used with water they will likely clogg. Ceramic stone are generally harder than water & oil stones with a basically non-porous surface. A lubricant is not needed but a splash of water will help keep it cleaner.

[@AnotherSonicFan1]

Water is added to whetstones for a few reasons: Lubrication: Water helps to lubricate the surface of the whetstone, which helps to prevent the blade from getting damaged or overheated during the sharpening process. Without water, the blade may get too hot, which can cause the metal to expand and warp. Cleaning: Adding water to the whetstone helps to clean the surface of the stone by removing any debris, metal shavings, or grit that may have accumulated during the sharpening process. This helps to keep the stone in good condition and ensures that it continues to sharpen effectively. Preventing clogging: Some whetstones are made of materials that can clog easily with debris and metal shavings. Adding water helps to prevent clogging by flushing away any debris that may have accumulated on the surface of the stone. In general, using water with a whetstone helps to ensure that the sharpening process is more effective, efficient, and safe for both the tool being sharpened and the person doing the sharpening. (This is a ChatGPT answer)

[@AdonijahFinch]

Shad post let’s goo

[@morkusmorkus6040]

True crime fan ey?

[@rimaco196]

I know you've had a problem with KZbin lately but THIS is the type of video I subscribed for! Thanks, Shad!

[@willgeorgiadis2025]

Shad, I'm no expert on sword sharpening but have experience on my woodworking tools and some of my knives and axes. You can get a paddle style strop and probably could run it perpendicular to the blade to get that edge finished. You can use strops with or without buffing compound.

[@Zack-bl2gg]

It’s a lot better with a buff stone on it though, same reason why you don’t just use a rag as a strop: it is basically a super fine sharpening stone

[@willgeorgiadis2025]

@@Zack-bl2gg I've never heard of buff stones before, but I'll check them out.

[@Zack-bl2gg]

@@willgeorgiadis2025 apparently it’s just called green compound, I always called it a buff stone or green stone or something like that. Sorry about the confusion haha

[@willgeorgiadis2025]

@@Zack-bl2gg oh no problem! Yup I know what you're talking about. I use a buffing compound as well with my strops

[@CreepyMF]

Thats it! no more fancy sharpening tools that fail me, time to get some proper whetstones. This is the way.

[@benmoi3390]

you can simply wrap the blade with a piece of cloth to grab it firmly,... thus sharpening it as intended... you sharpen one half of the blade and then the other half (tip) also if you look at japenease sharpennir they are mostly in kneeled in water, with water pooring and flowing on the stone constantly while sharpening it.

[@calebashley7143]

The same excellent quality videos as always. Hope the algorithm grants you more mercy in the future.

[@lawsonbromley4208]

Historically was done on a stone wheel so the wheel moves and you just hold the sword at the angle you want to sharpen too . today we bench grinder and belt grinders same principle as historical grinding wheel just faster and option to adjust the abrasives to get better results 👍

[@Kyle-sr6jm]

Power tools and heat treated blades are not something to combine casually. Overheating the edge is insanely easy to do.

[@tapiolautavaara9532]

@@Kyle-sr6jm The exact reason why I could only advice using a belt sander with adjustable speed, if you have several swords and whatnot in need of a deadlier bevel. Just clamp the tool into a vice and move the blade around and you should feel it instantly in your fingertips if and when the steel heats up. A row of strong little magnets embedded and glued into a piece of board works wonders when using the whetstones.

[@erikjrn4080]

The reason whetstones work better when wet is that particles of steel and stone are suspended in the water, and work as an additional abrasive. The water makes the stone glide more smoothly, which one would think would reduce the friction, but the reduction is actually in scratches made by the protruding grain in the stone; the water-grit mixture fills the pores, and evens out the abrasive effect. Because of this, you don't want to clean of the grit too often; I generally just wipe off the edge, to have a look, and then continue, though, if the edge needs a lot of sharpening, you'll need to clean the stone occasionally. As you'll have noticed from this, not all the material in the water is steel from the sword; a good portion is from the stone; a good whetstone is supposed to wear down with time. Water also keeps the blade cool, though I doubt anyone has ever succeeded in heat damaging a blade through manual sharpening, and definitely not by accident. If you make a really fine edge, _with a single bevel, you want to finish the sharpening by moving the whetstone exclusively and gently towards the blade. This will take a tiny bit of the edge off, but that will be the part that's too weak to hold up when you cut, and will inevitably bend during use, making the edge nearly useless. For slicing, you don't want the edge to be too fine; you want the micro-serration created by a slightly rough stone; the more force you use, the more cleaving action you get, and the less serration you need. I usually make a double bevel on anything that needs to stay sharp through heavy use, but doesn't need a razor edge. A second bevel can also be added for quick touch-up of the edge, but will then require more sharpening to remove the second bevel at a later stage. A double bevel sacrifices some sharpness, but not much; Japanese swords commonly have double bevel, and the samurai weren't exactly famous for the bluntness of their swords... Convex bevels are easier to make, as you have more flexibility in the angle of each stroke of the stone, and they're not necessarily inferior. Always clean your stone well afterwards, as the loose grit will get stuck in the pores, altering the quality of the stone; you'll want the stone to work the same way every time. Also, they end up stained with rust, if they're not properly cleaned; that's mainly just annoying, though. P.S.: I've never sharpened swords, but pretty much everything else, such as knives (some of which might as well be swords, for their length and type of edge), machetes, scythes, axes, and more.

[@DrygdorDradgvork]

Fantastic info in here, definitely gonna try on one of my swords that came with a crappy edge bevel. You should do this to one of your war swords next, Shad!

[@Deadflower019]

Got the notification for this while watching your spear cutting video right as you said "this is *hard* wood". Just found it funny.

[@TheCaniblcat]

I'm surprised you never asked Matt Easton or Skallagrim for advice in sharpening swords, since they both have made videos about sword sharpening in the past.

[@doron.smulian]

I just love this comment section and the community, such fun. By the way, you not "bend" the burr back to center, you acually grind it back and brake it off. If done correctly the point of contact where the burr broke off is your actual cutting edge. Good luck with all coming exploit👍

[@TheScarvig]

tip for sharpening: when you are clamping down the blade, let the handle hang over the end of the board you are clamping to. that allows for the blade to be clamped flat onto the board and prevents it from flexing while you are grinding. this gives you more/easier control over the actual angle the whetstone is touching the blade while making it easier to apply more pressure during the first coarser stages of the grind

[@dwlr007]

6:19 Friction, it's to eliminate extraneous friction from the stone to not only improve sharpening, but also prevent damage to the stone. You should soak the stone 15-20 minutes prior to sharpening then use additional water or oil when sharpening.

[@kobold1538]

I've actually never sharpened a sword, but have done plenty of axes and they use circular whetstones but you use the exact same motions here or small circular motions. I feel like using your method with a circular stone that fits better in the hand might be the perfect combo!

[@johnchristopher3032]

Yep. A puck or disk would work well here. I would want a really coarse stone for thinning out the edge. There is a lot of steel to remove on a sword. It's like sharpening all of your kitchen knives at one go.

[@ZttackFrmBhind]

Got halfway though this video and felt inspired to sharpen all of my kitchen knives :D They are very sharp now :)

[@johnfake548]

Since he practically lives and breathes swords, I assumed that weapon sharpening would be old hat to him. Unexpected.

[@jeffhicks8428]

He lives and breathes swords except he seems like a highschool dropout and he clearly has zero knowledge or any experience with anything he's here "teaching" his audience of fellow Wendy's employees about.

[@chanc9737]

lol breathes heavy

[@Wysewolf]

​@@jeffhicks8428 Hey Jeff, long time no see. Say hi to your Mom for me. I'll never forget about her. She gives the sloppiest blumpkins in the business.

[@ultimate_pleb]

perfect! this video helped me sharpen my sword ready for my murder court case next month. I don't even need a lawyer, i can just plea trial by combat

[@Kdlslwn2kd]

Loved the way Kingdom Come: Deliverance let you sharpen your own swords. Even as basic as it was.

[@elijahoconnell]

“why am i not breathing”

[@sirhenry9313]

👀

[@widdershins5383]

That game was not a game. It was a peasant simulation lol

[@victorvillarreal6012]

No one ever talks about sword sharpening. Just knives. Your content has always been helpful for my growing collection, but this video helped me more than I can express. I just started sharpening using this technique. Not quite there yet but it's a start!

[@Serahpin]

My friend dunks his stone (which you did) then holds the hilt with his offhand with the flat of the blade on his thigh and goes over it with a stone. That's how I've seen him do it.

[@Killjoy357]

Found this while sharpening my axe. Guess I gotta find my sword and do that too now.

[@PrincessTidge]

Other comments have already mentioned this but you don't need to clean the "slurry" from the whetstone until you're done, it actually helps the sharpening process 👍🏻

[@MawoDuffer]

Yeah it helps a lot to keep the slurry but it can become hard to see the metal past the slurry.

[@LumenP1023]

no it does not. The fine iron particles between the stone and blade becomes free floating material, and other than having that material occassionally and superficially graze your blade, does nothing to enhance sharpness or remove sufficient material in the process of sharpening and shaping a blade. And even if we were to entertainment the idea that material removed by these free floating iron particles amount to anything measureable, its nothing that the whetstone can't do (way better) by itself.

[@chstoney]

I am a knifemaker and I learned to sharpen knives when I was a kid. I have also taught people how to sharpen knives. My first recommendation to anyone wanting to sharpen their knives is not any sharpening gizmo but one of these cheap, two-layer silicon carbide stones. And soaking the stone in a bucket/bowl of water is a part of my lesson. It is always a good idea to soak the whetstone, whether synthetic or natural. If the stone does not soak in any water, no harm done. If it does soak water, then it would soak it in during the sharpening anyway. And pre-soaked whetstone loosens swarf more easily.

[@kevinsullivan3448]

When doing a casual sharpening of a knife, including my 14in bladed hand crafted Bowie, I spit on the stone. BUT, if the knife needs a lot of work I use honing oil. Honing oil provides the lubrication and metal suspension and reduces the heat created by sharpening. If you don't use water or oil, you fill the pores in the stone with metal shavings and then it stops sharpening.

[@beebacheeba]

Nice job. I like the methods you come up with. Very natural and effective!

[@RyanYoxo]

Yes shad, you generally let your whet stones soak in water before use…

[@Realtimehammer]

It's just so nice seeing Shad going about his business, doing his medieval things. He comes across so happy and satisfied! Amazing :)

[@alexh4436]

In addition to the cost of swords, the effort and costs required to maintain a sword might be one of the reason that they were not more prevalent as the primary weapon of soldiers back in the day. A knight in shining armor could probably pay for the required tools and have his squire maintain his sword, but your man at arms would have to do it himself and they couldn't just go on Amazon to get clamps, workbenches, sharpening stones and oil while on campaign. It must have been a real pain in the backside and I can see how the soldiers back then would be thinking, "Hmmm, maybe I will buy myself a war hammer for Christmas."

[@dogmaticpyrrhonist543]

Never need to sharpen a mace or warhammer. And if they get rusty, it doesn't really stop them functioning just fine.

[@silkwesir1444]

On the other hand, it won't dull if you don't use it. Weapons of Self-Defense hopefully are rarely, if ever, used.

[@NevisYsbryd]

It... is really not that big a deal, and no, that is unrelated to their use as sidearms rather than military sidearms. Shad was in the learning process; once you know how to maintain it correctly, it rarely takes more than like 30 minutes at the upper end. And such touch-ups would be infrequent, anyways. Swords were not primary because polearms are longer and strike harder, and missiles have _much_ greater range. Sidearm-sized maces and hammers were not primary weapons much to anymore frequently than swords were.

[@FENomadtrooper]

I don't think that's the case. Everyone had a knife. You had to sharpen those knifes. Those same stones could be used on a sword if needed.

[@dogmaticpyrrhonist543]

@@NevisYsbryd not just learning, but putting a new bevel on. You don't do that everytime you sharpen something, or you quickly end up with a long thin toothpick

[@DoctorProph3t]

If you have an old coffee mug or tea plate, you can use the bottom to polish an edge after sharpening. I don’t use it anymore because my sharpener has a polishing grit side but I swear by using ceramic to polish an edge to a mirror.

[@timwaeyaert8339]

Why did you not put the blade flat on the wood to support it, as every time you applied pressure you bent the blade changing the angle for your stone. Get the handle off the end so the blade if supported by the wood.

[@themadhatter4206]

Just bought my first ‘battle ready’ sword, and your absolutely right that there’s very few videos on how to refine the sharpening on long blades out there… except for you. So I thank you sir!

[@mikkohernborg5291]

@Shadiversity Just one little point, about the burr on the edge: grinding an edge on steel always produces a burr - *except* when the direction of the stroke is *against* the edge (the way you have it set up in the video, that would be towards you), as any metal that becomes so thin it bends is ground off. Usually this is one of the functions of the strop, but in general, it can be done with the finest (last) step of grinding being done. Both the circular motion and the long strokes along the edge will burr the edge, and grinding to center the burr will usually only make it fold over. Further note: if using power tools (angle grinder, belt sander etc) grinding against the edge can be really dangerous, as if the angle becomes too steep or the belt/disc bites too deep under pressure, the blade can come loose from the mounting because alot of torque is generated, and in some cases can even slice through a sanding belt - potentially sending it (and also the blade) in a random direction at high speed (keep your body out of the line of fire as much as possible!). With manual methods, the forces are much smaller, leading to better control and the danger is negated. In sum: rough grind can be done from blade center towards the edge, fine grind should be done against the edge towards the center. Also, a jig to help keep the stone/sharpening tool keep the same angle against the edge helps more than one thinks.

[@charlesentrekin140]

My great-grandfather was a gunsmith whose Hobby was knives and sword making. I learned all of this technique from him. He had learned it from his grandfather who was a knife and sword maker whose hobby was Gunsmithing. There are still swordsmiths in to my personal knowledge England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Japan and Taiwan who still teach the old ways. Some of them even have tutorials online. But I say good on you because you have made it much easier for this technique to reach a much wider audience.

[@Gizmomaster]

When you’re piling the blade would A Gun oil/lubricant suffice? Does it need to be mineral oil? And also what would be the better oil to use actually. Could Gun Oil be better than mineral oil?

[@LarryGarfieldCrell]

Pretty much any oil would work. A thinner one won't gum up as much and food based ones (like olive oil) may eventually go rancid and smell. A gun oil would probably work fine, though I don't do guns so I cannot be certain.

[@wolfvonversweber1109]

Um, I think I learned the crazy trick of soaking the whetstone before using it from the instruction manual. It's something you should >always< do. It's also in every tutorial on YT, manufacturers sites etc. Also, the stuff "comming off" isn't metal for the most part. It's the paste that is >supposed< to build up on the stone and do most of the sharpening. Constantly cleaning it off will severely reduce the lifetime of the stone and also be much harder on the blade. You only clean it of when you're finished so the metal particles don't sink in and form rust.

[@Azguella]

fun fact the sharpening stick/steel/honing rod doesn't actually sharpen the blade but realigns the slightly dulled edge to extend the time you need before you actually need to sharpen it

[@MadNumForce]

Urban legend. A steel is a file with lengthwise teeth. The grooves on the surface of the steel are carved on a shaper (a machine tool with a tool holder going back and forth) by a tool with a triangular bit, producing a succession of sharp edges on the surface, chromium plated for extra hardness. And steel are magnetized on purpose to retain the tiny shavings they cut from the edge of the sharpened blade.

[@Azguella]

@@MadNumForce that's where you would go if you used abrasive honing rods they go from ceramic or ribbed steel that remove material by adhesive wear to steel or diamond that really sharpen it by removing material and steeling is when you use totally blunt rod to align the edge which one is better the honing (minor material removal) or steeling (realigning the edge) is up to you why they call rods with completely different characteristic the same.. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@CallMeMrChainmail]

@@MadNumForce You literally couldn't be more wrong. Modern "sharpening steels" use ceramic or diamond. Any over 20 years old are almost certainly made of stainless steel, softer than typical chefs knives, not magnetic and the ribs are purely for decoration. Professionally they're called honing steels because honing is the act of straightening out a bent edge and specifically the reason you'll see most chefs perform the same manoeuvre with two knives instead of bothering to get the steel is because the steels are totally worthless.

[@Lucas_Williamson_Drums]

This is super helpful! I needed something exactly like this!! Got a new sword but despite the company selling sharpened swords in the past, they'll now only sell swords that are blunt so if want it sharp... gotta do it yourselves... thanks Shad!

[@jackmcslay]

There are brands of professional artist pencils that are sold completely unsharpened because it's assumed different artists will want different sharpening profiles for their pencils. I think a similar logic applies to swords, expecting that people who buy real swords also know how to sharpen one and they don't know beforehand what a random buyer wants that sword for so they give them a shallow angled edge such that it can either be made to what edge angle the buyer wanter or be blunted relatively easy for martial arts practice.

[@mateuszliszewski]

Shadiversity, after I saw you in the last Nerdrotic stream and heard what you said, I shall from now on call you Chadiversity.

[@therakshasan8547]

Water is to a wet stone as oil is to a dry stone . It allows metal to be ground away without generating enough heat to affect the temper . Also the pores are full of fluid and not packed with metal which defeats the ability to grind .

[@jamesmayle3787]

Please read at least three books of the Bible. The first book of each testament and one you chose yourself. As you do practice forgiveness. It is an extremely important step. The Bible is truth. Jesus Christ is Lord

[@tarektechmarine8209]

@@jamesmayle3787 wrong channel.

[@England91]

@@tarektechmarine8209 it's a bot just report it as it has left the same message on other comments

[@danieledwards2149]

I'm glad to see several of us here already sharpen swords and knives by hand! Someone else already mentioned what I was going to suggest of clamping it down on just the blade to give a more consistent angle. From everything I saw in the video it looks like your getting the hang of it! Now you just need to find what methods, angles etc work for you. I've been sharpening by hand enough to agree that you definitely can tell by feel, look, and even sound of the stone on the blade, what angle or consistency of angle you're getting. Have fun learning more!

[@crypt6078]

ngl i thought people used to sharpen swords with a spinny wheel thing

[@asherbrunnert3121]

That was often how swords were given their original edge. But once you give a sword an edge, you simply need to make sure it never gets dull with a whetstone

[@unfriendlyfire1582]

Whetstones will work best when soaked so water builds on the surface. The reason is some of the grit will actually break loose from the surface of the stone and create a slurry on the stone which will help hone the edge.

[@jeffsaffron5647]

Shad, just get that spinning stone wheel everyone else uses.

[@JCOwens-zq6fd]

Well done! I never have liked the sharpening "systems" too much. I hand sharpen all of mine. Worksharp stuff is alright but best for knives etc imo. Oh & the term whetstone literally means "stone to sharpen" for "whet" means "to sharpen". The reason they are best wet is that the liquid (oil or water usually) helps carry away the swarf or slurry of materials ground off the stone & the edge as well as helping keep everything cool. At least this is my understanding. I recommend CoalCracker bushcraft for stropping tips. Also you can use a leather belt if you dont have a strap, just lay it on a board or glue a strip of leather to one all are fine for the job.

[@t.m.2415]

the metal on the wetstone actualy helps the grinding process

[@MrRourk]

You need a Hockey Puck Axe Sharpening Stone or a Scythe Stone much easier to work with. Do you have a Castle Moat? in a shallow end place some Perma Soak Stones. So when needed you just take them out and use them. Then just put them back in to soak again.

[@theunbrokenbarb169]

Shad, I just want to say, I've been a fan for a long time. I started watching back in 2014 while playing D&D with my Navy buds, and bro you've done so well

[@stonefox9124]

The water helps keep surface cool to protect the blades heat treatment

[@solar7927]

5:18 yes this is correct, and you are normally supposed to soak the wet stone for about 10-15 minutes so it becomes saturated. generally when the stone stops sizzling is a good indicator of when it's done. but there is an easier way with sandpaper, just strap the sandpaper down on something soft (such as thick leather). and then pull the edge towards you, with the sandpaper grinding along the edge and not against it. this will also make it easier to sharpen.

[@brycesagner4497]

“Mom that crazy guy next door is sharpening his sword.” “In public!?!?”

[@ogchaxzor3562]

So as a lazy sod, I needed to find an easy way to sharpen my dull cooking knives. I found an electric sharpener; it was like a die grinder or dremel that had a triangle pulley system that is used to run a sand paper belt over the device. The brand i have is called Works but i am sure it is just a rebranded generic tool. These triangle devices have a large selection of "sharpening angles" so you can get the bevel you want. All you have to do is run the blade through the angle cutout against the running sand paper belt and it grinds the bevels in. It is really quick and easy to use on kitchen knives, but i dont know how well it will work on swords. One word of advice, i have ruined the tip on a couple knives rounding them out. When mistakes happen they happen fast too. Either way just thought i would pass that along. Thank you for the video!

[@alienatedpoet1766]

Thank you! I couldn't find a good sharpening video and this answered all of the questions I had. Now I can sharpen my own longsword.

[@wolfvonversweber1109]

You should watch or read a tutorial on water stones. Constantly washing off the abrasive paste, which is >supposed< to build, - like Shad does - is terrible. It's not metal that comes off in the bucked, but mostly the stone, he might as well use it dry. The stone get's used up quicker (won't be flat anymore) and it's harder on the blade.

[@alienatedpoet1766]

@@wolfvonversweber1109 Can you recommend me some decent tutorials?

[@CallMeMrChainmail]

Honestly mate, if you want to learn the best advice I can give you is this: do NOT spend money on anything related to sharpening and don't believe anyone who pretends that there is a "this one simple trick" that will teach you how to do it. They all do the same thing, scratch tiny bits of metal off a piece of metal. Go and find the cheapest, nastiest knife you can get your hands on and the cheapest packs of rough & fine sandpaper (40 to 80 grit is fine for rough and 240 will work for fine grit), a flat piece of wood and an old mouse pad that you can use as a strop. Get the cheapest glue you can find and glue the rough sandpaper to one side of the wood, the fine sandpaper to the other side and then get to work. Blades change in thickness and width and the belly of the blade curves (on a longsword that curve will be at the tip). That means that the edge angle changes as you run a sharpener over the edge. The only way you'll get a feel for it is by doing it. Use the cheap nasty practice blade until you're confident. I've used oil stones, water stones, soapy water, grinding wheels, diamond sharpeners, abrasive pastes and multiple jigs. Now I usually use a nail file and a mouse pad and my knives will all shave hair. There is honestly no trick to it, every single method boils downs to exactly the same thing; you're just rubbing an a abrasive stick over a piece of metal until it's the shape you want, don't overthink it.

[@alienatedpoet1766]

@@CallMeMrChainmail Thanks, and yeah I learned with firearms ('Murican here) That simpler is usually better. Like for oiling my sword, I already had 3-in-1 oil and a shop rag lying around and that has kept the rust away from my sword for the past few months.

[@CallMeMrChainmail]

@@alienatedpoet1766 I use 3-IN-ONE for everything except sex and food.

[@jetshadowcrow]

You know what? It is neat to see you evolve from just talking about Medieval historical things to living and doing things in the lifestyle. Good on you mate!

[@GameHunterMaster]

Might I suggest stepping into the modern age and using a belt sander? Just keep an eye on the blade and only keep the edge in contact with the belt for short bursts so that you don't ruin the temper.

[@marcosgarcia8018]

probably when they get better at sharpening my father took my seax to a belt and it took me a few hours to recover the mirror finish since then ive gotten way better at hand sharpening to avoid that i will probably get a belt sharpener to help me achieve razor though

[@DamianBloodstone]

Great vid and info on how you did it. I liked the board idea for mounting the blade. I went the oil stone method (each pass wiping the blade and stone then reoiling it) and all by hand while holding it. It got scary near the end. I used 200 grit to 6000 grit in steps. My katana cut twine and then cut thin chain once done. I removed the burr by running a piece of bass wood down it on the burr side. This was on a 440C Stainless Steel wall hanger too.

[@Markbell73]

I use a honing oil with my stone. Works beautifully.

[@Markbell73]

I've only ever sharpened my knives. Never a sword. I own two Katana. And I understand that sharpening a Katana is different. Both mine are already nearly razor sharp. Because the Rengoku blade has already opened my ring finger like a book, just wiping the blade with a soft cloth. I will leave my Katana to an expert if they ever need to be sharpened. Or learn to become one myself.

[@VarusToVictory]

Thanks for this video! :) Got here because I'm playing D&D with some friends and my character - who's pretty martial oriented - is going to go teach some of the NPCs the broader points of sword and armor maintenance next session. This video and a lot of the comments have been invaluable for me to prepare to roleplay that part. :) Thanks for all your work!

[@eon2330]

Stick the sword in the ground pomel first, until you get to the hand things like a shovel. Sharpen. Bring it out of the ground by the hand things. You keep a bucket next to you.

[@bradbrandon2506]

I wanted to let you know that baby oil trick worked great! All my blades are almost good as new and even the spots on them off corrosion seem to be almost melting away! Thanks Shad!

[@BF-I-II-V-V-III-VII]

The best sharpening stone i got is a piece of slate i found in the river. I polished it with another rock i found i the same river and now my knives are razor sharp. I prefer wet stone over dry stone because when you sharpen something the water will mix with the metallic dust and stone dust to make a "sharpening mud" that help a lot. You can use that mud to polish your metal object too. And sharpening a sword is different from sharpening a kitchen knife. If you look a kitchen knife with a microscope you'll see that the blade look like a saw. Really good at cutting soft object but weak. A sword blade would look more flat, less efficient at cutting but more solid.

[@vicnighthorse]

This video was you at your best Shad. Thanks.

[@billybish1717]

I'm not getting notifications from these big videos, but these shorts you are posting I am getting notifications for.

[@AllTheOthers]

I would've thought that YOU of all people would've already known this! I'm astonished.

[@GuitarsRockForever]

I'm sure there will be many screaming you were doing it wrong. But I like it. It's like doing it as cheap and as effective at the same time.

[@xsez2]

Love The Energy You Bring To Your Viewers and Great Content. Respect !

[@TheRichmaster24]

I really love how much effort you put in here

[@mjov6655]

That was great. Been trying to find a way to sharpen my katana. Thank you!

[@soulwynd]

I sharpen my blades to 8000 grit, here are a couple hints. 1. For a long blade you should make a jig to hold the sword and blade at the angle you want, if you look online, you will find out how, it is pretty easy. 2. Strop is optional. You can remove or straighten the burr by using your finest stone only in outward motion. if you notice shiny flakes on the stone, you are removing the burr. The strop will just save you some time and give a nicer looking polish. 3. I can't stress this enough, buy a nagura stone of a finer grit than your finest stone. Since you have a 3000 stone buy a 8000 nagura and rub it on the stone for the burr removal and polishing passes.

[@dogmaticpyrrhonist543]

In this video Shad does something I seem to know more about. Hooray! As several people have pointed out, that blade flex isn't doing you any favours. Move the sword so that only the blade is on the work surface so the whole length is supported. Water enables the removed metal, and broken pieces of the stone to form a slurry, which becomes part of the abrasive and prevents the stone clogging. That said, this means some of your abrasive is uncontrolled. A better solution would be having a constant fluid flow to transport the slurry away. People sharpening carbon steel blades don't tend to want to just run the garden hose over what they're sharpening though. As a few people have pointed out, the final edge is often about the burr. Or the microscopic parts of metal pulled past the edge, forming a flap that is usually rolled over in one direction or the other. A fine stone can be used to grind into the edge, avoiding this. This is also the main purpose of a sharpening steel. The final grinding/honing/etc generally has to be into the edge to make sure there's no burr. Apart from stropping. The hope with stropping is that we're finally working on a fine enough polish that any ability to create a burr will be so tiny as to be ignorable

[@CyberBolt21]

9:00 did anyone else find this funny lol. Shad: "So we're gonna go in" then hyperfast outta nowhere XD

[@stevenkennedy4130]

Can you imagine Aragorn sharping his sword, out in the wilderness like this? Good stuff!

[@Justatackit]

Hey Shad great video man! Hey just wanted to offer some advice 1 being to use a sharpie to mark the edge so you'll have a better idea of how your removing material. 2 make you a fixed angle guided sharpening setup using an I-bolt and a long metal rod about 4 to 5mm thick just look up fixed angled knife sharpeners on KZbin and you'll better understand what I'm meaning. A couple other things you might want to try are diamond stones and or ceramic stones because neither of those types of stones tend to dish out or wear in the center as bad and they are both more newbie friendly especially the diamonds because they really really eat up the metal and take no time at all getting you where you want to be and are easily maintained!

[@goreobsessed2308]

I need to fish out the book I learned to sharpen knives whith it explained whetstone absorbing water it also recommended mineral oil instead

[@workerdroid290]

Well done Shad. Learning a skill like sharpening is useful, and it was good seeing it done on such a cool sword. Can be app,ied to every sort of blade.