I'd like to re-visit the whole sharpening question............

O

oldfogey

Joined
Dec 1, 2007
Messages
333
Not be a "pest", but I REALLY need to re-visit the whole sharpening question.........for these reasons:

1) "EdgePro" "Apex" proved to be the best, but my "wants" got ahead of my budget :(
(I just can't justify $200 sharpener for $200 worth of knives)

2) "Sharpmaker" will not work for me, although it is probably the more affordable.

I'm going to be maintaining about $200 worth of "EDC" folders, so I really just need a nice small set-up that will work well for that and be affordable. ( I am disabled & have arthritic hands & not the best eyes, so bench stones are probably not the best either).

Any options????
 
I can't say it enough. Lansky sharpening system. It's the broke mans edgepro.

edit: 50 bucks, don't pay any more than that.
 
JackBauer24 said:
I can't say it enough. Lansky sharpening system. It's the broke mans edgepro.

edit: 50 bucks, don't pay any more than that.
Click to expand...

Not to pick apart what you say, I truly want to find out..........Isn't the "Lansky" very similar to the "Sharpmaker" in the way it works??
 
I have avoided the "Sharpmaker" because:

1) It seems "fiddly" & finnicky to set up to me. (read here about people not getting stones to fit, "shimming", etc., just seemed like something an amateur should avoid)

2) I have fairly severe arthritis in my hands, and it makes it hard to hold the blade vertical with any degree of accuracy. I'm not "feeble", but not sure handed as I was @ 30 anymore either. I also wear bifocals, and my eyes aren't what they used to be.

P.S.- Just for clarification, my true "disability" is asbestosis of the lungs, which will eventually turn into lung cancer & kill me. Not in a wheelchair, & trying to live life to the extent that I can, but stamina, etc. a problem. I can no longer do those things I used to take for granted.
 
oldfogey said:
Not to pick apart what you say, I truly want to find out..........Isn't the "Lansky" very similar to the "Sharpmaker" in the way it works??
Click to expand...

No, the two are quite different. The sharpmaker has two rods that sit at an angle almost vertically and you hold the knife and stroke it down the rods to sharpen.

See here: http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=77

The Lansky system involves clamping the knife in a sort of jig and then running the stone over the knife blade.

See here: http://www.knifecenter.com/knifecenter/lansky/index.html

Both of these systems would probably be difficult to handle for a person with arthritis I would imagine. They require a certain degree of strength to manipulate.

Unfortunately, the more expensive Edgepro is probably the most arthritis "friendly" of those choices. Maybe you could find a used one or look on Ebay.

For somebody in your situation, a system similar to the one shown here:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Furi-Pro-KNife-Sharpening-System_W0QQitemZ150199021853QQcmdZViewItem
might be a viable alternative. The sharpening purists might scoff but you need to use what you can.

There are a couple of other alternatives and I'll see what I can dig up.
 
It seems "fiddly" & finnicky to set up to me. (read here about people not getting stones to fit, "shimming", etc., just seemed like something an amateur should avoid)
Click to expand...

They're talking about using 3rd party (not specifically created for Sharpmaker) rods. The Spyderco (diamond, medium, fine, and ultr-fine) rods fit it like a glove.

I have fairly severe arthritis in my hands, and it makes it hard to hold the blade vertical with any degree of accuracy. I'm not "feeble", but not sure handed as I was @ 30 anymore either. I also wear bifocals, and my eyes aren't what they used to be.
Click to expand...

Unless I'm under-estimating your physical "hand" ability, you should be able to do it. Assuming that your hands don't shake uncontrolled (and I'm not intending to sound harsh, I'm just trying to help you get a feel for how easy it is), you should be fine.

To see if you can use a Sharpmaker, try this simple exercise. Take a 7" stick/rod/pencil/anything, and hold it at a 15 degree tilt from vertical. Then simulate sliding one of your knives down the rod while holding the blade verticle. If you can do that, you should have no problem using a Sharpmaker.
 
Trying what you suggest seems to work with some degree of success. Let me ask these questions then.......
1) Would slight variations in the ability to hold the blade vertical affect the quality of the edge??
2) What kind of $$$ would I need to invest if I wanted to set my self up with the system, some extra stones, and what I would need to maintain my knives?? (polishing tapes, etc. not needed, just looking for nicely sharp)
 
1) Would slight variations in the ability to hold the blade vertical affect the quality of the edge?
Click to expand...
Variations generally are bad, but because we're all human, they can't be avoided. Slight wiggles on a Sharpmaker won't negatively affect you because each pass on the ceramic rods is doing minimal work, therefore each pass (by itself) is not detrimental.

2) What kind of $$$ would I need to invest if I wanted to set my self up with the system, some extra stones...
Click to expand...
$48 http://www.knivesplus.com/SP-C204MF-Spyderco.HTML gets you the Sharpmaker with medium and fine rods. This is plenty sufficient to get you started.

For heavy steel removal, you can either get the diamond rods ($64 a pair) http://www.knivesplus.com/SP-C204D-Spyderco.HTML or simply get coarse wet/dry Aluminum Oxide sandpaper and rubber-band it to the rods.

You might consider the ultra-fine rods (which I have and use in every touch-up) $30 a pair http://www.knivesplus.com/SP-C204UF-Spyderco.HTML
 
oldfogey said:
Trying what you suggest seems to work with some degree of success. Let me ask these questions then.......
1) Would slight variations in the ability to hold the blade vertical affect the quality of the edge??
2) What kind of $$$ would I need to invest if I wanted to set my self up with the system, some extra stones, and what I would need to maintain my knives?? (polishing tapes, etc. not needed, just looking for nicely sharp)
Click to expand...

You would not need any extra equipment other than what comes with the system. The Sharpmaker is not especially good at reprofiling but, as long as your knives are sharpened at 30 or 40 degrees to start with, it will maintain them at razor sharpness with little effort if used regularly.

You can reprofile if you buy the (expensive) diamond rods or you can do it more cheaply by simply wrapping some emery paper around the rods.

Minor variations of angle won't make that much difference so long as, overall, you are sharpening the whole edge. Use a black marker on the edge as you sharpen to easily see if you are getting it reasonably even.

I use a magnifying glass when I'm sharpening to examine the edge every now and then to see how it's going, make it a little more consistent.

If you want to try for that scalpel sharp goodness you can play with a leather strop. I have one of these:
http://www.blokeystuff.com.au/Product.php?bar=10473
Top grade Australian leather, one side is slightly more course to get the blade really sharp and the other finishing side really polishes it up nicely. I use it lying flat on the table.
 
Thanks for some excellent advice guys. Like I said, not trying to be "a pain", just needing to realize my limitations & live within them...........
 
First I am a big beleiver that holding a perfect angle doesn't matter for a great edge. A convex edge is just as sharp as a flat edge and all it is is many angles-a curve. If you keep your angles fairly low you will get a sharp edge. With the Sharpmaker if you do go with that you can use sandpaper wrapped around the rods for coarser grits if needed. Another to take a look at to help with holding a knife to sharpen is the RazorEDGE clamps that can be used with any bench hones you may get. http://beast.voltztech.com/~razoredge/index.php
Another thing to think about is just going free hand with a bench stone. It really is much easier than you think it is and probably the cheapest to start with also. Just pick up a cheap discount stone at a hardware store and scrub away on it with your beater knife. Do one side until you get a burr then do the other side. Raise the angle to remove the burr one stroke per side until it is gone and bam you have a sharp knife. It really is that easy.
 
Another to take a look at to help with holding a knife to sharpen is the RazorEDGE clamps that can be used with any bench hones you may get.
Click to expand...
I totally forgot about these. I used to have both the regular and small RazorEdge clamps. They worked fine. I had no complaints about them at all. So, why don't I have them anymore? I got rid of all of my sharpening arsenal once I got the Apex. All I use today is the Apex, the Sharpmaker, and a home made strop.
 
TedGamble said:
All I use today is the Apex, the Sharpmaker, and a home made strop.
Click to expand...

I'm in a similar situation to you. The Edgepro and the Sharpmaker are pretty much all I use plus the strop, although mine is a commercial rather than home made job.

I used the Edgepro to profile all of my knives to either 30 or 40, (30 for things like the Spyderco Calypso and 40 for the Strider SNG), and then I can use the Sharpmaker and strop to regularly keep that shaving sharp edge on them.

Actually I enjoy the whole sharpening process, nice relaxing bit of mental therapy. :)
 
I have arthritis in my hands as well. Quite bad actually. I also wear trifocals.

I've never had a problem with my Sharpmaker.

One thing that works well for me on both the Sharpmaker and belt sander is a pair of strong, cheap Wally-World reading glasses that are slightly more powerful than my "close up" prescription in the trifocals.
 
oldfogey said:
Not be a "pest", but I REALLY need to re-visit the whole sharpening question.........for these reasons:

1) "EdgePro" "Apex" proved to be the best, but my "wants" got ahead of my budget :(
(I just can't justify $200 sharpener for $200 worth of knives)

2) "Sharpmaker" will not work for me, although it is probably the more affordable.

I'm going to be maintaining about $200 worth of "EDC" folders, so I really just need a nice small set-up that will work well for that and be affordable. ( I am disabled & have arthritic hands & not the best eyes, so bench stones are probably not the best either).

Any options????
Click to expand...

Old Fogey,

I can't pm you, go ahead and pm me with your address, I've got a couple of Razor Edge clamps laying around, you can have them. If you don't like them, send them to another forumite.
 
sodak said:
Old Fogey,

I can't pm you, go ahead and pm me with your address, I've got a couple of Razor Edge clamps laying around, you can have them. If you don't like them, send them to another forumite.
Click to expand...

A generous offer, way to go.

I'm not sure that registered users can use the PM system at all unfortunately, you guys may have to swap email addys.
 
Given your physical challenges, you might want to consider the electric Chef's Choice. It gets good reviews, even from experts, although some report that it can scratch the blade. The price is not too high and it can put a very nice edge on your knives quickly and easily.
 
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