What can i use to sharpen?

T

the Ryan

Joined
Jan 5, 2009
Messages
53
what is good to sharpen a pocket knife plain edge?
something cheap like a small water stone
where can i get it?
how much CA$H ?
i want a razor sharp edge but I dont want a full sized water stone.
 
Get a Spyderco Sharpmaker. I've been using one forever and haven't been let down. I dropped one of the gray rods on a concrete floor, it snapped and it still works lol. It'll put a nice edge on anything and can be used for more than knives. Prices vary. Around 80$ i believe.
 
If you're interested in a simple small stone, you might wanna go with the Spyderco Double Stuff. It's a double sided and has a medium and fine grit. Doesn't need any lubrication, just a cleaning every so often. I think it's about $38. I think you can find it online fairly easy, if not, try out any local cutlery shops or even large box stores like Sportsman's or Cabellas style.
 
Another vote for the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Makes it really easy to get a fantastic edge.
 
A very inexpensive and effective system is a smooth leather belt and automotive wet/dry sandpaper. Produces a nice convex bevel.
I use 320 or 400 grit to set the edge, then 600 prior to going to 1000 grit to polish. 2000 will allow you to see your face in the bevel. A 10x loupe helps to see what you're doing when you go from one grit to the next: you can see the difference in polish and whether you have polished the whole bevel. Using 600 and above grit, is very easy on the blade since it takes so little metal off at a time. Leaving the blade with the coarser grits helps if you are drawing the cut; higher (smaller)grit/polish improves a push knife's edge. HTH, Doug
 
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For about $5 you can buy a simple Norton combination coarse/fine aluminum oxide stone at Home Depot (look in the tool department). A Norton stone will do just fine on most alloys.

Practice technique by sharpening your cheapy knife that you sharpied. If you go to the Norton website, they have a nice explanation of how to sharpen a knife with one of their stones.
http://www.nortonstones.com/Data/El...it.asp?ele_ch_id=L0000000000000005676&Lang=US
 
Save up a little bit of cash and get some good stones. For no more than $100 you can get a set that'll last you a lifetime. X-coarse, coarse, medium, fine, x-fine and a leather strop and you're set.

The Sharpmaker is another great suggestion. Unless prices have gone up in the past several years, I'm pretty sure it cost less than $60. The Sharpmaker won't sharpen a dull knife, or at least not in reasonable time, but it'll keep a sharp knife sharp with minimal effort.

Learning to freehand is a great investment in time. It's very peaceful because the only thing you think about is the edge. I actually look forward to sharpening knives because it's so relaxing.
 
Or you could buy one or two of these little guys to keep your knife sharp.

Sharpener_2.jpg
 
ick. yuck. blech.

you want top shelf results without paying the market cost for 'em?

rotsa ruck. what works is a hard, consistent, stone in at least two grades..

low end 'will work' is a norton 1000/4000 combo waterstone.. roughly 50$ range..

DMT will give you a 1000/1200 grit finish on their Extra fine bench stone (though they have smaller versions for cheaper) but I don't call that even a working edge.

Belgian double-grit natural stones run 100-400$, japanese stones from 100$ to the moon.. (thousands)...

ceramic and synthetic hones aren't all that much cheaper. .the norton really is 'entry level'.

and cheap aluminum oxide stones are great.. for removing rust or flattening GOOD stones.. I own several of 'em, and don't use em to sharpen with. Strictly maintenance..

IMO the best answer is a small belgian double-grit, 1.25 x .75 x 6 .. cost roughly 100-150$ depending on your shopping skills, and the only hone you'll ever need for medium/small knives, even if you live to be 100..

and the norton will last you a year or three, not 30 or 50.. judgment call. MOST of my stones cost over 100$, and I'd suggest that spending more on a whetstone than your best knife costs makes all kinds of sense.

As well as, getting a stone big enough to finish a sharpening job TODAY.. not 'sometime'.. Belgians are fast cutting and smooth polishing both, which isn't common. DMT is fast, Japanese are smooth, Shapleighs (synthetic) are top shelf and a set is over 500$..

don't flinch at price. buy once, cry once..
 
if you dont want to spend a lot of time sharpening and have something that will last a lifetime you can get a set of paper wheels. for around $100 you can get a set that will give you a razor sharp edge in a few minutes instead of 15 to 30. check out this thread
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=578787. here is a video of a knife i made slicing newspaper http://knifetests.com/kII.html there is also a video in my sig line of a knife that i made for a member here.
 
Sharpmaker... :thumbup:

Not only is it a great system in and of itself, but it comes with an excellent instructional DVD that can really help you get started with the "art" of knife sharpening...

Oh, and it can be found for considerably less than the $80 that was mentioned above.
 
mutinousdoug said:
A very inexpensive and effective system is a smooth leather belt and automotive wet/dry sandpaper. Produces a nice convex bevel.
Click to expand...

Sharpening on the cheap. :thumbup: I use a combo of sandpaper and ceramic myself, but the paper alone is workable, with the grits mentioned.

For a little more money, the sharpmaker is a good entry-level sharpening kit, and the ceramic rods continue to be useful if you've moved on to freehand sharpening.
 
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