Can you share some advice on freehand sharpening of knives

[Rhino]

I sharpen with the stone rolling away from me.  I put the knife at a 45 degree angle to the stone.

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I can determine the angle by how far the knife back lifts from the back of the stone.

Then I slide the knife back and forth from the handle to the tip.  The inside of the stone wears down first so I dress it flat whenever it is needed.  I don't use the outside of the stone at all.

Please comment and critique.  This is the way I figured out on my own and I just can't imagine doing it any other way but I am open to suggestions. I am not boasting - just not aware of another method.

There is not a whole lot of discussions on the web on how to sharpen on a rolling grindstone.  If there is a video to this, I would greatly appreciate it.

[Ken S]

Have you watched Jeff's video on the Sharptools website?

Ken

[Rhino]

Maybe I asked too soon - and for that I apologize.  I'll go back and look again.  I am asking about freehand sharpening and I seem to recall that the knife sharpening there was all done with a knife jig - that is, not freehand.  I'll take a look again tonight.

[Ken S]

I believe some of the sharpening jigs are designed to help those without the skill that comes from experience and "doing it". 

There was a famous woodcarver in my area who carved trains.  He really had a gift.  One of his specialties was carving little working pliers from one piece of wood for children.  He has since passed on.  His family runs a museum.  One of the sidelines is selling kitchen knives with free sharpening.  You bring in one of their knives and they will sharpen it at no charge.  Just a couple of passes over the grinding wheel, by an expert, is all it takes.  What a great win-win marketing idea.The problem is that most people, including me, haven't paid the dues to really learn the craft well enough to do that freehand.

Since I have not done that myself, I can't be much help except for encouragement.  if you have the inclination, by all means do so.  Very few people experience the satisfaction of really mastering something.  I hope you will be one of the few.

Best of luck on the journey.

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

When you're freehanding you should have the stone graded fine.  Why are you wearing out only one side of the wheel?  When you switch to the other side of the bevel you should be sharpening on the other side of the wheel.

[monty]

If your wearing out one side of the stone you must be only grinding on that side.. If i sharpen freehand i  have the stone rolling towards me as if i would if i was using a jig, It make no sense to me to turn it around.

[Rhino]

Thank you for all your advice.  I had meant that the inside of the stone wears out faster than the outside because when I am freehand sharpening, I use the inside more and I don't sharpen on the "corners" of the round stone.  That is, the middle of the stone wears out faster.  The stone does not wear out much.  I thought the stone was wearing out about 1/8 inch a year.  At this rate, I already have a lifetime stone

This weekend was a sharpening weekend.  I sharpened all my knives, even my thin steak knives using the jig, and all the scissors.  And then I reshaped all the screwdrivers that needed fixing because they have a damaged tip.  After thinking about it a bit, I think I can sharpen just about every knife on a jig except for very small pen knives.

Sometimes, I wish the bar was longer so I can set up the proper angles for some unusual knives like a cleaver.  What I think I will do is to buy 2 of those bench mountings for the bar.  Screw them back to back on a piece of wood with good alignment.  Mount one of them on the current bar and mount a new bar behind it.  This will give me the right angle - I think.  I'll try it when I get around to it.  Is there a way to post a picture on this forum?