A 'How to' guide to sharpening a knife the traditional way.

[streethawk101]

Great tips, everything in my knife drawer is going to be so sharp that the Mrs had better be careful. She's always cutting her finger with blunt notched knives.

On a different note, i have an axe and i know that a grinder is needed to sharpen its thick blade, but would finishing it like this be worthwile or would it just be too brittle for chopping firewood?

[snock]

You need a more obtuse angle for an axe. But once ground and honed, a polish will help guard against chipping.

[jcr71]

id love to be able to sharpen free hand but can only get good results with scandi grinds and my straight razors.
i ended up buying a guided system. excellent results every time.