Budget sharpening?

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NikolaTesla

Joined
Apr 16, 2012
Messages
15
Didn't know where to ask this (too many sub forums :)...) I need a budget way to sharpen my knives (preferably not wet 'n dry)

Thanks :)

(Also what an excellent forums, loads of info.)

Knifes I own Companion 840mg, (well used out in the woods) Hultafors GK, Colt Tactical Fixed.

I used to have DC4 but it snapped in half, I would buy waterstones but I wanted to go low cost.
 
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There is a sub forum here for sharpening it's called Maintence Tinkering and Embellishment. IMHO the cheapest route is wet dry sandpaper in various grits even though you don't seem interested in that you can really get some amazing edges from a $3.00 pack of sandpaper. If you look around on line or at your local hardware store you can usually lay your hands on a pretty cheap combination stone or oil stone. You can also sharpen on the unglazed ring on the bottom of a ceramic coffee cup or saucer! A lot of it depends on what you are trying to sharpen and how sharp you want it!
 
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The big "A" that is know for its e-readers has them for $17.73 shipped. This is a great all around sharpener and what I used for a few years. I still keep it in my truck.
 
I have the eze lap diamond sharpener and i love it. I have the 5 inch and its about $15. They make a 10 and 12 inch which cost more but i really like the 5 inch it keeps my knives razer sharp.
 
I have been farting around with a DMT Aligner kit, and it seems to work pretty well. It cost around 50$ and can be used to put a very useable edge on most of my pocket knives. That might be a worthwhile product for you to try.

Personally, I think the best 'beginner' sharpening item is a standard, low-end 1000 or 1200 water stone. They cost around 15-30 bucks (depending on which brand and model you buy) and, for my money, are both a great way to get your knives quite sharp and a great way to learn about freehand sharpening. Plus they're really handy for a whole wack of sharpening applications outside of your standard pocket knives (woodworking tools, gardening tools, kitchen knives, etc).

From there, if you want to get a fancier set-up, you can buy whatever strop or honing device you wish, or get a finer/coarser stone, if you think you should need any of that stuff.
 
NikolaTesla said:
The finest sandpaper at my closest DIY shop is 320grit, that's no where near enough?
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I start with 320 grit emory polishing paper. That's what I use to hone the edge, then I hit it with 400, 600, 800 and even 1200 grits to do the final polish on an edge. I have grits way higher than this, but those are for specialty & mirror polishing.

I have see people recommend grits lower than 320, but I feel that you shouldn't let a knife get so dull that you have to use 220 on an edge.
 
An alternative to the sandpaper is to use two or three different grits of sanding belt. You can use them the same as sandpaper, and can also use them as a kind of poor man's belt sander by looping them around a doorknob, or twig or nail, tensioning them with one hand, and sanding up and down with results similar to a slack belt sander.
 
you would be amazed at the edges you can get with just some rocks. if you have some grinding/polishing equipment you can put a sooth flat side on a relatively hard tight grained sedimentary stone. i've made a few, ranging from very coarse to polishing :cool:.
 
dryhands said:
you would be amazed at the edges you can get with just some rocks. if you have some grinding/polishing equipment you can put a sooth flat side on a relatively hard tight grained sedimentary stone. i've made a few, ranging from very coarse to polishing :cool:.
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I'd recommend using the bottom of ceramic bowls & mugs before you take your knives to rocks.
 
Concrete block plus skill can get you far. There is a video on YouTube where Murray Carter demonstrates this method.
 
I recommend a good ol arkansas stone. it'll put a nasty fine edge on your knife (if you can get good with it) and could last you a lifetime. I think i've seen good ones online for less than $10 and certainly less than $20. oil only costs a few more $. That and an old belt to use as a strop or the bottom of a ceramic mug or plate and you're good to go. also i heard somewhere that they're running out of high quality stone so they might not be that cheap much longer.
 
Hard to get more bang for your buck than a cheap combination coarse/fine silicon carbide sharpening stone. Whether you use oil, water, or use it dry when sharpening, you can just smear the swarf and debris from the stone onto a piece of scrap leather to use as a strop. This will give you a very good edge, better than 80-90% of most factory edges out there. Good results come down to know-how and practice, I'd get some cheap knives to start with.
 
Lowest cost would be to glue/epoxy your DC4 back together in my opinion. Or just use the two halves as their own little stone each.
 
Wet/Dry sandpaper over plate glass for free hand sharpening. Also, google, Old Jimbo. He has a couple of ideas about inexpensive set ups for sharpening knves and axes. That's what led me to this forum.
 
I've bought two packs of assorted sandpaper, with no 100, 150 and fine is 200 grit I assume, that won't be a long lasting edge will it?

How do you use the mousepad to sharpen with sandpaper. Also do any of you use grits like this?

I don't understand though, the highest grit I have is 200, but seems much higher than that. It looks finer.
 
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