POLL: Sharpening Frequency

Frequency of sharpening/touch-up

  • DAILY

    Votes: 18 13.3%

  • WEEKLY

    Votes: 48 35.6%

  • MONTHLY

    Votes: 39 28.9%

  • A FEW TIMES A YEAR

    Votes: 22 16.3%

  • SEMI-ANNUAL

    Votes: 5 3.7%

  • NEVER

    Votes: 3 2.2%
  • Total voters
    135
I try to avoid sharpening for as long as I can. So, once a month. If I find it is dull I try to bring it back with stropping or back-honing to help
extend it's life. Usually with my more used knives I can bring them back to a sharp level one or two times before they actually need stone work. DM
 
When they gut dull I put them away go to a new EDC knife until I get a chance to do it . so I voted a few times a year . Right now I have around 5 to sharpen and the 940-1 is done dull I just cleaned it and putting it away. I'm looking for a different knife to EDC .
 
Obvious answer : I sharpen when a knife begins to significantly loose performance for the tasks at hand. That could be daily, every few days, weekly, biweekly, rarely do I get a month out of a knife being used daily at work even S110V etc.
 
I said earlier I sharpen a lot, but yeah sometimes I don't think they need that much :rolleyes: I just want em shaving razor sharp :D I think really a few passes at the end of each day is plenty sometimes
 
I think it is safe to assume most of us sharpen as needed. So, it is really more about how much time elapses between each sharpening/touch-up session on average. If i use my blade a lot one day, i will sharpen it before i go to bed, or even in the middle of cutting if needed. But mostly, i make it about 1 to 2 weeks between touch-ups, though im trying to last a month. The thing is, the blade is still useful even if it doesn't pop hairs. So i want to try to avoid sharpening unless actually needed. But it is hard to let your blade lose its hair popping edge when you are able to sharpen it in a couple minutes.
 
My average daily use is light and I have a rotation. So, any given knife gets sharpened a couple of times each year on average.

The exception is an AUS-8 knife that I enjoy which gets touched up with a few passes on the Sharpkeeper fairly frequently. It’s stupid easy to keep screaming sharp so the edge retention relative to “better” steels is not a big deal for me, given my needs & use.
 
Like others, if one gets dull, I rotate it out for another knife. If/when I break out the sharpening supplies, I like to sharpen a few knives at a time.

I voted monthly. I sharpen more during the warmer months here in MI vs the colder months.
 
Good thread Microtech85. I have been curious how I fit in with others as well.

I used to sharpen almost obsessively and probably shortened lifespans of knives as a result though that never really became an issue due to my old habit of buying too many knives. Now I'm retired and on a fixed income I have to moderate. Anyways, unless something comes up I sharpen weekly. That is enough now I use knives less.I do begin by resetting the factory bevel with a guided system. Then often stropping is enough until next time I need to reset and get new steel. That probably once a month on average.

Joe
 
Sharpening on stones a few times a year (so voted this on the poll), but more regular touchups by stropping.
Depending on the steel and on how hard/frequent the knife is used from monthly to weekly touch ups on a strop.
 
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I sharpened far too frequently for quite some time. I have since discovered the joys of stropping/honing and now rarely need to resharpen a folder once it has a good edge (once or twice a month or so). I now give it a few swipes on a steel or the spine of a butcher knife everyday on my way out the door. SHING! SHING! SHING! I really believe it has helped to stretch the lifespan of my edges. And it’s fun.
 
I rotate what I carry and that can be several different knives over the course of a week. Everyone gets touched up or sharpened before it goes in my pocket
 
In greater detail, sharpening a specific, frequently used knife is typically every 3 days because that's how often I end up having a use session long enough to degrade my edges below what I consider optimum, and I like keeping them at peak performance, ready for work. I usually end up touching them up lightly a few times during that session, but then only get light use out of the particular knife for another couple of days. For sharpening any knife, I do so on about a daily basis because something always needs a touchup by my standards, usually kitchen knives or box cutters.
 
I quickly touch them up on my sharpmaker once a week or as needed. I don't actually have to sharpen them for awhile if I touch up often.
 
Not counting multi-tools, I have 15 folding and fixed blade knives, accumulated over a period of thirty years, during which never buying a knife that I didn't expect to use. Fact is, I got most of them at a time in my lifestyle when they were somewhat useful in my daily doings, but nowadays they are mostly for domestic projects.
During seasons of moderate to heavy use, like for home and yard maintenance projects, I touch up or re-sharpen one or another of them weekly. But in addition to times when that is necessary, I like the activity of sharpening. It blanks my mind and soothes my soul. So when all the knives are sufficiently sharp, I make up projects, like lowering or raising the angle of a bevel to see how the knife performs with the change, and afterwards re-profiling when that doesn't work out :):(:D . For sharpening, I have DMT stones from coarse to ultra-fine, a Sharpmaker, several strops and a table facing the television set.
 
I cast my vote for monthly because that seems to be when I get through my rotation. That is getting the work sharp out or on Lansky.
Touch ups on a kitchen steel or strop probably weekly as needed
 
I sharpen as a way to relax. I usually don't have to sharpen so I find stuff to cut just so I can have something to sharpen. If I didn't enjoy using and sharpening knives, I probably find some trouble to get into.
 
I sharpen a few times a year. I wish I could do it more often, but I usually don't have the time or energy.
 
I am surprised to see some people voting for never. I imagine many knife owners if not a majority never sharpen their knives. However, in this community, it is hard to imagine someone going around with a dull knife. Since a lot of us use ceramics here, i want to make a recommendation. If you don't already know, there is a product by lansky called an Eraser Block. It is a ceramic eraser. It cleans of your ceramics quite well and will extend the amount of sharpening you can do before you have to use the comet cleaner and scouring pad. I have had mine for about 3 or 4 years and it is about half way used up.
 
Cleaning/honing/stropping a tool is part of use. It doesn’t happen after I use it, it is the final part of using it.
 
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