Knife sharpners

If ya want to keep using your stones, Hapstone T2 freehand is fantastic. Just got one a few weeks ago. I have had 23 broken bones and somedays fingers, wrists and elbows do not cooperate, The T2 lets you set angle you want or match factory angle and its stays steady.
Lots of stuff on youtube
 
plumbeeer said:
Dosent dmt make stones for

which do u like best?
Click to expand...
I started with Lansky and it is a clamped system with some limitations. I then got the Edge Pro Pro and that is my favorite if I have the time to dedicate to sharpening several knives at once (kitchen). The Sharpmaker is great for a quick touch up or for my CRK knives with some belly. CRK actually recommends using the Sharpmaker. After I tried it I really liked it for quick work. I would not want to reprofile a grind on the Sharpmaker though.
 
I've been using an Edge Pro Apex for a decade. It is one of the few sharpening systems that does not require you to clamp the blade. This is a huge benefit IMO.
 
I had an Edge Pro Apex many years ago and liked it enough to replace it with an Edge Pro Professional around 2005-ish. The new versions of the Apex are a worthwhile improvement over the older ones. Recently out of curiosity I bought a Xarilk Gen 3 for $85 from Amazon. It's a clone of the TSProf Kadet, and a close enough copy that TSProf accessories fit it. The Xarilk is very well made for the price but I didn't like the clamps so I bought some TSProf Quick Clamps. Yes, they cost more than the machine but they really kick up the usability a few notches, and the total investment is still only $200 or so. All of my Edge Pro stones work fine on the Xarilk which is the main reason I bought it...just wanted to experiment with a clamp and wanted one that used my existing collection of stones.

When looking at a blade table type system vs a clamped system there are many things to consider. Some will simply be personal preference. A clamp will of course obviate the need to manipulate the knife, you just lock it in and flip the mechanism. That said, clamp design is critical. Very small or oddly shaped blades are sometimes difficult to clamp and with folders the thumb stud can be an obstacle (which to fair applies to using regular stones, too). The clamp can mar or mark a blade up but a bit of Kapton tape will prevent that. Depending on the design of the rest of the system some clamped devices are limited to the size of the knife they can accommodate before you run out of stone arm travel or the ends of the knife lack the support to work well. With a table like the Apex you can theoretically do a katana, just sliding the blade down the table as you go (although supporting the ends might be challenging). The magnet under the blade table helps quite a bit for some knives. The Apex does have a little bit of a learning curve as you figure out how to position the blade and especially switching hands. With a clamped system typically the blade is flipped over and you never need to switch hands. This makes the process of sharpening nearly foolproof. I wrecked my shoulder back during COVID and was on work comp for two years; I still don't have the full range of motion anymore. I do find the clamp to be a bit easier to deal with over long sessions. If you have any injuries or physical limitations the clamped systems can really be nice to have.

The Edge Pro Apex really doesn't have many weaknesses. It's well made and versatile and can sharpen virtually any kind of knife. The 1x6 stones are the de facto industry standard nowadays so there's tons of options. IIRC they're made in the USA and customer support is excellent. If there's any downside at all it's that you will need to practice a little to get the best results. It's not quite as automatic or set-it-and-forget-it as a Hapstone or TSProf.

I own and operate a sharpening & laser engraving shop, and most of the work there is done edge leading on a trio of Bucktool Low Speed 1x30 grinders with custom angle guides by Cliff Curry. If you're not married to some kind of jig-and-stone system this is worth looking at. While I do sharpen by hand on water stones for some local chefs (just did a couple that way today) my business wouldn't be viable without belts. Machines are so much faster while still giving great results. I flew out to Hawaii to train in Cliff's shop, mostly to do convex salon shears, but I also patterned my shop and machines on his. He's getting under 100 BESS scores reliably and the process takes maybe 45 seconds per knife. A good amount of my business is restaurants so I get a lot of extremely beat up blades. And I get a lot of folks bringing in their home knife blocks, some of them 30 years old and ever sharpened before (!). It's not unusual for me to have to do some serious thinning and bolster reductions on 20 year old Wusthofs that have been steeled and pulled through carbine sharpeners for their entire working lives. If I had to use stones some of this work would be impossible or at least impractical to do economically. But I've got three 1x30 machines, three 1x42, one 2x42, a WEN knockoff of a Tormet and several diamond wheels and Scotchbrite & felt wheels. I understand that the OP is just looking to keep his or her own knives sharpened, I'm certainly not saying you need all this stuff. 😂 But if you want something powerful, easy to learn and versatile enough to all your knives, all your garden tools and any common repairs a belt grinder is a great option. And the Bucktool generally runs under $150 with another $35 for the angle guide (and a bit for belts, natch). Belts are an ongoing expense but a couple belts will last a year or more for home use. I get about 50 knives per Cubitron belt, and even then I switch when the speed drops off, I could probably get 75 if I had to.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top