Recommendation? Sharpener

W

Wannabe Rambo Guy

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Feb 11, 2020
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Hi peeps! I've been contemplating purchasing a K.O. Worksharp, but I've concluded that I don't want to drop that much on a sharpener. I don't have many knives, but I do own from a 7" blade, and on down to a SAK. In your opinion, what would be a good sharpener for a newbie at sharpening, that's under the $100 dollar range? Thank you very much for reading this, and I hope everyone has a great Tuesday today👊
 
The Work Sharp Precision Adjust Knife Sharpener would be my choice if I was on a budget.

The K.O. Worksharp is a really good sharpener that is very fast. I use it for all of my kitchen knives and can finish dozens in under 30 minutes. There is a slight learning curve since you can easily round the tips if you're not careful. I would practice on a few cheap knives before sharpening any nice knives you have. I use the Wicked Edge on all of my really nice knives, but that's not a cheap sharpener.
 
Worksharp came out with that new guided sharpener for about 40$, I have one and found that it DOES NOT sharpen small knives well lol. Bigger (or rather, thiccer) knives do okay.

I've been using my beat up spyderco sharpmaker for years and it still does a decent job, so I'd recommend that as a beginner tool (a little expensive in my opinion for some rods and plastic, you can probably find it way cheaper here on the exchange). People say the diamond rods are a must, I find I rarely use them because they don't last all that long and my blades are rarely beat to s*** that I need them.

I think most of my friends and acquaintances use the KME, it's a little more expensive but does a great job.

Personally, I use a 2 sided stone for yuuuge knives, sharpmaker for my kitchen and smaller pocket knives, and Worksharp when I'm bored with the first two, good luck!
 
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Dergyll said:
Worksharp came out with that new guided sharpener for about 40$, I have one and found that it DOES NOT sharpen small knives well lol. Bigger (or rather, thiccer) knives do okay.

I've been using my beat up spyderco sharpmaker for years and it still does a decent job, so I'd recommend that as a beginner tool (a little expensive in my opinion for some rods and plastic, you can probably find it way cheaper here on the exchange). People say the diamond rods are a must, I find I rarely use them because they don't last all that long and my blades are rarely beat to s*** that I need them.

I think most of my friends and acquaintances use the KME, it's a little more expensive but does a great job.

Personally, I use a 2 sided stone for yuuuge knives, sharpmaker for my kitchen and smaller pocket knives, and Worksharp when I'm bored with the first two, good luck. I seen that, but also seen that it doesn't hold a knife with a 1/4" spine well. I use my Fallkniven a1 alot, and would pull the trigger on that exact sharpener for $50, but not sure if what was said about that sharpener not being able to hold a knife with a 1/4" spine true. That scares me😂
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The grabber thing that holds the knife in place is not very well designed and can use some work...I can see certain knives having issues with it...A1 should be okay though, let me test it later when I get home.

Sharpmaker though, highly recommend. Alot more versatile than it looks (you can lay the rods flat on the back and use them like stones!). Sharpens SAKs in minutes...I like buying old beat up SAKs and restoring them.
 
Dergyll said:
The grabber thing that holds the knife in place is not very well designed and can use some work...I can see certain knives having issues with it...A1 should be okay though, let me test it later when I get home.

Sharpmaker though, highly recommend. Alot more versatile than it looks (you can lay the rods flat on the back and use them like stones!). Sharpens SAKs in minutes...I like buying old beat up SAKs and restoring them.
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Thanks, brother. I appreciate it!👊 There unfortunately is a paint shortage.. no lie.. I didn't believe it, but google paint shortage.. it's true😂 F@hk.. So I have the day off today unfortunately, and am youtubing the guided worksharp again, and now the sharp maker. I'd love to keep my blades sharp, and eventually get some stones, and practice with them, after I purchase something easier to use, considering my amateur butt
 
Sharpening knives can be a whole nother universe.....
I'm often on the lookout for something better?
I've got..... Stones, diamond files, ceramic sticks, grinders, you name it.
I'm still looking..... Curious.

Something I like is a sharpening/honing steel made by a fellow BF member. has a subforum here Gossman Knives
GST Gossman Survival Tool (large)
It's a version of an Ole timey sharpening steel. It's Hardened d2 steel that you run down your edges.

Idk how it works? haha...... but it does.
I use it for small knives, easily..... But I rub it on choppers, machettes, and axes too. and garden tools.
Check them out.

It's advertised for splitting pelvic bones, so Ya know it's gotta be Good!

​

 
Learning to sharpen is an art and a skill. While the systems do work, the best edges are produced free hand. Get a 600 grit diamond plate (DMT or Atoma) and a 1k Chosera, or comparable and learn. There are lots of good YouTube videos out there. There are also some horrible ones. Burrfection is excellent. As a long time straight razor enthusiast, properly sharpening my edges has been and is critical to getting a good shave. While knife sharpening doesn't require the same fineness, it does require skill and has a learning curve. Be patient, start on an inexpensive knife. Learn to find the apex and maintain that apex. It's fun and can lead you down a very deep rabbit hole. I've got the JNATs to prove it.
 
1.What kind of blade steel are you sharpening? If you have a lot of 8Crxx, 440c, 420hc, etc. you probably don't need a diamond or a hard Si stone. If you have M4, Cruwear, Maxamet, etc or plan to get those in the future, you might need something to sharpen the tougher steels.

2. Do you want a guided system or free hand? It sounds like your prefer a guided system?

Nothing wrong with a Spydeco Sharpmaker if that is your choice.

Lansky makes some decent guided system. You can even get a diamond system for under your budget.
 
I have a K.O. Worksharp, a Spyderco Sharpmaker and some Spyderco ceramic benchstones. I like all three for different reasons but if I as to only keep one it would be the Worksharp. It is easy and quick to use. If you don't want to spend the money on a Worksharp and you don't want to learn how to sharpen freehand then it is difficult to go wrong with a Spyderco Sharpmaker.
 
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I have a pile of different guided sharpening systems and free hand bench stones and whatnot, and every sort of strop and polishing compound. For one guided system I have something like a dozen different grits, for another something like twenty. That said, nowadays I use coffee cups for touching up pretty much anything within reason. If I need to heavily grind something I use a more appropriate tool for the job (e.g. knocking the shoulders off a fat edge bevel) but everything else gets the coffee mug. Admittedly I stop at the "it shaves arm hair easily" level of sharpness. I sharpen for cutting performance 99%, and rarely go for the pointless mirror polishing routine, which is a neat thing to do for a while but once the novelty wears off it offers little or no practical value to me.

IMO, just about any abrasive can work--even the bottom of a ceramic coffee mug--so the the real most important requirements to becoming proficient at sharpening are these:

1. One or more cheap knives that you don't mind dulling/scratching/grinding away on
2. Practice

If you hand me a dull (not dinged up badly, just dull) pocket knife and a coffee mug in most cases I can make it shave arm hair in thirty seconds, but I sharpen knives frequently. Practice is the key.

For a reasonably inexpensive guided system I like the Spyderco Sharpmaker basic set (throw the fine stones out/in a drawer though, keep the mediums) and then add a couple of much more aggressive ruby 320 1/2" triangular stones from congresstools for $15 or so. Use the 320s as your rough and the mediums as your fine polishing stones and you can sharpen anything.

Or if you have a beater gas station knife lying around grab a ceramic coffee cup, dull the knife if it's sharp by running the edge vertically along the rim at the bottom of the cup like you're trying to lightly cut through the cup, then verify it doesn't cut paper. Next, swipe the edge across the bottom rim of the cup at an angle appropriate to the edge bevel (where the edge bevel would be parallel to the bottom). You'll know you've found the right-ish angle when you can form a burr that you can feel from the opposite side. Then reverse hands or directions, flipping the knife to do the opposite side. If you maintain a somewhat consistent angle and manage to raise and then remove a burr, you will end up with a knife that at least cuts paper. All of which sounds far more confusing in text than it feels in practice after you do it.

To quote Ricky from TPB, "it's not rocket appliances". Sharpening is a simple process that just requires practice.
 
So lots to consider after setting the budget

Free Hand vs Guided?
If Guided do you want Powered or Manual?
What steel(s) will you be sharpening?
Do you plan or want to change the edge angle?
How polished do you want to go?
What kind of storage space do you have for a kit?

I can't say much for the free hand stones and methods I just cant do it but for guided I can see a few quick options of note in the budget.

Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener - it is a step down from the KO edition but is the only powered option with a guide
Work Sharp Precision Adjust - It is a guided system along the lines of the KME and such but more limited and budget friendly
Lansky - A few options to consider top end price looks to be about $115 so it just depends on your needs and desires weighed in against your budget
Spyderco Sharpmaker - No experience with this myself but it is mentioned so often by so many from a brand I would trust I will trust that it is as good as claimed.

You may also find some of these options for less on a used market but you might not get as much life out of any stones or belts.
 
I use the Spyderco Sharpmaker, works fine at keeping all my blades sharp, easy to use, under $100.
 
it is raining in ROME1000 right now, so i have time to browse forums and post my 2 cents if not :poop:.

it is not about money or equipment, but skill and really knowing what you're doing. once you're skilled you'll need 1 stone only. to get there, i started with several guided rod systems, experienced a lot along the way (so i am thankful in a way lol), eventually bought the Sharpmaker, liked it okay, then bought benchstones (1 is worth 400USD?), spent hundreds of hours with them, and after a while i returned to the Sharpmaker with my own technique. the bulk of my sharpening tasks gets done by the Sharpmaker, it's an energy-efficient sustainable way to go. In general, i grew tired of handling benchstones or guided rods sharpening systems. how much energy do you have? (ooh that makes me sound like a s*ssy lol 🤣)
other folks retire and sell the Sharpmaker and stick with the benchstones. to each her own.

10 months ago a pal bought the Sharpmaker because i recommended it (like i am doing it here). days after he went on a shopping spree and bought a whole bunch of cheap and expensive benchstones (and leather strops and Japanese chef knives) because $$$$ and storage space is of no concern to him and he got other influences too (youtube), not just Sharpening Master Me. I am sure that he never uses the Sharpmarker, i will send him a text later and ask about it. i have yet to see his sharpening skills.

what one would NOT use the Sharpmaker for are straight blades like Spyderco Yojimbo. a Stanley utility blade is straight for example. of course one can sharpen Yojimbo and Stanley with Sharpmaker but the blade (edge) won't be straight anymore. just practice with a Stanley and you'll see what i mean.

i don't have a Yojimbo but i do need/want to maintain straight edges for certain blades (e.g. from my pruners). and that's best done with a 100.00% mean flat benchstone. For straight razors and Stanley blades a benchstone is the natural choice too, even though these blades don't have to be straight for the cutting task.

Argh it is still raining in Rome. ****! so should i blab more? :p
 
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gazz98 said:
1.What kind of blade steel are you sharpening? If you have a lot of 8Crxx, 440c, 420hc, etc. you probably don't need a diamond or a hard Si stone. If you have M4, Cruwear, Maxamet, etc or plan to get those in the future, you might need something to sharpen the tougher steels.

2. Do you want a guided system or free hand? It sounds like your prefer a guided system?

Nothing wrong with a Spydeco Sharpmaker if that is your choice.

Lansky makes some decent guided system. You can even get a diamond system for under your budget.
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gazz98 said:
1.What kind of blade steel are you sharpening? If you have a lot of 8Crxx, 440c, 420hc, etc. you probably don't need a diamond or a hard Si stone. If you have M4, Cruwear, Maxamet, etc or plan to get those in the future, you might need something to sharpen the tougher steels.

2. Do you want a guided system or free hand? It sounds like your prefer a guided system?

Nothing wrong with a Spydeco Sharpmaker if that is your choice.

Lansky makes some decent guided system. You can even get a diamond system for under your budget.
Click to expand...
It's all pretty much outdoor 1085, KaBar, Rowen.. 420 from Buck, vg from my spyderco and Fallkniven. I'm not sure if I'll ever have one of them newer steels.. I'm pretty much in the 100-200 max, on the money I spend on knives. This is why I'm having an issue debating myself on the ko Worksharp. It would be a great investment in the long run for me though.. I guess😂 I will be starting to use my knives alot more, as I'm starting my hikes on Sunday again, real soon. Never forget Probert and Burr, baby!👊
 
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