Poll - Freehand or Guided?

[Railsplitter]

Freehand for maintaining the edge and Wicked Edge for re-profiling.

 

[3fifty7]

Did you say $2000?



I suppose the $100 cost for a sharpening class at a local shop is a bargain in comparison.

Yes, he’s got right at 2K in his setup. I think some WE sets are in the $400 range.


Also yes, a $100 class that will teach you a life skill will save time, frustration, and money.

 

[Vlade]

Well being thrifty like me I got a $69 work Sharp three stones guided sharpener. It works good for me. But I'm a cheapskate naturally. And it doesn't do such a bad job. My knives are Sharp. Mission completed

 

[311climber]

harder to carry a system out with you in the real world when you do need a knife edge touch-up. some guys carry extra knives. I carry a stone and keep stuff as sharp as I want never needing to face dullness

 

[000Robert]

harder to carry a system out with you in the real world when you do need a knife edge touch-up. some guys carry extra knives. I carry a stone and keep stuff as sharp as I want never needing to face dullness

That's what cases are for. And the new Wicked Edge WE60 & WE66 can be thrown in a bag and taken with you. Just clamp it to a tabletop or a piece of plyboard and you're sharpening. If I were going hiking or something, then I would take my DMT and then fix my messed-up bevels when I got back home. I'm good at getting edges sharp freehand, but the bevels don't look very good.

 

[kwackster]

Both,

 

[Gato do mato]

Hands free.
I use the Work Sharp, which even though it has a slight 20° guide, is still freehand and my blades are razor sharp.
But absolutely nothing against guided users.

 

[Alberta Ed]

Occasionally I use an ancient Buck Honemaster to reset a bevel, but 99% of the time I sharpen freehand.

 

[Blues]

Occasionally I use an ancient Buck Honemaster to reset a bevel, but 99% of the time I sharpen freehand.

Did you uncover it from a glacier in Banff National Park?

(I have one too, which I purchased on recommendation years ago from respected members like yourself...I've not used it yet. Perhaps it will end up in a museum someday. )

 

[master_nylo]

I only sharpen freehand. Not to brag, but I can sharpen almost anything that’s meant to be sharp. I’ve never met something I couldn’t sharpen.

 

[Tensaw]

I was terrible at freehand so I started with a KME and recently got a K03.

 

[Khromo]

When I want to produce a perfect mirror-polished bevel on both sides, I break out the Wicked Edge. It produces edges that look and perform near perfect.

But it is a lot more time consuming than using a hard Ark and water. Here is a blade that I sharpened freehand on a hard Ark with a Herold-Solingen red crayon strop.

I doubt I could get a better score with the guided system, but the guided system would produce a more attractive bevel than I can achieve freehand. I agree the guided systems are great for reprofiling or heavy removal of material, but I can touch up a dull-but-not-damaged blade to hair-popping sharpness in minutes with freehand technique on commonly available stones, so that's what is happening most of the time over here!

 

[ecallahan]

Both for me. I freehand sharpen a few times then go back to the EP, on which I get better results, meaning more even and fully ground bevels. I enjoy freehand more, and aspire to keep getting better at it.