Sharpening system
- Thread starter JcyHunter
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Spyderco sharpmaker is simple and effective for me.
Another vote here for the Sharpmaker. Simple, effective, and well below your price range. Plus, you can buy ultra fine and diamond rods to go with the medium and fine rods the system comes with. I’ve had mine for around 3 years and highly recommend it.
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The Ken Onion Worksharp is around $120-$150 depending on vendor and sales if you want something with some guides and would be quick and easy but I do have my own concerns with such a system. The Sharpmaker is one many people stand by I personally haven't used it but seems solid. You can also look into the Lansky systems for an inexpensive clamp system.
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Try freehand sharpening - all you need are some bench stones.
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My suggestion is a bit more expensive, but my criteria was to spend about what I would on a good knife. I have the KME system with 4 diamond sharpening plates. Just add a strop and a 4 micron emulsion for that mirror edge.
It works very well and you can easily keep a fine edge or re-profile a blade easily. You can skip the base and make one with a hex bolt, a piece of wood, two washers and a nut from the hardware store. I have tried other lesser options and they never worked very well for me.
Good luck finding what you are looking for.
It works very well and you can easily keep a fine edge or re-profile a blade easily. You can skip the base and make one with a hex bolt, a piece of wood, two washers and a nut from the hardware store. I have tried other lesser options and they never worked very well for me.
Good luck finding what you are looking for.
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B
bnanaphone
I got the KME myself recently but with the given budget it goes well past that so I didn't mention it but it would be my recommendation otherwise. That is partly why I added the Lansky to the list it is similar but much more budget friendly start.
Thanks everyone for the replies. The steels I would be sharpening vary quite a bit. A lot of carbon steel, also vg10, D2, and some s30v. I can do a pretty decent job free hand, but can’t seem to get a blade crazy sharp like I’ve seen others here achieve.
It sounds like you need a guided system as that is the easiest way to get hair-whittling sharpness (for me at least), and silicon carbide stones will handle all those steels. You'll also want something very fine, either a strop, lapping film, or ultrafine ceramic, since you're targeting "crazy sharp." Your budget is on the low end for this, so you may need to get creative.
I recommend you pick up a BORIDE Engineered Abrasives "kit" of CS-HD type stones as an affordable way into this, and find or even make a system to work with these. The "Fine" kit has stones in 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200 in the FEPA F scale, and the 1/8" x 1/2" x 6" size is about $19, more for larger sizes.
If you can stretch your budget for a Hapstone M2 that appears to be a well made model, though I haven't used it. If not perhaps get the Hapstone Universal Stone Holder for $33 and figure out how to build your own base for it. Or watch eBay for an Edge Pro Apex, but if you haven't used one it may be hard to recognize a (poorly made) counterfeit.
A strop can be as simple as a wooden paint stick, and if cut to 6" it can be mounted like a stone to a guided system. Many different compounds can work; my first was Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish.
I recommend you pick up a BORIDE Engineered Abrasives "kit" of CS-HD type stones as an affordable way into this, and find or even make a system to work with these. The "Fine" kit has stones in 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200 in the FEPA F scale, and the 1/8" x 1/2" x 6" size is about $19, more for larger sizes.
If you can stretch your budget for a Hapstone M2 that appears to be a well made model, though I haven't used it. If not perhaps get the Hapstone Universal Stone Holder for $33 and figure out how to build your own base for it. Or watch eBay for an Edge Pro Apex, but if you haven't used one it may be hard to recognize a (poorly made) counterfeit.
A strop can be as simple as a wooden paint stick, and if cut to 6" it can be mounted like a stone to a guided system. Many different compounds can work; my first was Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish.
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What are you using to free hand? What is your lowest grit stone?
Pick up a red permanent marker for marking the bevel and if you don't already have one, I'd recommend an 8" Norton Crystolon course silicon carbide stone.
Start with one of the carbon steel knives. Come here and ask for help if you need to. Raise a burr. Flip the knife over, raise a burr. Lightly deburr both sides. That's the basics. You can achieve very sharp blades on low grits. Once you've got that down, you can start branching out into higher grits, different mediums, etc.
You may find a "budget" guided system frustrating as well as they often lack the precision that you're chasing in the first place.
Why? Or do you not consider an Edge Pro style jig guided since it's half freehand? Because you can slide a thin knife like that along the Edge Pro blade table to keep it supported though it does take some practice.
I consider Edge Pro style jigs guided, same as my Ruixin. Both are guided systems. And i like them. However, there are many blade types (shapes) which are "simply not suitable" (quote/opinion by kreisler) to be treated on a guided system. Anyway, i tried hard and i failed.
"100% impossible" was an overstatement to make my point. haha
( so i won't argue the point )
EDIT: i have deleted the arguable point. there's no point in arguing no pun intended
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I would like to try that some time. Does Edge Pro in Hood River have that setup, or is this something of your own construction?
sickpuppy1
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EdgePro Inc sells a magnet assembly that you can mount to your existing EP, or if buying a new one ,can be added on.
EP sells a magnet option for both the Apex and Pro, the Pro needs a hole drilled into the body though. Liking to tinker my setup does differ. The Slide Guide started out as something I wanted once I started using magnets. And I think my putzing around with magnets was perhaps some catalyst for Ben to add them to the Apex and Pro.
kreisler, I don't freehand so I am not aware of a knife style not best done with a guided system if I am doing it. For me guided is far more accurate and repeatable, the latter being the most important. I might need to modify/make items to make a guided system work but I've done it before many times. The stronger magnets and rubber sheet are my own modifications. No one system makes everyone happy, and I am quite picky.
kreisler, I don't freehand so I am not aware of a knife style not best done with a guided system if I am doing it. For me guided is far more accurate and repeatable, the latter being the most important. I might need to modify/make items to make a guided system work but I've done it before many times. The stronger magnets and rubber sheet are my own modifications. No one system makes everyone happy, and I am quite picky.
Yeah agreed, no argument here
. Just saying, if i gave you a geman filleting knife (special properties: long blade AND very thin blade AND very light blade (little mass) AND having a recurve AND very narrow blade AND having a small but pronounced belly near the top AND made out of cheap ductile metal AND being easily flexible like a feather) and wanted every millimeter scary sharp directly coming out of your EP, then you'd be sweating to get this task done in any acceptable time frame before you admitted defeat Clamping systems (KME, Lansky, Wicked Edge, etc) wouldn't do better here either, they'd do worse actually.