My Nemesis - Sharpening

prisoner6

prisoner6

Joined
Aug 7, 2003
Messages
470
Okay, I'm a fairly handy fellow. However, I have never gotten the hold of sharpening. Partly I think because I have never had a good teacher.

So what options are there for me? Do those sharpeners you see at Home Depot that you just run the blade through work?

I hate to butcher knives just to learn (and that hasn't worked well yet).

Where do I start?
 
I invested in a Wicked Edge ($100 barely used, with granite base, through CL!) and could not possibly be happier with it.
 
First advice is, PM one of the mods and move your thread to the Maintenance section :p
Personally, I think it's worth taking the path of freehand sharpening. You will find lots of info in the appropriate section. It's not the shortest way for sure, but it's rewarding and fun :)

:cool:
 
Do some reading about sharpening in the 'maintenance & tinkering' subforum.

Then buy some $1 kitchen knives at Goodwill, and practice.

I like the Spyderco Sharpmaker for maintaining an edge. It works on the same basic principle as freehand sharpening, it just makes it easier to hold a consistent angle.

ps. love your avatar, #6. How did you get out of the village?
 
91a2jettavr6 said:
I invested in a Wicked Edge ($100 barely used, with granite base, through CL!) and could not possibly be happier with it.
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Wow I thought I got a deal on mine for $300 with extra strops and the 50/80 stones. I think it is well worth the full retail price though, they are built well and should last a lifetime. Clay said he only puts on new stones once every 800-1000 knives.
 
r8shell said:
Do some reading about sharpening in the 'maintenance & tinkering' subforum.

Then buy some $1 kitchen knives at Goodwill, and practice.
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I'll add to that, watch some youtube videos, when I was first starting I had a hard time understanding burr formation and what to look/feel for even with lots of reading here, I could hold a steady angle (I was cheating and using a guide) but I was just doing 5 strokes on this side; 5 strokes on the other side. Once I jumped on YT and started watching people I made a big step quickly.
 
This sounds pretty self evident, but what is your reason for sharpening, and what are your expectations?

Everyone wants a sharp edge, but for yourself, is it that simple, or do you want to have mirror edges, sharper than factory, exact bevels?

Will you always sharpen in good light, with 110 nearby, or do you need to be able to back pack your sharpener?

Your laundry list of wants, will help determine what sharpeners you should be seeking.
 
Just get an Edge-Pro Apex from Chef Knives To Go, preferably with the Shapton Glass Stones, and never look back.:thumbup::thumbup:
 
go get you a lansky. it is easy to use, pretty much idiot proof, and priced right for the basic stones. The pull through sharpeners will kill a blade because they rip metal off the blade.Once you have the confidence of sharpening, then you can make the move up to a better system, or like I have, get better stones for the lansky
 
First of all, forget the sharpeners from Home Depot. An electric sharpener removes way too much metal (those sparks are your knife disintegrating) and the ones with the little, metal V in them also remove a lot of metal. Freehand sharpening on stones is great, but takes time to master and can be very frustrating. I suggest using this forum to learn how to sharpen and what sharpening is all about. Then, you may find that a system like the Spyderco Sharpmaker will suit your needs very well. By the way, whatever you get be patient and take your time. Use a Sharpie to mark the edge of the blade and monitor your progress. Before you know it you'll be able to take a dull knife and make it slice through paper like Zorro.
 
I learned on a lansky then moved on to freehanding. 40$ at acedemy sports will set you up with the basic kit. If you like it and dont want to freehand there are optional arkansaw and diamond and a few specialty stones and a small strop you can order.
 
My suggestion cheat. Pick up something like a Norton Economy stone which I hear is a pretty good stone for the price, in fact I have one coming in tommrow. Or a Norton combination India or Cryotolon stone which are suppose to be ever better and set you back $20-25, and a strop. Than you proceed to cheat a bit and pick up a DMT Aligner clamp (you can use it on it's own with a bench stone) to allow you to be more consistent when you want to. I find that using my DMT Aligner (full kit, not just the clamp) helps out greatly in learning what consistency is and being able to reprofile blades easier which is a really big perk, especially on your practice knife which you are bound to screw up while free handing.

Definitely use the sharpie trick as well, that helps immensely as well with reprofiling blades to help tell you if you have grinded away enough metal. Than you try to absorb all the information you can on how to sharpen. It's more on technique more than anything else and it will be intimidating till you take a blade to a stone and go at it for a little while than you start realizing how much easier to gets with time. Another reason the Aligner clamp is handy is it allows you to set a better bevel to work with to sharpen with so you don't have some poor bevels from the factory.

My advice is to pick up a cheap sharpening knife or use ones you own and don't care about. Though personally I like the idea of the former as you can pick up some cheap but good quality kitchen paring knives for $10 or less from Victorinox, Old Hickory, Opinel and probably a few others which I don't know about. This way you have a known steel with a decent heat treat, as well as an easy to sharpen blade style to work with.

And lastly practice practice practice.
 
I have used a friends Lansky system with good results and since he already owned it, I purchased a Sharpmaker. Both work well and are relatively inexpensive, portable and easy to use to maintain an edge. I use a black sharpie and color the blade edge so I can see if I am consistent or missing any areas. I don't have the diamond stones or the ultrafine yet, but will probably get the ultrafine next. I'm not hard on my knives and like that mirrored edge look.
 
rustysocket said:
I have used a friends Lansky system with good results and since he already owned it, I purchased a Sharpmaker. Both work well and are relatively inexpensive, portable and easy to use to maintain an edge. I use a black sharpie and color the blade edge so I can see if I am consistent or missing any areas. I don't have the diamond stones or the ultrafine yet, but will probably get the ultrafine next. I'm not hard on my knives and like that mirrored edge look.
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I got the yellow ultra fine a few weeks ago. Honestly I think the strop works better.
 
rustysocket said:
I use a black sharpie and color the blade edge so I can see if I am consistent or missing any areas.
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I have noticed that using a color other than black made it easier to spot the sharpie, especially if it has black DLC coating or something of that nature. For that reason I use a red sharpie, it stands out quite a lot. Only downside I have noticed so far is when you have a very sharp and refined edge and accidentally nick yourself without feeling it you can confuse the cut/blood with the sharpie. I've done that at least once.

And I found that red in comparison to black also was somewhat see through a small bit so I could tell the difference between area that has been sharpened and not sharpened immediately after applying it by the shade of red as there is typically 2 shades after applying. In comparison to black which is just black from what I remember of last time I used it (or if it has that 2 tone difference it wasn't as drastic).
 
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Ben Dover said:
Just get an Edge-Pro Apex from Chef Knives To Go, preferably with the Shapton Glass Stones, and never look back.:thumbup::thumbup:
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Never look back if your ambidextrous. Favor one hand over the other? Some people in that boat are not well served, me being one.

It is easy to support your choice, but not always looking through another persons eyes.

If I had to rely on solely an EP, I would just purchase new knives when they get dull.

The EP does do low angles, does do a good job, however, try doing 6 knives one after another, in an afternoon. It is physically tiring to do multiple knives one after another.

Your non dominate hand is constantly being called upon to work right along your dominate hand, and after awhile, it wears me out.

You are not just keeping the stone going over the edge, you are maintaining the correct position of the blade on the platform.

It is fun to do a knife or two, for myself, but a PITA to do several.
 
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