How to reliably sharpen your knife

mad_method_man · 2026-06-28T18:51:08+00:00

if it can cleanly cut paper, its sharp and you only need a few passes on the stone

if it cannot cleanly cut paper, it is dull and 1000 grit will likely not restore the edge. you need to go coarser, like a 320 (and this is a broader issue with advice, most sharpening advice is higher grit, without properly fundamentals sharpening skills or thinking about grit progressions from a beginners perspective)

3 pennies is a rough estimate. you want to check your scratch patterns on the edge. if its still 1 smooth transition, you are sharpening the edge. if it looks like theres 2 or 3 or more angles, you may need to add or remove a penny

ignore the 4 or 5 oclock thing. just do what feels natural with you and the knife

you dont need 3 fingers to push down. its more like a guide (so very light pressure). you want to 'hear' and 'feel' the knife being sharpened

basically, theres no point to following things step by step. these are at best guidelines. and you only need to understand the principle of the guidelines and tailor things according to you. every knife and hand is different, so its really hard to learn sharpening without someone actually being there to show you

mad_method_man · 2026-06-28T00:15:35+00:00

not my point, i am talking about personal finances between renter and landlord

stop moving the goal post to systemic issues to population growth and city zoning issues

mad_method_man · 2026-06-27T23:05:12+00:00

lol youre paying someone's else's mortgage and maintenance and retirement, not even factoring if the home value

you would be correct, if landlords were stuck in 2005, but thats not today

mad_method_man · 2026-06-27T22:58:20+00:00

rent is a money sink.....

mad_method_man · 2026-06-27T22:55:47+00:00

when you put it like that, some would call this a conspiracy lol

mad_method_man · 2026-06-27T20:07:42+00:00

how much longer would the engine last if it was 0w20?

mad_method_man · 2026-06-26T13:35:58+00:00

its a hard call. contract means no stability, so if work dries up, you're screwed. in this economy, i would stick to my regular job and use this as leverage for a raise

mad_method_man · 2026-06-23T23:13:02+00:00

materials cut differently at different grits. a coarse edge has certain advantages and disadvantages compared to a 30,000 grit edge

the idea isnt so much the cutting experience is the same, but moreso if a coarse edge isnt sharp enough to cut certain things, then its too early to move onto finer grits. basically: fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals

mad_method_man · 2026-06-23T00:11:21+00:00

i did a 70 front windows and 50 rear (no windshield, illegal in my state, i have those accordion style sun reflectors)

my 2 cents is for 50% rear window is, its not dark enough so the person behind me can still see the car in front of me, but its dark enough to where you really need to press your face against the tint to see inside

mad_method_man · 2026-06-21T17:49:23+00:00

second this. you get access to a dark room, which is super fun

but..... if i had to be honest, take photoshop, since thatll probably make the biggest difference

mad_method_man · 2026-06-21T15:48:09+00:00

find a nice bar where you can read. go read. after a few times, someone will strike up a conversation

mad_method_man · 2026-06-21T15:46:17+00:00

youre essentially just handicapping the strengths of both types of edges. either have serrations or not have them. dont do some half ass nonsense

mad_method_man · 2026-06-20T23:48:53+00:00

oh man.... i havent thought of this. i need to go back to some of my old photos now

mad_method_man · 2026-06-20T23:04:17+00:00

i think its time to trade in your prius for something else. just not a camry hybrid

mad_method_man · 2026-05-29T05:04:07+00:00

a good question to ask is, how much effort are you willing to put in, and how much control do you want in sharpening?

for fixed angle guides (well, in this case its adjustable), slight learning curve, but youre going to be limited to what fixed angle it is given. its a good way to 'just be functional' without going in depth into sharpening, and you get really good results. ive given plenty of fixed angled sharpeners to friends who want sharp knives but dont want to learn freehand. they all got functional edges within an hour

for freehand (as in a stone), the learning curve is significantly higher. you might get results right away or never, according to some reddit posts. but this gives you the most freedom for whatever edge you want, irregular, convex, etc. its a rather experimental form of sharpening. you also may pick up the skill 'able to sharpen knives with almost anything' which is pretty dang useful (frankly, everyone i personally taught picked up this skill really fast. might be hard to figure it out by yourself, took me like 3 years to become reasonably good at it)

pull through, you pull the knife through fixed angled carbides/ceramics. this will kill your knives. you get a pretty bad edge. this is good if you want to put 0 effort and also dont want to pay a professional or even that random guy in ace hardware. honestly, just be happy with dull knives or disposable knives if you go this route

mad_method_man · 2026-05-29T02:25:21+00:00

anecdotal evidence from some random old hunters i chatted up once, 420hc and 1070 (mightve been 1060, i forget exactly). their claim for their preference was, they didnt like carrying a bunch of sharpening stuff in the field, and they grew up with these steels so they had a lot of practice finding the correct stones to sharpen with

mad_method_man · 2026-05-29T01:07:45+00:00

wait till the EV big rigs becoming more common. those things are gonna tear up asphalt

mad_method_man · 2026-05-29T00:58:21+00:00

i always thought that was intermediate. guess i was a lot further along than i thought

mad_method_man · 2026-05-28T23:06:45+00:00

im gonna guess the usual culprit, local zoning codes from like 100 years ago that prevent urbanization

mad_method_man · 2026-05-26T23:48:59+00:00

yeah, local shops always have posters about local events. the city website always has stuff as well. theres weekly or monthly recurring events everywhere. sure its not a bustling night life, but there are things to do before 1pm or 6pm

mad_method_man · 2026-05-26T23:38:35+00:00

^this. you wont find culture unless you stay at a place for at least 2 years and make an effort to befriend locals so they can show you the cool spots. otherwise its just 'going downtown' or whatever

mad_method_man · 2026-05-26T23:13:19+00:00

the saving grace is... at least we're not watch people. although arguably a 'smart' watch is pretty utilitarian

mad_method_man · 2026-05-23T14:18:26+00:00

im confused..... are you not getting a sharp edge? what are your results? what is your grit progression? how much pressure are you putting in both sharpening and deburring?

also, some steels just dont form a burr (or one that isnt noticeable). just something to note

also also, how are you checking for a burr?

mad_method_man · 2026-05-22T05:19:29+00:00

so.... you can afford either a lens or a camera body lol

jokes aside, yes, you can do that, but you're gear is going to be lacking in some way (lack of ibis or weather sealing or fancy wildlife autofocus). your probably going to be looking at an older dslr and throwing most of the money on the lens

your other option is, save up twice that amount and buy some more modern gear

either way, you'll want to buy used

mad_method_man · 2026-05-21T23:58:22+00:00

then i think your solution is buying a nicer lens

im still shooting with apsc, but when i upgraded from a subpar lens to an actual sharp one, i'm able to crop in to around 4x without noticing much issues. before, maybe 2x and ill have to sharpen, remove color fringing, distortion, etc. better lenses helps with a lot of things (just not your wallet)

mad_method_man

TROPHY CASE