Good Cheap Sharpener

K

King Grinch

Joined
Feb 6, 2000
Messages
698
What is a good cheap sharpener for knives? I have a Lansky system but what something else?

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RayField Clement Jr.
rayfclement@yahoo.com
 
If you use the search feature you will come up with ALOT of results.

Specifically search for the Spyderco Sharpmaker 204 in this forum, the reviews forum, and the Spyderco forum.

I just got mine and its excellent.

JD
 
I don't know what you consider cheap, but I don't know of a better sharpener than a Spyderco Sharpmaker 204, try it you'll like it!
 
Free hand sharpening is the only way a knife purist would take care of ones edged tools. All other ways are just gimmicks. Learn to use a flat stone and you will never part with money for more gimmicks ever again. Bells and whistles do not a sharpener make.
 
Ok for cheap go to Sears and get one of their sharpening stones. They are coarse on one side and fine on the other. they are silicon carbide stones and I think they are the best sharpening stones you can get. Only about $8 for a 7x2x1 inch stone. If you need a angle guide the Razor clamp isonly a few bucks also.
 
Go to www.woodcraft.com and check out their tri hone system. Its for free hand use which is the way I like to sharpen. You may want to get a fine white ceramic or surgical black arkansas stone to go with it.Hard arkansas will put a polished edge on, but ceramic or surgical black arkansas will really put an edge on.
Oh yeah, its about $30, and that includes 3 bench stones in a stand, and honing oil.

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Fix it right the first time, use Baling Wire !
 
And I think it was old Desert Rat who was the staunchest advocate of plain bricks and sidewalk edges if you're looking for cheap.

Strop on the sole of your shoe.
 
Justcurious, a Sharpmaker 204, doubles as a Flat Stone, and if you can sharpen serrations and recurved blades with a flat stone well, "You're a better man than I am Gunga Din!"
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Make it idiot-proof and someone will make a better idiot.
 
I fully agree with the Spyderco Sharpmaker 204. Which by the way is NOT a gimmick. The 204 operates on a proven principle; having the same angle on both sides of the blade makes for a sharper knife. This method has been around for @100 years, originating with using the inside of a ceramic crock pot (quick geometry lesson, the circular curve on the inside of a crock pot, when combined with a flat surface of a determined length will produce the same angle where ever you place it. If you want a visual demo, get the 204 as this is described,and demonstrated in the video).
Also, if anyone here can sharpen tin snips, scissors, knives, serrations, fishhooks, chisels, forstner bits, straight razors, or any of the half dozen other things I've sharpened on a 204, with a bench stone (you have to do ALL of them on ONE stone
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), I'll give you $5.

Using a 204 isn't poor care of your knives, it isn't less effective than a bench stone (which by the way, I used to sharpen all of my knives on bench stones until the first time I used a 204), it merely allows those with out the skill, or patience to use a bench stone, to achieve the same results. For my $$ the Spyderco 204 is the best value I've found in sharpeners.

Joe Glessner, owner
Sycotic Samurai Cutlery

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"I can go over to your mama's house, and start a small fire in her panties." -G. Busey
 
Justcurious, I don't like serrations either I call them "ugly little teeth" but they do exist.

Oh, by the way 2 R's in serrations, but don't feel bad, Sycotic spelled Glesser wrong
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King -
Whatever "cheap" is - Lansky makes a hand held ceramic device that works well on plain and toothy blades for about $6.00 - there are diamond grit "stones"(flats) out there for around the $10.00 and the diamond "files" that taper for those little teeth.. I personally like the lansky "dogbone" hand held - and yeah, I've got a couple of those damn sawblade styles too..
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If my son can use it - it works !

Knife Knuts are sharp people!

Jonsey !

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I remember a thread started by commrad Chang a while ago about using a plate or the underside of a coffee cup as a ceramic sharpener. if you look in the first year threads it would be there.
 
At Woodworks they sell nice Norton 2-sided bench stones that will do it all. I particularly like to get the real long stones for a real long stroke. I would stay away from the natural Arkansas stones since they cost a lot and don't cut very fast. The diamond plates cut faster, but cost a lot and wear out. I like the way that Norton's aluminum oxide cuts better than most silicon carbide hones.

The Spyderco 204 is a good value, but costs more. It's not as good for heavy material removal as a coarse/fine Norton bench stone. The Spyderco is a great convenience for the majority of your light-to-medium sharpening needs.

--Samurai, I have done it all with a bench stone for years. When I was in college I went door-to-door sharpening things with little more than a bench stone. On the other hand I've gone to finishing my fine edges using ceramic rods (only the last few strokes). Most of my preliminary work is done on aluminum oxide or diamond bench hones.
 
Smokey Mountain Knife Works now has the Lohman crock stick type diamond sharpener on sale for $9.00 or $10.00. It seems to do a good, quick job for a toothy edge. It has about the same angle as the Spyderco.

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John
 
I agree with JUSTCURIOUS learn to sharpen on a real stone not one that does it for you.buy a DMT they rule but be careful which grit you get they can eat up a edge. and for those that don't like serrated blades ,buy you a cotton buffer wheel for your bench grinder and use jeweler rouge . It will but it back to a razor edge!! email me if you want to learn how to do this right
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[This message has been edited by STRIC9 (edited 03-03-2000).]
 
As Timmy the Talking Toilet mentioned, I started a thread a while ago about using the back of a plate, cup, etc. as a ceramic sharpener. If you really want to be cheap (like me), get a large ceramic plate and sharpen your knife on the un-glazed back surface. I then use progressively lighter strokes, and finally I strop it out on some newspaper that I sometimes rub some stuff into (chromium oxide, strop paste, about any mild abrasive will work fine).
Recently, I got past my cheapness and now I use an arkansas stone after using a coarse synthetic. I always get a sharper edge using free hand sharpening, but the edge polish seems more factory-edge-esque when I use a clamp system. I think the easiest way is to learn to free hand sharpening.

-Chang the Asian Janitorial Apparatus
 
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