need good sharpener

K

knifelover4ever

Joined
Apr 18, 2004
Messages
49
does anyone know a good easy sharperner because i am a bad sharpener . i was thinking like a chefs choice electric sharpener
 
well....

I have that thing...it works,,,sorta,,,,

But it will leave marks on the blade too...

Heres the deal with making a knife sharp....You got to raise a burr on one side first,,,then and only then, flip and start to sharpen the other side.

At first I never understood what people were talking about when they told me to "Raise a burr"...then I looked at a page here on this forum about how to sharpen and found the story I had been seeking.

All the knifer sharpeners and jigs and other toys that are sold to us are fine, some will work,,,sorta.....But unless the system you use can raise a good burr on the other side of the knife, you are never going to get a knife sharp....or atleast as sharp as it could be.
 
what I do now,,,

I have a Norton Fine India stone 10inch long....I grind only one side on it,,,,I grind and grind the cutting edge until I feel a burr on the other side all along the whole edge..

then I flip the knife over and start to grind away on this 2nd side untill that works up a good burr on the other side that I can feel.

At this point the knife is sharp, and now it is time to start the stroke/flip/stroke and work both sides of the blade with the stone as I sharpen off the burr from both sides, (It will flip kinda back and forth as it gets thinned away.

After the burr is gone and I have sharpened the knife, I then move to my belt sander and slack belt the edge to get rid of the marks from the stone. I think the belt I have is a 400 or a 600 grit,

then when the knife will start to shave hair, I move to the buffer and buff out the small marks left over from the shander....

with the buffer I make the blade look all new and I stop at this point.

Now I know some guys go on to different things, but my blades are meant for work in the woods or on the jobsite....I use my knife hard each day and so I dont get all upset when I notice that it gets dull by the end of the day....

a little time with the stone in the morning, and a fast pass with the sander and buffer and its ready to go again....



I know many guys who say their knives stay sharp a long time, but I note that they are almost afraid to use their knive too , due to the hours of work it takes them to get them sharp again....

Some guys even have stand-in knives because they dont dare use their nice blade due to the amount of time it takes them to sharpen....But I think there is no point in owning a knife that you cant sharpen,,,
 
A good option for someone who really can't sharpen or is afraid to is to find a good production knife that offers lifetime factory service and buy 2 of them. This wouldn't even have to be that expensive really. For instance Benchmade would be a good company to look at.

A better option is to take an old beater and buy a basic set of sharpening supplies and just keep practicing. I'll admit I'm not the best sharpener but at least I can do it. I think anyone can with enough practice.
 
I would recommend a Spyderco Sharpmaker. Search through the forums here and you will many many threads on this and many fans of the Sharpmaker.

I started off freehand sharpening but for more consistent results and unscratched blades, I have gotten a Sharpmaker and use it most of the time now.

For my user knives, I still sharpen freehand and not care if the blades may end up scratched as you have much greater control over angle bevel sharpening freehand. Otherwise, I go Sharpmaker all the time.

Touch up your knives regularly and you will find that you do not need to spend so much time each time you use the Sharpmaker.
 
I've found that sharpening freehand really isn't that hard, and you don't have to be surgical with the angle. As long as you keep it relatively on, you'll get very sharp knives very fast, with minimal metal removed. I'd start with a sharpmaker (seems to be a favourite here) or a lansky rig. Try freehanding with the stones after a few months of use, I'm positive you'll be able to do it rather well after a bit of practice. Just learn to detect the burr, I slide my finger spine-to-edge. If it slips off the edge without resistance, there is no burr. If there is, you'll feel your nail catch a little before slipping off. Use very light, alternating strokes on a very fine stone to grind it off.
 
I like the Spyderco Sharpmaker, but still prefer old fashioned sharpening on a DMT 2 sided pocket hone.

Interesting stuff on the burr subject! A long time ago, someone told me to sharpen in the following manner:

Sharpen one side until you raise a burr, then flip it over and sharpen the other side until you raise a burr again. This is where it gets different. After raising the final burr, strop the edge (pulling the the knife edge backwards) across a VERY mildy abrasive material (I actually use one of those old canvas-like book covers or cardboard. The book cover works GREAT!). This pulls the very thin burr forward and gives the knife a RAZOR sharp edge. I've been doing this for years, and it works quite well! Keep in mind that I only do this with my EDC pocket knives (as I like them to be very sharp). The razor-burr edge won't last very long on a camp knife, or while doing heavy cutting chores! Although, when the burr edge wears down, the knife still has a great utility edge. For an occasionally-used pocket folder, though, it's great!
 
I have a Chef's choice and while it does sharpen it removes alot of steel. It is OK for Kitchen knives but I wouuld never consider using it on any other type.

Use a Sharpmaker
 
Yes!...I have the Chef's choice that comes with a grinding wheel on the left side and two different dimond thingys on the right hand side. It works, it does raise a burr on that grinding wheel, but the trouble is that your knife is going to look different when you use that grinding wheel at the start of Step-1 with it.

You have to slide the knife blade into the grinding wheel slot and you cant actually see whats going on, but MAN can you hear that wheel grinding on your poor blade!

I believe that type of sharpener is meant mostly for the kitchen as there you just want your mom to make a few passes over the different stones and then get back to cutting the meat for the dinner.

It works,,,it works fast.....but a lot happens out of eye sight and you will find yourself looking at the knife and thinking, "What was that?"
 
I would also advise the Spyderco Sharpmaker. It is very simple, easy to use, comes with both written instructions and a video. As per all of Spyderco's products, the Sharpmaker is very well thought out and "user friendly".

I also spent the extra money on the diamond rods to use with the Sharpmaker. I don't think they are really needed unless you have to do some serious reprofiling.
 
I've got virtually all of the tools mentioned above and then some, and I'm usually on the lookout for a better or faster way to do what I need (or want) to do. I have the 3 wheel Chef's Choice (coarse and fine diamond, plus a "stropping" stage), and I agree with Wolfmann that it's best reserved for doing a quick job on kitchen knives. I especially like to use it on long, relatively thin blades. There is a bit of a learning curve, so it might be best to practice on some low value knives -- you can quickly ruin a good blade on either of the diamond stages if you aren't careful.

I recently bought a Sharpmaker and sprung for a set of diamond rods plus a set of ultra-fine ceramic rods. Thus far I'm in agreement with those who consider the Sharpmaker a good tool for touch-ups. I've used it so far for only one full re-profiling, and while I did manage to get a decent result, I can do a much faster and more accurate job with my EdgePro. The Sharpmaker is by far the best tool I've found for serrated edges. The EdgePro does a competent job on them if you closely follow Ben's instructions, but the Sharpmaker does a better job since it allows you to sharpen from the beveled side of the serrations.

For freehand work I've got a number of different stones, but my favorite is a medium grit 8" diamond bench stone from Cabela's. It's a full coverage stone on a wooden base and only costs about 30 bucks. I also use my various bench stones with a set of Razor Edge guides -- in fact the Razor Edge guides are the first tool I found that would allow me to consistently produce a good edge on a variety of blades. I'm convinced that repeated use of these guides is what helped me more than anything else in developing my ability to sharpen free-hand. There is a certain satisfaction that others here have attested to in being able to sharpen free-hand, and it's great knowing that I can make a usable edge using whatever abrasives might be available in any given situation.

As you've probably already discerned in reading the replys from others, there is no one "best tool" to cover all possible situations. If all you want is one tool that you can learn to use quickly without going to the trouble of learning various techniques the Chef's Choice is a smart buy, but you'll be somewhat limited in the types of blades you can sharpen and types of edges you can produce. For some folks that would be an issue, but for others it is not -- especially if all of the knives that they want to sharpen can be done on that machine. There's a millwright at the shop I work in who makes some pretty nice hunting knives from 01 tool steel, and he sharpens ALL of his blades with the Chef's Choice. Frankly, I wouldn't be caught dead with one of his edges on one of my blades, but his customers seem to be happy enough with them...

Shalom,
Mark
 
Another vote for the spyderco sharpmaker plus x-coarse or coarse DMT benchstone!
 
spyderco sharpmaker for me, it was hard to use at first, now its real easy after sharpening all my friends knives and practicing. I want to get the ultra fine stones next for super sharp blades :D
 
I am going to sing the glory of my Edgepro Professional sharpening system. I have not found anything that can reprofile the bladeand have a mirror polished edge on said knife in the same amount of time, barring the electrical systems. Start with the 120 grit stone working your way through the 180, 220, 320, 600 and finally the 3000 grit polishing tapes. All of this is done at the preset sharpening angle on the rod. It won't move until you move it.

I was a total idiot at sharpening freehand. I may have got a decent edge 20-30 % of the time. Not any more, however some may argue that I am still an idiot.........

Cerberus
 
I'm with cerberus. If you're willing to part with the dough, get an Edge Pro. The Sharpmaker is a good choice too, as are good old bench stones and a strop. For a beginner or one who doesn't want to put in the time to get really good freehand, the Edge Pro can't be beat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top