Best Sharpener? Whats the best portable inexpensive sharpening system for beginners?

D

digispam

Joined
Jan 29, 2007
Messages
188
Well, I'm not a brand new beginner, but I have always struggled with sharpening.

Any pointers or links?
 
What works best for me is a diamond plate. The two sided one from Ragweed forge is the best one I have tried. http://www.ragweedforge.com/SharpeningCatalog.html

2side.jpg
 
Depends on what you mean by portable. For pocket size my favorite is a Sterling superior sharpener. For a little larger you can't beat a Spyderco Sharpmaker.
 
Anyone have any experience with these types?
It's a Wusthof 2899 Pocket Two Stage Sharpener.
I intend to learn the right way someday, but this looks like a fast way to
touch up the edge.


wu2899.jpg
 
Liam Ryan said:
Anyone have any experience with these types?
It's a Wusthof 2899 Pocket Two Stage Sharpener.
I intend to learn the right way someday, but this looks like a fast way to
touch up the edge.


wu2899.jpg
Click to expand...


I don't have experience with this exact model, but I have used the similar unit that came with my Rapala filet knife with good results for "touch-ups". I carry it with me in the field during deer season, and it works great to maintain the edge on my SOG Field Pup. The only issue I've had is that the ceramics seem to load up quickly, and I haven't found an effective method to clean them out. Other than that, I think they're a good value for the intended purpose.
 
I would just get a sharpmaker. With he supplied med and fine grnd stone you should be able to get a hair popping sharpness out of most knives.

To clean the rapala stone, just put some clorex on a q-tip and scrub it in hot water.
 
Learn how to convex sharpen "easy" then carry a couple small pieces of of sand paper of different grits. It dont get any lighter.

Skam
 
digispam said:
Well, I'm not a brand new beginner, but I have always struggled with sharpening.

Any pointers or links?
Click to expand...
Before I made my very first knife, I didnt have any luck at putting a sharp edge on a knife at all..

No matter the advice I received from others, I just could not get any blade sharp.

I had all the toys,,,,You name the sharpener and I own it,,,
Noting seemed to work.

Then from this forum , I found a page that talked about how to sharpen a knife.
The page talked about getting the edge of the knife to form a "burr" or a 'wire"

THATS THE KEY!
I learned that unless I was able to form a wire burr that I didnt have a chance to get a knife sharp.

Before I learned that, I didnt have a clue what a "burr" or "wire edge" was talking about...

Once you get the concept of the "burr" then all the other "toys" start to work......suddenly all the stones and V-sharpeners started to work, not because they changed, but rather i now understood what they were doing or not doing...

I knew what "I" was doing with them too....
All of the sharpeners we see for sale are great.
Sandpaper, the lansky, the V-bar sharpeners, the power sharpeners, the dimond stones, the japanese water stones, all these are great,,"IF", if you understand the concept of how to sharpen first.

If you dont understand the idea of getting a burr on the cutting edge of a knife, then no matter what suggestion we get, or what tool we try, it will just be pointlesss....the tools become just junk to us.

But if you get the concept of the wire burr, then all of the ways we have to put a sharp edge on a knife will work...
Heck, you could even sharpen a knife on a river rock too if you had too, once you understand the basic concepts...
 
Here's my favorite field sharpening tool:
http://theconsumerlink.com/product_detail.asp?BID=DiamondMachiningTechnology&T1=TCL+FWFC&navStart=0&.

Not as small and light as some but easily portable enough to carry in the field.
The eight inch open length, with handle, is very helpful in maintaining a constant angle by visual inspection.

The coarse side can be used for edge repair and the fine side to bring back a good working edge.

Find a relatively flat surface and lay down the knife with the edge overhanging enough that you can bring the diamond surface in contact with it, unobstructed. Try to keep the same angle all the time and use very light pressure when finishing.

Just my 2 cents.
 
akennedy - Would that method work with bevel edge/ How would I reshape the edge in order to do this to some of my knifes?
 
sherlockbonez said:
akennedy - Would that method work with bevel edge/ How would I reshape the edge in order to do this to some of my knifes?
Click to expand...

YOu need to work with a grittier paper for a bit to set the convex edge or otherwise remove material to round the edge.

It may take a few times to round the shoulder but will turn it into a convex edge.

VEry easy way to sharpen and the convex edge is the most durable edge to work with. Cheap too!;)

Skam
 
Ok, I wanna try this with my mora (just found it in my old desk at my parents last night). I sharpended it on a sharpmaker, so I can go straight to a coarse sandpaper or is it better to start with a duller edge?


I also just picked up a Seal 2000 for dirt cheap, would it work the same if it has a bit of serations on it?
 
I'd buy one of the double sided diamond stones, around a 1'' wide by 4'' long version. That would sharpen anything, knives, machetes, fishhooks, makeshift garden type implements or whatever. Very compact and lightweight, and can be found for under $20. I've seen them on metal plates and on hard tough plastic with the dotted surface, seems like either would be ideal for lightweight long lasting packable sharpening gear.
 
I had problems sharpening knives for 40+ years. At one point, I bought a Spyderco Triangle and that improved my sharpening, but it still needed improvement. Lansky Sharpeners did it for me.

If you can't sharpen your knife with a Lansky, then there's no hope for you.

Doc
 
DOC-CANADA said:
I had problems sharpening knives for 40+ years. At one point, I bought a Spyderco Triangle and that improved my sharpening, but it still needed improvement. Lansky Sharpeners did it for me.

If you can't sharpen your knife with a Lansky, then there's no hope for you.

Doc
Click to expand...


Doc, I had a similar experience with the same two sharpeners, but I had the Lanksy first. It sharpened anything that had the correct , or near correct bevel, but I could never get good at a re-grind if it was time to re-bevel or re-profile the primary angle.
So I would be "sharpening" away, but well above the actual egde.
The sharpmaker didn't fix that issue, but the wet wheel did. :thumbup: ;)

The Lanksy is a good teacher of the angles, that is for sure.
I use it simply as a gauge sometimes just to check an angle.

Now, I wonder, in this thread, does the poster mean portable, as in, a small compact stowable sharpener??
 
I think so... I just picked up one of those ceramic bone shaped sharpeners its a single rod w/rubber ends its about 4 inches long so it'll fit in a kit...But I'm no sharpening expert I just bought it because it said it would sharpen straight and serrated blades
 
Alan Molstad said:
Before I made my very first knife, I didnt have any luck at putting a sharp edge on a knife at all..

No matter the advice I received from others, I just could not get any blade sharp.

I had all the toys,,,,You name the sharpener and I own it,,,
Noting seemed to work.

Then from this forum , I found a page that talked about how to sharpen a knife.
The page talked about getting the edge of the knife to form a "burr" or a 'wire"

THATS THE KEY!
I learned that unless I was able to form a wire burr that I didnt have a chance to get a knife sharp.

Before I learned that, I didnt have a clue what a "burr" or "wire edge" was talking about...

Once you get the concept of the "burr" then all the other "toys" start to work......suddenly all the stones and V-sharpeners started to work, not because they changed, but rather i now understood what they were doing or not doing...

I knew what "I" was doing with them too....
All of the sharpeners we see for sale are great.
Sandpaper, the lansky, the V-bar sharpeners, the power sharpeners, the dimond stones, the japanese water stones, all these are great,,"IF", if you understand the concept of how to sharpen first.

If you dont understand the idea of getting a burr on the cutting edge of a knife, then no matter what suggestion we get, or what tool we try, it will just be pointlesss....the tools become just junk to us.

But if you get the concept of the wire burr, then all of the ways we have to put a sharp edge on a knife will work...
Heck, you could even sharpen a knife on a river rock too if you had too, once you understand the basic concepts...
Click to expand...

Those ominous three dots, will you be enlightening us anytime soon about the burr?;)

I believe the burr is when the metal fold over the edge from sharpening, and must be stropped off. I never stropped, not sure how really, I would just cut something and it would break off I presume, but I have a feeling that stropping would let me shave with it in the morning.
 
TOPIC:
The burr, or the wire edge you get when you sharpen a knife ..
-----------------------------------------------------

If your knife is dull, or if you want to learn how to sharpen a knife, the one most important thing to learn about is the burr. Unless you get the burr down as a concept you are not going to understand how ANY SHARPENER you try to use works or is not working for you!!!

And, If you understand the concept of getting a burr, then ANY SHARPENER you want to use, will work better for you.....You can become the expert at them all, because you know what sharpening means to the knife edge.

What is the burr, or wire edge?

Yes, it is a little bending over of the very thin...thin,,,thin knife edge that you get when you have sharpened one side as far as it can go.

It's the sign you must look for when you sharpen one side of the knife that tells you that side is as sharp as that side can go. The knife edge has gotten so thin, so sharp, that the steel actually curls over and you can feel the other side of the knife edge for this curled over edge.

Once you get a little burr running all along one side of the knife, THEN,,(and only then) it is time to "flip" the knife over and start to sharpen that other side.

Again, you sharpen this other side, (No flipping yet) untill you feel a new burr again form on the top side of the blade.

Once you have a burr running all along the top side ,THEN ,,,then you get to do the traditional stroke-flip-stroke-flip, type of normal sharpening on your stone.

But rather than sharpening the knife, at this point what you are doing is getting rid of the burr by carefully working it off the sharp edge to leave fresh steel...fresh very SHARP steel.

You can keep feeling for the burr as you strok-flip-stroke, and when you find that you have sanded it off, lighten up on the force you use to work the blade against the stone.

after a few more strokes you can then switch to the many sandpaper ideas people have talked about, or a Leather , or a buffer...whatever you wish as you polish the edge cleaner and cleaner of the wire burr and get rid of edge scratches.

Thats how you get a knife sharp.

Now, if your knife is already very sharp or is new, then you can go ahead and use the different type of "V" -bar sharpeners and not need to get a wire burr.

But if your knife is old, clipped, or dull, then unless you go for the burr first, you are not getting all the edge sharp. Infact, on a chipped knife the "V"-bar sharpeners actually make things worse!!! For they can make the chip bigger!!!....
 
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