Best Sharpening System for under $100

mattd

mattd

Joined
Oct 6, 2003
Messages
252
I have joined bladeforums.com to educate myself on knives. My first question would be what do you think is the best sharpening system under $100.00. Thank you
 
I've become tired of writing our "Sharpmaker", so here's my new abbreviation=

SM :D

Bruce
 
Sharpmaker is indeed a great sharpener. I love it. But, I also feel it is very good to learn how to use a stone. That will take some time, but it will also bring a sense of satisfaction to your sharpening.
Bob
 
The cheapest place I have found for the basic Sharpmaker 204 is Bestknives.com at $39.95 plus shipping. The diamond rods are an additional $64.95. Both would be $104.90 plus shipping which I don't know, probably comparable to NewGraham.com.

The cheapest place I have found for both the Sharpmaker 204 and the diamond rods is NewGraham.com. The SM 204 is $42.57 and the diamond rods are $56.18 plus $5.95 shipping. Total is $104.70.


Sooo...either place would be a good buy for both. The shipping being the only real difference.

Mike
 
Spyderco Sharpmaker.

The Smith's Tri-Hone bench stone(s) isn't too bad, either.
 
The Sharpmaker and a good coarse diamond or Silicon Carbide 8" hone make a great combination. Throw in a strop with green honing compound and you can sharpen nearly anything.
 
1x30 belt sander, a variety of grits, and a strop with Veritas green honing compound. With a little practice, you can do small knives, big knives, lawnmower blades, axes, and so on. A light touch and practice is important.

For a manual, a large coarse stone and the sharpmaker is great! Use the large coarse stone (DMT x-coarse, or maybe a very coarse Silicon Carbide stone) is used to reshape edges, thinning them out. The Sharpmaker then puts on the actual edge.
 
I have said this before....If you thinking of spending approx $105.00 on a sharpmaker and diamond hones for it.....Do yourself a favor and kick in the extra $20 and get an EdgePro Apex instead.
 
rdg, I get a great deal of satisfaction using my Sharpmaker - because it gets blades sharp, and doesn't take a long time or special teqnique.

I guess hand honing is to me like golf - I don't have the money, time, or patience to spend getting good enough at it to actually enjoy it.
 
I don't have any trouble getting a small blade shaving sharp on a Lansky. I do want to get back into freehand on stones, though. And get a good steel or really fine ceramic stick (~1200 grit) You won't have to sharpen as much if you keep your edges straight.
 
Dcon67 is right. For the money,the Edgepro is the best sharpener on the planet. It'll easily do reprofiling jobs that you'd dread on the sharpmaker, even with it's diamond hones. I've got both & the Edgepro is the workhorse, the sharpmaker is for touchups once the edge is shaped. Buy the best , you'll never regret it.
 
Most versatile?

Sandpapers and lapping films. You can put them on plexiglass, mousepads, and around ceramic sharpening rods.

Most friendly to people who like precision and flexibility?

The EdgePro Apex with upgrade kit (more than what you listed).

Easiest yet most painful one to learn how to use?

The Spyderco Sharpmaker. Round the tip of your favorite knife and everyone's advice sinks in right afterwards.
 
Wow. Can't believe how many people like the Sharpmaker. I'd suggest a stone (Norton Indian double grit; fine and coarse) and a cheap knife (a red-handled victorinox paring knife - $3 or 4) as a lab rat. Can't say how good or bad the Sharpmaker is, never used one, but so far I've been satisfied with the stone.
 
I've got to respectfully disagree with Dcon67 here. While I agree the Edge Pro is an excellent system and my personal favorite, I don't think that the base system is better than a sharpmaker and a coarse stone. The medium stone with the Edge Pro is way too fine for serious reprofiling, and the fine stone isn't fine enough to give the scary sharp edge the Edge Pro is capable of with the stone upgrade kit. Now, IF you're willing to bite the bullet and pay for the Apex with a stone upgrade kit, the Edge Pro is unbeatable in the world of manual sharpeners for someone with little experience. If you can't justify spending that kind of cash, you'll be better served by a Sharpmaker and a coarse stone, IMO. I own and have used a Lansky, the Sharpmaker 203 and the 204, an Edge Pro, a Smith's Tri hone, a HandAmerican ProCombo Deluxe system, and a variety of freehand equipment, just to give you an idea of what I'm basing my opinion on. The Edge Pro has worked the best for me, followed closely by the Sharpmaker. The Sharpmaker is excellent on knives with thin edges; unfortunately, most factory knives will need to be drastically reprofiled before their edges are thin enough for the Sharpmaker to be effective. Hence the need for a coarse stone. I personally feel you'll be better served by a stand-alone coarse stone rather than the diamond rods because it will be more versatile, and I feel the diamond rods are overpriced. I prefer the Edge Pro to the Sharpmaker basically because it allows me to get a very even, smooth set of edge bevels, and the stones it uses cut faster than the Sharpmaker's ceramic rods. I use a strop to finish all of my edges, so the sharpness of the edges I get from each system are about the same, it's just that the Edge Pro's edges are prettier and I get them a lot quicker.

Another consideration is your understanding of the sharpening process. Knowledge and understanding of what it is you're trying to accomplish are far more important than which system you're using. I've sharpened knives using nothing more than a rubber sanding block and various grits of sandpaper. I got the knife hair flinging sharp too. I highly recommend reading The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening by John Juranitch. You might be able to find it at your local library, or if they don't have it they may be able to borrow it from a neighboring library. That's how I got a hold of a copy, if not you can buy it from www.razoredgesystems.com . A google search for "sharpening" or "knife sharpening" should yield lots of good information as well. Same goes for searching bladeforums. Read as much as you can, practice diligently, and you can become quite good in short order.
 
I love using my Smith's Tri-Hone.

There's just something relaxing about sharpening on the stones.
 
Man, I love reading opinions about sharpening.

mattd, Roadrunner gives very sound advice on systems and sharpening. He is undoubtedly a very accomplished guy when it comes to sharpening. Very knowledgeable as well. Here's my $0.02 on the subject:

If you're either new to knife sharpening or just not accomplished at it, I'd recommend the Edge Pro with the stone upgrade and here's why: The Edge Pro has a very defined technique for using it. You can buy a tape with the system and the inventor will show you THE proper way to use it. Not the "best" way or "my" way or the "Blue Mountain" way. This can not be said for stones or some other sharpening systems (I haven't used the Sharpmaker).

I'm not saying the Edge Pro is better. It's just that I've read lots of different techniques for using stones, hones, strops, and steels. I like trying them out. I intend to become good using all of them. Some techniq
 
For serrated knives I use a Sharpmaker.
For plain, I like to put some sanding paper (silicon carbide) on a sanding block. If you have a sanding block with a handle--about $6 at hardware stores--you can rest the block on the handle, so the sandpaper is almost vertical, but not really (maybe 20 degrees off, I never measured).
 
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