# Differential grit sharpening



## menzaremba (Oct 19, 2014)

Shibata san from Masakage has talked about sharpening western knives finishing with different grits on either side. 

Anyone have experience with this? Is this a way to get toothiness and keenness at the same time?


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## JBroida (Oct 19, 2014)

Tried it... its fun and has a different edge feel for sure. Not always necessary, but not a bad thing to know or be able to do.


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## menzaremba (Oct 19, 2014)

JBroida said:


> Tried it... its fun and has a different edge feel for sure. Not always necessary, but not a bad thing to know or be able to do.



Was it as simple as multiplying the strokes by the grit difference on the finer side? or did you finish both sides the same and then abrade one side with a rougher stone?


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## JBroida (Oct 19, 2014)

its even more simple than that... just sharpen up to the lower grit, then sharpen one side on the higher grit, go back to the lower grit and start to remove the burr, do the same thing on the other side with the higher grit stone, etc. No math involved


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## ecchef (Oct 19, 2014)

So...which side gets the refined edge?


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## JBroida (Oct 19, 2014)

ecchef said:


> So...which side gets the refined edge?



Doesn't matter in my experience


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## ecchef (Oct 19, 2014)

Is it worth trying, Jon?


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## JBroida (Oct 19, 2014)

my feeling about most things is just give it a shot and see for yourself... you might like it, you might not. For me, its not worth the time most of the time. But others seem to really like it. For example, i happen to be friendly with Kevin Kent from knifewear, and he loves that kind of sharpening.


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## Geo87 (Oct 19, 2014)

This is a really interesting idea, I would never have thought of trying that!
Just to confirm... The goal of doing this is to achieve an edge that is both refined and toothy?


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## menzaremba (Oct 19, 2014)

JBroida said:


> its even more simple than that... just sharpen up to the lower grit, then sharpen one side on the higher grit, go back to the lower grit and start to remove the burr, do the same thing on the other side with the higher grit stone, etc. No math involved



sweet. that means I might be able to manage it.  Kevin Kent is a class act, I'll try this out and report back.


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## Benuser (Oct 20, 2014)

Wondering if this concept can be used to balance friction on both sides -- besides convexing and changing angles -- to redress steering.

Post nr 109:
http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/5656-Asymmetry--The-REAL-DEAL/page11


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## Benuser (Oct 21, 2014)

A very first impression: deburring with different grits is fast!


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## menzaremba (Oct 21, 2014)

Benuser said:


> A very first impression: deburring with different grits is fast!



Same here. I put 1k/10k on 2 blades, and really liked the result. I'm not sure that it felt as sharp using the three finger test, but it both blades seemed to cut extra aggressively. Worth trying, for sure.


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## Benuser (Oct 23, 2014)

Seems to work fine with conservative edges, but undermines edge stability with more audacious ones.


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## ChefCosta (Jan 30, 2015)

JBroida said:


> its even more simple than that... just sharpen up to the lower grit, then sharpen one side on the higher grit, go back to the lower grit and start to remove the burr, do the same thing on the other side with the higher grit stone, etc. No math involved



Forgive me for being dense but I want to make sure I get it right. So for a left handed person who wanted a really toothy edge on a White#2 deba, a reasonable progression would be to do both sides on a 1000 grit stone, do the front side on a 3000 and remove the burr by doing the back side with a 1000 again and then finish with a few stropping strokes on the front side with a 3000?


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## JBroida (Jan 30, 2015)

sure... like that. Its not always the most practical kind of sharpening... more like a proof of concept than anything else, but you've got the gist of it.


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## Framingchisel (Jan 31, 2015)

I am trying this on a very thin Joe Calton 1095 Chef knife at the micro bevel level. This knife is thin and I tend to over sharpen resulting in short edge life.


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## chinacats (Jan 31, 2015)

Framingchisel said:


> I am trying this on a very thin Joe Calton 1095 Chef knife at the micro bevel level. This knife is thin and I tend to over sharpen resulting in short edge life.



Maybe you should be trying a microbevel instead?


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## Framingchisel (Jan 31, 2015)

Thanks chinacats. That is what I am trying to do. The knife is 17 thousands of an inch 1/4 inch back from the edge ie., very thin and I am rolling the edge. I am jointing the edge then sharpening and then doing a 2 sided micro bevel using the new diamonds from Jon. I will continue this 1 or 2 times more before contacting Joe.


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## panda (Jan 31, 2015)

sounds like a complete waste of time


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## Asteger (Jan 30, 2016)

panda said:


> sounds like a complete waste of time



Panda speaks! :razz:


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