Tungston Sharpener

[SSS Aaron]

What is your opinion of the $15 tungton sharpeners?
Also how bout the long round steel sharpener from a $75 knife set?

For Aus 8 and VG10

Thanks

 

[SSS Aaron]

by tungston sharpeners I am talking about the plastic ones with two pieces of metal in which you slide your blade between.

 

[knarfeng]

They fall into the POS category. The tungsten tears rather than grinds.

The round steel from a knife set is a steel, not a sharpener. A steel straightens the edge. It does not grind.

Try a Sypderco Sharpmaker instead.

 

[TexasNativeDRJH]

Those tungsten sharpeners work OK for cheap knives with soft steel. I gave a friend of mine a chisel ground S&W and he ruined it by using one of those sharpeners on it, making it a v-grind edge. I was shocked to see it that way, but it was kinda sharp.

The sharpmaker is a great sharpener. Mine came in this past Friday and all I can say is WOW.

 

[Cougar Allen]

Let’s see if we can find the right forum …

 

[johnny reb]

I don`t like them. I sharpen my knives according to how they will be used. The tungston sharpeners are set at one angle only, This does no work for me.

 

[2manyknives]

This might not be a popular position on this forum but I have pull through sharpeners by Lansky. Accusharp and Smiths. I don't use them a lot, prefering the Sharpmaker or DMT clamp sharpener but I don't hold them in contempt either.

I got them initially out of curiosity. They are cheap and simple. They are the only sharpeners my wife will use in the kitchen. It has not been my experience that they wreck blades. They do get most knives shaving sharp. They are very handy for a quick touch up on a working knife.

You need to use them lightly. I actually prefer to hold the sharpener upside down on the bench and lightly run the blade through the sharpener rather than as per the instructions. If you can feel it scraping then you are pushing too hard. Two or three light passes brings any of my kitchen knives back to a good sharp working edge.

I know many professional fishermen who fillet large numbers of big fish every day. They nearly all use these types of sharpeners to keep the edges on their knives - mostly Smiths brand. Some use the ones that screw down on the bench, others hand held sharpeners. They are not people who are interested in knives as a hobby but need something functionally sharp as a tool for their jobs and the simple pull through sharpeners keep their knives sharp enough for them.

They are not the best sharpeners in the world but they do work and won't damage knives if you don't press too hard.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Are they tungsten carbide or are they ceramic sticks in the v? Ceramic is a bit safer and would work fine for a touchup on a fishing knife.

 

[Rob Babcock]

The tungsten "rippers" are indeed very hard on knives. As has been stated, they work reasonably well on very soft steel and aren't a terrible choice for "disposable knives." I suppose commercial fisherman who either don't buy their knives or buy very cheap ones have different expectations than your typical knife junkie. I've spent most of the last two decades cooking professionally and I've never seen a knife that was sharpened only on rippers that was in decent shape. Most of them look almost serrated.

My advice if you want a pull-thru is to get the Edgemaker Pro. It's a tungsten system but uses rods, more like steels than a ripper. It removes much less metal and will get almost any knife shaving sharp. The edge is more durable and long lasting, too. It's basically as fast and just as easy with the benefits of a sharper knife and much longer life.

 

[Rob Babcock]

What is your opinion of the $15 tungton sharpeners?
Also how bout the long round steel sharpener from a $75 knife set?

For Aus 8 and VG10

Thanks

Whoa! Missed that part! For the love of God, please don't run a VG10 blade thru a $15 ripper.:barf: