How do you guys sharpen your knives?

diamond plates, water stones, oil stones, ceramic stones, sandpaper, reclaimed bricks and pieces of sidewalk, oh my! :D
 
I was a hair trigger away from clicking the buy button on this @ $60.00 no tax + free shipping:

Smith's 50008 8-Inch Diamond Tri-Hone 1

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But after more investigating and viewing videos and reviews, I have decided to get this @ $45.98 no tax + free shipping:

DMT WM8FC-WB 8" DuoSharp Plus Bench Stone with Base, Fine/Coarse

A02V_1_20110627_3259419.jpg
 
Coarse dotted DMT diamond plate and a thin leather strop with white compound for V-edges, Norton Crystolon for scandi.
 
I use a wicked edge to reprofile, and I always sharpen to 20 deg or less. That way, I can easily use my sharpmaker to quickly touch up or add a back bevel. I also use a leather strop to really tune up the edges.
 
Although I have an edgepro, I do 90% of my sharpening freehand with a fine diamond bench hone or any of the wardrobes I've accumulated over the last 40 years depending on the steel.

I've had and tried most sharpening systems only to find freehand have me the fastest results with a keen edge.
 
I use the Wicked Edge system currently and really like it. I am going to try to learn to sharpen freehand but Im sure I would still use the WE. I want to learn freehand so I can sharpen while camping or vacation without packing so much, and because it appeals to me.
 
DMT Diafold pocket sharpener for usual work, Kai combo waterstone as backup. All done with free hands.
 
mesoscopic said:
DMT Diafold pocket sharpener for usual work, Kai combo waterstone as backup. All done with free hands.
Click to expand...

DMT Diafold pocket sharpener
Click to expand...

I'm going to pick one of those up in addition to the DMT WM8FC-WB 8" DuoSharp Plus Bench Stone with Base, Fine/Coarse
I can purchase both for much less than they generally sell for everywhere.
 
This arrived today, purchased new on Dweebay for $45.00 free shipping no tax:

DMT WM8FC-WB 8" DuoSharp Plus Bench Stone with Base, Fine/Coarse

A02V_1_20110627_3259419.jpg


Then after seeing this and reading all the reviews on Amazon, I just bought one on Dweebay for $28.00, free shipping no tax.
The only drawbacks for some, may be the preset angle guide, won't be an issue for me.

Work Sharp WSGFS221 Guided Field Sharpener

[video=youtube_share;CPSi0fzB4cU]http://youtu.be/CPSi0fzB4cU[/video]
 
I use Japanese waterstones going up from 800 to 4000 to 8000 grit, and 100-220 grit sandpaper for really damaged edges. I then follow up with green compound on a piece of newspaper for a final polished edge.
 
I use Japanese waterstones going up from 800 to 4000 to 8000 grit, and 100-220 grit sandpaper for really damaged edges. I then follow up with green compound on a piece of newspaper for a final polished edge.
 
Edge Pro Pro

Atoma plates 140-1200 grit to reprofile
Shapton stones to go from 120-30,000 grit general sharpening
And Nanogloth strops on glass with polydiamond spray (60,000 - 640,000 grit) To make that polished edge just redeekulous.
 
Of recent, Shapton glass stone for the stainless steels and an india stone + arkansas stone for the softer carbon steels.
 
For the past year I have only touched my 8000 grit.

I guess once a knife is sharp it only needs touch ups.
 
I started out with a little Smith's set of soft and hard Arkansas stones but never had great success with them. This was long ago and pre-Internet so I never knew I was probably using them incorrectly (regardless of the instructions to pretend to shave the stone). I could keep an edge but not like I wanted. Then I fell for the siren song of the Chef's Choice 110. I hate the damn thing and think I did more damage with it than anything else. Again, I'd get a decent edge but it sure mucked up my Wusthof knives' appearance.

Some years back, looking for *something* that would help me maintain a good angle, I bought a Smith's 3-in-1 ceramic rod and diamond stone set. That thing finally got all my knives razor sharp and I think it's a great system for under $20 as long as you are sharpening and not restoring. With my good success with the Smith's but wanting longer rods for longer blades, I bought a Sharpmaker. Now *that* system is damn near perfect as long as your edges are in at least OK shape and it handles longer blades better as the rods are 7" rather than the 4" rods that come with the Smith. Also, I *think* the fine rods on the Sharpmaker are finer than the rods on the Smith's. The fact that you can convert the Sharpmaker into a 1x7 bench stone by inserting the rods on the bottom is a real plus. It makes the medium grit rods more effective for helping to restore an edge.

I wanted something more coarse though, just in case I got a knife that needed more work or I damaged one of mine. I ended up with a Dia-Sharp coarse in 2x6 which, for my needs, is excellent.

I have many knives of all types and sizes and if I owned nothing else for sharpening, the Sharpmaker and a coarse diamond stone would be all I needed for the needs I have.

I like the ceramic stuff so well that I also bought a medium and fine Spyderco pocket stone. They're perfect for on the go and the suede leather pouch doubles as a strop.

I think I may also add the Spyderco EF 3x8 bench stone in the near future just because I'm so enamored with ceramics to sharpen and refine an edge.

Oh, and those old Smith Arkansas stones? I can use them now. I've learned a fair amount about angles and such that I never understood before.
 
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