What do you sharpen with?

What method of sharpening do you use most often?

  • Freehand

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Lansky/Gatco

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Spyderco/V Sticks

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Razors Edge

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Tormek/Wheeled Sharpeners

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Belt Grinder

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Don't Sharpen my own blades

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
This seems to take care of nearly everything, but I do still use my old washita/ hard arkansas Gerber combo 2"x4" stone occasionally. I've got a couple other old natural stones that seem a bit soft, but work quite well.

jmx
 
I don't sharpen my own knives. The infamous "Vinny" of SOG repute (or we oft think "illrepute," it depends if he’s passing gas) does it for me. He's on our site pro and has his own workshop with state of the art beltgrinders, buffers, and all the other secret stuff he uses. He's a master to see at work! :)
 
White Arkansas stone ( 1 X 2 X 7 inch)
Diamond sharpener that was on the back of the BMF sheath
Small stone bought in a gun shop
Strop for razor edge
 
I actually use two different items depending on what I need to sharpen and how badly abused the blade is. (I sharpen knives allot for others). I use a Spydie Sharpmaker for most touch up work and light stuff. If the blade needs a reprofile or serious work I use my EdgePro Proffesional. With these two systems, I need nothing else!:D
 
Knives larger than 3 inches, two DMT 10x4 which give a total of 4 grit sizes.

Knives 3 inches or less, Lansky system or DMT.

Axes, hatchets, spears, a file and a coarse red stone I found at a yard sale 11 years ago.
 
I use everything. For other people's kitchen cutlery I use a commercial Tru Hone machine. It's fast but removes a lot of steel. For my kitchen cutlery I use an Edgepro-slower but removes less steel. For other people's sporting knives I use a diamond "stone" for grinding bevels and wet/dry sandpaper and leather for finishing. It is really pretty fast with practice and provides a polished edge which appeals to customers. For my sporting knives I use a paper wheel on a bench grinder just because it is really fast and I don't need the "hand honed" finish customers might demand. The edges done with a paper wheel aren't as accurate as they are with hand honing. Speed is the name of the game here. I can grind a new bevels on a dull knife and finish the edge all in less than 30 seconds. I care much more about the edges on my kitchen knives than on my sporting knives so I spend more time on them. Chefs no longer bring their own knives to my gourmet store for cooking class. They are so impressed with the sharpness of the ones we provide in our demo kitchen, they leave their own at home. I have examples of nearly every type of sharpening device available but the ones I mentioned are the ones I use most.

If you want a manual single device that will do it all relatively quickly, the Edgepro is pretty hard to beat. It will grind new bevels and make an edge as sharp as it can be. It's a little fussy and messy but works well with just a little practice and has the advantage of infinitely adjustable angle. The Lansky is fussier and slower but will do the same job that the Edgepro will do but with set bevel angles. Hand honing on stones requires skill and practice, but if you can do the practice and acquire the skill, it is faster than any of the fixtures like the Edgepro. Perhaps the best way to sharpen blades would be the belt grinder. That's the one device I don't have so you'd need to get advice from a custom knifemaker on those. I own and have used a woodworking belt sander but the belts aren't right for grinding steel and the results aren't that good.
 
My Sharpmaker 204, of course. I also use my Spyderco Ultra fine bench stone and a leatherbelt with chrome poilish as a slack belt strop. Also occasionally use my DMT Diafold and pocket stones.
 
I use a Lansky, eather the trisharpener for light jobs or the jig for the big jobs...
 
I use a Sharpmaker for touch-ups and a Gatco sharpener for re-profiling purposes. It's a pretty good combination.
 
I use a mini belt sander. I picked it up from http://www.micromark.com/
Here is a link to the model I purchased. http://www.dxmarket.com/micromark/products/82218.html
Here is the one I was going to get, until I saw the first one for $10 more. http://www.dxmarket.com/micromark/products/81466.html .
The second one is nice because of the variable speed and it's small enough to bring anywhere there is electricity.
They also sell real nice 1 and 2 inch sanding blocks, here is the 2 inch. http://www.dxmarket.com/micromark/products/60382.html
 
While I have several gadgets and doodads, in the end I prefer sharpening freehand on stones and strops to any other method.

I find it less cumbersome and it seems to put me "in touch" with the knives more.
 
Have tried most systems..DMT, Sharpmaker, ceramic rods, stones,etc.
but to get shaving sharp, I keep going back to my 2x72 belt run SLOW.
If a brand new blade, on a knife I just made, 60 micron then 30 micron, then strop on leather (glued to 2"x8" wood) that is loaded with green chrome rouge...usually this gets shaving sharp edge....but may go to 15 micron 9 micron if really fine thin blade, then usually no more than 2 strokes each direction on the laether strop with green chrome rouge..sharpened one Damascus blade yesterday so sharp that while shaving arm hair, drew blood and I didn't even notice it until I saw the blood...didn't hurt at all.
To renew an exhisting edge, to get a very fine wire edge, the 30 micron lightly, then 15 or 9 micron, then the strop 2 strokes each way, 3 at most. This usually is shaving sharp again and can take under a minute to achieve.
Make sure you have a very consistant fine wire edge all along the edge, then the strop will provide a very consistant shaving edge. Inspect with magnification befor stroping and after stroping.

Stay Safe,
 
Freehand with various grits of diamond stones. Occasionally, I will strop the edge on the back of an old leather belt, but with the ultra fine diamond stone, it's really not needed. I prefer the grabby type edges anyway.
 
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