What is the most minimal, low-cost sharpening setup that still lets you get a good edge?

Perhaps a little TOO minimal then, for serious sharpening. :)

The very first "commercial" owner of one of my Washboards was a coworker. I walked her thru a bunch of sharpening options including a Norton econo stone, a Washboard with wet/dry and copy paper, and a coffee cup - top and bottom. Between each I dulled the edge by dragging it across a cold chisel at 90°.
The knife was Buck 420hc and it responded well - shaved arm hair after the coffee cup.

Anything with carbides or RC over mid to low 50s and you are out of luck. It (coffee cup) can do a great job!
I scrub with it just like any other stone, going very carefully at the tip. Once a new edge is established and burr free, flip the cup and 'steel' it on the glazed rim.
 
Makes sense, there had to be a limit hidden somewhere in those otherwise very entertaining videos.
Very true!
I select my stuff based on maintenance more than anything else. All my bigger camping tools can be sharpened on a natural stone and/or stropped on ash from the fire (high in silicate). My smaller knives are stainless so they don't rust - I only wind up using them to cut paracord and open food packaging.They don't get dull, I don't have to worry about them. In a pinch I can still bring them to a burr edge on anything and they'll cut well enough. I'm not using my folding knife to feed the fire.

I love the tougher steels but there comes a limit (for me) where longevity cannot compete with ease and expense.
 
FWIW, if I were to choose only one stone for a minimalist setup, it would be the SPS II 3K. It it the stone against what I judge others by. It is fast, easily controlled (slurry) and finishes well. Not to mention that it is also the thickest stone in the SPS II lineup which bodes well for longevity. Not inexpensive and not overly expensive either.
 
Very true!
I select my stuff based on maintenance more than anything else. All my bigger camping tools can be sharpened on a natural stone and/or stropped on ash from the fire (high in silicate). My smaller knives are stainless so they don't rust - I only wind up using them to cut paracord and open food packaging.They don't get dull, I don't have to worry about them. In a pinch I can still bring them to a burr edge on anything and they'll cut well enough. I'm not using my folding knife to feed the fire.

I love the tougher steels but there comes a limit (for me) where longevity cannot compete with ease and expense.

Yep I like trying new steels too, but in about the same place as you. All stainless for the folders and light duty smaller knives, and all simple carbon steel for the larger knives anything over 4.5". Not because I'm under any illusion that simple carbon steel is "as good as" a high-end carbon steel like 3V. But the thing is....it's more than good enough. My carbon steel blades are tools not mantle decoration pieces. I've never broken one yet, they're more than tough enough to chop and do big knife duty, and I like that I can sharpen them easily whenever I want. Related item, I actually like the fact that my big choppers are NOT fancy, expensive knives. I don't blame anyone who wants to go buy a $300 to $600 chopper made of Infi or 3V or whatever, it's fun to get cool steels! But for my use, I kinda like the fact that if I put a serious ding in my blade or handle, or someday even break a blade, it's just a $100 to $200 working knife easily replaced, rather than a $500 work of art that almost breaks my heart to get it dirty. ;) Or is hard to sharpen on the spot.
 
Returning to a minimalist option that came up in this thread: a 2-stone solution from FortyTwoBlades FortyTwoBlades store. Mine arrived this week. If you like to experiment with sharpening options that are effective and minimalist in the sense of getting great results with the least amount of sharpening steps, you owe it to yourself to try the Arctic Fox (haven't gotten to try the Mutt yet, hopefully I'll like it too). I was really impressed with the Fox. On the site it says it's about 400-grit equivalent, but it feels super smooth, and dense. The edges you get with just a few swipes DO seem like a 400 grit--it's cutting steel fast--but the edges are surprisingly refined. I took a beater folder that had a dull but undamaged edge, did a few swipes on each side, and it was shaving sharp. With a beautiful clean but toothy edge.

Here were the things I liked from my initial usage:
  • The feedback from the stone is so much better than my DMT. It's just....smooth. It's a pleasure to sharpen on it unlike any other stone I own.
  • It cuts steel FAST.
  • The quality of the edge produced is high, despite not going through a progression of grits.
  • You don't have to use oil. You can easily use this with water or totally dry. I used mine dry and got good stone feedback, no catching, etc, though I assume it would've started to load under heavy usage. 42 tells me it works well if you lube it with some dish detergent cut by a bit of water.
I will test this a bit more, along with the American Mutt for profiling, and maybe post more feedback later. But as I PM'd 42, I seriously think for my sharpening where I'm trying to cut clutter, gadgets, and unnecessary steps, I could accomplish nearly all my sharpening (except for heavy re-profiling or large outdoor tools) on this single stone.


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It's worth noting that ANSI 400 grit is roughly equivalent to JIS 700, so if you're used to Japanese stones it's rated like what they'd consider 700 grit. However, as you noticed, the finish it produces is a lot finer than one would expect for the cut rate and grit value. :)
 
I should've remembered these earlier. This demo by BF member 'jackknife' (a.k.a. Carl, seen) and posted by member 'Downhill Trucker' in a collaborative effort between the two, are pretty good tutorials for coffee mug sharpening, as well as a few other very simple methods:



The vids were originally posted to this older thread:
https://bladeforums.com/threads/new-to-sharpening-need-help.1029230/

{ The original links to the vids, in Downhill Trucker's post (#43) in that thread, are now broken as a result of the recent platform software conversion, so they don't work there. Had to tweak 'em to post it here. }


David

These are the methods I was taught as a boy.

On a 3 blade Stockman , The Blades were toothy sharpen with a Norton pocket stone, Sheep and Spey were honed with an fine Ark stone and stroped on belt leather.
 
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