Need a Cheap but decent sharpener.

G

GaryPham

Joined
Jan 1, 2006
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Hi guys, I'm looking for a cheap but decent sharpener. I don't really have enough money for a spyderco sharpener kit but was hoping that I could buy a decent cheaper sharpener that would work well with my spyderco native and sog mini x ray. Can anyone tell me of any experiences with any of these sharpeners here?

http://www.sportsauthority.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=sharpener

The cheaper the better, but I don't want a crap sharpener. Please let me know if any of these are decent. I'm a newb and have never sharpened anything by myself before, so I would prefer one thats easy to use. Thanks guys

-Gary
 
Any of those sharpeners will do a decent job if you use them correctly. The rod would probably be the easiest to use. Here is a thought for you though...if you want a "cheap" sharpener, go down to a local hardware store or home depot and buy a double sided stone for $2-$7 and go to town. There is nothing all that bad about using a double sided stone, especially since the others you are considering don't have any way of setting a specific angle. I can get a shaving edge on just about any knife with just about any stone, but I am looking at an eze sharp or edgepro just for speed sake and for an even better edge. Just my two cents.
 
I've used a whole bunch of different sharpening systems. I am sort of compulsive about getting the very sharpest blade possible. At present, I use an EdgePro Apex complimented by the SharpMaker. A winning combination, but not it the price range you are looking for.

Prior to my EdgePro epiphany, I used DMT diamond sharpeners. There is a DuoSharp that has a fine/extrafine combo that can be had for around $20. You'll get alot of life out of this, but there's no angle consistency.

But what I REALLY wanted to point out was sandpaper. My quest for the insane edge started with wanting my wood working tools to be really sharp. A combination of sandpapers from 400 - 2000 grit mounted on a piece of plate glass give excellent results. I use this in combination with the Lee Valley/Veritas angle guide on all my planes and chisels.

You can find the fine grit wet/dry papers at auto part stores.
 
I saw a Victorinox pocket sharpener (a rod with some coating, in a ballpoint format). Anyone knows if those work well? Will that resulting in coarse edge or quite smooth? There is no information about the grid on the packaging.
 
Those are a bit small and if they're diamond, they leave a semi rough edge. Just go to knifecenter.com and pick up a combination coarse fine Norton india for like 12$
 
I would bite the bullet and get a $40 Spyderco Sharpmaker. It is small enough to store easily and sets up in a flash. It will sharpen plain and serrated knives (and scissors, etc. etc. etc.). Come with good instructions. Angles are preset at the most popular knife edge angles.

http://spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=77

If you keep it for 20 years and write the extra money off over that time you are talking about $1.50/year. Your time is worth more than that I'm sure.

If you really want to go cheap and you can learn to hold an edge any abrasive surface will sharpen steel. My neighbor sharpens his bush clippers on the edge of his sidewalk. Whenever I catch him doing it I run over with my axe, hatchet, and machete and beg for him to sharpen them too. He can hold an amazing edge on the sidewalk.

A good smooth flat stone from a creek bed makes a decent sharpening stone and lots of hunters use it in the field.

Here is what our resident guru wizard knife guy, Mr. Joe Talmadge, says about knives and sharpening. You might switch over to the "Toolshed Forum" since that is where most of the really anal knife sharpening types (like me) seem to hang out.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=368828
 
DGG said:
I would bite the bullet and get a $40 Spyderco Sharpmaker. It is small enough to store easily and sets up in a flash. It will sharpen plain and serrated knives (and scissors, etc. etc. etc.). Come with good instructions. Angles are preset at the most popular knife edge angles.

[:D I would have to go with DGG, after spending who knows how much over the years, I would have to say that that was the best $40 spent in this hobby. You can sharpen serrations as well as plain edge and keep them sharp, very show though to get a new back bevel in place, but you can use stones to do that.:o
Click to expand...
 
I'd say get a bench stone. I have a Lansky-type sharpener, and I rarely use it. Instead, I use a medium flat stone and a hard Arkansas, and sharpen freehand.
 
Welcome to Bladeforums!

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I've been buying Smiths stones and kitchen sharpeners for a while now. I bought a diamond rod and a diamond stone.
 
I have had pretty good results from the Smiths clamp and rod system. I first had the regular setup w/ Arkansas stones for $20 and then got the diamond stone kit for $30. The diamond set works well for a quick reprofile, but don't do what I did and bear down hard, wearing off the diamond. The regular kit stones dish out fairly quickly and clog fast too. If the Sharpmaker is only $40 I would try that out instead. It will be my next sharpener purchase.
 
You'll get the most out of any "system" simply by learning the proper way to sharpen. Understanding what you're really doing to the edge in terms of the geometry is far more important that the dollar amount spent on the sharpener. These things only work as well as the person using them.

(Yes, some manage variables better than others and offer nice options.)

If you just arbitrarily pick up the first knife you happen to grab and "sharpen" it at some unknown fixed angle, you're gonna be frustrated when it's still dull after 500 strokes a side because all you've done is work the shoulders and haven't even touched the actual edge. Or, you'll quickly form up a wire edge and bust it off over and over again.

I often wonder how many sharpeners have been purchased and then relegated to back of the closet duty because they "didn't work well".
 
Get a cheap sharpening stone (like the $2 double-sided kind mentioned in a previous post) and a hunk of 2x4 cut at the appropriate angle. Use the 2x4 to hold the stone angled while you stroke the knife edge (blade held vertically like with a Spyderco Sharpmaker) along the stone. To polish the edge, you can get a ceramic stick sharpening rod from Smokey Mtn Knife Works for $0.99 each, then use the angled 2x4 to hold it at the same angle as the stone.

stone-jig.jpg


Or you can cut a notch in the board to trap the blade at approximately the angle you want and slide the stone over the edge pressed up against the stone. The angle is determined by the height and depth of the notch in the board and the spine-to-edge dimension of the blade. The 1:4 ratio shown equals about 14 degrees per side (28 degrees total edge angle). If you increase it to 1:6 you get about 10 degrees per side (20 degrees total edge angle). The math to figure this out is: Angle-per-side = arctan (Depth of notch / Length of notch).

stone-jig_notched-board.jpg


HTH with your search for a cheap sharpening method.
 
I prefer the EZLap diamond sharpeners. These things flat out work, and they last a long time. I've got some from when they first came out that still work fine. They also cut fast. Get ya one of those with the two sides. One in Med, and one in Fine or one in course and fine if you can find it. The course will reprofile any stell pretty quickly and the fine puts a really decent biting edge right back on most knives with just a few precise slices on the stone.

The little plastic handled sharpeners for $3.97 and $5.97 are one of the best deals going in easy to use sharpeners that actually work. You just have to knock off the real aggressive texture they have on them when new with a crap knife or flat piece of steel before sharpening your good ones. Once you get that initial course nature off the top of the pad you will really come to like them.

STR

http://knifedealer.net/knife-sharpeners/eze-lap.shtml

http://www.knivesplus.com/EZELAP.HTML
 
Get a rubber sanding block, the kind used for autobody work, and an assortment of emory cloth. Then you can easily make a "hone" of whatever coarseness you like. Removes metal fast and produces a good durable edge with less tendency to burr than a lot of other methods.
 
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