Reply To: Tips / Feedback
I use alternating sides vertical scrubbing strokes, as the first sharpening strokes, in my sharpening process or routine with each and every grit sharpening mediums I employ for every knife I sharpen or touch up. The aggressiveness I use and the amount of steel I remove is controllable and intentional. It is determined by my applied pressure and the force used with the scrubbing strokes against the knife’s edge. Just the same, I can use these same vertical scrubbing strokes with very lightly applied pressure and minimal force. So the amount of steel I remove is easily changed. Scrubbing strokes are a quick and efficient way to precisely direct your sharpening stone’s actions, to correct or remove damaged knive edge steel. I use vertical scrubbing strokes to shape or reshape the bevels for everything from the very first time I sharpen a knife and profile it’s bevel angles, to doing just a quick light touch-up to bring back the original or previous edge’s sharpness. The results are user driven or user controlled depending on how aggressively we apply the vertical scrubbing strokes. It may take time, effort and practice to learn how to use the vertical scrubbing strokes effectively and efficiently.
I use this alternating side technique with each and every different sharpening stroke type or style the stroke direction I use. This is to keep my knife edges always centered and balanced. That is both in bevel heights and position on the knife edge. My alternating strokes can be left-right-left-right-left-right or left-left-left-left-right-right-right-right-left-left-left-left-right-right-right-right. The amount of time, effort and number of strokes I employ are determined by what I’m attempting to do and how much steel I choose to or need to remove. The object of this exercise is to keep the effort balanced to both sides of the knife to maintain the even edge appearance and to keep the apex centered on the knife edge’s thickness.
I also sharpen or work most knife edges in portions then overlap the portions. Again, this is to keep the effort balanced. An 8″ chef’s knife for example, I may break it up into 3 or 4 shorter length portions. I work the shorter sections just like I would for the whole knife edge alternatingly, side to side, then I use overlapping strokes to blend the sections so the entire length of the knife edge is done evenly, uniformly and consistently. I found it difficult to move the relatively short, 5″ long W.E. sharpening stones up, down and across the entire length of a 6″ to 8″ (or even longer) knife edge without the sharpening strokes becoming almost horizontal or longitudinal to the knife edge. This technique, sharpening in shorter portions, allows me to have better control over the direction of the sharpening strokes and scratch patterns I’m applying relative to the knife edge. When finished there’s nothing that indicates or suggests the knife was sharpened by portions in this manner, either visually or otherwise.
I end each grit in my sharpening routine with alternating side edge leading sharpening strokes, (down and onto the edge), to remove any remnants of a burr or wired edge created during the sharpening processes and to fully expose the sharpness I achieved with each grit. Then I move onto the next finer grit and do it all over again, starting with alternating side scrubbing strokes.
Stropping mediums and lapping films I only use edge trailing. That is up and off of or up and away from the knife edge. That’s not to say these mediums can’t be used with other direction strokes. Just that I don’t do that.
I am not saying how I do this is the only way or the best way to use your W.E., or how someone else does it is incorrect or not as good. Just that this way I use my W.E. sharpeners are what I’ve found works well for me. This is simply how I prefer and like to do it. The bottom line is the W.E. is simply a precision bench vise that holds a knife securely and stable to free up both of our hands. The adjustable guide rods allow us to set the angles to use our sharpening stones, polishing stones and other mediums in a regular, repeatable and consistent manner. We can use any of the mediums any way we choose to, to achieve the results we are looking to produce. That is the user’s choice. Time and practice will help you find how you like to do it and which method works best for you.
Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)
