I agree with the Shaptons, I was recommended a 500 grit and 2000 grit for all my knives needs.
I really don't use my blades much but want something that I can learn freehand on plus not spend $200 on for they wont see alot of use. Now that said, I am sure I could sell off the other sharpeners I have to make up for the $200 if I could get buyers for them but still at this point my main sharpening needs are only touch ups but also want something to take care of chips or damage
as I am getting into hiking etc. more so might get more use out of my blades.
I really don't care for the plug in sharpeners as I don't like having to plug a sharpener in to sharpen my blades.
The Sharpmaker I have works great for touch ups and I also have the 702 Profile set that I basically keep in case I get a recurve blade or something with serration but neither ones are my preference!
I guess for me, I am looking for the ONE sharpener that will replace the few that I have down to one and thus save me some money but still be able to handle any steel, range of sizes, etc. that I may need.
I do also like the idea that the Worksharp guided one is also somewhat portable so if I had to pack it with me say for on a long vacation with family, then I could without too much trouble.
Thx.
Finding the Grail solution to sharpening is maybe not possible. I use several strategies. A long-winded explanation, directed mostly at you but also in general to the thread as that's the direction its going:
You mention hiking, and for me I have a pretty fine natural stone in puck size, maybe 600 grit. Is a silt/sand stone of some sort, so work with a splash of water. I also used a masonry bit to bore a depression in one side of it and now it doubles as the socket for a bow drill fire starter. The stone works great on my carbon steel hatchet heads, machetes and bush knives, I doubt it would perform well on higher RC stainless and on high carbide is a no starter. I use ash from the fire on a piece of wood or smooth bark for a strop, and this combination gets my hatchets and knives hair shaving sharp in the field, even if I let it go a bit. Choosing a steel that's easy to work is just as important as the choice of sharpening implements.
Any of the pucks on the market would be a good choice for hiking as they are small and effective, especially used offhand in a circular strategy. I have tried a lot of stones, diamond rods etc, but this strategy works best for me for field use.
For shop work, I tend to favor the XC DMT or similar to start - I have yet to find a really effective coarse waterstone or vitreous stone that cuts fast and clean compared to the coarser diamond plates, but am still looking.
For woodworking tools I use hard waterstones. The brand currently are Juuma and I finish with an 8k Suzuki Ya house brand stone or a Norton 8k. Strop on CrO dosed paper over a Washboard.
For regular cutlery I use a variety, but all tend to be a bit on the soft side - Norton waterstones, or wet/dry over a Washboard. This gives me speed and low burr formation/rapid burr removal. I also find this gives me overall very fast transition through a progression. Strop on paper over a WB.
On high carbide steel I just stick with the diamond plates, but don't see an advantage to using them unless necessary.
I also have a HF belt grinder with a variable speed motor and that covers all my rapid rough work and the occasional regrind - is really what it does best. I will sometimes use it to do the rough work on abused edges, but not all the time. While it is faster to grind than freehand, it also requires more quality control and greater potential to damage the temper.
Last I have a Triton wet grinder very much like a Tormek. It works best on woodworking tools. On cutlery it does a very nice job, but again is somewhat slow compared to freehand. It does a great job on a lot of tools, but also needs to be used with a jig at every turn, so is inconvenient for some tasks. It might be my #1 recommendation overall for a powered sharpener. I could do a tutorial, but is exactly like theTormek in use, so I'd not be bringing anything new to the table.
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Ultimately if I had to rebuild all my non-powered kit I'd get a Norton Crystalon combination stone, a Washboard, and a set of waterstones of some sort - in that order.
The Crystalon is IMHO the AK47 of the sharpening world. Works in any environment and will give you strong base performance. With a few tricks it can cover a very wide range of sharpening needs. You will need a lot of hot lather if planning to shave with it, and a hardcore foodie, Chef, or woodcarver would not be amused if that's how you tuned up their tools, otherwise a great stone to have but maybe not to finish with in every case. For the bulk of the population is all they might ever need, but it takes a lot of familiarity to squeeze the most from it.
The waterstones are great because you can extend the range of each grit value if necessary. Not many stone types can be leaned on to get better grind speed and finessed off the same stone without glazing, plugging, or tearing abrasives out of the plate. The problem is they are all so different in what steels they prefer to cut, how much mud they make, water they soak up etc etc, so what works best for one application might not work best for another and one winds up with a pile of them. They are also messy and require fresh water and a bath, bridge, lapping.
I like my Washboard because I tend to finish everything on it anyway, and at the grinding and polishing stage I can use whatever abrasive type makes the most sense, from wet/dry to diamond film, and still have a commonality of tactile feedback and technique. I have developed an affinity for silicon carbide wet/dry up to about 1200 grit because it works so well on so many steel types, and is very easy to maintain. The Washboard helps keep it from compressing as much, so my biggest issue with the wet/dry and films - deflection into the paper/polyester - is reduced considerably and I can use it on more edge types than just convex or Scandi. Downside - everything you put on it is a consumable, but wet/dry overall very cheap, and diamond films last for a loong time if not nicked or leaned on. The wet/dry itself can be used a long time as well if properly cared for.
A multitude of options, let me know if you find the perfect one
Martin
