Just got my first ZT knife. What sharpener do you guys prefer?

H

HermanSnerd

Joined
Jul 27, 2011
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I've been lurking and admiring the Zero Tolerance knives for a while and finally got my first one and decided that was a good topic for my first post here. It is a ZT0300.

The booklet that came with the knife mentions the Kershaw Ultra-Tek sharpener.

I have sharpened knives for many years and used everything from stone sets to diamond or ceramic rods, and can get a decent edge on most knives if I am patient.

I have never owned a pocket knife with the recurved blade, and have never spent this much on any of my other pocket knives, so I want to make sure I get the right sharpener
so I don't screw up the edge on such a high quality blade.

What do you use when your edge needs touching up?
 
I use the spyderco sharpmaker on my recurve knives and it works good for touch ups.

If your knife is very dull, you might want to get a guided system like an edge pro or wicked edge. I hear great things about both.
 
First of all; Welcome to Blade Forums!:thumbup::) There be a giant repository of information to be found here.

For the question, I always felt it was easier to keep the edge sharp instead of dulling it completely and then having to bring it back up to razor sharpness. Like seelow said, I also use the Spyderco Sharpmaker. The edges of the triangle stones are excellent for serrations and for recurve blades. It is a very good investment.:)
 
I'll give my opinion, granted this is just an opinion. For the recurve on a ZT-300 (Been my EDC for a year or so now) Get a Sharpmaker or paperwheels. I have an EP4 and couldn't sharpen my ZT because the stones were too wide. They sell 1/2 inch stones but I have not invested in them. My opinion? Spend $50 and get a Sharpmaker to start out with. It teaches you angles and will put a hair popping edge on any knife. Then if you feel so inclined, Spend $150 on a set of paperwheels. I tried them and have quit using my EP4 and have wheels on order.
 
I use my Worksharp to sharpen recurves, though I'm moving away from recurves since I can't put it on my strop(flat magnet backed) to take it from hair popping to tree topping.
 
the paper wheels work great. the recurve on the 0300 should not be much of a problem. i do not know where he is coming up with the 150 dollar number, but you can probably go to home depot or lowes and pick up a 25 dollar grinder that will work just fine. 50 dollars for the paper wheels and 25 bucks for a cheap chinese kershaw from kershaw guy (i'm a hopeless salesman) to practice on puts you at around 100 dollars. less than an edge pro and a lot faster.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ing-wheels-when-your-time-is-important-to-you
 
If you send it to Kershaw (might not be an option depending on where you're located) at 18600 sw teton avenue, Tualatin, OR 97062, they'll put the factory edge back on it for free, and unlike Benchmade, they won't charge you any return shipping :) Or if you're close enough you could bring it to them to get it sharpened. Either way works :)
 
I just picked up my first ZT this last weekend. I have been hearing so much good things about ZT and i really liked the looks of the ones ive seen here in BF, i just had to get one and check it out first hand - love it so far! I have messed up a lot of blades attempting to use regular flat stones in the past but several years ago i discovered the Sharpmaker and it has opened up a whole new experience in sharpening for me. The guys at Plaza Cutlery told me that my Sharpmaker will work excellant on my new ZT 0350. Havnt tryed yet but i am sure its going to keep this blade razor sharp. I tend to touch up my EDC's at least every other week (of use) but this one just isnt quite ready yet. I am really enjoying this knife - have a feeling that i will be picking up more ZT models in the future.
IMAG0334.jpg
 
I second the sharpmaker, zero tolerance says that the angle they put on the blade is 20 degrees each side, 40 degrees inclusive which is absolutely PERFECT for the sharpmaker. The sharpmaker has always put a wicked sharp edge on my ZT0350, plus I like that it is almost idiot proof it is really hard to do a bad job with the sharpmaker.
 
Sharpmaker works great with all the knives I own (I own a lot of Shun, Kershaw, and KAI knives, but no ZT yet). You won't need the diamond or ultra fine rods, but if you ever need to reprofile a blade or take big nicks out of a blade, the diamond rods (sold in pairs) are needed. If you want to get a beautiful mirror finish on your edges, I recommend getting the ultra fine rods too (sold individually, you need to buy 2x).

With some practice, I can sharpen even fairly dull knives using this system. I love it. My dad has one of the fancy wheel and strop electric knife sharpeners (about $650) as well as a thin belt sander, but personally I don't really like the idea of using motorized systems, since it is so easy to make a bad mistake. I actually enjoy sharpening my knives on the sharpmaker and I have greatresults in a reasonable amount of time. If I had bigger and cheaper tools to sharpen, like a machete, I would feel differently (good thing he lives close!).
 
thegeek574 said:
i do not know where he is coming up with the 150 dollar number,]
Click to expand...

Quality bench grinder w/variable speeds that's won't quit on you cause it's cheap. = $100
Wheels + Kit = $50

Total.... $150.

I have wheels and a grinder on order because of my ZT-300.

No sense in owning $300+ knives if you can't sharpen them.

I will say this, you cannot be scared of powertools. I use a grinder every day so I am used to holding my hands near fast spinning wheels. You can bump your finger into wheels and they won't shred the skin. Nor will they mess up an edge unless you are at a completley wrong angle and applying WAY too much pressure.
 
Touch-ups I use a Spyderco Sharpmaker. If it needs a better sharpening I use an old 8" Norton India Stone.
 
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