Best Home Sharpening tool for a beginner ?

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BostonDanny16

Joined
Nov 5, 2023
Messages
5
Hello all;
What is the best home sharpening device for a beginner, Worksharp ? Other ? I do not want to spend a ton of $$, as I am just beginning my attempt at home sharpening. My Budget is $100 to an absolute MAX of about $150 and please keep in mind I do not have a ton of room for set up.
Personally, I would love to learn from someone in the Greater Boston area, if anybody knows of such a situation / enviroment, I would love to hear of it / discuss options. THANK YOU ALL - This community is EXCELLENT.
PS - I just took my brand new Giant Mouse Ace Jutland to a my local hardware store, who are usually very reliable. They have a brand new laser sharpening machine and it really did a LOUSY (to say the least) job on my new, expensive (to me) knife.
 
I think the DMT Aligner system with diamond stones is good for a beginner. It requires some knowledge of what you are doing in order to use it properly. The Spyderco Sharpmaker is another popular sharpener.
 
BostonDanny16 said:
Hello all;
What is the best home sharpening device for a beginner, Worksharp ? Other ? I do not want to spend a ton of $$, as I am just beginning my attempt at home sharpening. My Budget is $100 to an absolute MAX of about $150 and please keep in mind I do not have a ton of room for set up.
Personally, I would love to learn from someone in the Greater Boston area, if anybody knows of such a situation / enviroment, I would love to hear of it / discuss options. THANK YOU ALL - This community is EXCELLENT.
PS - I just took my brand new Giant Mouse Ace Jutland to a my local hardware store, who are usually very reliable. They have a brand new laser sharpening machine and it really did a LOUSY (to say the least) job on my new, expensive (to me) knife.
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THANK YOU !!
 
Dad taught me when I was real young how to use a sharpening stone and I’ve never strayed from them. Get yourself a coarse and a fine grit stone, some oil and practice on some inexpensive beater knives first. You’ll get the hang of it. If you want scary sharp strop it on some old denim jeans afterwards.
 
The sharpmaker or other fixed angle sharpeners will teach that the secret is to maintain the angle to create the edge. Also, don't put a ton of force on the blade. By default, the sharpmaker prevents a lot of force.
 
For $100 you can certainly get a couple two sided stones - say an AlOx and a diamond - and a strop. Perhaps a cheap knife to practice on.
Other than thinning, chip repair, or a finer edge you are covered for everything.
 
Belts, Stones, and paper wheels will ALWAYS get you a Convex edge... If you want a true straight bevel, you need a fixed angle system... I would recommend the Work Sharp Precision with the upgraded stone kit... it's about $130 bucks
 
There is this kit if you’re wanting to take up stones, it’s about $25 over your budget but seems pretty solid and has what you need to get started with stones including the holder, flattening stone and a double sided paddle strop

https://imgur.com/a/FRseQVZ

Can’t put the link up as they are not affiliated with bf, but you can message me if interested
 
BlindMouse2of3 said:
Spyderco sharpmaker is a good place to start. They are portable, reliable, well made, and affordable. Add a set of diamond stones and you should still be in budget
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AntDog said:
Sharpmaker. Dead simple and effective.
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At the risk of piling on I also recommend the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Easy to use, you can upgrade later to ultrafine ceramic or diamond rods as you need and it is fairly versatile.
 
Please excuse the "get a stone and learn" guys they are traditionalist and to a point are right in their opinion.
There is no easier to use sharpening tool than the Spyderco Sharpmaker but it has limitations, if you need to reprofile an edge or create a new one you will not be very successful. For that you will need another system.
 
BostonDanny16 said:
Hello all;
What is the best home sharpening device for a beginner, Worksharp ? Other ? I do not want to spend a ton of $$, as I am just beginning my attempt at home sharpening. My Budget is $100 to an absolute MAX of about $150 and please keep in mind I do not have a ton of room for set up.
Click to expand...

Okay... it depends on whether you really want to learn how to sharpen a knife or whether you want to just have something that takes most of the thought out of it for you and makes you completely dependent on it. If it's the latter, then I suggest you get a Worksharp Precision Adjust. They're pretty affordable for a clamp system and work pretty well. If it's the former, then get either a Spyderco Sharpmaker, or if you're really cheap, then get a Lansky Turnbox.

The Turnbox is smaller and more compact and more portable, and a lot cheaper, and it works great if all you're sharpening are small to medium sized knives with cheap steel. A Sharpmaker is just one step above that and it's worth the money.

Now why do I say that the Sharpmaker is a great beginner system if you actually want to learn how to sharpen? Well because it won't really let you destroy your knife and it still helps you to actually think about what it is that you're doing while you're sharpening. It's a great balance between ease of use and how much it subtly trains your mind to think about how sharpening actually works and what it is that you're doing. It's almost idiot proof. I say "almost", because some other forum members have pointed out a few ways that you could possibly screw it up if you were really that dumb.

DYOR on the Sharpmaker. There are a ton of threads about it all over the internet. It's a very popular system and I own one myself. I think it's great.
 
thebrain said:
Please excuse the "get a stone and learn" guys they are traditionalist and to a point are right in their opinion.
There is no easier to use sharpening tool than the Spyderco Sharpmaker but it has limitations, if you need to reprofile an edge or create a new one you will not be very successful. For that you will need another system.
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It is very doable once you get your muscle memory down. The diamond stones work very well. I have reprofiled many knives, some drastically. It can be time consuming but very doable. I carry shims and a small level in my kit so the base is always level.
 
BlindMouse2of3 said:
It is very doable once you get your muscle memory down. The diamond stones work very well. I have reprofiled many knives, some drastically. It can be time consuming but very doable. I carry shims and a small level in my kit so the base is always level.
Click to expand...
I just know you can reprofile on a Sharpmaker but I decided not to suggest anyone might have more patience than I do. I no longer have the patience or time to do things the hard way. If it needs a reprofile it goes to the 1×30 belt sander or the 80 grit diamond plates of the knockoff edge pro, I don't wish the learning curve I had on anyone else. I'm almost to the point of suggesting a pull through for reprofiling then go to a Sharpmaker/turnbox/crock stick type sharpener. I mean no attitude or anything if it sounds that way I apologize, I just want everyone to have an easy a time as possible to help people enjoy this hobby.
 
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