1). Create the initial bevel. All heads today come beveled and reasonably sharp. This might cause you to think you can go to the fine, touch up mode and get them super sharp. But if the factory bevel is not as keen as what you are trying to achieve with you fine edge device, you could spend a month on it and never get it any sharper. The golden rule of sharpening is the bevel is always sharpened more keen than the edge. In other words, if a file is used to create a 20 degree bevel the fine polishing stones should be held at a greater angle..say 22 to 25 degrees.
2). Bevel pressure. It is important to keep the same pressure when creating the bevel and greater pressure should be applied during the bevel creating process. What this does is it creates a straight bevel. If you reduce pressure the blade will not flex as much and the bevel angle will increase. This will make it harder to get an edge when going to the fine stones, espicially if you are sharpening a fixed 3 blade using the 2 blades at a time method.
I personally don't recommend the 2 blade at a time method but if you go with that method use as much pressure as possible without breaking the blades when creating the bevel. You see 2 blades at a time yields a perfect 30 degree angle edge, but if you press hard on a file or coarse stone you can flex the blades and get the angle down to 28 or 29 degrees. This will help during the fine sharpening stage where you use a fine stone and very lightpressure. The light pressure will yield a greater angle...30 degrees which will polish the cutting edge instead of the side of the bevel.
3). Round edges. Round edges like that of an axe or knife are similar to the German Kinetics broadhead. These type surfaces only contact flat stones at one point so you have to be careful to stroke the edge in a manner that will allow it to contact the stone or file across the entire face of the edge to be sharpened. Round edge stones or ceramics are good for the curved edges and are mandatory for the next type curved edges...concaved edges.
3- Using round sharpening devices like a saw file or ceramic crock sticks are mandatory for the inside curves of bush axes or heads like the Simmons. Flat stones will not work as they will only make contact with the blade at 2 points and the rest will remain dull.
4)- Edge angles...Always remember this when sharpening..start with the coarse stones and fine angles and hard pressure. Make sure the bevel reaches the edge of what you are sharpening. Coloring the edge with a Sharpe will help you see when you reach the edge and you can also go by feel. Then move to the finer stones, lighter pressure, and coarser angle.
Coarse stones... fine angle, heavy pressure.
Fines stones..Coarse angle..light pressure.
This makes sharpening easy and less frustrating.
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