Best Sharpener for Newbie

If you've never sharpened a knife before, then start off with a bench stone. A six inch Norton combo stone (one side coarse one side fine) will run you about $10-$12.

If you start off with a more sophisticated (and expensive) system, it'll probably take you longer to learn how to use its full potential. Rather, learn first on a bench stone. Then, if your demands warrant it, drop the extra cash and get a more sophisticated system, like a SharpMaker or EdgePro.

You cannot fully appreciate the advantages (and limitations) of the more advanced systems until you learn sharpening basics on a bench stone. Hate to see you drop a bundle and end up dissapointed, or discouraged, right from the start.

TT2Toes
 
Lots of great advice here.


Definitely you need the KNOWLEDGE in order to use any gear properly. There is a sharpening FAQ on this site in the knowledge section. Follow the links from the BFC homepage. Also, Juranich's book is a great book to read. Another awesome book is Leonard Lee's sharpening book, available from www.leevalley.com Probably available from other sources too.

Knowledge aside, you need something to SHAPE your edge, and something to get that shaped edge to the right FINISH. As far as shape goes, often you really need somethign to thin an edge out, and then something to put on a tiny microbevel that is the actual edge that cuts.

On that note, I recommend 2 "systems". Edge Pro apex with stone upgrade is #1. With the coarse hones you can shape an edge super fast, and you can polish the edge up to a mirror finish if you want with the Apex/upgrade kit as is. There is also a bunch of info here on making even finer hones, using aluminum blanks from Ben Dale and polishing paper from Lee Valley Tools. You can easily do microbevels with this system too. Basically this gives you a LOT of variety, but it does take soem practice (I have sharpened half a dozen knives or so with mine and I still need a lot of practice! I really need to see the video.)

The other "system" is a sharpmaker and a large, coarse hone. The sharpmaker can be set at 30 degrees and 40 degrees inclusive (thats 15 or 20 degrees per side). So, you use the large coarse hone free hand to thin otu thick edge bevels. YOu don't need it to be perfect, just kinda neat and thinned out! Not much skill involved there. Then switch to the sharpmaker to put on a microbevel that does the actual cutting. If you thinned an edge out to, say, 12 degrees per side, you can put on a 15 or 20 degree microbevel easily. If you left it a bit thicker at say 17 degrees, then you only put on a 20 degree microbevel. This system lacks the variability you can get with the Edge pro, but it is cheaper and simpler in the sense tha tthere is less concerning yourelf with exact angles and such.

I also recommend a strop sometime in the future for you (once again, I can recommend Lee Valley.) Also, Radio Shack sells a lighted 60-100X microscope smaller than a deck of cards that is worth a buy. You can see burrs, what finishes look like on your edge, edge damage, etc. All for around $10!
 
If you think you're really going to want to get into sharpening and stick with it for a long time, I would recommend the Edge-pro. When I got my Edgepro I had used a lanksy system, a gatco system, and bench stones, all without a lot of success. I just didn't understand sharpening that much and didn't do much to educate myself. When I got the Edgepro and Dale's how-to-video I quickly understood what sharpening a knife was all about.

The Sharpmaker would be my next recommendation, especially if you don't want to shell out the money. It also comes with a great video. The only downside is it's very slow if you have a dull knife.
 
If you want to do it on the cheap for a first try, use wet and dry sandpaper. The results were surprisingly good when I did-it will likely encourage you to get technique correct first, rather than thinking an expensive sharpener will solve all your sharpening needs.
 
I have not tried the Spiderco, but I have heard good things about it, both online and off.

Personally I am pretty happy with the Lansky system that I purchaced a while back. If you get the delux one with the 5 stones, it will handle most anything.

And I would reccomend against the Meyerco Sharpen-It. I bought one of those a few years ago, and while at first I liked it, after a while I realized that it was not good for my knives. The problem is that the wheels on it are very loose, allowing them to spin, which also allows them to chatter back and forth while you are pulling the blade through. This, while is does get the blade sharp, also causes it to become not smooth, for lack of a better way to say it. If you run you figernail allong the edge of the blade you can feel little ridges the entire length of the blade. It is almost like you are putting mini little serrations into the blade as you sharpen it. The bigger the blade you try and sharpen, the more this effect is evident.
 
I vote for stones and Al Oxide paper mounted on some sorta block. I recommend against any carbide sharpeners which peel the edge.
 
acemery said:
Thanks, Nosmo.

I do, indeed need to call Ben.

I spoke to him for about half an hour before I ordered the Edge Pro, and there is no doubt in my mind that he will do everything he can to get my problem resolved.

Al :)
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Ben is indeed helpful, but as many of you may know, he is in Calif. attending to a medical problem. Send him an email and he may be able to get back to you, even tho' he has limited computer access.
 
acemery said:
I received my Edge Pro Professional last week with the case, video, scissor attachment... the full bore moledigger.

I really hate to say it, but it doesn't do any better for me than a $10 set of Crock Stix that I bought about 15 years ago. It does an absolutely lousy job on my hollow ground kitchen knives. I've read Juranich's book and have his setup too. I can get just as sharp an edge (shaving sharp) with the Crock Stix (with less hassle) as I can with either the Juranich or Edge Pro stuff. I must be doing something terribly wrong, because I've read too many posts here singing high praises for it.
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Just to give you some confidence in the Edge Pro - I have watched Ben Dale sharpen hollow, flat, and somewhat convex ground blades of all sizes and get them to a wicked edge. He has sharpened a few of my knives with M2, CPMS90V, Talonite, and 154CM steels. The Edge Pro will do what you want, but it might take some practice.
 
Hi. I've used stones, the lansky system, the sharp maker, and the edge pro. As others have pointed out the sharpmaker and the edge pro complement each other, but if I had to chose between them it would be the edge pro. To me the edgepro is basically fool proof and is a more complete system then the sharpmaker. It can handle the widest variety of bevel angles and can reshape the bevel when that becomes necessary. Can't do this on the shapemaker alone. I picked up a used timberline specwar at a gun show. The previous owner had tried to sharpen the knife and really botched it. I guess he was trying to avoid scratching the blade when he was sharpening it (he didn't tape it) so he used a steeper angle and varied the angle over the length of blade from the tip to the hilt. The bevel at the tip looked like it had a rat bite taken out of it. I had to reshape the bevel so that it was even over the length of the blade, from tip to hilt, before it would even begin to take an edge. It's shaving sharp now. :) I don't think I could have done it on the sharp maker. Anyway thought I'd add my .02
 
I would go with a Sharpmaker and get a strop later on. I can sharpen by hand ok, but I find the Sharpmaker a lot faster to use.
 
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