Knife sharpeners whats good and what's not

banditele

SPAM I am, Banned I am, Green eggs and ham.
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Hello , I always like carrying a sharp knife, but I am not so good at sharpening with a stone. What do you guys think of the electric sharpeners on the market? Are the sharpeners that are plastic and have a V- groove to run the blade through any good ?
I know in order to get better with a stone I must keep after it. Do any of you guys use anything other than a stone to sharpen your blades ?
 
I use a whole bunch of things, but for those who aren't very good, and even those who are, I still say the Spyderco Sharpmaker 204 is a great sharpening system, and will sharpen just about anything you might want.
 
A Sharpmaker or a Lansky/Gatco system are great ways to go if you're not a free-hand person yet. If you use the Lansky-style clamp systems, be sure to tape up where the clamp will be placed and then go about the "make a burr all along side a, then side b, then switch to the next finest stone and repeat" route until your reach your finest hone. From there, it'd be the old "very lightly go over edge a and then very lightly go over edge b in alternating strokes until you've ground away the burr and have an edge that will make your parents proud" method.

The problem with using the Sharpmaker or the Lansky is that even the 'easy' systems take work and patience.

If you use the Sharpmaker, remember about going lightly. Muscling through it will still sharpen your knives, but will also round the tips out on you.
 
Here's my quick and dirty version for you. Notice that I am only reviewing gear I have used, or have talked with others about who have used the gear.

First of all, print off Joe's sharpening FAQ from this website and keep a copy in the bathroom- read it often! Also, I'd recommend Leonard Lee's sharpening book, even for just the pictures alone.

Sharpmaker: easy to set-up, fast, have 2 angle settings, portable. Best for setting/maintaining the very edge, not good at reprofiling. Can round off points if you are careless, can do plain and serrated blades.

Razor Edge Systems: stones cut quickly, guides work well once set-up, folding steel is genious! Takes more time to set-up, little angle choice, eventually you have to replace the guides (though not really that often, and not for that much money). Trains you to free hand sharpen.

Gatco/Lansky: gives you angle choice, set-up is longer than a sharpmaker, but shorter than Razor Edge Systems. Can do plain and serrated edges. Hard to sharpen long blades.

Electric sharpeners: often you can't get the full length of the blade in the sharpener, usually removes way too much metal/leaves a rough edge. Very quick though.

Belt sander and buffer: fastest method, can do flat and convex edges. Can't do serrations. If you like the edges on factory/custom pieces, this is how they sharpen their blades, for the most part! More expensive set-up, can quickly ruin a knife if you are careless. It doesn't take long to learn how to sharpen a knife though, and the versatility is awesome (axe, kitchen knife, pocket folder, lawn mower blade, and so on!).

Scary Sharp Method: this si sandpaper backed on a hard material, or on a mousepad for convex edges. This is cheap, can easily play with different grits, paper is readily available. Cons: if you aren't convex edging, it isn't any different than freehand sharpening! Note though that you could purchase a Rozor Ede Systems guide and use sandpaper as a hone.

Best sharpening system- belt sander/bffer, with Sharpmaker for quick touchups and serrations

Best for beginners? Sharpmaker, and the largest coarse hone you can find- coarse hone for reprofiling/thinning out bevels, sharpmaker for setting edges. Best inexpensive setup? sandpaper with Razor Edge Systems guide.
 
Check out www.handamerican.com also. I'll be getting one of their Pro Combo Deluxe sets soon, I'll be sure to post a review once I get to play with it a bit. I also have a Sharpmaker 204 and an Edge Pro Apex, I can wholeheartedly recomend either of them.
 
Well please do as I would be most interested to hear what you have to say. You'd have a few 'styles' of sharpening covered then I'd think.

Hope you had better luck with a premium.com alternative.
 
It's best to learn freehand... that way you will always be able to sharpen a knife... anywhere, anyhow.
 
I just purchased the Pro Hone with pad for use with sandpaper for sharpening convex edges and it does a superb job.....anyone purchased this unit?
IMHO it is hard to beat a belt sander and buffer and it is quicker than any other method I know of. I use a Trizact 400 grit belt that really brings a wire edge fast and I remove it with the green chrome on a loose buff....talk about sharp!!
 
I primarily use the Lansky system. I also have an electric Chef's Choice model 110. It does an admirable job and very quick.
I haven't used it for my edc or outdoor knives...YET. Does a great job with fine kitchen knives. Scratches the sides tho. See the review here
chefs choice review
Tom
 
Let me just say that Crayola offers some good advice. Well done!

I'll add to it this way:

Easiest: Sharpmaker 204 straight out of the box
Hardest: Japanese Water Stones

One thing to consider - each of the systems listed so far in this thread are going to produce a different edge. A polished edge is not always what's needed.

Best advice?

Determine what type of cutting matters most to you and with what kind of knife and then copy someone else's tried-n-true method with a similar setup.

Make sense?

Dan
 
I just noticed that I forgot to tell who makes the "Pro Hone" I previouly mentioned in my post......the Pro Hone is made by HandAmerican.com
Sorry about that!
 
While all the above mentioned mods are good, and I have used most of them, the EdgePro is the best you can get IMHO. You cannot use them in the field tho, so that is why I still cary my pocket diamond hones and ceramic sticks with my gear.


Cerberus
 
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