OK, cop to it...

I have a hinged block where I can set the angle when I profile a knife. I actually don't use that for anything except as a prop for my DMT stones (which stay parallel with the table.)

I do have a DMT Aligner for reprofiling jobs, but I don't use any angle equipment for regular maintenance of the edge.
 
Yeah, but I'm taling just the quick and dirty "It could use a little sharpening, but I only have a couple of minutes' touch up. Nobody else???? I feel soooo alone.
 
I never owned one of those things. I worked at a sporting goods store when I was young and ran a DM'd (damaged, to be sent to manufacturer) knife through the one we sold but I wasn't impressed with the result. Since that time in the 80's I've never used one of those things again.
 
jimh0220 said:
Yeah, but I'm taling just the quick and dirty "It could use a little sharpening, but I only have a couple of minutes' touch up. Nobody else???? I feel soooo alone.
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That's what I use my Spyderco Double Stuff stone for. Only takes 2 or 3 passes per side. Then some light stropping after that. Done in a flash.

The same could be done with a DMT Coarse/Fine diamond pocket hone. A little more aggressive, if the edge needs a little more. Still can be done quick.
 
jimh0220 said:
Yeah, but I'm taling just the quick and dirty "It could use a little sharpening, but I only have a couple of minutes' touch up. Nobody else???? I feel soooo alone.
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But if that is all that the knife needs then why use more than a strop? A couple of minutes of stropping is easily enough to turn a sharpish knife into a 'shaving sharp' knife.
 
jimh0220 said:
Apparently I'm theonly one who uses a pre angled sharpener. You're making me look lazy:mad:. Come on, even the much beloved Spyderco makes one. Am I the only one in this forum??? I feel so dirty...
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Don't worry. I use a really old lansky diamond set that my dad passed down to me.
My edges are hair whittling, although my stropping regiment is what makes my blades sharp my lansky gets me a little more than shaving stropping get's me splitting
 
I have some pre-angled sharpeners; EdgePro, Sharpmaker, and a pull-through carbide (if the trash didn't claim it); but my quick and dirty sharpening is either freehand on a Spyderco Double-Stuff or freehand on a DMT coarse/fine Duofold. For slow and dirty, I use 'em both.
 
dawsonbob said:
My mother had one of those pull-through things back in the '50s and '60s. Made my dad and I wince in pain to see what she did to blades. I think that's about what they're good for, at least the ones I've seen: destroying blades, and making people who respect knives wince.

There are any number of ways to touch up a blade without resorting to one of those things. YMMV, of course.
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This reminds me (I'd completely forgotten until I read your post) what my mother used to do. Back in the '70s or '80s, she used to use an electric can opener with a built-in 'sharpener' (2 angled slots, allowing the user to draw the knife edge through, to be 'sharpened' on the motor-driven grinding wheel). At that time, I was essentially completely ignorant of how to 'properly' sharpen a knife, but even then I CRINGED every time I heard her drag one of her kitchen knives through that thing. Very noisy, and she was quite heavy-handed with the pressure too. I just KNEW it was WRONG. I've since wondered if she ruined the temper on some of those knives. Thankfully, she eventually gave up on using it (although I suspect it was just because she didn't like the noise; almost as nerve-grating as a dentist's drill).
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
This reminds me (I'd completely forgotten until I read your post) what my mother used to do. Back in the '70s or '80s, she used to use an electric can opener with a built-in 'sharpener' (2 angled slots, allowing the user to draw the knife edge through, to be 'sharpened' on the motor-driven grinding wheel). At that time, I was essentially completely ignorant of how to 'properly' sharpen a knife, but even then I CRINGED every time I heard her drag one of her kitchen knives through that thing. Very noisy, and she was quite heavy-handed with the pressure too. I just KNEW it was WRONG. I've since wondered if she ruined the temper on some of those knives. Thankfully, she eventually gave up on using it (although I suspect it was just because she didn't like the noise; almost as nerve-grating as a dentist's drill).
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LOL. My mother had one of those, too (I suspect that all mothers did, back then), but preferred the pull-through thingie. It was terrible, and left little piles of metal on the counter from scraping it off the blade. She swore by it though, and we all make allowances for moms.
 
dawsonbob said:
LOL. My mother had one of those, too (I suspect that all mothers did, back then), but preferred the pull-through thingie. It was terrible, and left little piles of metal on the counter from scraping it off the blade. She swore by it though, and we all make allowances for moms.
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This is the thing about those sharpeners. They actually work. When my Mom has a dull knife, she pulls it through the preset angle carbide gizmo a few times, and as if by some mysterious magic, the knife suddenly cuts better. Sure, they wear much more than other methods. Even so, she's had the same knives for decades and they still have lots of life left.

That they work does not mean that they are the be-all end-all way to sharpen a knife. Most knife nuts, and quite a few non knife nuts, know better. But they don't have to attain such a high bar. They just have to be good enough.

Furthermore, if you know not only the "hows" of sharpening, but also the "whys", you'll get better performance out of those carbide pull through sharpeners. I maintain that the medium by which one sharpens is far less important then the know-how behind one's method of sharpening. Personally, when I opt for a carbide sharpener, I prefer the freehand type over a preset angle pull through device. But the means by which they abrade steel and sharpen an edge is pretty much the same, and can be utilized to satisfaction without much trouble.
 
I have one made by Smith's.
It's yellow.
Preset carbide one one side and preset ceramic rod on the other. It's useful for touch-up and is part of my back-pack kit.

Works fine for what it is.
It cost less than 10 dollars.

I am not ashamed of it.
 
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Angus McGunnigl said:
I have one made by Smith's.
It's yellow.
Preset carbide one one side and preset ceramic rod on the other. It's useful for touch-up and is part of my back-pack kit.

Works fine for what it is.
It cost less than 10 dollars.

I am not ashamed of it.
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I almost bought that one, but there was a Smith's Coarse/Fine diamond hone next to it for $4 more I decided I have to have.

It's a lot quicker and less awkward than using a small Arkansas stone. I doubt it's as fast as using a pull-through, but it puts a really keen edge on things.

In fact I haven't used my waterstone at all since buying it.
 
I use the Spyderco Sharpmaker if that qualifies for your criterion, but I do not feel any shame for using it. It is an excellent tool.
 
There are a lot of ways to get a sharp edge on a blade, but only I have been told the One True Way.

Unfortunately, I can't remember what it was, so I can't share it ... it was really neat, though. It's hell to get old, and not remember things.:D

Perhaps the voices that only I can hear will come again and remind me.

Had something to do with diamonds, though ... I think. Maybe it was something else.
 
Generally if I'm in a hurry I just grab a nice sharp knife out of the box in my sock drawer. If I have to touch one up quick and dirty I'll just increase the angle and run it over a 750 grit diamond stone a few times. This increases the amount of effort I'll have to use later when I wind up having to re-establish the secondary bevel, but it works in a pinch if the edge is hammered anyway. If I were going to buy a gizmo I'd like to give one of these a go, but they're hardly cheap.

http://www.kitchenknifepro.com/teed2raraypr.html
 
Hi There,
I've got wheels recomened by Richard, and a knife in my pocket that if you even look at it you'll BLEED !!!!!!!!!!!!

Electric...
 
Hi There'
I've got the wheel system and a knife in my pocket so sharp that if you even look at it you'll bleed!!!!!!!!!!

Electric...
 
No preset angles for me either. I've got an old and very small (1x3 inches?) diamond stone in my EDC bag and then strop with the backside of my belt.
 
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