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I watched a guy at a demo in Akron spend 20 minutes grinding a knife bevel freehand and not once check the angle
Last Saturday I was at a small hammer-in outside Akron and a guy was showing off his new 2x72 grinder. He kept saying freehand sharpening builds feel and that angle guides are for beginners. He ran that blade across the belt for maybe 20 minutes, dipping it in water, and when he held it up the bevel was wavy as a dirt road. I asked him how he knew he was holding 15 degrees and he said by feel, that was it. I have been grinding on the same 1x30 for two years and I still pencil mark my bevels before I touch the belt. There is no shame in scribbling a line or using a cheap angle block, it saves you from ruining a blade you just heat treated. I think the old timers who say freehand only are forgetting that their hands got good after thousands of blades, not on day one. If you are newer, mark your work and check it, your hands will learn faster with feedback. What do you all use to keep your grind angle steady, or do you just go by feel?
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the_john10d ago
Ever tried just coloring the whole bevel with a sharpie before you start? That saved me when I was learning on my little 1x30. I would grind a few passes, look at where the marker rubbed off, and adjust my wrist right then instead of guessing. After a couple months of that I could feel when the blade was sitting flat without even looking. Same idea as your pencil line, it just gives your hands something to read while they learn.
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