sifting through all the sharpening methods out there, you read about the "ruler trick" attributed to charlesworth (i think). that's the metod of honing a blade from the back side to help finish out a new edge using a standard 6" rule. works great but i dislike mucking up my ruler. so I tried using a thin strip of material from a soda pop can, folded along one edge to help it register along the edge of the stone.
i've been using the same piece of aluminum for some months now, and have been satisfied with my results. not sure if anyone else has tried this out there, but today i took some time to show it off here.
after going through the typical progression of grits (my finest is a 8000 waterstone), i flip it over and then just a few light swipes on the back like so:
I usually do one more finishing swipe on the primary bevel (I do not use a secondary one...since i hollow grind, i don't use any jigs to hold the blade, it registers fine on the stone without), i go back to another swipe or two on the back side. hard to make oute here but there's a light polish near the underside's busy end.
works for me
