Need some advice for my first sharpener. I've already done a search...

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basko152

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OK. I never have tried sharpening my own knives and I've always bought partial serrated blades. SO..After reading FAQs and lurking this board, I'm going to buy a Nimravus with a plain edge, because of the great steel I've heard about.

So my question is.... Should I go with a lansky for my first sharpener or a DMT or an arkansas stone for my first.

I'm mainly looking for a setup that will keep me from screwing up my knives and still grasp the techniques.

Thanks all...
 
Of the two you proposed, I would go with a Spyderco Sharpmaker. Very difficult to screw anything up, and you can always lay the stones flat if you want to learn freehand techniques.
 
I use a Sharpmaker also. Buy a couple of cheap knives to dull up and resharpen. Practice is what makes you good.
 
The Lansky works well for re-profiling, especially with the diamond hones (get the extra coarse).
BUT, it takes a bit of work to get a shaving edge, the Lansky is a PITA to set up and it does NOT do well on very small blades.
Nevertheless, the lansky is what I use. :grumpy:

The sharpmaker is the favorite around here (Edge pro is more $$), but I've heard you really need to get the extra diamond hones if you need to reprofile an edge.

I reprofile all my working edges (I'm picky), but a Spyderco should come with the proper profiles, so you shouldn't need to do that...
 
On a budget, I would recommend a good coarse bench stone, like a Norton or even just a dual-sided one from the hardware store, and a Sharpmaker. Use the coarse stone for reprofiling and the Sharpmaker for the final edge. Personally I would not recommend the Lansky to anyone, I have one and after several years found it to be sub-standard. It's quicker and easier to sharpen by hand than with a Lansky, once you get the hang of it.
 
FWIW, if you do need to reprofile with a Sharpmaker, and don't have the money for the diamond rods, just get some wet-dry sandpaper, cut off strips, and clamp them around the stones of the sharpmaker. Works pretty well.
 
I would also recommend the Sharpmaker, especially as you say that you have serrated knives. Of the models listed the Sharpmaker is the only one that will sharpen those serrations. It will be impossible to do that with a benchstone or Lansky. Besides that it is also very easy to use, and will give a great edge without much practice.
 
G'day,
I have the DMT 4 diamond hone aligner kit and can easily get my blades shaving sharp. I usually finish with a leather strop for that fine polished edge.
Greg
 
if you can, the following 3 things would serve you very well as a basic set-up:

- diamond stone (coarse / medium) for profiling (or any coarse / medium stone, if you don't use the super hard stainless steels)
- spyderco sharpmaker for putting the actual edge and touch-ups
- a leather strop and some stropping compound

Nothing works for serrations better than the sharpmaker! (plus the boot strap stropping thereafter)....unless you have the skills of a knifemaker/some of the guys here....hehe

Please search for fulloflead's thread about being a sharpening kungfu master.....I hope Jim can chime in here with his secrets and recommedations....

Alternatives:

If you have $$$ to burn, get the edgepro and some painter's tape to prevent scratches on the sides of the blades. >$100, some learning curve. You could send a knife in for a free demo by Ben Dale - you'll be impressed with the type of edges the edgepro can produce (but there'll definitely be a journey before you reach Ben's ability)

If you have time, the inclination, $$$....get waterstones. Shapton stones are pretty good. Steep learning curve.

If you have time, the inclination, $$$, space at home and like going the electrical way....invest in a simple belt sander set-up. I believe a simple but functional basic set-up can be had for under $100 (search the forums, ask perhaps you could ask Daniel Koster or Jerry Hossom - I believe they had commented on this before).
 
'nother vote for the sharpmaker. i love mine, and use it all the time. money well spent, and should last you forever. before i got mine, i was sharpening on a flat stone, and sadly, i was not very adept at it. i screwed up two very nice knives before making the leap to the SM. all of my knives that i have purchased since are still lookin' great, even after many touch-ups.

abe m.
 
ErikD said:
...Of the models listed the Sharpmaker is the only one that will sharpen those serrations. It will be impossible to do that with a benchstone or Lansky. ....
Click to expand...

Unless you buy the serrated stone.

Although I agree that you should get the sharpmaker.

Neko2
 
I bought the Lansky - however I am not overly impressed, as it is a pain to set it up, and as mentioned, it does not work too well for short or long blades, so I have been using the stones free-hand - and I am not getting as good a result as I would like.

I posted a similar thread and the resounding response was to go for the Sharpmaker - so that's my next purchase !
 
Based on what I read here, I just ordered a Sharpmaker. I tried to use a stone, and have managed to turn my cheap folder from relatively sharp to duller than a butter knife. Hopefully, the Sharpmaker will be as good as advertised.
 
How it looks
SpydercoSharpmaker04.jpg

How it works:
First stage
SpydercoSharpmaker05.jpg

Last stage
SpydercoSharpmaker06.jpg


You will need diamond rods:
SpydercoSharpmaker03.jpg


Even idiot like me able to sharpen any knife to be able to shave.
If you are Russian (related somwhow to BASKO ( http://playground.sun.com/~nozh2002/basko.html ))
you may read my review in Russian:
http://playground.sun.com/~nozh2002/SpydercoSharpmaker.html

Thanks, Vassili
 
Another vote for the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Get it, open the package (with one of your favourite knives, which is an enjoyable thing to do by itself already ;) ), read the instruction book, watch the video, set up the Sharpmaker and enjoy! Don't worry about using it for your first time sharpening experience as it is quite cleverly designed and it is very easy to use. Do a search about doing the blade tips with it in here and u will be just fine.
 
Nozh2002, I notice that you have the Ultra-fine white rods in addition to the regular white "fine" rods. Do you find that there is a noticeable differenc between finishing with the regular rods and the "ultra fine" rods?

Thanks,
Fox
 
I find that the corners of the ultra fine and fine are comparable, on the flats however the ultra fines are substantially finer than the standart fines. For those not familiar with the sharpmaker: the ultra fines are not needed to get and exceptional and very much shaving edge. The ultra fines are for ultra nitpicky polished edge lovers like me :rolleyes:. If you finish the ultra fine edge on a strop, you should be ready to be scared :D.
 
Since you are brand new to sharpening - I'd say go with the Sharpmaker from SpyderCo.



When you're ready to take it to the next level - give me a holler and we'll get you set up with a belt sander ($30) and a strop ($10) and you'll be able to sharpen anything to a razor edge.

;)
 
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