I have some questions about knife sharpening, and sharpening of serrations.

[sogflash]

I have a cheap flat two sided wet stone. I'm able to make some knives sharp, others I just mess up. therefore I've only tested it on cheap knives.

I have many knives (maybe not compared to some of you!) and I want to be able to sharpen them. I think I'll buy a fairly expensive sharpening kit. do you have any recommendations?
some sharpening kits that are available to me are:
-SpyderCo Triangle Sharpmaker
-CRKT Slide Sharp
-Buck 3-stone Sparpening System
-various lansky kits like Lansky Diamond DeLuxe, Lansky Professional and Lansky Natura Arkansas.

do you have anything to say about the different sharpening kits?

I want to be able to sharpen serrations to.

any suggestions?

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I think, in your case, the simplest solution would be the Spyderco Sharpmaker. For basic touch-ups, it works fine. And it comes with specific features designed for serrations, complete with a DVD video of how it's done (for serrations, and many other types of knife edges and tools). You can probably view the video on their site, too. The Sharpmaker isn't really designed for heavy reprofiling, but has a pretty decent rep as a maintenance sharpener.

 

[richard j]

i have been sharpening knives since 1973 and i have used everything from sandpaper on glass to guided systems which i'll never go back to since they never put the same angle back on a knife that i had sharpened previously on it. now i use paper wheels which allows me to match an existing angle or put a different angle on in only a few minutes from start to finish. i even touch up serrations but only with the slotted buffing wheel.

you can use a dremel tool and get different size round stones to resharpen serrations that are wasted and finish the serrations off with the slotted wheel. here is a link to my paper wheel thread http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=578787

for around $100. you can get set up with a system that can last you a lifetime and sharpen just about any knife with any steel out there (except the cheap pakistan knives that i will not put on my wheels)

 

[sheepdog229]

I tried the Lansky system and absolutely hated it. I found that many knives lack enough of a flat section on the center of the blade to be able to properly attach the guide onto the center of blade as required.

I invested $100 on four oil stones (India coarse and medium, and Arkansas fine and very fine) and a strop and green compound (.05 micron). I also made an adjustable wedge that I saw someone make on youtube in order to control my angle. For the most part, I still suck at sharpening knives. It isn't the equipment because the equipment is awesome, it is me. Not to mention, I can't sharpen serrations or recurves with this set up.

I really wish that I would have purchased the sharpmaker and saved the other $50. My understanding is that to maintain a good working edge, the sharpmaker is great. If you chip your blade and need to reprofile it - I hope you have a lot of spare time.

 

[ChapmanPreferred]

Spyderco Sharpmaker is my suggestion with the addition of the 204D diamond rods. I used the Sharpmaker to repair and sharpen a Gerber knife today that has about 1.5" of serrations. Came out really sharp.