Occasional sharpener

WonderMonkey

WonderMonkey

Joined
Apr 18, 2007
Messages
101
I see good reviews on the spyderco, the edgepro, belt sander, etc. methods. All are probably very effective if you know what you are doing and sharpen consistently.

I'm not like that. I'll probably sharpen my knives infrequently due to the low use per knife that they get. Maybe once a month I'll have a sharpening session.

And naturally I suck at it. I'm learning tons in this forum but I'm torn between all these effective methods. Visually the EdgePro looks good because it seems to take a lot of guessing out of the equations.
 
I have a SM and it's pretty good considering the price. The edge pro is a bit more expensive especially if you only use it once in a while.
 
I'm interested in this too as I'm mental age 3 at sharpening consistently.,Fact is ,it is a tricky skill. Too bad the knife grinder doesn't come round once a month like he did when I was little! Not too sure he was that good at it either:eek:
 
I have a Sharpmaker and an Edge pro. Sharpmaker is great for touch ups. Edge pro is great for re profiling, and getting mirror finished on edges. The both take a little practice, but they are simple to learn. Get both.
 
I haven't tried to reprofile anything withe my Sharpmaker, but it is very easy to keep your knives sharp on. Maybe 5 minutes of "training" time!
 
Shann said:
I haven't tried to reprofile anything withe my Sharpmaker, but it is very easy to keep your knives sharp on. Maybe 5 minutes of "training" time!
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I have, and it takes forever, even with the diamond rods.
 
I have as well, too about an hour a day for maybe 9-10 days on a aus-6. I wouldn't want to try that on some of the newer stainless.
 
If you are only going to be using it about once or twice a month, don't spend too much money on the system. I suggest you pick up a sharpmaker. I use it maybe twice a week for my knives. It works well and gets the job done! Plus, you can get one for about 50$
 
Those Lansky systems work alright. The stones don't last forever, and your angles are limited, but with a little care to keep the rods in the slots you can really get a keen edge... And you can pick up a deluxe kit for like $30 now.
 
Colog said:
I have, and it takes forever, even with the diamond rods.
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I just want to emphasize that when he says forever, he means it in the literal sense. The sharpmaker can't reprofile much of anything... though that's not what it was meant to do.

For what you want to do, the sharpmaker is perfect. It'll get mostly dull edges nice and sharp again, and in a timely fashion.
 
WonderMonkey said:
Thanks, it demonstrates quite well.

So the Spyderco depends on me keeping the knife vertical, else nothing works out.

The Edgepro keeps the angle but the knife may move therefore starting the contact between the blade and abrasive in the wrong place.

Dang.
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You actually don't have to keep it totally vertical, or even mostly verticle. You'll develop a slight convexing due to your hand moving a bit, and not being perfectly straight, but that's not a problem. You can also change the angle of your hand to change the angle that you sharpen at. It's pretty fool proof.
 
Peter_E_Ryt said:
You actually don't have to keep it totally vertical, or even mostly verticle. You'll develop a slight convexing due to your hand moving a bit, and not being perfectly straight, but that's not a problem. You can also change the angle of your hand to change the angle that you sharpen at. It's pretty fool proof.
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I've got lots of experience at being a fool, so don't underestimate the depth of fool that I can achieve.
 
WonderMonkey said:
I've got lots of experience at being a fool, so don't underestimate the depth of fool that I can achieve.
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Haha- you need not worry about it. They've got hand gaurds to keep you from slicing your self up, and unless you're blatantly angling your hand, you won't effect a working edge much. I was worried about the bevels at first, but after a few minutes, you'll get it down to a fast and fine art. Make sure to pick up a cheap knife so that you can get into groove without accidentally scratching a knife that you don't want scratched.

:thumbup:
 
Peter_E_Ryt said:
Haha- you need not worry about it. They've got hand gaurds to keep you from slicing your self up, and unless you're blatantly angling your hand, you won't effect a working edge much. I was worried about the bevels at first, but after a few minutes, you'll get it down to a fast and fine art. Make sure to pick up a cheap knife so that you can get into groove without accidentally scratching a knife that you don't want scratched.

:thumbup:
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Thanks. I'm going to order one, and possibly the DVD that I can get with it for instructional purposes.

I've got a few cheaper knives that I can practice on.

Thanks for everybody's input.

EDIT: The system comes with a DVD.
 
I use the Lansky diamond stones and have had great success keeping my knives hair popping sharp. That includes some S30V blades.
 
So once I get my factory-edged knives correctly profiled, the Sharpmaker should do just fine, if I am hearing correctly?

I viewed a Lansky system at a place called Gander Mtn. Not sure if the one hanging there is the one Peregrin spoke of.
 
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