Dan In MI wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 6:28 am
Working Edge wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 2:39 am
Did you make a decision on which sharpening device to purchase?
Sure did. I've purchased and received one of those Tri-Hone systems, with stones that are about 8x1.5." I haven't yet put it to use, but it's ready for when the need arises.
Yesterday I took a Victorinox Rally (with a blade that was so dull it couldn't cut paracord) and ran it through a couple of Victorinox pull-through sharpeners. It now cuts better, but not perfectly, and the edge is raggedy. It's possible (likely?) that I was doing something incorrectly, but thus far, those pull-through sharpeners have not impressed me.
Purchasing a more expensive system is still a possibility down the road.
Dan,
The Tri-Hone is a great choice, and once you get the hang of freehand sharpening, that setup will serve you well.
Part of the beauty of learning freehanding is that you are no longer dependent upon the accuracies and inaccuracies of a guided system to determine the results of your sharpening effort, it's all on you, lol...!!
Pull-through sharpeners, on the ceramic side, don't do damage to an edge, but on the carbide side, they certainly damage an edge by tearing and deforming the steel along the length of the edge instead of honing steel to an apex, leaving the ragged edge you mentioned. The "sharpness" created is really only just shards of steel which have been left behind by the carbide cutters.
Hope this helps..!
Mark