Best Sharpener for Small Knives?

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Nephron44

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Aug 20, 2015
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Hey everyone!
I am in need of a sharpener for my pocket knives and small fixed blades. Many of my knives have serrations, but I don't really care if I sharpen those; it would just be an added bonus. I have a little Smith's pocket sharpener in my day pack, but I figured I should get something better for at home. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Nephron

Edit:

I also have a few rescue hooks that I wouldn't mind touching up...
 
I find the most convenient sharpener to be a Falkniven ceramic sharpener (12")--it allows me to keep any knife (even swords) sharpened indefinitely. If I could only have one sharpener, that's the one I'd want. I like to use it in combination, however, with a fine steel and a plain leather strop--always yielding a hair-shaving edge with very little effort. If I really need to adjust a profile, I use a Sharpmaker.
 
The sharpemaker is a great one for a good price. Very simple and user friendly. You can get additional rods for it later that are coarser or finer grits. That said I wouldn't trade my wicked edge for anything 😁 I primarily use smaller knives (under 3in blade) and both have served me very well. The sharpemaker is great for a first time sharpener.
 
Blade-fiend said:
The sharpemaker is a great one for a good price. Very simple and user friendly. You can get additional rods for it later that are coarser or finer grits. That said I wouldn't trade my wicked edge for anything 😁 I primarily use smaller knives (under 3in blade) and both have served me very well. The sharpemaker is great for a first time sharpener.
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I was looking at the wicked edge pro, how does it handle large knives? Say one with a 12" blade..
 
HwangJino said:
I was looking at the wicked edge pro, how does it handle large knives? Say one with a 12" blade..
Click to expand...

It can handle some fairly large knives but at a certain point you would have to reposition the knife in the clamp to continue an even edge. So far the longest blade I have done on it was a 8in.
 
Good intermediate step (cost wise) between Sharpmaker and Wicked Edge is the KME System.

Excels with small blades (even has a clamp for those), produces consistent angles and has an optional serration rod.

Thoroughly enjoying mine, and can't over-recommend the online dealer (in New Mexico).
 
I use the Wicked Edge pro on 12" slicers. You have to slide the blade along three or four times but the sharpener handles it fine. As with anything else, practice helpsl

Tim
 
For an easy and cost effective option, get a sharpmaker. However, it is only really good for touching up so if you are doing heavy metal removal look into other options like mentioned above.
 
Sharpeners, sharpening, etc discussion goes in Maintenance, Tinkering, & Embellishment. General Knife Discussion is for knives only.
 
Lots of good suggestions so far but you can also take a look at the Work Sharp field sharpener as it's a pretty versatile tool for a low price and I have no doubt it will get the job done. Chances are even if you don't like it you will find some type of tool on there that you find valuable to use until you find something that works.
 
Reasoned1 said:
I find the most convenient sharpener to be a Falkniven ceramic sharpener (12")--it allows me to keep any knife (even swords) sharpened indefinitely. If I could only have one sharpener, that's the one I'd want. I like to use it in combination, however, with a fine steel and a plain leather strop--always yielding a hair-shaving edge with very little effort. If I really need to adjust a profile, I use a Sharpmaker.
Click to expand...

Watch it, my diamond on brass model fell apart, not glued or molded into the handle, had to do it myself

Other than that, it is the best sharpener i have, probably gonna get a ceramic
 
Count me as a fan of the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Simple and reliable tool, for a very reasonable price. As mentioned, if you have to reprofile it can take a long time, but its still my preference. You can get extra rods, either extra fine or coarse. (I have the extra fine, but not the coarse, which I really should get.) It doesn't do any angle you like, which can be a handicap. For example, I have a PM 2, which for best results should, I'm told, be sharpened to 35 degrees (both sides included). I can't do that, so I am not getting the best cutting performance out of my PM 2. Mind you, it still cuts pretty damn well! Let us know what you get.
 
FVDK -

I've read your posts with interest where you discuss the (de)evolution of Lansky's clamp designs, and in fact I've purchased a 1995-era Lansky system for my own use based on your recommendations. However, I have found photos of what I think is an even older Lansky clamp design (see attached pic) which appears to use machined horizontal members attached to separate bolted-on vertical members. Do you have any experience with this older clamp design? If so, is it made out of steel rather than aluminum? Any information regarding this 4-piece Lansky clamp design would be appreciated! Thanks - Craig

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lansky-Delu...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
 
Hi Craig,

I was aware of the older design and I saw that auction and wanted to bid but unfortunately the seller was not willing to ship to the Netherlands.

As far as I know, the original Lansky design with the bold-on angle guides was a copy of the Loray Sharpener which was invented by Ray Longbrake in 1968. I read somewhere that the owner of Lansky used to be an employee of Loray but I can not confirm that. It is very clear though that Lansky copied the Loray.

Ray Longbrake passed away December 24, 2009 from complications to a long term illness of Alzheimer's disease and the company no longer exists but an old archived copy of the website can be found here: https://web.archive.org/web/20121117103859/http://loraysharpener.com/page1.php

Loray made clamps with the bold-on angle guides as well as with fold-a-way angle guides and I recently found a fold-a-guide system for my collection and I like it very much.
It is very well made. The dimensions are very close to the Lansky but the angle settings are actually accurate and the clamp as well as the stone holders are made of aluminum. I am pretty sure that the Lansky was made of aluminum as well.

Here are some photos of the set that I bought as well as scans of the manual.

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Frans

p.s. if anyone has one of the Lansky clamps with the bold-on guides and is willing to sell it to me, please let me know.
 
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Frans -

This is great info - thanks! The LoRay system appears to be extremely well made, to exacting tolerances. I'm sure you'll really enjoy using it. Does it have a stand, or is it hand-held only?

I figured you would be able to shed light on where Lansky's 4-piece clamp designs fit chronologically. I mentioned that I've just purchased an unused 1990's era Lansky system with an extruded aluminum clamp and a knurled metal tightening screw. I'm looking forward using it to sharpen my customized Herman Williams' Schrades!

If it works as well as I anticipate, I expect I will be going back onto eBay to find another so I can have a back-up. :)
 
The Burgh said:
Good intermediate step (cost wise) between Sharpmaker and Wicked Edge is the KME System.

Excels with small blades (even has a clamp for those), produces consistent angles and has an optional serration rod.

Thoroughly enjoying mine, and can't over-recommend the online dealer (in New Mexico).
Click to expand...

^This. The KME is the best all-round mid level system available. One of the small differences that make the KME and other similar systems miles apart is the birds eye rod attachment. Most cheaper units just have a slot for the rod, and only at fixed, random points. The rod can flop around a little, making precision not possible. And if you want to land on an angle that is different than the pre-sets, no such luck. This is OFTEN wanted because you want to match the angle up with the current grind to avoid removing any more blade than really necessary.

But....as I've said in many other posts, the Spyderco SharpMaker is always to good thing to have around no matter what else you are using. So if you really just need to work on a couple of blades, start with a Sharpmaker first. Then if you need more precision, and/or you decide that you really like sharpening as a hobby on it's own, then add the KME (w/ Gold Diamond stones), and you are all set for amazing results. Even with the KME, the Sharpmaker will get used often to touch up blades that don't really need full profile work.

And if working on really tiny knives (pen blades), add the Pen Blade Clamp to the KME. It takes seconds to swap, and lets you do some pretty small blades. And example would be the pen blade in a traditional Barlow knife. Most systems will just swallow them up or leave unwanted results. The super small and thin Pen Blade Clamp lets me do small secondary blades with the same precision.
 
ctom2000 said:
Frans -

This is great info - thanks! The LoRay system appears to be extremely well made, to exacting tolerances. I'm sure you'll really enjoy using it. Does it have a stand, or is it hand-held only?
Click to expand...

It has a hole for a stand just like the Lansky but I prefer to use them without the stand. I hold it as in the photo. I use a light grip and it feels very comfortable to me and I think it gives me better control. I keep the stone in constant contact with the blade with very light pressure and use a scrubbing motion.

Sometimes you see videos where they say that there is play from the rods in the guide holes and that they use a finger to keep the rod in contact with the top or bottom of the hole but as I use it, there is absolutely no play.

If I can find the time, I will try to make a video to show how I use it. I am not claiming that my way is the only right way but it works for me and I can get the same results with the Lansky on my smaller knives as I get with my Wicked Edge on larger knives.

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Frans

p.s. I agree with Bflying comments about the KME. As you can see in the photo, I also have one of those and it is a very nice and versatile system and the customer service from Ron is second to none. It costs a lot more than the Lansky but it is a lot cheaper than the Wicked Edge and you can use it for small as well as larger knives so I can certainly recommend it.

I am no fan of the Sharpmaker as in my opinion it is too expensive as a tool just for maintenance and too limited as a full sharpener but that is of course just my personal opinion.
 
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