Ultimate beginners guide to sharpening

[@jakehu6671]

Great pointers! If I may add anything is that I would recommend to beginners that specifically do sharpening with the edge facing them, is to actually to record themselves at a perspective that allows to observe the spine of the knife (to see the spine distance from the stone). I have taught some people how to sharpen and what I notice on the first few sessions especially, is that they slowly increase the angle on the trailing portion.

[@stroppystuff641]

Thanks for the feedback man! I've pinned your comment so that people can see your tips :)

[@alfie8778]

Amidst the tidal wave of highly polished, overproduced videos featuring experts with shiny teeth, this video stands out. It's unique in its simplicity, delivering clear, easy-to-understand results without all the usual fluff. The results I obtained were much better than those from other videos. Thank you very much!

[@stroppystuff641]

@@alfie8778 thanks for the feedback! I appreciate it and I'm glad it helped

[@sharpwhits0167]

I am by no means a beginner. Novice, maybe. I thought there was a lot of really good information here. Nice work, sir!

[@omfgbbqsauce1177]

Would you mind doing a video on the exact "feel" of being on or off angle, as well as the different types of feedback when sharpening or stropping?

[@ahmedhajwani8980]

I find it that everyone has different preferences as to how to hold the knife due their body abilities. Like for example I prefer holding the 90° angle in my right hand, even without me being able to see the edge, I am able to feel the edge abraiding very easily. On the other hand the 45° knife hold where you are able to see your edge, I find it difficult to keep consistent angle on my edge, and at times, my knife tilts backwords and backside becomes more abraided.😂

[@robbabcock_]

Awesome video! That's pretty much now I use Atoma plates except I'm too lazy/cheap to use a stone holder. I keep the knife in my right hand and use the 'stone' on a bit of shelf liner on the edge of a Boos block. Really though it would be handy to have something higher. FWIW, I have some of your 9 micron stuff on the way now!

[@stroppystuff641]

@@robbabcock_ thanks for the support 👍 the 9um will be very fast refinement off those stones

[@peter_ry]

Really happy I found your videos. Great explanations

[@adanma17]

Always great to have a refresher, even with some experience I still crush my apex while doing Burr removal on the finer grit.

[@stroppystuff641]

yeah it's certainly the the part where you need to be super delicate and precise. Sometimes it can be worth taking a little break if you've had a long sharpening session, then go back and deburr

[@frogbuzz]

Do you use a steeper angle while deburring?

[@John..18]

The next best therapeutic, and calming thing, to sharpening a knife, is watching a video about it,,, 🤣🤣😊 Nice presentation for novices, (still classing myself in that group, lol..) Anyone who's never stropped before, might be better with heel to tip strokes, to avoid the tip digging in,, Just speaking from personal experience,, Great tutorial tho',, Not seen a better one,, 👍🔪 Cheers,, John...

[@stroppystuff641]

Thanks for the pointers John! I have a stropping video where I show my usual technique of dragging the tip backwards to find the angle, similar results to heel first. Always nice to have options 👍

[@t.michaelbodine4341]

Excellent video. Thank you so much.

[@stroppystuff641]

@@t.michaelbodine4341 thanks! Glad it helped

[@Falin89]

If only this video would have been available a bunch of years ago when I got into knives... Very well explained, very beginner friendly and well demonstrated! I'm going to send this video to my friend who is even more scared than me about sharpening 😆 well, I'm not that scared anymore, just not very good at it yet..my biggest issues are keeping the angle the same on both sides, the transition on the belly and tip and also, if I'm not counting the exact number of passes on each side, making both bevels the same. On the plus side, apparently I've been doing the deburring process since my first time sharpening, just maybe not at the same capability an experienced sharper can. Using a flashlight is a good tip.

[@stroppystuff641]

Thank you for the feedback and also sharing the video with your friend! It's great that you've known about the burr removal process from day 1, that's what most people totally miss. As a note counting the passes isn't always that accurate because not all passes will remove the same amount of metal, visual inspection will be the most reliable, good luck with your sharpening journey!

[@moondawg1439]

Very excellent and helpful. I did purchase a couple of strops and spray. I’m new to this and am looking forward to learning more!

[@stroppystuff641]

@@moondawg1439 good luck with your journey, come back and drop a message if you need some help.

[@moondawg1439]

One thing I wanted to ask… Do I need honing oil on ceramic stones?

[@stroppystuff641]

@@moondawg1439 water works great on standard ceramic waterstones

[@moondawg1439]

@@stroppystuff641 thank you

[@NedKnives]

Extremely comprehensive!

[@stroppystuff641]

Thanks for the support man

[@lars43771]

Great tutorial! You’ve cut out the crap and kept it to a basic. I personally like diamond plates as well. I would also recommend them to beginners. No need for a flattening stone and can be used wet or dry. Will have to try them with your new Honing Oil.

[@stroppystuff641]

Diamond plates are great, I know lots of people dislike them, I think that's often because they're super aggressive feeling compared to stones. The honing oil really shines at stopping resin bonded stones from loading, but it's nice on plates too :)

[@AngelRangerNL]

Great video! Hopefully this will help out a lot of people learning to sharpen.

[@luckychoook]

I’ve been waiting on this video from you for so long! Well done! I really look forward to an intermediate and/or advanced video!

[@Gowa111]

Excellent tutorial!

[@stroppystuff641]

Thank you!

[@jeffhicks8428]

I've watched a lot of these and I have to say you did as good a job as any. You really cut a lot of the common nonsense and dogma and just kept it straight up. This was much better than the vast majority of these kinds of videos I've seen. Basically the only thing I'd say is that I'm personally not a fan of coated diamond abrasives other than for creating entirely new edge bevels and obviously for lapping waterstones and whatnot.

[@stroppystuff641]

Thanks for the feedback and support! I certainly know where you're coming from regarding plates, it seems more people dislike them than not. I like them for quick jobs where I don't have to start soaking stones etc, I also like them for fast stock removal and lack of maintenance.

[@retardno002]

I use diamond plates for the lower grits,

[@mariothewhite]

Great vid once again, and I love those kitchen Spyderco, must buy that and the santoku 😅

[@stroppystuff641]

I've got the gyuto, I wanted to use it in the video but I couldn't keep it in frame lol

[@mariothewhite]

@@stroppystuff641 Massive, yes. Felt in love for it after watchin a Cliff video with it

[@curiousgeorge555]

Well done as usual.

[@stroppystuff641]

Appreciated!

[@chrishess8855]

Great, easy to understand video.

[@dozierlester3971]

Just found you channel today, really good stuff imho. This video was very helpful. Steady On,

[@Marc-wv1pr]

excellent tutorial!!!!

[@stroppystuff641]

Thank you 😀

[@626F62]

question... how important is apexing? why do so many people talk about it as if its so important. I mean some knives are asymmetric bevel from factory, some only have bevel on one side. how would it effect the use of a knife?

[@stroppystuff641]

Apexing means grinding all the way to the apex of the knife. Even if you had a chisel you'd still grind all the way to the point (Apex) same with asymmetrical. If you don't "apex" then you haven't thinned the very top of the edge and the knife will not be sharper than it was before you started.

[@69CamaroSS]

Wonderful video and explanation! What was the lubricant you put on your diamond stone before you began sharpening?

[@sharpcokorea]

👍

[@Aa-ron22]

If I wanted only 1 strop compound which micron would you go with. I Work up to a 1200 grit diamond stone and finish on a Spyderco fine ceramic.

[@ahmedejaz1125]

I personally go with 3 micron after 1000 grit

[@yairvsync]

Hi, you've put liquid over the plate at 2:53 but nothing is mentioned in the audio and it seems weirdly neglected but important part

[@stroppystuff641]

It's just honing oil. There is a lot to talk about which would over complicate for beginners. Plates don't need lubricants but they can help. Water or oil is fine. Good honing oil like this one is critical for resin bonded stones. Plates are flexible and you can get away with anything.

[@brovet78]

The 1 and 4 sets are out on gritomatic (roo leather one). Do you think it's fine if I get the cowhide set? as you described, 1 would be the best for someone new like me? Thanks ahead!

[@stroppystuff641]

I don't have any of the Gritomatic strops so I can't say for sure. But I do like cowhide for strops and 1um is great for a beginner

[@billyboy7]

Stroppy, what lubricant were you using on the Diamond Plates?

[@stroppystuff641]

It's my own honing oil, especially good for resin bonded stones to reduce loading and glazing rate but it works on everything. It's not really needed for electroplated stuff, but I don't need to be so thorough when drying it off compared to water.

[@theodore6404]

*Promo sm* 😕

[@stroppystuff641]

Of course I promote my own products on my channel. That's how businesses work, my dude.