looking for a good sharpening system

joshuabl

joshuabl

Joined
Jan 24, 2007
Messages
1,398
Hello everyone,

been reading here for a long time but i think this is my first post. Thank you all in advance for any responses i get.

I am looking to purchase a sharpening system for anything from 1" blades to all the way up to kitchen knives. I have a crkt slide sharp and like the stones that are used for it but hate the slide sharp design. when i use it i dont use the spring or the guide, just freehand it. I also have a dmt aligner with all the diamond stones, but find that it wont handle knives with a thicker blade like some of my emersons and benchmades.

Anyway, now im looking at an edge pro apex. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on what the best knife sharpening system is for any kind of knive i want to throw at it.

thanks,

Josh
 
Hi Josh,
Welcome to the Forums.
I cannot tell you what is best knife sharpening system, probably all of them have some limitation.
I am using Spyderco Sharpmaker (about $40)for about two years and very happy with it.
It comes with instructions and DVD. You need to watch DVD + about 30 minutes to develop basic skills and keep practice. 204 sharpmaker set is a good tool to sharpen knives, but if you want to reprofile them, I would get coarse stones as well. It can be spyderco triangular diamond rods (about $65), or any flat coarse stone lean against flats of sharpmaker rods. I personally use congress triangular
ruby stones 150 and 320 grit with very satisfactory results and they are under $10 for a pair.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=444326&page=3
http://www.congresstools.com/congresstools/catalog?action=getcat&parent=24
good luck
 
Yeah... Welcome Aboard!

I have both a Sharpmaker and an Edge Pro Apex. I'm glad to have both of them. They each play a different role the way that I use them. The Edge Pro does any serious sharpening or re-beveling that I have to do. The Sharpmaker maintains the edges on my knives. I use it for touch ups and light sharpening. It excels in that area because of its ease of setup and its portability.

I bought the Sharpmaker first and would still do it that way again. Try the Sharpmaker. See how it works for you and decide what you may be missing. Then, if the Edge Pro will fill in what you lack with the Sharpmaker, it's a good "next" buy for a sharpening system. But if you find that you need something different, you haven't spent the $ for the Edge Pro unnecessarily.
 
I have the GATCO system. I added the extra fine and ultimate finishing hones along with one leather strop with white polishing compound and one with red. The GATCO can produce 11°, 15°, 19°, 22°, 25°, and 30° bevels.

I am very pleased with the edges that I can achieve with my system.
 
have you considered the cardboard wheels? i used to have an ez sharp which was similar to a lansky system but i gave it away since the wheels outdone the ez sharp in end results and speed. it took me about a week to learn how to use it but for the past 16 years i havent used anything else. stevebot, a member here sells the wheels to members here at a discount. i have a cheap set from koval knives and they dont do quite as good a job as the origonal wheels that steve sells.
 
thanks for all the info. i saw a sharpmaker at a local shop the other day. i think i will go take a closer look at it.
 
Is the successful use of a Sharpmaker dependent on the angle of the original edge?

Can you use an angle other than the two angles (30° and 40°?) that you can set the sticks at?
 
Hard H2O said:
Is the successful use of a Sharpmaker dependent on the angle of the original edge?

Can you use an angle other than the two angles (30° and 40°?) that you can set the sticks at?
Click to expand...
No, you have to re bevel the blade if it doesn't match the angles. Or you can also tilt the base, but seems unsafe to me. That is why I call it the "sharpkeeper" instead of sharpmaker. Great for touching up an edge, horrible if you need any actual sharpening.
 
I currently use the Lansky system plus a 1000-grit, and coarse diamond hone. I like it a great deal, but if I had to go back, I'd have preferred more angle options like the Gatco system. An Edge Pro would be nice, but it's just not practical for me at this point.

I always do finishing on a strop loaded with green compound though. It doesn't seem that important, but it can make a world of difference.
 
I've used waterstones, oilstones, Crock Sticks, Sharpmaker, Eze Sharp and paper wheels.

Today, I use the Harbor Freight 1"X30" belt sander. Still use the Sharpmaker once in a while for light touch up, but the belt sander, with belts from 320 grit, to .1 grit diamond on leather just does it all. And does it QUICKLY!!:):):p:):)

There is a learning curve, but it's 100X easier to learn than free handing with a stone.
 
samhain73 said:
No, you have to re bevel the blade if it doesn't match the angles. Or you can also tilt the base, but seems unsafe to me. That is why I call it the "sharpkeeper" instead of sharpmaker. Great for touching up an edge, horrible if you need any actual sharpening.
Click to expand...

So it is dependent on the angle of the bevel. That is what I was trying to say.

What angles can you sharpen at with the Sharpmaker out of the box without tilting it?
 
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