John Holbrook

[John Holbrook]

Sorry – I’m an idiot. I meant Wicked Edge, not Sharpmaker. :blush:

[John Holbrook]

Hows it going guys! I just made a Wicked Edge & Umnumzaan specific video to explain how to get an even bevel because you can’t just set the knife in the vise because the spine has curves to it. If you set it in there as we usually do with other knives it will be slanted & your flat portion of the cutting edge will not be even.
Please check out the vid & subscribe to my channel if you see anything you may be interested in.
Thanks

The spine on the Umnumzaan blade has curves:
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Star-Tac Umunzaan by Chris Reeve[/url] by ⓂⓄⒹⓘⒻⓘⒺⒹⓏ[/url], on Flickr

Hi – I’ve tried sharpening my Umnum on the Sharpmaker and the curved front/tip area of the blade isn’t getting as sharp as the middle to back portion of the blade.

I haven’t yet watched your video (I will tonight) but I’m wondering is this because I’m setting up the knife incorrectly?

[John Holbrook]

Thanks guys – it sounds like getting them wet is a non-isssue. Much appreciate the responses. Any other cleaning tips will be appreciated!

[John Holbrook]

From what I’ve read, lots of different methods are used. I have been cleaning my diamond stones with water, a tooth brush and a small amount of cleanser. Have done this maybe 6 times, thus far. I pat them dry with a towel then let them air dry before putting them back in my storage trays. No sign of rust so far. For the ceramics, I had been doing the same, but am now following Clay’s method of using a soft eraser.

Is there a link which further elaborates on Clay’s use of a soft eraser for the ceramics?

[John Holbrook]

Hey,
I don’t think Mark really meant up-down. You should always strop away from the edge. This would mean going “up” only, removing the strop form contact with the blade, bringing it down, then going up with the strop against the blade…and repeating. I use a sweeping motion away from the blade and try to cover the entire blade with one sweep. You just need to keep the strop moving up and away from the blade for the entire stroke. If you end up sliding it along the length of the blase, especially when you get near the tip, you will slice the leather. If you make ANY “down” movements … sliding the leather into the edge, you will slice the leather.

I am one that believes that 100 strokes per side per grit gets you to a level of diminishing returns. Per my experience, and various quotes from Clay, you can get much of the benefit from stopping in a relatively few strokes. I am sorry, but for me 500 strokes per side, or 1000 strokes total is a bit intimidating, I only have so many hours per knife that I can write off to my high level of OCD 🙂

Some would say that after the micro-fine ceramics, and depending on what you want to use the knife for, you need not strop at all. Take a look at the knife database and see what lots of folks are doing just as a reference.

Of course, as with all of the technique discussions, you will find lots of different methods and theories. Try some things and see how they work for you.

Also very helpful – thanks Philip!

[John Holbrook]

Hi John,

Those are great questions…..

Clay – PERFECT! Exactly what I was looking for!

[John Holbrook]

Hi John,

Welcome to the forums! You made a good choice!

I wrote a couple of articles on stropping with the WEPS. You can find them on my blog. If you’ve got any questions about it, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the links, but I think what you have on my blog is stopping 701 when I need 101. :blink:

Some of the specific questions I have are:

When do you strop? How lightly do you stroke and how many strokes do you make?

What are the pastes all about and when do you use which?

I’ve got the micro fine ceramic stone pack – do you strop after you use these stones or before? Does stropping impact a mirror polished edge?

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