Best sharpener for a beginner?

D

dutton

Joined
Aug 6, 2012
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12
Just getting into collecting and have no idea how to sharpen with regular stones. Was wondering what you guys would recommend for a beginner. Been looking at the Wicked Edge and Edge Pro systems. Thanks in advance for the help.
 
I would get the edgepro between those two as I do not enjoy clamp style systems. Many people do enjoy the wicked edge though. Pricing is also an advantage with the edgepro. Also may want to look into the sharpmaker for basic maintenance. Really do a search in the forum there is a ton of information on both systems.
 
Some People also enjoy Freehand Sharpening,just throwing that out there.I have started seriously learning Freehand sharpening and find it rewarding in both relaxing and knowledge gained.Not meaning to step on anyones toes.Several Board members here offer great advice and videos(youtube,etc.) to help you with the learning curve.Possible consideration unless you have your heart set on a Jig or clamp system.
 
I made my own knife sharpner. I have been useing it on my kershaw leek and case,buck,china cheap knifes. I would not trade it for the world.
 
I'm in the same situation, just getting started. I just picked up a sharp maker and the ultra fine rods to try my hand at that though ultimately I would like to end up with a wicked edge system.

Andrew
 
My recommendation would be to learn freehand. It is so much cheaper to do.

1) Buy a 2-sided stone <~$10>, a honing rod (if you don't already have one in a knife block) <~$10>, and a cheap paring knife <~$5 in store; ~$1 at a garage sale>.
2) Watch YouTube videos on sharpening (Videos by Murray Carter or Bob Kramer are decent)
3) Start practicing. You'll develop the muscle memory for the holding angle very quickly.

Basically: Coarse side -> Fine side -> Honing rod -> (optional) Strop -> Done.

Eventually, you'll develop your own sequence. Hell, my current sequence involves a ceramic mug and the edge of a glass table.
Will be a bit frustrating at first, but it gets fun.
 
nopyo said:
My recommendation would be to learn freehand. It is so much cheaper to do.

1) Buy a 2-sided stone <~$10>, a honing rod (if you don't already have one in a knife block) <~$10>, and a cheap paring knife <~$5 in store; ~$1 at a garage sale>.
2) Watch YouTube videos on sharpening (Videos by Murray Carter or Bob Kramer are decent)
3) Start practicing. You'll develop the muscle memory for the holding angle very quickly.

Basically: Coarse side -> Fine side -> Honing rod -> (optional) Strop -> Done.

Eventually, you'll develop your own sequence. Hell, my current sequence involves a ceramic mug and the edge of a glass table.
Will be a bit frustrating at first, but it gets fun.
Click to expand...

This. The best method for a beginner is to just learn freehanding. If you start off with all the whiz-bang gizmos you'll get results, but not skills. And sharpening freehand is the best way (in my opinion) to learn the ins and outs of what it means to sharpen a knife.

This is a SUPER basic guide that I put together a while back that ought to help.
 
Scubie67 said:
Some People also enjoy Freehand Sharpening,just throwing that out there.I have started seriously learning Freehand sharpening and find it rewarding in both relaxing and knowledge gained.Not meaning to step on anyones toes.Several Board members here offer great advice and videos(youtube,etc.) to help you with the learning curve.Possible consideration unless you have your heart set on a Jig or clamp system.
Click to expand...

I've just started learning freehand with DMT dia-sharp stones. I'm still in the 'frustrated and impatient' phase as I'm trying to get my technique and muscle-memory down as I rotate the blade to keep a good angle through the belly and tip. It hasn't helped that one of my DMT stones was mislabled and was much more coarse then it was supposed to be.
 
An old mousepad, a piece of scrap leather glued to a flat stick, a couple of grinding compounds, a few sheets of wet/dry paper in the range from perhaps 400 to as high as you can get and a couple of videos and you should have sharp knives for the rest of your life.

No expensive fancy gear needed.
 
It is also beneficial to work for a manufacturing facility where there is liberal use of 9 micron and 3 micron sandpaper. :D
 
sqchram said:
I've just started learning freehand with DMT dia-sharp stones. I'm still in the 'frustrated and impatient' phase as I'm trying to get my technique and muscle-memory down as I rotate the blade to keep a good angle through the belly and tip. It hasn't helped that one of my DMT stones was mislabled and was much more coarse then it was supposed to be.
Click to expand...

You might want to try working smaller sections of the edge as you go and overlap/blend them together. Murray Carter has plenty of videos that illustrate this using what I refer to as a "scrubbing" motion. It sounds like you wouldn't get a nice clean sweep across the entire edge, but my consistency improved noticeably after adopting this technique. I believe it comes down to what most of us can manage in terms of precision freehand movements. The smaller the movement, the easier it is to maintain a consistent angle.
 
I agree that freehand is great and rewarding, that being said I still use my Sharpmaker to touch up my edges.
 
dutton said:
Just getting into collecting and have no idea how to sharpen with regular stones. Was wondering what you guys would recommend for a beginner. Been looking at the Wicked Edge and Edge Pro systems. Thanks in advance for the help.
Click to expand...

Go with what you're comfortable with... not everyone can or wants to learn freehand. Either system you mentioned are both quality systems, and would serve you and your knives well.

cbw
 
I think you'd be fine with the Edge Pro or the Wicked Edge. I have both. I favor the Edge Pro because it's quick; By the time I'd have the WEPS set up, I can usually be well into sharpening with the EP. With either, do use the Sharpie or Magic Marker trick (to find the angles). I don't favor freehand sharpening for most people because most people will not be good at it, even with practice. If you only sharpen a few times per year, you won't likely master freehand sharpening or have the desire to. When I'm feeling really good about my freehand skills, I'll test the edge and then improve it with one of the aforementioned systems.
Good sharpening,
Dave
 
richard thurman said:
I made my own knife sharpner. I have been useing it on my kershaw leek and case,buck,china cheap knifes. I would not trade it for the world.
Click to expand...

Have you posted pictures/details of your sharpener/building it? Can you or can you post links?

thanks
 
I've always used a Spyderco Sharpmaker paired with a leather strop. I have all the stones for the Sharmaker other than the course diamond onces, which I plan to buy sometime soon. With the set up that I currently have, I can get a hair whittling edge on my EDC Para-military 2.
 
I started out on a Sharpmaker, but if I encountered any really dull knife or one that need a reprofiling, I got frustrated with the time it took to get anywhere close to a useful edge with the available grits. If I had to start over, I'd probably have bought a belt grinder so I could reprofile the dull ones right off the bat... and the speed of a grinder lets you see and feel quite quickly the effect that a given angle has on an edge. It may seem a bit daunting for a beginner, but one can also practice on the ubiquitous dull, cheap kitchen knife. One can easily make some kind of angle reference to have nearby to guide them visually. I'd recommend a beginner start out steeper (narrower) than their final angle with the lower grits, then slowly work up closer to the final angle with the higher grits progressively. Once your blades are nicely profiled to your liking, you can transition to traditional stones or other non-powered rigs to do regular maintenance... I still have my Sharpmaker stones around for that, supplemented by a paddle strop and Veritas honing compound.
 
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