Unable To Get Knives Sharp... Help

S

sn7

Joined
Sep 25, 2000
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I have been real disapointed in my ability to sharpen knives. I always set out to acheive a razor edge and end up with a dull butter knife. I was looking at some Spyderco bench stones and those look promising. I aslo saw in the new Cabelas mag a Wen electric wet stone sharpener that had adjustable angles, are these any good? Someone please help, what set should I get to help me get my beloved knives SHARP! Also any tips would be GREAT:D
 
i find a sharpmaker 204 to work well, it's good for edges that don't need a lot of work. Benchstones are nice but it's harder to hold the angle. Some people seem to really like the edgepro system as you can get a precise angle

hope this helps,
Pete
 
I assume you've read the sharpening FAQ available here on Bladeforums and have skimmed through a few of the past threads related to this aspect of owning a knife? If you can get hold of John Junranitch's "The Razoredge Book of Sharpening", that would be good too.

What sort of stones or hones are you using at the moment? Sharpening a knife relies on being able to hold a constant angle and on knowing how to feel for a burr. Apart from that, any reasonable sharpening stone would work.

The Sharpmaker 203 and 204 assist in keeping a constant angle. But it is still up to your own steady hand to actually keep that angle constant, and also up to you to decide when to move on to sharpening the opposite side of the knife. There are some mechanised sharpeners that keep the angle constant for you, but you still need to feel for the burr (Razoredge system, Edgepro Apex or Professional). Also, the Sharpmaker stones are not of rough grit, so sharpening a really blunt knife would be difficult and time consuming. Many others have posted about a simple solution to that, being that they use a coarse diamond hone (DMT or similar) and lay it against the Sharpmaker's stones so that the angle is maintained.

BTW, I would advise you to stay away from all those electric sharpener gadgets. I have only had experience with one, but from reading of other's experience, it would seem that most of them don't work. Try learning how to do it by hand. But if you want to, and if you do get a really good review from an end user, then go ahead and get that electric sharpener you mentioned. But only if an end user can endorse it!!! The descriptions may sound good, and on principle it might appear to work, but don't be deceived.

On the other hand, if you have a wad of cash lying around, and a couple of blades you don't mind messing up in the event that the machine doesn't work, then please do us all a service and evaluate it for us. I, for one, would be glad to find out about a good electric sharpener.
 
I am just NOW learning how to sharpen. I bought an edgepro and I am doing pretty good with the help this system gives me. I have a LONG way to go before I do not need guides and can just use stones. FROM one NEWBIE to another(s) FORGET the Electrics. I took a POS to the store and tried that three system electric. Three sharpening grroves, the last a finisher (????). Well, in the end, there was so much steel all over that the blade(440)was as sharp as hell and just about GONE!!!!!!. Just a little too much pressure or just a little TOO much time and good-bye steel. ONLY a Master should attempt this, DO NOT do this at HOME!!!!!!! Just my two cents, buy a system with guides, and a BOOK!!!!!!!!!wolf
 
you know, before i became a knifenut, i really thought the sharpener built into the electric can opener would work well. :rolleyes:

Pete

Oh yeah, go till you get a burr on both sides, some people find magic marker on the edge helps them see where they are grinding.
 
Steelwolf is right. You need to be able to maintain a constant angle throughout the sharpening process. I will mention, though, that the Sharpmaker and other V sharpeners are good for edge maintenance. They aren't good for regrinding a bevel (putting a new edge on your butterknife.) Others have mentioned the Edge Pro. This is a very good way to go. A cheaper solution is the Lansky system which uses clamps also to maintain the angle. These sharpeners can be used to regrind the edge so they (or a bench stone or whatever) should be in your arsenal before a V sharpener. The V sharpener is quick and easy for maintaining a bevel that is still workable. It is dreadful for regringing a new one. Take care.
 
A Lansky can work very well if you can reset the clamps the same way each time you sharpen a knife. I just got my Apex last week and find it to be a great improvement. Freehand is an art unto itself, a skill worth developing, but get a system to maintain your best knives until you get really good on a benchstone. BTW, steeling your blade instead of repeated sharpenings saves your edge and lots of time.
 
Others have mentioned the importance of maintaining a constant angle. One other thing I would like to add, and this is especially true if you are using one of the many systems that maintains an angle for you, is this: If the angle that your sharpening system is using doesn't already happen to match the angle that your blade is ground to, you can spend a **lot** of time and not really do anything.

Give you an example -- with the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker system... The instructions say to start with the dark stones, set with the edges pointing in. Do 20 strokes on each side of the blade. Then rotate the dark stones so that the flat sides are pointing in. 20 strokes, each side. Then do the same with the white stones. Check your edge. If it ain't sharp, repeat the whole process over again.

Well, unless and until the angle of thestones are matching the ground of your blade, you just spent a whole lot of time doing nothing.

The Spyderco system I got came with diamond sleeves that slipped over the triangle stones. You could use these when sharpening a blade for the first time to quickly get the initial angle correct. They no longer include the diamond sleeves with the set, so you have to use some of the advise that others have already posted.

NOTE: I am not necessarily endorsing the Spyderco system. I have several others (Lansky, DMT, plain stones) that I also use. Just wanted to illustrate a point.

Regards,

Gordon Tillman (got@mindspring.com)
 
Nobody has mentioned the fact that junk steel will usualy get you a junk edge.

oh yeah, log one more vote for the 204. Before I got it, I actually made edges duller on a stone.
 
My experience is the opposite of RH...I have excellent results with my Smith's Tri-Hone bench "system"...Even better than with my beloved Spyderco Sharpmaker!.:).

I think the key is to find a sharpener that you are comfortable with, and PRACTICE using it.
 
The only power sharpener I've seen that looked like it would do anything but eat your knife as you watch in horror. Was an oscillating whetstone with a drip pan over it. It also had a 3 inch buffing wheel at the side. It took standard 6 japanese stones. You held the knife and moved it just like free hand sharpening, its just sped up by the fact that stone moves also, and has a constant source of water dripping down onto the top. The stones just sit in a tray so you can swap them back and forth to change grits with no tools or anything.
It was in a tool catalog I got quite awhile ago. Can't rememebr the name of the company, I'll look around.

I think you'd be jsut as well off to eithter learn to sharpen free hand on benchstones ( its not impossible, it jsut takes practice and a set of decent stones) or to get one of the spyderco, lansky, or edge pro type set ups.
 
Matt, you are think of the Tomak. Good, but over priced. Just get a grinder and the cardboard wheels and never look back.
 
Hey Fred, what do you use to sharpen a knife that someone sends to you, as fossilhunter suggested? I think PVK used to use one of those high dollar electric sharpeners for in-store sharpening...maybe they still do. Is that what you have? Just curious.
 
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