Sharpening the easy way

Surfingringo

Surfingringo

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May 25, 2013
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Well, that's what I want! I have never been great at putting an edge on a knife. So I would like to get some opinions on the best sharpener that meets MY criteria.

1. Easy to use. Cant stress this enough. I want something quick and easy that I can use for a few minutes and put a good edge on my knives. I would like them to shave the hair off my leg, but they don't have to be surgical shaving razor sharp. I mean...if I can get that without too much time, great, but I'm willing to sacrifice a little perfection for ease of use. Based on my track record with sharpening, it needs to be kind of dummy proof too. :o

2. Affordable. I want something of quality that works, but I don't have to have the "Rolls Royce"

3. Compact. The smaller the better.

I have heard about the spyderco sharpmaker, but don't know much about it. Would that fit my criteria? Any other suggestions welcome.

Thanks in advance,

Lance
 
I have the spyderco sharpmaker and it works great specially at that price point. you can put a pretty decent edge on the blade in just a few minutes and setup is quick and easy. you get 2 sets of ceramic rods with 4 grits and you just work the edge down each grit till your happy with the results. it comes in a nice compact package to keep and store it. it also comes with an instructional dvd to make it fool proof just watch and follow.
 
@Surfingringo

IMHO, the Sharpmaker would fit your requirements. I have one and like it. It does the job quickly, easily, and painlessly. Some people like to use stones and that is very cool - both Dad & Grandfather used stones and taught me how. I used them for years. But the Sharpmaker has many of the benefits of stones without the difficulty or time consumption. I'm about the knives, not the sharpening. For some, sharpening is a big part of the experience and that is very cool for them. Just not my thing and it sounds like it might not be yours.

Watch this video and get a feel for what the Sharpmaker is all about:

[video=youtube_share;3v6HLN-Q7Ms]http://youtu.be/3v6HLN-Q7Ms=15m0s[/video]

But to each his/her own and this is clearly JMO.
 
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DMT Diafold sharpeners. Diamond plates, one sided or double sided, at most $35 and about the size of a balisong, folds shut like one. Puts a pretty darn good edge on if you use the Fine stone. I carry one in my pocket everyday. Wet it before use, water but never oil, because dry sharpening heats up the knife edge and makes your job harder.

As for getting an edge on a knife, well, think 45 degrees for a production knife. Try to sharpen at that 45 degree angle, slowly, until your hands get used to doing it automatically. Watch as the edge comes into contact with the stone, it should be flush against it. If you aren't achieving an edge with that angle, go a little more shallow, a bit at a time until you are hitting the sweet spot. You want to move the entire edge of the knife across the stone while simultaneously moving from one end of the stone to the other. So, the knife should be going in sort of a diagonal direction. Hope all that helps. Choice of steel is a big part of it too, as poor steel will have you trying for hours to get a sharp edge.

I'd like to add that there is something relaxing and meditational about sharpening a knife, and I feel you can't get that with the table mounted sharpeners. Not to mention, if you need to sharpen your knife or touch it up anywhere outside of your home, you'll need something portable that you know how to use. I dunno about these other guys, but I like touching my knife up at work after a bout of hard use, *just in case*.
 
The best tools in the world are only as good as the person using them.
 
Yes, I agree. First you have to learn how to sharpen, then your thread question will be answered. Learning to sharpen well is not that hard, but it's not quick and easy, either.

There is also the option to send you knives off to one of the sharpening experts here from time to time. It's a pretty cheap service. Then buy knives with the use more wear resistant steels.
 
Surfingringo said:
Well, that's what I want! I have never been great at putting an edge on a knife. So I would like to get some opinions on the best sharpener that meets MY criteria.

1. Easy to use. Cant stress this enough. I want something quick and easy that I can use for a few minutes and put a good edge on my knives. I would like them to shave the hair off my leg, but they don't have to be surgical shaving razor sharp. I mean...if I can get that without too much time, great, but I'm willing to sacrifice a little perfection for ease of use. Based on my track record with sharpening, it needs to be kind of dummy proof too. :o

2. Affordable. I want something of quality that works, but I don't have to have the "Rolls Royce"

3. Compact. The smaller the better.

I have heard about the spyderco sharpmaker, but don't know much about it. Would that fit my criteria? Any other suggestions welcome.

Thanks in advance,

Lance
Click to expand...

Why not just take the time to learn to sharpen? Numbers two and three are easily obtainable (you could go the sandpaper and mousepad route) but there aren't many methods of sharpening that will only take a few minutes to go from dull to shaving sharp unless you really know what you are doing.
 
sounds to me like he is asking for an easy sharpener to learn on that also meets his requirements so feel free to suggest a brand/model.
 
I really think the diamond stones are the easiest handheld option to both learn on and maintain and edge with.
 
Why don't you just learn to sharpen? Yep, that's what I'm shooting for bro. But I think that just because I don't want to spend a half hour a day honing my edges on an Arkansas stone doesn't mean I don't want to learn anything. I'm all about learning. That's why I'm asking for advice on here. And yes, I want my edges sharp with the least amount of effort possible. Stone me for my blasphemy! ;-) I mean, it's a nice skill to be able to sharpen a pencil with a pocket knife, but there's nothing wrong with using a pencil sharpener is there?
 
Buy a better stone and you might find they produce better results. Ark stones are awesome but they are natural stones and the slowest cutting stones you could possibly use.
 
watch some videos on youtube of different styles of sharpeners watch how they are used and judge if you can get the same results that the user in the videos did. I still think the sharpmaker is a decent place to start.
 
Sharpmaker all the way. All the other suggestions here require you to learn the proper angle and maintain it while you're sharpening. A useful and important skill, definitely, but takes quite a while to learn (at least it is for me). With the sharpmaker you have a choice of only two preset angles, which covers most everything. It is small enough that you can keep it set up (I have little space at home and even I have it available). Once you get a knife as sharp as you want, all it requires is a touchup. A lot of my knives are carbon steel and I resore the razor edge after each time I use them. It takes me a minute or less on the Sharpmaker. Reasonably priced too.

Definitely learn the skill eventually. But in the meantime, nothing beats the Sharpmaker for a quick, easy, and potentially very sharp edge. I use the ultra fine rods mostly and on most steels it works very well.
 
Lol, I don't even have an Arkansas stone...I was just trying to think of some traditionalist method to make my point. Look guys, maybe I oversold my level of laziness in my first post. I really do want a good practical tool that makes the job as easy as possible, but I'm not an idiot. I know that pulling a hardened steel blade through a "magic v" three times isn't going to turn it into a razor. I'm happy to spend some time improving my skill, but I need a good tool to start with. Also I was probably a little too self deprecating regarding my sharpening skills in the first post. I'm not the best but I'm far from the worst. I just figured a little humility would buy me some goodwill....meh.
 
Machines, stones, systems, in that order from fastest to slowest.

So what method do you want to venture into?
How much are you willing to spend?
What level of results are you looking to achieve?
 
I learned how to sharpen on an Edge Pro and now am learning to hand-sharpen on a DMT Diafold. If I had it to do over again I would have saved the money I spent on the Edge Pro and started with hand-sharpenning. As RemyKaze mentioned above, hand-sharpening is just more fun, there's something tedious about grinding away at a guided sharpener. I was also surprised at how easy it is to get a hair-splitting edge on a Diafold. It just takes a few hours of practice and you're there.

I recommend buying a cheap knife with a quality, but relatively easy-to-sharpen steel, such as AUS-8 or 440C. Then you don't have to worry about messing up an expensive blade while learning. I bought a Ka-Bar Dozier Hunter for $20. I've been sharpening it on the DMT, then dulling it by cutting cardboard. After a few rounds of this, I'm at the point where I can get it paper-slicing sharp in 5 minutes.

I'll probably be selling my Edge Pro on the exchange here :D
 
Probably thinking to start with the spyderco like several have suggested. I think it is important to start with something I can get some decent results with right off the bat. Getting my knives sharp is the priority. I totally get what some are saying about taking the time to learn the "art". I might have bristled a bit at the way it was presented, but I hear you. And it might be something I grow into.
 
Thanks remn...you are making it sound interesting. How do you maintain the correct angles when sharpening on the dmt?
 
I have always been lousy at free handed sharpening regardless of stone types used. For years I struggled to get those shaving sharp edges that others seemed to get with ease but I only acheived moderate success with just passable working edges. Then I finally bought a DMT Deluxe Aligner kit for approx $45 and from then on I got all the knives I own hair shaving sharp in a few minutes. I needed something idiot proof that worked...and IMO this is it. I'm impressed by others free-hand skills, but I don't mind admitting I need to use a guide system and diamond stones to sharpen my knives.
 
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