Everyone owns knives, scissors, chisels, axes, and other edgedtools, yet few know how to sharpen them properly. Designed for the average knife user, this book focuses on how to select a sharpening system and sharpen a knife to a razor edge, then goes on to discuss such topics as abrasives, knife steels, sharpening theory, honing and stropping, electric sharpening machines, using sharpening steels, and how to sharpen ceramic knives, vegetable peelers, scissors, axes, chisels, plane irons and other common tools. Readers will enjoy the author's entertaining style and appreciate the 80 quality illustrations that take them step by step to a razor edge.
Author Steve Bottorff is retired from a career that started in engineering and ended in sales and marketing. He and wife and son lived in Japan for three years, and Steve is interested in Japanese swords and cutlery. Ten years ago he began seriously investigating knife sharpening. Frustrated by the inconsistent results he got on different knives, he began purchasing and testing a wide variety of sharpening devices. With time, he was able to identify the keys to success, and has written this book so that everyone can learn how to sharpen to a razor edge.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
What is Sharpness?
Surface Finish vs. Sharpness
Blade Styles
Edge Profile
Testing the Edge
THE BASICS
The Keys to Success
BASIC SHARPENING EQUIPMENT
Selecting a Sharpening System
Abrasives
Finer Abrasives
Sharpening Stones
Cutting Speed vs. Sharpness
Oil vs. Water on Stones
Guides
Rod-Guided Systems
HOW TO SHARPEN A KNIFE
Sharpening Freehand
Sharpening With a Guide
Honing
Stropping
Using a Steel
A Multi-Bevel Method
SPECIAL CASES AND ADVANCED TECHNIQUES
Daggers and Double-Edged Blades
Maintaining the Point
Recurved Blades
Serrated Blades
The Moran Edge
The Chisel Edge
The Japanese Sashimi Knife
Ceramic Knives
BEYOND KNIVES
Straight Razors
Vegetable Peelers
Apple Corers
Axes
Swords and Machetes
Chisels
Plane lrons
Scissors and Shears
OTHER SHARPENING EQUIPMENT
Slot Gadgets
Ceramic Rods
USING SHARPENING MACHINES
Electric Sharpening Machines
Wet Wheel Machines
Paper Wheels
Belt Sanders
APPENDICES
Care and Safety
Blade Materials
Sharpening Materials
Hardness Scale
Comparing Abrasive Grits
SUPPLIERS OF SHARPENING EQUIPMENT
BIBLIOGRAPHY
