Good Sharpener!!??

E

edc-knifeman

Joined
Jul 30, 2013
Messages
7
Looking to get the kershaw skyline and I would need a decent sharpener. I've never sharpened before but I want to put the best edge on it I can.
Is there a well priced, easy to use, sharpener out there?
Any suggestions??
 
Sharpmaker.

Cheapest is a couple of stones, one dual 200/400ish and the other about 800/1500ish about 6 to 8 inches long and 2 inches wide. Just practise getting your wrist position right. As long as you can get the flat of the edge against the stone consistently, and use the finest stone to lightly hone your blade when it gets a little dull, then you shouldn't need a full sharpening.
 
YOU are the best sharpener. ;) For a budget priced stone of good quality it's hard to beat THIS fellah' for the money.

For a simplified guide on sharpening common knives check HERE. It can be printed on a single sheet of paper for easy reference.
 
You might want to have a look at the Work Sharp field sharpener, if you've never sharpened before. It has little angle guides built into the ends, so you just lay the blade flat on the guide and then move the edge across the sharpening surface. As with any device, I'd try using a cheap knife or two (like if you have a cheap plain edge paring knife in your kitchen drawer) on it first until you get a feel for it. After that it should be easy peasy. They can be had for around $30. The above advice is good, but, like one of the posters in the thread below, I think using this sharpener may be a decent way to train yourself to hold a consistent angle before moving on to total freehand sharpening.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1009902-Work-Sharp-Guided-Field-Sharpener
 
I'd stay away from all guided sharpening systems and gadgets. They are all limited in one way or another, some are really expensive and they are too bulky to carry around. Learn how to sharpen freehand and you'll be able to put a keen edge on cutting tools of any size or shape. Invest in quality stones (Spyderco ceramic stones, both the benchstones and the Pro-Files, have worked great for me). Some sandpaper is always good to have on hand for convex edges, and as the lightest traveling sharpner you'll find.
 
The sharpmaker is good to start with, you can learn the basic idea of sharpening while it keeps the angle constant for you. Not too expensive and reliable way to begin!
 
Sandpaper and/or other special considerations are pragmatically not necessary when sharpening convex edges. The advantage lies in them being thinner at the shoulder than conventional edges or equal edge angle so you don't reduce that advantage in any significant way by sharpening them like conventional edges.
 
I would just say the sharpmaker, its easy to use hard to mess up about 50 bucks and it gets knives sharp.
 
Learning to freehand is a good idea, but it comes easier for some than for others and will take practice. If you want to be able to keep your Skyline sharp now, the Sharpmaker is good. A cheaper version is the Lansky turnbox.
 
Last edited:
I just start sharpening about a week ago. For $125 I got a:

DMT Coarse 2x6in Stone
DMT Extra Fine 2x6in Stone
Spyderco Ultra Fine 2x8in Stone
Stropman HD Compact Strop

I've been able to put some real good edges on knives right off the bat. I honestly think the key is to watch a ton of videos, read a ton of information, and then dedicate 3 or 4 hours with a few knives. After that, which is where I am, it's more about fine tuning. You should be able to get a decent edge in little time.
 
Last edited:
Sharpmaker. Good system. There are other, better systems. I keep coming back to Sharpmaker though. Paper wheels are great, but sometimes it seems the edge fails or something. Can't figure it, but a run on the sharpmaker, and the knife is very sharp. I can take it back to the wheels and make it so sharp, that only paper wheel users will understand, but the sharpmaker is the anchor in my sharpening playbook. If anything fails, use sharpmaker.
 
I would pick up one of the guided setups they recommended so you have a reference point on how sharp you can get it. And than try to do it free hand, also helps if you screw up you can go back to the guided system. Just expect to screw up doing it free hand, I know I did when I was learning.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
YOU are the best sharpener. ;) For a budget priced stone of good quality it's hard to beat THIS fellah' for the money.

For a simplified guide on sharpening common knives check HERE. It can be printed on a single sheet of paper for easy reference.
Click to expand...
Not the OP, but thanks for those links. Do you have a recommend on a stone for a really dull knife?
 
22-rimfire said:
If you have never sharpened a knife before, I suggest the V type sharpener with ceramic rods. They are very easy to use as long as your knife is not too dull. The set I have has two sets of ceramic rods; one is very fine and the other coarser. The set below uses two medium diamond rod and very fine ceramic rods.

Something like this: http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Lansky-P454C57.aspx?gclid=CI3s8NG-2LgCFVFp7Aod-2EALA
Click to expand...

That one is the Lansky 4 rod one and you can find it online for less, around $20-21 or cheaper on the "Bay. I picked one up to try it as it is so cheap, I had to give it a go. I just got it so havent tried it yet though! LOL
 
For cheap and effective its hard to beat this...
[video=youtube;8VPCvd5hUVQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VPCvd5hUVQ&feature=c4-overview&list=UUfsHYm19KjjnUlpG8WVMZOA[/video]
 
DMT double-sided 6" stones. The full set should provide everything you need from extra coarse to extra fine.
 
minimize said:
Not the OP, but thanks for those links. Do you have a recommend on a stone for a really dull knife?
Click to expand...

Lansky Puck or Norton double-sided India stone. DMT extra coarse stones work great as well. I usually take severely dull knives to my belt grinder though, starting with an 80 micron Trizact belt unless doing very serious edge thinning work. Providing the knife is soft enough a high-quality file will do the job nicely as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top