Hunter Honer

Joined
Sep 3, 1999
Messages
38
I've been using the Hunter Honer for years now and it seems to work well. I do not hear anyone talk about that product. It sharpens most of my knives fine.
 
I've been using the Hunter Honer for years now and it seems to work well. I do not hear anyone talk about that product. It sharpens most of my knives fine.

Because the general opinion of those type of sharpeners is, junk. They do work but they don't work well, most of us also use much newer/better sharpeners that will get a knife hundreds of times sharper.
 
are you sure of what you mean by 'these type' of sharpeners?

There aren't many 'these' that are like the hunter honer.

The only two in the category are the hunter honer and theblocksharpener (looks like the same thing, minus the finger guard). The edgemaker isn't the same, though they look similar.

The two rods are at a preset angle (minus or a negative, depending on who you are and what you want), but they don't scrape off major metal like most v-slot sharpeners as the rods have give/flex. They want tear a nick into a gaping hole.

The honer is a better name then theblocksharpener, because it doesn't remove much metal. If your blade is not damaged but dull, running it through the honer gets it slicing paper easily. Running it through the honer or block sharpener with oil applied to the edge can get the knife shaving sharp.

In no way shape or form will it ever allow you to whittle hair... but unless you are a real, true, die-in-the-wool knife nut, you might not want/need your knife at that level... and when your knife is at that level and you do some work with it (corrugated cardboard on a meat packing floor), it won't whittle anymore anyways

For a no skill required way of getting a dull but undamaged knife cutting, it works fine. I keep one of the block sharpeners in each of my cars...

why, when I have DMT angle mate, DMT magna guide, a Sharpmaker, Eze lap pen style, paper wheels at home... and ... etc ... ???

Because not everyone in my family is into sharpening knives and cares about the difference between a scandi, v, or convex edge, that zdp 189 can take a more acute edge and hold it then 440c...

for some folks, a knife is a tool that is safer and works better when it's sharp, and they aren't buying a crkt, benchmade, or spydie, they are buying something that will cut xyz to get the job done...

I know, heresy... but the hunter honer works for it's intended purpose, and won't destroy a knife. If the edge is damaged, you'll need something better (read: more aggressive at removing metal) to fix it. If you want to whittle hair... well, you'll have fine ceramics, water stones, lapping film... and OCD.

my two cents

note: gave my brother one of theblocksharpeners as a gift... his wife took it to their nice kitchen knives (wusthorf) and had them back to where they were in no time and just as good as when she paid an excellent kitchen store to touch them up... and if you told her to use a 3m film so she could whittle hair, she'd ask how that's necessary to cut a tomato.
 
I'm not saying that they don't do a ok job but you will always have a burr on your edge with "these" types of sharpeners. To some this may not be a big deal but to others that know better, the burr that is left on the edge greatly reduces the cutting life of the given edge.
 
I really don't feel a burr after its usage with oil, but I haven't taken a loupe to see if there's one I can't feel... you can also remove the burr via Carter cutlery's method (light pull across soft wood or a couple light pulls off cardboard)... or do the sherwin williams paint sticks with mothers mag on captain crunch cardboard strop a few times ;)

A loupe is on my list... actually, I'd like a qx5 microscope to really check my edge and get a better understanding of what is happening with finer grits.

I wouldn't dissuade anybody from buying and using a hunter honer or theblocksharpener.com device... it might just be the gateway 'sharpener' to get them into DMT dia-folds, etc... I would tell them there's a possibility there knife can take and hold a better edge then it'll give them.

heck, I'd even point them to the pictures of your mirror finish blade with the hair whittling...
 
I really don't feel a burr after its usage with oil, but I haven't taken a loupe to see if there's one I can't feel... you can also remove the burr via Carter cutlery's method (light pull across soft wood or a couple light pulls off cardboard)... or do the sherwin williams paint sticks with mothers mag on captain crunch cardboard strop a few times ;)

A loupe is on my list... actually, I'd like a qx5 microscope to really check my edge and get a better understanding of what is happening with finer grits.

I wouldn't dissuade anybody from buying and using a hunter honer or theblocksharpener.com device... it might just be the gateway 'sharpener' to get them into DMT dia-folds, etc... I would tell them there's a possibility there knife can take and hold a better edge then it'll give them.

heck, I'd even point them to the pictures of your mirror finish blade with the hair whittling...


The burr is there trust me, also dont do the wood or cardboard method as it does not work. The mothers on a paint stick would be much better.

Take a look at the thread on the DMT EF, I just posted some pictures that might interest you.
 
knifenut

I'll check the thread... but the cardboard/wood method doesn't work for burr removal? I have a JRE strop bat and I just made the paint stirrer sticks for fun (and gives to those who haven't realize that they want a leather strop)

The only reason I question about it not working for burr removal is I have Wes's two videos from Carter Cutlery and he seems like a pretty sharp guy, and anybody who is willing to shave their face with a knife they've sharpened gets a certain vote of confidence in my book =]

One of the skills this year for me is knife sharpening, so I've been playing with just about everything
 
Actually, Wes Carter just competed in a "Sharpening Olympics" at another site and the knives were all numbered and sent to an impartial judge for testing so they'd be anonymous (so the judge wouldn't know which knife belonged to which contestant). Carter's knife won by 1 point, but had a visible/fingernail catching burr/wire edge, and failed the last test, which attempts to roll the edge to reveal a burr or wire edge. So, apparently, the cardboard burr removal doesn't work pergectly, and Carter's knife was tested all the while cutting with a tiny wire edge. He was gracious enough to award prizes of his knife-making class to the first three finishers behind him though.

Also, shaving your face with a knife isn't that big of a deal. Notice that he uses shaving cream or shaving soap in the video. That helps a lot. I have done it myself often, sometimes using only plain hand soap, and never have a problem with my knives shaving my face.
 
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The hunter honer is essentially just 2 sharpening steels right? I love my sharpening steels, this just seems like a way to use the steel without worrying about angle at all. He says the hunter honer is about a 70 on the hardness scale, that means it *should* work with s30v and other hard steels. He says all metals. My understanding was always that you should never steel a hard steel on a metal steel, and that it will micro chip the blade.
On soft allows, I love the old kitchen steel followed by a strop. Brings the edge right back. I'm temped to try this tool, even though I really don't need it.
 
Well I decided to try the honer soon after this post... and it sucks. it just destroys my edge. The honing rods are super rough, not smooth and grooved like a kitchen steel. The hunter honer basically causes one huge burr to flip to one side or the other, and it makes the edge rough n S**ty.
Bought mine from an ebay seller who seemed to have sold a lot of them, so guessing its not a fake. Another tool to throw in the worthless pile! have fun guys.
 
Well I decided to try the honer soon after this post... and it sucks. it just destroys my edge. The honing rods are super rough, not smooth and grooved like a kitchen steel. The hunter honer basically causes one huge burr to flip to one side or the other, and it makes the edge rough n S**ty.
Bought mine from an ebay seller who seemed to have sold a lot of them, so guessing its not a fake. Another tool to throw in the worthless pile! have fun guys.

Sounds like you walked right into failure even after all the warnings.... From 6 years ago...
 
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