Suggestions for a good sharpening system?

J

jeff_c

Joined
Jun 9, 2009
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Id love one with pre set angles to make it super easy, but that may be out of my budget.

Does anyone use one of these?
byers_knife_sharpener.jpg
 
They work OK, but If you want your knife hair-splitting sharp you will need a pro to do It or a good sharpener (I recommend a Spyderco sharpmaker $60)
 
You will get many different answers and it all goes to personal preference. The biggest names are Spiderco, Lansky and Gatco. Take a look around at them and get what is in your price range.
 
Yea, I wouldn't use one of those contraptions if I were you. I'll eat your blade twice as fast as needed to get a decent edge.

Sharpmaker is great, learning to sharpen freehand is king.
 
I haven't used the sharpener pictured, but I have experience with the Spyderco Sharpmaker which is a very nice sharpening system. You might also want to take a look at the DMT aligner system. Both can be purchased around the $50 mark, which pays for itself after you touch up all of your knives.
 
I use a burton tri stone set. the stones are ten inches and they are submerged in oil. they run about 150.00
 
My advice, get an 8 inch DMT duosharp, coarse on one side and extra fine on the other. And get a cheap scandi grind Mora.

Dull the crap out of the Mora and then learn to freehand sharpen it back to shaving sharp. Scandi grinds are great to learn freehand sharpening on since you basically lay the knife down fully across the bevel. It will help you to learn to keep a consistent angle as well as the harder part, following the curve accurately. Sharpening gadgets are fine but with a few hours of practice you will have learned a very useful skill, especially for a knifeknut :D
 
I bought and used a cheap pocket sharpener for a while and I was never to pleased with the results and it would scratch the blade sometimes, I later got a spyderco sharpmaker and was extremely pleased with the results. I can now keep most my knives hair poppin sharp.
 
jeff_c said:
Id love one with pre set angles to make it super easy, but that may be out of my budget.

Does anyone use one of these?
byers_knife_sharpener.jpg
Click to expand...

I used to. But I wouldn't really recommend it.

Get a Lansky Turnbox, with the two sets of rods it'll set you back about $15 dollars.

It makes my blades shaving sharp without eating them like the carbide cutter style are prone to do, and the angled rods design is easier to use than a flat stone in my opinion.
 
Those carbide v sharpeners will work for a rough edge, like you get with a file. The Sharpmaker is the way to go for fine edges.
 
I've got a lansky which is similar to the sharpmaker. It's very nice, but a pain in butt for quick touch ups. One more step in the PITA direction is the group of Japanese water stones that I got a few months ago. They are fantastic for my needs, but they are messy.

The hands down best sharpening tool for ease of use and results that I have is my father's old sharpening stone. Spit on it and keep your angle, finish with a leather strop and arm hairs just give up and fall off on their own. :D

The stone and strop might run you 30 bucks.
 
theonew said:
My advice, get an 8 inch DMT duosharp, coarse on one side and extra fine on the other. And get a cheap scandi grind Mora.

Dull the crap out of the Mora and then learn to freehand sharpen it back to shaving sharp. Scandi grinds are great to learn freehand sharpening on since you basically lay the knife down fully across the bevel. It will help you to learn to keep a consistent angle as well as the harder part, following the curve accurately. Sharpening gadgets are fine but with a few hours of practice you will have learned a very useful skill, especially for a knifeknut :D
Click to expand...

Not trying to hijack the thread or question theonew's knowledge but I want to ask for opinions. Is this one of the better ways to learn to sharpen freehand or does anyone have other tips and tricks.

If needed, I'll start a new thread if this interferes or if anyone wants to respond directly to me, stormstaff@sbcglobal.net
 
Perhaps the most common tip/trick is to rub a sharpie on the edge bevel, sharpen a few strokes, and then examine where the ink is being removed to make sure you have the right angle. This works fine but doesn't IMHO give you a good sense of the feel of having the correct angle, which to me is extremely important, as it allows you to maintain consistency by working with the feedback you get from the stone and not constantly checking the angle.
 
Johnspark, could you elaborate? use my Turnbox for quick touch ups all the time and it works great. I agree it sucks if the knife doesnt have much of an edge, but if the edge is still ok but not hair popping, it works great for me. Thanks bro.
 
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