Does using the hand held sharpener BAD for a blade. I'd be happy to settle for second best if I knew it would not damage the edge. The one I have can vary the angle from 15 to 40 degrees. With a handle to hold the unit its practically idiot proof. Thoughts?
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Triton
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I personally prefer my wicked edge of course to pretty much anything but that's a pretty pricey option. I also prefer a good stone to any pull through sharpener. I am making an assumption that is what you are talking about. That said I don't think there is anything intrinsically wrong with pull through sharpeners. To me they just are not as effective.
DocJD
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Suggest you read here some and post to this sub if still have questions :
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The most common type of handheld pull-through sharpener, which uses sharp-edged carbide inserts crossed in a scissor-like orientation, is capable of leaving edges more severely damaged than durably sharp. This is because they pinch the edge between the carbide inserts while scraping steel off in a direction parallel to the edge. The pinching effect is known to actually tear or chip a thin edge at times, if it's not used with very light pressure. To get a sense of how that happens, pull the edge of an index card through the 'V' of an open pair of sharp scissors. Note how the edge of the card can get pinched and ripped as it's drawn through. And the lengthwise scratches left on edge bevels by the carbide scrapers will leave the edge weakened and prone to quickly folding over in use. This means edges sharpened on these devices will need very frequent resharpening, which will dramatically shorten the useful life of the knife's edge, especially if chips or tears left by the device need to be removed before resharpening.
Aside from that one type of crossed carbide pull-through described above, any other type of handheld sharpener, like a pocket stone or a ceramic or diamond rod, is no worse than any other. They can be as effective or ineffective as the technique and skill of the person using them. But even when they're used with less than perfect technique, they're still much less likely to do the sort of pinching & edge-tearing damage that the crossed carbide pull-through can do.
Aside from that one type of crossed carbide pull-through described above, any other type of handheld sharpener, like a pocket stone or a ceramic or diamond rod, is no worse than any other. They can be as effective or ineffective as the technique and skill of the person using them. But even when they're used with less than perfect technique, they're still much less likely to do the sort of pinching & edge-tearing damage that the crossed carbide pull-through can do.
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This is what pull throughs do to your blade. Every time you are even slightly off of perfect alignment you are putting a different angle and taking more metal off one side. Next pass if you tilt slightly to the other side you are changing the angle again. Don't have the knife perfectly straight back and forth? Just wrecking your already sharpened edge. Once you get everything perfect and get a "sharp" knife it will dull very quickly because that sharp edge is just a ragged burr instead of an actually sharpened edge.