What To Use To Sharpen My Knife, Please Help!

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gunshot22

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Mar 5, 2016
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I have recently purchased my first decent knife a Tojiro DP Utility 150mm and was wondering what grits should I get for my whetstone to sharpen the blade and how steep is the learning curve to use a whetstone since I have never used one before? At what angle should I be sharpening? Should I also get a flatterer as well? I have no idea, if you would be so kind to share with me your knowledge and experience it would be most appreciated :)

Thank you,
 
Spyderco Sharpmaker. I've tried many and always come back to the SM. My whetstones see no use because freehand sucks.

Great knife btw, I have the 8". I bought the additional ultra fine rods and a strop block to get it scary sharp, but the are really unnecessary.
 
I like diamond stones, however a more basic stone will work fine. The angle is important. To start match what the manufacturer used. Maintain it through the whole process.
Some good videos on YouTube.
Sorry but I don't know what a flatterer is?
 
I'm a big fan of Tojiro, they make a great knife with a good heat treatment at a fair price. Their VG-10 in the DP line can be a little tough to sharpen but any common stone can work. Something as simple as a King 1k and 4k, or one of my favorites, the Naniwa Pro 400 and Naniwa 2k Aotoshi works well with these knives. These stones can be kept flat with a cheap leveling stone which should be used before each sharpening.

To better assist it would help to know your budget and how extensive of a set you would like.
 
You're going to get as many recommendations as there are knives themselves. If you want to sharpen by hand, practice. Get a cheap knife and practice. If like me, you have trouble maintaining a consistent angle, a knife sharpening system is the way to go. I got the basic Edge pro apex and bought stones as I went. Learn to and get a good strop.
 
Like you, I struggled with "the sharpening" option. I started out with Waterstones and tried my hand a free hand sharpening. I just did not have the confidence, and ended up getting frustrated. Then I got a guided system. I use the edge pro apex. It is pricy but gets the job done. Once I was able to understand the basics of sharpening and was able to get a good edge, it gave me the confidence to go back to freehand sharpening. Now I switch back and forth between the Waterstones and the edge prop.

But for you I would recommend the spyderco sharpmaker. It is an inexpensive way to get into sharpening, and is kind of a combination of a guided system and free hand.

Good luck and enjoy
 
+! for a system.
Freehand is a great skill, but not everyone wants/can devote the time to it (I like music, but I'm not going to take guitar lessons so I can hear some).
The nice thing about adjustable angle systems is their accuracy.
It's possible to be precise to within one degree with one.

Not that it's at all necessary, but I doubt there is one freehander who could give you any angle you requested to within 1 degree of accuracy.
The same people who sing high praises to the tight tolerances of CRK knives may try to dissuade you from the high accuracy of a system, which is weird.
Go for it.
 
I said screw it and just bought the Spyderco Sharpmaker might as buy something that will last me with no learning curve, how long do those ceramic rods last?
 
whp said:
Years. Good choice.
Click to expand...

This +1! ;)

I have several sharpening options but have purchased SharpMakers for friends and family who want to start out sharpening. Also, I often just carry a single grey (medium) 'rod' for general sharpening when away from my bench at home. Works like a charm...

Cheers,

Ben
 
gunshot22 said:
I said screw it and just bought the Spyderco Sharpmaker might as buy something that will last me with no learning curve, how long do those ceramic rods last?
Click to expand...

Your in for a big surprise. No sharpening system takes away the need to learn the skill, if you can't sharpen then you will still not be able to sharpen when the system arrives. The Sharpmaker is also very slow at any metal removal so cross your fingers that the factory set an angle that will work with the SM. This is the reason I recommended to start with a medium grit waterstone so you at least have the ability to fix minor chipping or lower the bevel angle. The SM won't do any of this.
 
gunshot, the ceramic rods for the Sharpmaker last a good long time. I still have an old Model 203 I bought over 20 years ago and the original rods still function although sharpening using the medium rods is slower than with newer rods. Like everything else, the rods will wear with use--the medium rods smooth out the most...the white ones hardly at all. The ceramic rods will get steel debris embedded in the surface and need to be cleaned periodically to keep them efficient.

Don't be discouraged by the previous posts although I agree with adding the diamond rods for efficiency. The Sharpmaker is an excellent system that can serve for years and also be a teaching aid since the rods function great for freehand sharpening should you want to move into that area.
 
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