Have $100 new knife or sharpening system?

[GWashington1732]

Just get an Arkansas stone, I only ever use my sharpening system on my Swiss Army Knives because it works really well for that, sharpening by hand isn't all that hard to do, just get any old cheap knife to practice. I'd just get a new knife.

 

[johnnyKnives]

Just get an Arkansas stone, I only ever use my sharpening system on my Swiss Army Knives because it works really well for that, sharpening by hand isn't all that hard to do, just get any old cheap knife to practice. I'd just get a new knife.

I've tried the stone at walmart. I'm no good at it.

 

[Psychopomp]

You can have all the knives in the world, but they're not worth a damn if they're not sharp.

Get the Sharpmaker. It's an invaluable tool at keeping knives sharp. I don't want to live without mine.

But do yourself a favor and invest (and it's not a very big investment at that... $100 at the most) in a few nice, large benchstones. Extra coarse, coarse, medium, fine, extra fine and a strop. You'll be set for life... at least on the finer stones. You may need to replace the coarse stones after 50 years or so.

Learn to sharpen on some kitchen knives and don't be scared of sharpening. Once you learn it's the most relaxing and peaceful activity in the world. Sharpening teaches you to free your mind, and the reward is a sharp knife. Nothing else matters but the edge on the stone, you're focusing on infinity.

My philosophy is people who don't know how, or don't like to sharpen have no business carrying or owning knives to begin with. I'm dead serious. Anyone not willing to learn to sharpen should dump all their knives in the trash right now because they're useless.

 

[cotdt]

Anyone not willing to learn to sharpen should dump all their knives in the trash right now because they're useless.

That's a bit extreme. What if they ask a professional to sharpen their knives? Should they still dump all their knives?

 

[Death Cattle]

if you not interested in sharpening your own knives at all, then buy the rc3 and send your benchmade in to get it sharpened. (considering they hollow grind a lot of their knives) if you are interested in sharpening, but not enough to freehand sharpen, get a lansky or similar kit, or the spyderco sharpmaker. all great kits in my thoughts.

 

[Psychopomp]

That's a bit extreme. What if they ask a professional to sharpen their knives? Should they still dump all their knives?

Everyone needs to learn.

You don't pull into a gas station and expect someone to come fill your tank for you.

There's nothing wrong with professional sharpening, and I've got a few knives that I'd like to send back to get a nice new factory edge on. But maintenance is just part of the game.

If you want to have a professional sharpen your knives, go for it, but ask to watch and learn. Any professional worth his stones will teach you to sharpen.

I never feel like a knife is truly mine until I've put my own edge, and a few scratches on the blade.

Maybe it is a bit extreme, but I'm pretty passionate about sharpening. I take my stones and my knife onto my back porch, and stand there and sharpen while listening to the creek flow by. It's my meditation.