The Biggest Beginner Knife Sharpening Mistake

The Biggest Beginner Knife Sharpening Mistake.
Knife sharpening doesn't have to be hard or time consuming. This will significantly shorten you sharpening time.

This is probably the biggest knife sharpening mistake most people make when it comes to sharpening knives.
Maintaining an angle is easier if you don't have to do it for any length of time. Maintaining an angle when sharpening for 15 seconds is easier then for 30 minutes. Why make it harder on yourself?

About⬇️
Hi, Im Alex, im a knife maker and YouTuber, based out of southern Pennsylvania and my youtube channel is Outdoors55. This channel started as an outdoor backpacking channel, but quickly grew into a knife/ knife making channel. Everything I do on my channel is family friendly. I primarily focus on knife / knife making videos but occasionally throw in something different. Thank you for watching!😀

Knife Sharpening stuff I recommend ⬇️
Cheaper stones I use all the time⬇️

Folding knives I recommend
Best value for the money⬇️

Favorite knife as of now⬇️

Best cheap fixed blade⬇️

Camera gear⬇️

These are amazon affiliate links.

[OUTDOORS]

I’m not necessarily recommending this Stone but I know I’m going to be asked.
It does do a good job at removing metal but needs to be paired with a finer stone as the 800 grit side is NOT 800 grit.😀
My website www.knifepointgear.com
I make and sell strops and compound I actually use, using the best quality leather i can find.
FULL DISCLOSURE THIS IS AN AMAZON AFFILIATE LINK. I earn from qualifying purchases.

[spike]

Yes, I'm still watching a 3yr. old video and getting good information from it. You've been putting out great content for years and it's still useful. Thanks, Bruce.

[Osprey]

I legit made one of my knives more dull trying to sharpen it recently.

[loganthesaint]

After practicing and practicing, I have finally sharpened a knife by hand that I can shave with and I have you and and your channel to thank.
I know times are hard for you, but maybe you’ll feel a little better knowing your teachings have finally brought me success I have been trying for so long to get a knife sharp enough to shave with.

[chanyy]

Man your advice is so TRUE!!! I learn this the hard way, as i was sharpening my dull kitchen knives with the Spyderco sharpmaker and it NEVER work no matter how hard i tried, it nearly wreck my confidence and thought i must have used the wrong technique or i just do not have the skill to do this.
So one day, i got fed up and bought myself a very coarse Norton stone (very cheap too compare to the sharpmaker), and sharp away, and within 3 to 5 minutes, i have got a very sharp knife, the first time in my life i have sharpen a dull knife to a somewhat sharp knife. I just wish i have watch your video earlier.

[lail]

About a year after discovering your videos I finally say I have the confidence to sharpen about anything free hand. I want to say thanks a lot your videos were a big help along my journey

[pseenazloy]

just coming back from a store with 1000/6000 grit stone and then watching this is a pain

[RudolfSadolino]

As someone still new to knife making, your videos are certainly the most reassuring ones out there. It gives me more courage to experiment and try things out.

[Akula]

I really like how this is produced. The choice of a wide lens, close-up, and the "augmented available" naturalistic lighting helped me feel like I was actually handling the knives and stones myself. Filmmaking is the telling of a story with light and sound. Really GOOD filmmaking isn't limited to those. It can make you feel...

Good job, guys

[aviatoraw]

Many thanks for confirming what I finally discovered. Rough grit stones have their place. I have an old kitchen knife I use on my work bench and went from 220, 600 and 800. It’s a little gritty but very serviceable for general use.

[Michael-qvpn]

I had exactly that problem.. nowhere i found somebody saying that you need a coarse stone unless you have a completely broken blade and i almost turned crazy with sharpening my kitchen knives, they just didnt got really sharp

Now i got a diamond two sided stone with 325 and 1200 grit i believe and now im done in a few minutes with making a pretty dull knive very useable sharp, its a joy!

Great Video 👍🏻

[LancelotChan]

You're correct. I use very coarse stone to start my sharpening. They're necessary for me to get as little strokes to apex as possible. :)

[adamtimmins]

Great video as always. Your sharpening videos are what finally clicked in my brain and taught me how to sharpen. You have a good way of explaining things.

[nm]

Finally got mine and my sons knife a little sharp! Making progress. I’m a single momma and we all love our knives. But…. Didn’t know how to sharpen. So I’m trying hard to learn! Getting there. Thanks for all ur help

[jc]

Totally agree, if you don't start on a course enough stone to quickly remove metal, your just waisting your time. I start on Veneve F100 (300 grit approx) 10 to 20 pases on each side per stone and then progress up as far as you need, toothy, or polished depends on your use/want. Thanks for the knowledge. I've just sent your clip to my son as a first how to video, cheers.

[rafioli]

Alex, I 100% agree about extra course stones. The only things I rarely touch with my xcourse grits are my slicers that don't get much hefty wear. But even just touching up an edge, I'll do a few strokes with my course grit and follow-up with a 1000/8000 and then strop. Because who wants to spend more than a few minutes on a single knife

[rxbug]

I would also say sharpening your knife blade dragging toward the cutting edge as you do is not a technique I would recommend for beginners. A little slip up in your angle and it is far quicker at undoing all your hard work and can gouge your expensive stone in an instant.

[flatasacueball]

I finally gave in and ordered a sharpening kit with 5 stones and guide rods. Worth it. Now my edges are all razor-sharp, and look better than the factory edges did.

[gabrielbennett]

Thanks for the tips, this really worked! I had some stones like these leftover from my grandfather and tried your method on an el cheapo Ozark Trail Walmart knife I've had difficulty getting a good edge on. Apexed it with the coarse grit, switched to the finer side and kept working it until it had a good edge, then finished up by polishing it smooth with the superfine stone. What a difference! To quote Doug Marcaida, "It will cut!" I could barely make it cut paper before, but now, I can literally shave with it!

[eyeofbass]

This was great. Spot-on guidance with no-nonsense delivery. Thank you.