Knife sharpening tips and what to purchase to sharpen?

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Greek_God

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So im a noob at knives I just purchased my first a CRKT Ripple and Waiting on my ZT 0770cf. The ripple isn't that sharp and want to purchase equipment to sharpen it. What is best method to sharpen my knife and products should i purchase. Is this little system I found any good?

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=34323106&kw=strop&lmdn=Category

I will purchase a strop but dont know what strop paste and knife sharpening equipment to purchase. I dont want to spend too much probably $100-$120 total. Can you guys suggest specific products with links preferrably if it isnt too much or the name will be good because idk what to buy a stone? sharpening system? etc.

Thanks for helping a knife noob

P.S. Im only 18 so dont know much about knives since my parents did not like the idea with me owning a knife when I was younger.
 
Spyderco Sharpmaker.

Been VERY happy with mine and its going on over 20yrs strong.
 
Was looking at them might pick it up. Any suggestions for strop paste? Because in videos everyone has half of their strop red with some kind of paste.
 
Also a noob here on knives and sharpening them. I was looking at the spyderco or edge pro.
 
Same here then I saw price of edge pro and had a mini heart attack. I might try out the Spyderco Sharpmaker since its around $60.
 
Sharpmaker or equivalent (lansky makes a similar tool which is significantly cheaper than the spyderco sharpmaker but the build quality isn't as good as the spyderco). This style of sharpener is super easy to use and will give you similar results to stone sharpening.
 
North Arm Knives said:
Sharpmaker or equivalent (lansky makes a similar tool which is significantly cheaper than the spyderco sharpmaker but the build quality isn't as good as the spyderco). This style of sharpener is super easy to use and will give you similar results to stone sharpening.
Click to expand...

Thanks guess im going with the Spyderco Sharpmaker
 
North Arm Knives said:
Sharpmaker or equivalent (lansky makes a similar tool which is significantly cheaper than the spyderco sharpmaker but the build quality isn't as good as the spyderco). This style of sharpener is super easy to use and will give you similar results to stone sharpening.
Click to expand...

Thanks guess im going with the Spyderco Sharpmaker
 
Since you are going to take the time to learn how to strop you should learn to freehand. When I first came here I thought I had to try all the newest ways to sharpen. Dmt aligner, Paper wheels and so on the truth be told a good stone or stones a strop and some compound is all you really need. You just need to practice take your time and before you know it you will have your blades as sharp as you need them. Another option is a Spyderco Double stuff just use it as bench stone great way to learn how to freehand.
 
LEGION 12 said:
Since you are going to take the time to learn how to strop you should learn to freehand. When I first came here I thought I had to try all the newest ways to sharpen. Dmt aligner, Paper wheels and so on the truth be told a good stone or stones a strop and some compound is all you really need. You just need to practice take your time and before you know it you will have your blades as sharp as you need them. Another option is a Spyderco Double stuff just use it as bench stone great way to learn how to freehand.
Click to expand...

Yea I was thinking about using stones before I posted this but there are so many with different grits or whatever and didnt know which to purchase and what order to use them? Any recommendation to what stones to get? Should i just try the spyderco ones you mentioned? And is any oil or applicant required for using stones?
 
I for one think the Spyderco sharpmaker is way over-rated. It is a good 'crock-stick style' sharpener, but not very versatile IMO. Also, that Bark River strop someone provided a link to is ridiculously overpriced. for strops check out the Strop Man. http://stropman.com/Strops_c2.htm
As far as sharpening advice in general, I would check out member HeavyHanded's tool he sells called the washboard, with various sanpapers it is very versatile, and using anything from plain copy paper to cardboard you can strop on it as well. This is all predicated on being able to learn to hold the angle freehanded, but that is a skill you will never regret learning/developing, and it will take you a long way. I like to sharpen using my diamond stones, the washboard and a strop I bought from the stropman. Diamonds can vary quite a bit, but I've found that the DMT's are good ones, and of pretty consistent quality.

Good Luck!

PS- HeavyHanded's washboard comes with a lot of good instructional materials, and he has links to several sources that are very helpful.
 
You can spend a lot of money on stones just like you can with sharpening kits. If I could make a suggestion, I would say try getting a good oil stone by someone like an Arkansas brand, or DMT. They are a good and are budget friendly. Also if you are learning to free hand, don`t learn on your good knives. Go to flea markets, pawn shops, or elsewhere and get a couple of cheaper knives to learn angle, pressure, and to get a feel for the stones you have.
 
Fish30114 said:
I for one think the Spyderco sharpmaker is way over-rated. It is a good 'crock-stick style' sharpener, but not very versatile IMO. Also, that Bark River strop someone provided a link to is ridiculously overpriced. for strops check out the Strop Man. http://stropman.com/Strops_c2.htm
As far as sharpening advice in general, I would check out member HeavyHanded's tool he sells called the washboard, with various sanpapers it is very versatile, and using anything from plain copy paper to cardboard you can strop on it as well. This is all predicated on being able to learn to hold the angle freehanded, but that is a skill you will never regret learning/developing, and it will take you a long way. I like to sharpen using my diamond stones, the washboard and a strop I bought from the stropman. Diamonds can vary quite a bit, but I've found that the DMT's are good ones, and of pretty consistent quality.

Good Luck!

PS- HeavyHanded's washboard comes with a lot of good instructional materials, and he has links to several sources that are very helpful.
Click to expand...

Might also purchase one of those washboards. Im going to try many methods so I can get used to sharpening. Which dmt benchstones should I get knifecenter has a lot of them and dont know which one to get.

http://www2.knifecenter.com/kc_new/...&brand=291&min_price=0&max_price=500&country=

Also will I need a oil for benchstones?
 
Look up HeavyHand's washboard as Fish30114 mentioned and watch the video's and read the instructions to it. MrEdgey, jdavis, neuman2010 on youtube are also people to watch and learn from, one of them is heavyhand (or heavyhanded, cant remember what his name is exactly), and I think one of the other ones is a frequent visitor here.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB95E1C271CE6654B

https://www.youtube.com/user/MrEdgy81/videos

https://www.youtube.com/user/Neuman2010/videos

As a last bit of advice, you don't need a bunch of fancy devices, stones, etc. A basic stone and a thing of compound can get you pretty dang far it's 99% skill 1% materials I've heard someone say and that's not far off. Heck a basic stone craftsman stone and their #1 polishing compound can get you pretty dang far if you invest the time and effort into it. My favorite stone right now is my Norton Economy Stone which costs $6 and I just picked up that #1 polishing compound which works pretty decent as for as I can tell from testing it a couple times which was an impulse buy for $2 (#2 polishing compound sucked, #1 is a lot better but I don't have much experience in compounds but I can tell you there are a lot better for a few dollars more), otherwise I prefer my flexcut gold compound which cost $7. And my strop is just paper wrapped tightly around a stone with the compound spread on it. It's cheap, simple and extremely effective. I'm getting extremely sharp knives and I am limited by my skill more than my materials.

So buy some halfway decent stuff to learn on from the get go and keep it simple and master it. $20 Norton India or Silicon Carbide (crystolon) stone would be a good buy and a tube of decent compound will get you pretty dang far. No need to buy a strop, I would reccomend building one to find out what you like using and it's fairly cheap and easy to do, not to mention you can use various things to make a strop out of. MDF, Wood, Leather, paper/stone like I do, etc.

Look into the DMT Aligner to help you learn what consistency is while learning and make it easier to reprofile the knife after you screw up so you have something cleaner to follow than a messed up edge. I'd argue the $10 for one is well worth it.

If you want to use a device to sharpen go ahead, I would still recommend watching and reading all the listed materials you can find as those knife sharpening devices still follow the basic concepts. And I found the better I get while using my DMT Aligner Deluxe the better I got at free hand and vice versa as I could apply what I learned from one to the other. And try to master one thing at a time instead of various things just because something didn't work from the start, you save yourself time, money, and lots of headaches. If you spent 50 hours trying to master 15 sharpening devices you won't get far with any of them. But spend that same 50 hours to master one and you get a lot farther with that one you dedicated your time to.

Beyond that learn everything you can and practice practice practice.
 
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I guess I'm cheap and lazy. I use wet/dry sandpaper glued to a 5gallon stir stick and a buffing wheel.
 
Learn how to free-hand sharpen. It does take practice to become proficient, but it's worth it for various reasons.

A DMT Fine / Extra-Fine plate is a great starter kit. You don't need to buy a specialized strop. Your thigh will do wonders.
 
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