good casual use sharpener

I

iamjethro

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Jun 14, 2016
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Don;t have too many knives. Looking for some kind of sharpener to sharpen some old kitchen knives and a few pocket knives. Eventually sharpen machete and fixed blade knives as acquired.

I know me. I will never get good at setting an angle by eye or anything. I have seen a few electric sharpeners at Academy Sports and the internet. Are any of these simple enough for a beginner and good enough to leave a really nice edge?

I am budget limited, so mostly looking at things under $70

Thanks for any info,

Jeff
 
The Work Sharp is pretty user friendly. They are within your budget. I've got two of the originals. One at home and one in the truck I use at work to sharpen knives for co-workers. I keep saying I'm going to upgrade to the Ken Onion version but these work done for what I need.

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iamjethro said:
this one?

http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/work-sharp-guided-field-knife-sharpener#repChildCatid=3683112
Click to expand...
Nope, this one.

dff345e8e90b7009b69b60048e683464.jpg


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With respect, I have seen some unintentional work sharp regrinds and recurves. I would not describe a belt grinder of any sort as casual.

I would start with a sharpie, a ceramic hone, and a strop. See how far that gets you and you'll have a basic idea of the next step.
 
iamjethro said:
... Are any of these simple enough for a beginner and good enough to leave a really nice edge?

Jeff
Click to expand...

Quick answer... no. They are not simple enough for a beginner. No powered sharpener is. If you're a beginner, you need to start with a simple hand kit. Like TripleT says, use a Sharpie to mark the bevel, use a ceramic or fine diamond stone to sharpen just the bevel (the Sharpie will show you where to adjust your angle), and a strop to finish. You can do all of this for your budgeted amount and you CAN learn to sharpen by hand.

This is the best way to understand what happens when you sharpen. Then you can move to powered equipment once you have an understanding of what that kit will do (and how fast it will do it).

Or, if you really don't want to learn sharpening by hand, you can get a DMT guided system for maybe just a little more than your budget. It'll be pretty fast and flexible.
 
Powered sharpeners, like any tool, just require that you learn how to use it. I'm sure if anyone sharpens knives for others, you've seen some pretty crazy results (damage) of work done by hand... it doesn't take power tools to do it... heck, just look at what a cheap "pull thru sharpener" can do. (Power just has the result of doing it faster if you're not careful). TripleT is right... power sharpening is not necessarily a 'casual use' method, that it's sometimes demonstrated to be. But I don't think a beginner "needs" to start with hand sharpening... you just need to learn the fundamentals and proper technique no matter what you use.

That being said, the addition of 'Variable Speed' on the Ken Onion model alone makes it worth the upgrade (not to mention wider belts and a better angle guide if you use one). If looking to make an initial purchase, and this is the route you decide to go, I'd save for the better model.
 
  • Get an 8" x 2" sharpening stone (or 6" x 2" would be OK as well), like an aluminum oxide or silicon carbide hardware store stone, such as found at ACE Hardware for $10 - $15.
  • Order a DMT Aligner clamp to help maintain a steady angle ($10 - $12 or so).
  • Use the stone with some mineral oil, such as Norton Sharpening Stone Oil, pharmacy-grade 'laxative' mineral oil, or baby oil; you'll probably spend ~ $7 for the Norton oil (4-1/2 oz. can), and much less for the others.
  • Go to work on a practice blade, such as one of your kitchen knives; the DMT angle guide clamp will maintain the angle for you, and it'll be the closest guided solution to emulating a freehand technique as well. DMT has some videos demonstrating use of the Aligner clamp guide on their site, and I've included one below, demonstrated on a bench stone (any bench stone will work with it):

[video=youtube;IUridlcjmZ4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUridlcjmZ4&feature=youtu.be[/video]


David

iamjethro said:
Don;t have too many knives. Looking for some kind of sharpener to sharpen some old kitchen knives and a few pocket knives. Eventually sharpen machete and fixed blade knives as acquired.

I know me. I will never get good at setting an angle by eye or anything. I have seen a few electric sharpeners at Academy Sports and the internet. Are any of these simple enough for a beginner and good enough to leave a really nice edge?

I am budget limited, so mostly looking at things under $70

Thanks for any info,

Jeff
Click to expand...
 
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iamjethro said:
Don;t have too many knives. Looking for some kind of sharpener to sharpen some old kitchen knives and a few pocket knives. Eventually sharpen machete and fixed blade knives as acquired.

I know me. I will never get good at setting an angle by eye or anything. I have seen a few electric sharpeners at Academy Sports and the internet. Are any of these simple enough for a beginner and good enough to leave a really nice edge?

I am budget limited, so mostly looking at things under $70

Thanks for any info,

Jeff
Click to expand...

Start with a Sharpmaker.

It does require a learning curve, but nothing crazy, and will give you a good start to understanding what you're trying to accomplish when sharpening....

Go from there.

Sharpening is not some mysterious gift that some people have and others don't.

It's like most things, it requires practice and patience.

Yes, some people take to it quicker and will be better at it than others, but anyone can learn to put an excellent edge on any blade as long as you put the time in to learn.
 
The sharpmaker is great although you need to consider the angle.
I bought the lansky 5 stone system (although I would prefer the diamond) and it's working great!

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Beginner sharpening set ups in order.

Guided - Lansky 4 stone deluxe sharpening system $60
Requires set up, periodic cleaning, portable. Teaches you exactly what's going on with the sharpening process.

Bench - Eze-Lap 61C & 61F, 2x6 diamond bench stones $60 total.
No set up, always ready to use, needs periodic cleaning, highly portable.

Powered - Ken Onion worksharp $130
Requires set up, household power, and belt changes. Somewhat portable. Very unforgiving with mistakes.

All prices from the big river.

Also, I feel eveyone needs a Norton Crystolon Coarse/Fine (JB8) Combination Bench Stone, about $20 everywhere.
Maybe this one should be 2nd on the list.

Oh yeah forgot, get a 10x loupe.
 
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I would look at a Norton combo India stone, a ceramic rod hone, and a strop with a more aggressive compound (maybe Flexcut or alum oxide loaded). This should come in well under $70 certainly if you make your own strop even cheaper. Maybe use the remaining money to grab the 3-pack of DMT diamond credit card hones or a combo duo-sharp.

Truth is if you stick around long enough you're gonna end up with a fully loaded Edge Pro and a collection on Japanese waterstones - be warned.
 
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