Best knife sharpener for under $60?

A

arctyler

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Dec 29, 2013
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I'm looking to buy my first knife shapener and I am kind of leaning towards the sharp maker but wanted to see what else was out there, so what do you guys think? I can probably go a bit above $60 but that's pretty much my budget
 
Ruixin. I got one and its surprisingly well made. It's a hundred times better than the lansky that I also have.
 
For my money, I'd get a sharpmaker, though I currently use a work sharp Ken Onion edition which has completely changed my outlook on sharpening. I haven't used my sharpmaker once since I picked it up. It's significantly more expensive than a sharpmaker at around $140-150, but you can do a complete reprofiling and sharpen a knife up to a mirror polish in a matter of 15 minutes or so, and you have dozens of angle settings as opposed to just two.

This reprofiling thing is something I wish I had been told before I bought a sharpmaker - it's really just not possible without the "sold separately" diamond stones, and even then it can take an hour or more.
 
amg137 said:
For my money, I'd get a sharpmaker, though I currently use a work sharp Ken Onion edition which has completely changed my outlook on sharpening. I haven't used my sharpmaker once since I picked it up. It's significantly more expensive than a sharpmaker at around $140-150, but you can do a complete reprofiling and sharpen a knife up to a mirror polish in a matter of 15 minutes or so, and you have dozens of angle settings as opposed to just two.

This reprofiling thing is something I wish I had been told before I bought a sharpmaker - it's really just not possible without the "sold separately" diamond stones, and even then it can take an hour or more.
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X2!
I've been using the KO Work Sharp for over a year and I don't see me switching any time soon.
 
You can get a dmt aligner kit for about 50 bucks and it has diamond stones so you can reprofile with it.

Look for the kit with three or four stones. Usually coarse, fine and extra fine but some kits include the extra coarse one. Not a big deal cause you can buy the extra coarse one for about 15 bucks if you find a kit that doesn't have it.

Once you get your blade sharp you can just use the fine one for touch ups.

http://www.knifeworks.com/dmtdeluxealignerkit4stones.aspx

:)
 
Sharpmaker and a strop are keeping my blades shaving sharp. I'm very happy with those.
 
For A first system on a budget the Sharpmaker is great, but there are limits as people have mentioned in terms of reprofiling the edge, you can always pick up the Diamond stones later or eventually upgrade to a better system down the road.
 
Just FYI Sharpmaker is more of a Sharpkeeper without the diamond stones which double the system's cost
 
Smaker unless you need yo do reprofiling on a hard steel a DMT aligner otherwise.
 
Sandpaper, a phone book, and a long piece of leather. Send me the 60 bucks and I'll gather it up for ya!
 
sir_mike said:
You can get a dmt aligner kit for about 50 bucks and it has diamond stones so you can reprofile with it.

Look for the kit with three or four stones. Usually coarse, fine and extra fine but some kits include the extra coarse one. Not a big deal cause you can buy the extra coarse one for about 15 bucks if you find a kit that doesn't have it.

Once you get your blade sharp you can just use the fine one for touch ups.

http://www.knifeworks.com/dmtdeluxealignerkit4stones.aspx

:)
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I have the 3 stone DMT Aligner and I love it. I am a new to knives (just a few months in) and I find it easy to use and I get very satisfying edges.

I re-profiled 1 knife with the coarse stone - it didn't take too long but that 4 stone kit looks like the way to go. Now I want (don't need) the extra extra fine stone too!

I can't get it to work on my smaller knives, however. My Case Mini Trapper and Tiny Trapper are just too small. On these I use the DMT stones freehand (practice first!) - the best thing I find is that the piece that holds the stone makes it perfect for freehand sharpening too - just so easy to hold and not cut yourself.

When I picked a system I first made sure I understood how to sharpen - and then picked one that could re profile and let me graduate to pure freehand sharpening when ready. If you get the diamond stones remember: very light to almost no pressure.
 
I have a Lansky-a Smith's with angle clamp- and a Ruixin Pro. I like all three for different reasons, but the Ruixin is bad ass once you learn how it works. Very inexpensive as well.
 
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I'd recommend the DMT Aligner or Lansky. Many knives have a bevel that's above 20 degrees, which makes the Sharpmaker almost useless w/o the diamond rods. If the budget allowed more, the WSKT-KO or Edge Pro become better options. That's not the OP's question, though.
Good sharpening,
Dave
 
snippy said:
I have the 3 stone DMT Aligner and I love it. I am a new to knives (just a few months in) and I find it easy to use and I get very satisfying edges.

I re-profiled 1 knife with the coarse stone - it didn't take too long but that 4 stone kit looks like the way to go. Now I want (don't need) the extra extra fine stone too!

I can't get it to work on my smaller knives, however. My Case Mini Trapper and Tiny Trapper are just too small. On these I use the DMT stones freehand (practice first!) - the best thing I find is that the piece that holds the stone makes it perfect for freehand sharpening too - just so easy to hold and not cut yourself.

When I picked a system I first made sure I understood how to sharpen - and then picked one that could re profile and let me graduate to pure freehand sharpening when ready. If you get the diamond stones remember: very light to almost no pressure.
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I already have the kit I posted the link to cause I wanted the extra coarse stone too in case I needed to repair something I damaged. I wont get the extra extra fine one as I have no use for that cause I dont need them shiny! I do have an issue with my pressure though but hopefully once I use it a few times I will get better and hope the stones get broken in.

I posted the link so the OP could get a nice set for the money since it the four stone kit plus a traveling fine grit keychain one for touchups.
 
arctyler said:
I'm looking to buy my first knife shapener and I am kind of leaning towards the sharp maker but wanted to see what else was out there, so what do you guys think? I can probably go a bit above $60 but that's pretty much my budget
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Take a look at the block I make - linked through signature below. Fits your budget and can do pretty much whatever sharpening you might need doing.

This is a quote from one of the latest:

I am loving the washboard system you sent! This is the first time I have ever been able to whittle hair after sharpening a knife. And that it was done 100% freehand is amazing to me. I added a sheet of 1000 & 2000 grit sandpaper & use everything just like your manual says.The only other thing I have done is strop on leather with green compound. I am not sure which compound I should finish with, but the whole system is working great.
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I recommend using it as a system, but folks seem to have no problems customizing it. IIRC this individual was using an Edge Pro knockoff and a Lansky before buying my Washboard. Doesn't do it for you, but it does make it easy.

BTW, one can get to a whittling edge using only the Washboard, but is great that it works with/for whatever a user is comfortable with.

Tons of content on the website including electronic copy of the owner's manual and a number of videos showing how I recommend it be used.

Martin
 
snippy said:
I have the 3 stone DMT Aligner and I love it. I am a new to knives (just a few months in) and I find it easy to use and I get very satisfying edges.

I re-profiled 1 knife with the coarse stone - it didn't take too long but that 4 stone kit looks like the way to go. Now I want (don't need) the extra extra fine stone too!
Click to expand...


I got the DMT kit because I find I have a lot of knives that need to be reprofiled and it works very well for that. The adjustments are not very precise though. I cut a piece of balsa wood the size of one of the DMT stones, glued a piece of leather to it, and use it with the DMT kit as a strop.
 
bdmicarta said:
I got the DMT kit because I find I have a lot of knives that need to be reprofiled and it works very well for that. The adjustments are not very precise though. I cut a piece of balsa wood the size of one of the DMT stones, glued a piece of leather to it, and use it with the DMT kit as a strop.
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The adjustments are not very precise is my experience as well but I got lucky on my first 3 when the first pass would wipe the magic marker clean off. (I added a black sharpie to my "kit" - it should come with one!)
 
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