Traditional Bench-stone System vs. New Sharpening System

[Quartermaster]

Hey Guys, I don't know if anyone has asked this before ,but i will. In your opinion do you prefer a Traditional Bench-stone system or a New Sharpening System to sharpen your knives. In my opinion i prefer a tradition Bench-Stone System, i feel the new systems don't work as well. Though the new sharpening systems are easier to use, while bench-stones take some practice to use. Anyway all feedback is appreciated.

-Quartermaster

 

[res1cue]

I make sure I know how to use a traditional stone system, but usually I will use a clamp angle to reprofile the blade, spyderco sharpmaker to create a microbevel, and then strop

 

[FatOtter]

I make sure I know how to use a traditional stone system, but usually I will use a clamp angle to reprofile the blade, spyderco sharpmaker to create a microbevel, and then strop

Which clamp angle is good?
I was thinking of getting an edge pro apex, but that's a lot of cash-I need to do some homework.
Don't mind spending that money if its a good product.

I have a sharpmaker, and it's great for many things-but not reprofiling or sharpening some blades with high shoulders by the blade (I don't know the right term here)such as a Kabar due to the large amount of coating or
my Gerber dagger where the shoulders are steeper.

 

[P2P]

As Murray Carter says 10% what your using 90% technique.

 

[adinb114]

I can get my knives twice as sharp with a handheld diamond hone and strops than on my sharpmaker.

However, it has taken me the better part of a year to get to the point where i am, and i still have a VERY long way to go.

 

[jnevill]

I used oil stones for many years before switching over to the sharpmaker. I came across a few knives that the sharpmaker just wouldn't sharpen, so i switched over to Smiths 11.5 diamond stones ( coarse and fine) and a strop, and i've never seen sharper knives than my own. D2 trembles when i walk by....

 

[Dorito Monk]

I only sharpen free-hand, whether with stones or sandpaper. Once you gain an understanding of the basic principles, it becomes easy to touch up an edge with pretty much anything flat and rock-like. I don't see the point in buying a fancy several-hundred-dollar sharpening system like the edge pro, or even a v-rod system like the sharpmaker. I can get very good results with something as simple as sandpaper placed on a mousepad, so I stay away from 'systems' or the gimmicky sort of machines and jigs that are out there now.

 

[100eyes]

Proper systems like the Edge Pro usually blows out of the water edges most people are able to get by hand. It's simply impossible to get such perfect angles by hand. It's a bit easier if you're using belt sanders or such since the edge bevel is set very quickly. Still not going to be a perfect angle along the entire edge though, unless using a angled ramp of some sort...at which point I think that'd be considered a 'system'.

With that said, everyone should know how to sharpen by hand - hopefully no one packs up their Edge Pro for a camping trip lol.

 

[Dorito Monk]

Proper systems like the Edge Pro usually blows out of the water edges most people are able to get by hand. It's simply impossible to get such perfect angles by hand. It's a bit easier if you're using belt sanders or such since the edge bevel is set very quickly. Still not going to be a perfect angle along the entire edge though, unless using a angled ramp of some sort...at which point I think that'd be considered a 'system'.

With that said, everyone should know how to sharpen by hand - hopefully no one packs up their Edge Pro for a camping trip lol.

So, you're saying you can get a pretty edge with an edge pro - an edge with a nice neat perfect angle that looks nice and shiny. Is it going to be a sharper edge than you can get with simple stones? No, probably not. A 'perfect angle' might look nice and give you bragging rights on the internet, but it isn't going to make your knife cut inherently better than a knife with a hand-sharpened edge. Making my edges look nice has never really been my priority when sharpening in the first place...

 

[thegeek574]

I use stones for maintenance. however, when I have to put an edge on a knife I just finished, I use the paper wheels. I can't imagine the time it would take to sharpen up a knife from a .20 edge to sharp.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

A 'perfect angle' from a guided setup absolutely CAN, and usually will, make an edge much sharper for most people. If it doesn't, it's usually because the job didn't get finished i.e., the edge was not fully apexed. I had to butt heads with my guided setups a while, before realizing the lack of a truly sharp edge was due to the fact that the very edge hadn't been thinned quite completely, in spite of the 'pretty' shiny bevels left above the edge. That imperfection wasn't the guided sharpener's limitation; it was mine. I didn't take it far enough. If the edge is 1.) taken to a complete apex, and 2.) refined, all at the same perfectly controlled angle, the result will always be better than the same effort made at a less than perfectly-controlled angle. A steadily-controlled angle is all-the-more important as the edge gets closer to apex. Any variation in angle, when it's real close, can immediately degrade any previous good work done.

Most of us at least want to freehand perfectly, in spite of our own limitations. In doing so, we realize the primary goal, and the biggest challenge, is maintaining a steady angle. That's what the guides are designed for. Beyond that, it's still critical to take the very edge itself to it's full completion.

As to the original question, some people will do their best work with 'traditional' means, because that's what they've focused on learning to use. Others will find enough inspiration in more 'modern' tools to further motivate themselves to use them to excellent ends. It comes down to picking at least one method or system, and staying with it long enough to learn how to use it to it's fullest. Most people won't be patient enough to take it that far, but they might still get 'enough' out of their chosen method to keep them satisfied.

All over the forum here, you'll find 'experts' on stones, 'experts' on the EP or WEPS, and 'experts' on grinders or wheels. As demonstrated in their posts, these experts have done verifiably excellent work. So, is it really possible to say that one method or tool is any 'better' than any other? Any one tool can either be the 'best tool' or the 'worst tool', depending upon the experience, skill and patience of the individual using it.

 

[thombrogan]

The "best" way to do it is the way in you're actually going to invest your time in thoughtful practice. For me that used to be a Sharpmaker and then an EdgePro and now it's freehand with as many techniques and abrasives as I can grab.

Where angle-guided systems have the advantage over other methods is at the very edge.

Where "freehand" and belt-sanders have the advantage is behind the edge (now that the cut is started, how will the already cut material get deflected to exposure the rest of the work to be cut?).

That's the way I see it and my solution is to play with messy, muddy waterstones in my creepy basement and have fun with occasional bouts of using cleaner waterstones, strops, lapping films, sandpaper, and ceramic hones and have fun. On rare occasion, I'll bust out the EdgePro (and the electric sensuality of the glass tape blank) or put the Sharpmaker hones into their base instead of using them like hand files or maybe rev up a sander or put a felt wheel loaded with polishing compound on a Dremel, but I still make sure to have fun.