Sharpening For a New Guy

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brodiemn27

Joined
Aug 22, 2015
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Howdy,

So I will preface this with the fact that I am new- both to the forum, and to this addiction. I have been a fan of blades for some time, but just recently really diving in past my collection of SOG and Benchmade knives, and have purchased some Chaves and Chris Reeves blades (mid-tech) and hoping to buy some true custom here in the future.

In the past with my SOG and Benchmade production knives, I have traditionally sent them back to the manufacturer for the knife sharpening service. At this point I am really getting into this hobby and want to make an investment in some home gear for sharpening/knife care. I have looked at several options, and at first was looking into systems like the wicked edge and edge pro, and to be honest I didn't like the price point. I know often times with this stuff you get what you pay for, and I definitely want quality that will last, but I am looking for some advice from the more experienced knife junkies out there.

So between the lansky $30-50 systems and the wicked edge $$$ systems, is there really a quality difference that is worth the spend? Also, as far as diamond vs. (non-diamond?), what should I be looking for?

Again, I am new to this, so I would appreciate any and all tips and suggestions as far as educating myself more on knives, sharpening, and care. So far I have been good at spending money on the sexy stuff, and not so good at learning about the intricacies of blades- so, please teach me. Also, any suggestions or links for learning more about sharpening and care (angles, lubrication, cleaning, etc.) would be greatly appreciated.

I looked around a bit on the forum and wasn't able to find a similar post, although I'm sure it is out there, so please forgive me if I am beating a dead horse. If someone has a link to a feed that has already answered these questions please comment.

Thanks!
 
If you have lots of high hrc supersteels diamond might work a little better, but I don't like diamonds for a fine edge.

I'd also look into a sharpmaker. Not so good for reprofiling, but for a newbie helps cut down on error. You'd be able to maintain a nice edge and get learning. I have freehand stones, but still like using my sharpmaker to finish before stropping on cardboard.

Also, try the maintenance and tinkerng subforum.


Edit: Sharpmakers are around $60 I think.

Double edit: Oh yeah, and welcome!
 
The local Benchmade dealer in our area recommends the Work Sharp WSKTS-KO Knife and Tool Sharpener Ken Onion Edition
 
Smiths tri-6 would be a good setup make sure to practice on a really cheap knife first or you may screw your edge up like I did on my Kershaw and then it's a pain to fix
 
I just got the Lansky and took a used BM 950 from barely cutting to shaving sharp. Pretty foolproof and easy to use.
 
Have a look at the worksharp. Absolutely love mine. Practice on some junk knives first. Now I freehand with it. No more guides.
Also either make or buy a strop for maintenance. An old leather belt will suffice, or there are a few makers out there. I have/use a.Billy Strop by Stropman. Excellent product & custom service. Good luck & enjoy. I find stropping very therapeutic and relaxing.
 
First, welcome to the forum.

I've used multiple sharpening systems. I'm decent at freehand sharpening. I own an edgepro. I also own an sharpmaker.

Unless you are going to go the worksharp method, which will train you for belts and powered sharpening, you either are going to need to spend the time it takes to get good at freehand, or invest in a system. It took me a long time to get decent at freehand, and I'm still not good at it.

If you're buying $400 knives, the investment it takes to take control of sharpening is worthwhile. If you CAN do it another way, GREAT. But don't cut off your nose to spite your face. Knives are only fun and interesting if they're sharp. Having a drawer full of "meh" sharp knives sucks. Do what it takes to get sharp knives. If you invest in a wicked edge or edge pro, you can always sell it later, and consider the the lost $$ between new and used prices as the price of learning and having sharp knives while learning to get good at freehand.

Lansky generally has limited angles, scratches blades, and generally is more of a chore than other systems. Which is why it's cheap. If you have high wear steels, it gets boring and becomes very, very unappetizing quickly. The reason for the price differences is the ergonomic/comfort principle.

Zero
 
Here's the skinny. You are buying good knives (aside from SOG) and the price of an Edge Pro or Wicked Edge is less than a new knife. You want to sharpen, good, do it right. Ignore the guys saying get a stone or a grinder or paper wheels. You need to learn angles and pressure and without a person to teach you, you need repeatable and consistent results and a system like Edge Pro or Wicked Edge give you that.

In short, don't cheap out now, get a system, commit to it and after 40 hours of sharpening you'll probably be amazed by what type of edge you can produce. Get into fancy stones or other methods later if you turn into a sharpening nut.
 
Skimo said:
Here's the skinny. You are buying good knives (aside from SOG) and the price of an Edge Pro or Wicked Edge is less than a new knife. You want to sharpen, good, do it right. Ignore the guys saying get a stone or a grinder or paper wheels. You need to learn angles and pressure and without a person to teach you, you need repeatable and consistent results and a system like Edge Pro or Wicked Edge give you that.

In short, don't cheap out now, get a system, commit to it and after 40 hours of sharpening you'll probably be amazed by what type of edge you can produce. Get into fancy stones or other methods later if you turn into a sharpening nut.
Click to expand...

Um, 40 hours? Seems very excessive for any system.
without knowing much of anything you can sharpen like this How to Sharpen a Knife with Paul Sellers
DSC_00821.jpg
 
bucketstove said:
Um, 40 hours? Seems very excessive for any system.
without knowing much of anything you can sharpen like this How to Sharpen a Knife with Paul Sellers
DSC_00821.jpg
Click to expand...

40 hours is excessive with any system but freehand, at multiple angles across different knives, where you train your eyeballs.

The Paul Sellers system seems geared towards creating a single angle, which will work, but with different knives, beveled differently, of high wear steel... that means reprofiling. If the OP wants to reprofile all his knives, then he needs to say that. Most sane people don't.

If he wants to be able to do multiple angles, then freehand, or guided systems are the only choices. If he's fine with one angle, then the sellers method seems fine. If he wants 2 angles, the sharpmaker works fine.

Zero
 
Zero_Time said:
40 hours is excessive with any system but freehand, at multiple angles across different knives, where you train your eyeballs.

The Paul Sellers system seems geared towards creating a single angle, which will work, but with different knives, beveled differently, of high wear steel... that means reprofiling. If the OP wants to reprofile all his knives, then he needs to say that. Most sane people don't.

If he wants to be able to do multiple angles, then freehand, or guided systems are the only choices. If he's fine with one angle, then the sellers method seems fine. If he wants 2 angles, the sharpmaker works fine.

Zero
Click to expand...

hi :) i think paul sellers video is geared to not having to know anything :)
there is no reason you couldn't do exact angle matching / multiple angles the way paul shows
just have the stone/paddle hang off the end of table,
then vary the distance of knife edge from end of table,
but then that is knowing something :)

there are a lot of choices out there, its hard to choose without trying something first :) might as well try with a cheap stone on cheap paring knife, they're very versatile, then you figure out a direction

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Midrange-Knife-Sharpening-Jig

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40 hours is excessive for sharpening? Hardly. Once you see how horribly uneven most edge bevels are especially towards the tip. To set the bevels evenly at 15 DPS on 6 knives that are made with wear resistant steel, using sharpie to match angles perfectly and taking the time to properly dress the stones, those 6 knives at even 1,000 grit will cost a new sharpener easily 12 hours. Yep. 40 hours at the beginning before you can reliably have the length of a blade tree topping sharp. In a world of guys who think factory sharp is the best 40 hours is nothing, heck factory sharp is a paying job and the guys doing the sharpening have standards to meet. 40 hours of self training for edges that good and you think it's excessive? Besides if you're too lazy to learn or sharpness ends up being something you don't care about, you can easily resell EP and WE with little lost.
 
WELCOME!

I read the "40 hours" as refering to total time spent gaining sharpening experience, not sharpening one knife. ;)

For such a collection, the expense of a system like KME or Wicked Edge could be justified.

Personally, I'd go with a KME diamond system for major work and a Spyderco Sharpmaker for routine touch-ups. And a Strop for the finishing touch.
 
I suppose everyone should buy an inexpensive whetstone and see if they have the knack -- which most people don't -- of being able to use it. If you do, then you're golden and don't need any systems.
 
I suppose I should have clarified, yes 40 cumulative hours of practice. ;)
 
I learned on a Lansky with the metal clamp. It is easy and fool proof for beginners. I now free hand pretty good with various stones and learned how to strop. A piece of leather and $2 worth of green compound can keep your knife sharp for a LONG time.
 
Monofletch said:
I learned on a Lansky with the metal clamp. It is easy and fool proof for beginners. I now free hand pretty good with various stones and learned how to strop. A piece of leather and $2 worth of green compound can keep your knife sharp for a LONG time.
Click to expand...

I agree with this, but I've never tried a high end guided system. Lansky does a good job for me and everything I learned from it helped me to get better at freehand. I'm not saying the high end systems aren't better, I just know nothing about them.
 
just throwing this suggestion out there-- i like my edge pro and sure it was a healthy investment, about 550 total including everything, but once i learned it i was able to acheive consistency. you seem to have a nice collection so maybe EP is the way to go. personally the shapton glass 500, 1000, 4000, and 8k work great. if i am reprofiling then i start w the atoma 140 followed by the 220 SG and then the same progression i just mentioned. just one guys advice on what works well--ymmv
 
postoak said:
I suppose everyone should buy an inexpensive whetstone and see if they have the knack -- which most people don't -- of being able to use it. If you do, then you're golden and don't need any systems.
Click to expand...

Like most things in life, I think very few people are naturally good at sharpening. Some are for sure. Some are simply more mechanically skilled than others. But I think most people can learn to sharpen reasonably well, as long as they have a foundation for how to do it, and how to observe their results.

In the martial arts, we often hear it repeated that you need something like 3000 to 5000 repetitions of a particular motion in order for it to become ingrained and "automatic". Some people call this muscle memory. Sharpening is similar. It requires repetition to build skill and experience. Much like any other mechanical skill in life: Driving, typing, riding a bike, or even performing a job function that you do many times over. The more you do it, the better you become.

Brian.
 
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