knife sharpening question

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Yabow

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Oct 29, 2010
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Hey guys, I have never sharpened a knife before but want to start. Whats the best setup I can get as a starter? I have a variety of knives folders and fixed blades.

Thanks for your help!
 
I would recommend the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Not only do you get an outstanding sharpening system, but you get a DVD with live instruction that you can sharpen along to while you are learning (and near a TV/DVD or Computer with DVD drive). The information in the DVD is very valuable for general sharpening knowledge.

Best wishes,
Doug
 
Yabow said:
Hey guys, I have never sharpened a knife before but want to start. Whats the best setup I can get as a starter? I have a variety of knives folders and fixed blades.

Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...

Welcome,

There are a few different methods and systems available to you. Can you specify a budget, and what sort of experience you're looking for? I can think of the following:

Manual sharpening - Natural oil stones, water stones, ceramic stones, diamond stones, or glass backed sand paper.

All of these types of bench stones require the traditional method of grinding your knife edge against a large bench stone while controlling the angle by hand.

Assisted sharpening - Edge Pro, Sharpmaker, Lanskey, Smith's, DMT Aligner, etc.

These are all guided systems where the angles are controlled by a guide or a jig and you use some kind of miniature stone to sharpen the knife.

Powered - Tormek, Paper Wheels, belt sander, etc.

These are powered rotary tools that grind and polish your edge using stones, abrasives, and polishing compounds.

For those starting out, either a decent set of benchstones and strops or a basic guided system would be the easiest and cost effective.
 
I would recommend to start out with a guided system unless you are really into freehand sharpening. Assisted systems don't require as much practice as sharpening on stones and will give you a better edge since you are just starting.

You should start out with a Spyderco Sharpmaker because they are pretty inexpensive and will give you a hair shaving edge for around $50.
But if you budget is much larger, go with a Edge Pro because it is much more versatile and will give you a much more refined edge that can even cut toilet paper cleanly with some practice.
However, if you are on a tight budget go with what dsmegst said.
dsmegst said:
For those starting out, either a decent set of benchstones and strops or a basic guided system would be the easiest and cost effective.
Click to expand...
 
Sandpaper and a mousepad:thumbup:.

I personally prefer my WorkSharp Knife & Tool Sharpener at the moment. With aftermarket belts you can get a beautiful convex edge to a mirror polished finish. I also find the learning curve to be shorter than Paper Wheels and freehanding. I also would describe it as less "tedious" to use than the Edge Pro, though the edge won't be as sharp at 2-3 micron final finish. Still, not a bad deal at half the price($106 with 5 of each 150MX-1200MX belts, not including shipping).
 
Noctis3880 said:
Sandpaper and a mousepad:thumbup:.

I personally prefer my WorkSharp Knife & Tool Sharpener at the moment. With aftermarket belts you can get a beautiful convex edge to a mirror polished finish. I also find the learning curve to be shorter than Paper Wheels and freehanding. I also would describe it as less "tedious" to use than the Edge Pro, though the edge won't be as sharp at 2-3 micron final finish. Still, not a bad deal at half the price($106 with 5 of each 150MX-1200MX belts, not including shipping).
Click to expand...

I use a Work Sharp Knife and Tool Sharpener also for when at home it also comes with an instructional DVD, and when I'm out in the field I bring my Syderco Triangle Sharpmaker. With these 2 systems my knives are scary sharp.
 
As many people have suggested on other threads, it may be a good idea to get a couple of cheap thrift store kitchen knives to practice on.

I sharpen free hand, mostly on a Norton combination india stone. I've tried some of the V stick set ups but still go back to free hand.

Ric
 
I was a freehand sharpener for a LONG time. Could fairly easily get a great edge going up the grits with my DMT stones, but for the past 3 years or so my EDC has seen the Sharpmaker almost exclusively. It works great and it quick and easy. And if you touch your blades up before they are dull it is REALLY quick.
 
using a good proven system like the sharpmaker is the fastest and easiest way to get good edges on your knives.

i learned how to sharpen knives the hard way. i bought a combination bench stone and a few cheap kitchen knives from a thrift store. i specifically bought knives with ruined edges and i practiced by putting new edges on them. after i got good at building new edges, i started working on refining my edges and angles. as i got better i added waterstones (in the 800+ grit range) to my routine.
 
get one of Stabber's budget diamonds (220/600), that will help you reprofile with zero effort. One of my friends who just got it was very encouraged by the quick results diamonds offer.

and get a Sharpmaker for touch ups. but you need to make sure you don't round off edges.

the above 2 will give you razor sharp edges. buy some stropping compound and a strop and you're good to go.
 
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