Which Budget Sharpening System is the Easiest to get a Great Edge?

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Oct 26, 2001
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Hey all.

I’m NOT a good sharpener. I’ve had a basic Lansky for a long long time and the stones need replacing. Since I’ve got to spend money regardless, I thought it might be best to get another system that might give better results and let me enjoy sharpening for a change.

Here’s the ones I’ve been checking out:

1. Work Sharp Precision Adjust Basic
2. Work Sharp Benchstone
3. Spyderco Sharpmaker
4. Work-sharp Guided System…it’s now retired.
5. Upgrade my LANSKY hones to the Diamond type and any additional accessories that would make the system better like the leather strop they make and a ceramic finishing hone.


What would you recommend to your friend or family member that is a total knife sharpening newbie? I will likely only be sharpening folders and pocket knives. No BIG blades.

I appreciate any help and advice you can give me.
Thanks for your time.

BD
 
Do you like your Lansky system? Are you comfortable to use it?
In that case I would upgrade the system with new stones, as you mentioned. With a ceramic hone and maybe even the serrated hones (should you have serrated blades).

If you don't like the Lansky system, I would go with the Sharpmaker. Versatile, easy to use. But you would have to buy one pair of the coarse rods for reprofiling your blades to the Sharpmaker angle. These coarse rods are quite expensive but make life much easier.
The UF rods are not a must have but are nice to have for polishing the edge.

Hope that helps.
 
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I have the work sharp precision ajust and the worksharp field sharpener.

And both work really well.

The field sharpener is cheaper portable and has a strop.

The precision has the clamp system and an adjustable angle.
 
I'm still using my WS Precision Adjust with the extra hones more than anything else I have. I did find on Etsy a little 3D printed wedge that stops any flex which made me feel better but isn't required. I moved from the Lansky with aluminum oxide and ceramic stones to the diamond hones but didn't like them. They just seem overly coarse. I prefer guided systems in general to the "get good" attitude the free hand sharpening crowd likes to throw out. I will add I have the standard and the Ken Onion version of the WS belt system and while they work well I still prefer a V edge to the convex the belts give.
 
I started with a Lanky and then bought an Edge Pro Pro and recently bought a Spyderco Sharpmaker. I was really impressed with the Sharpmaker as it is quick to set up and get a good edge. Probably not the best for profiling to a new angle, but with the use of the diamonds or CB Zi rods it would work. The Edge Pro is great but that is not on your list. You can do some searches here or else where as there is a lot of information out there on sharpening systems.
 
I am a big fan of the Sharpmaker. You can get diamond rods or ultrafine ceramic rods with others in between. Simple to use in both theory and in practice. I really like it.
 
A double-sided Norton Crystolon and a loaded strop is my recommendation. Its affordable, fast (very fast once you get the hang of it), and gives a great cutting edge. Grab a $10 mora basic to practice on and you have everything you need for around $50. Even if you haven't ever freehand sharpened, I bet in 5-10 practice runs you'll be putting very serviceable edges on your blades.
 
Worksharp Precision Elite for me. I also have their field sharpeners
 
I would recommend the dmt aligner system. It just works and works very well. Pretty affordable too.

Edit to say, if your using s30v or anything with more carbide I'd recommend against the sharpmaker. I never got good results in years of using it on s30v. Got better results from my knives when I switched to diamond
 
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I used a lansky as a kid. The dmt is like the adult version. The stones are much wider and I think better quality. I'm sure the kme is nice and all but for only two digits worth of dollars I can sharpen all my knives to incredible sharpness and would get no sharper knives from a more expensive system.
 
I have never been a big fan of the polished edge, because of that I never tried to get one on the Sharpmaker. I am not saying that it is a perfect sharpening system but to get and maintain a good edge it is easy and simple to do.
 
I have used my Sharpmaker for S30v, S35v and Magnacut blade steels with excellent results. I don’t have any experience with some of the super steels like S110v, Cruwear, etc. so I defer to those more knowledgeable than me.
 
I also used Lansky from ‘60s untill this year. I bought a dmt 3 grit diamond stone set. Used on a 17* or 20* ramp. Life changer.
The problem is, the edges last longer, so they don’t need sharpened very much..which I enjoy doing.

As I’ve said elsewhere, the only problem I had with Lansky was, never being able to clamp blade symmetrically.
If that’s not a problem, maybe diamond stones would be a good move to upgrade your set.
 
Buy once cry once. I'd recommend the wicked edge pro. You can find then used for a big discount
 
The best budget sharpening system is between your ears. No matter how much money you spend, you can't do better than knowledge and experience.

That being said, Worksharp's Precision Adjust is the best deal for a guided system in terms of price and ease of use.

Any sharpening system should be looked at like a pair of training wheels. Eventually, you should get around to taking those training wheels off at some point.
 
Thank you all very much for your help and advice. Got to do more research into the products you all mentioned.

One more question. If you don’t mind.

For those familiar with the LANSKY system. Let’s say I decide to go with new hones, preferably Diamond.
If I told you to make a list of LANSKY hones that I SHOULD get to get a great edge with little headaches, which ones should I get? Which ones are necessary and which ones would be the “nice to have, but not absolutely required” category.

thank you all again for your willingness to help me get to where I’m a better knife sharpener.
 
Extra coarse and coarse diamond plates are not necessary for keeping your knives sharp. They are needed to sharpen very dull or damaged edges.
Medium and fine diamond would be my choice. If you look after your blades (i.e. keep them sharp and don't wait until they become dull) you could even skip the medium diamond. And save the money to buy the coarse diamond plate should you need that. The day will come when you have to apex a blade again (or have to reprofile a knife to make it fit one of the angles the Lansky system offers).
Keep in mind: skipping stones in the progression will cause more trouble to refine the scratch pattern.

I would add the ultra fine ceramic (yellow stone holder). For a sharp edge that makes a clean cut a high grit stone is a must.
I like the medium grit ceramic, too. That stone is not available as a flat stone. So you might think about adding the regular fine 600 grit stone (dark blue stone holder), too. You would have two 600 grit stones then but as diamonds leave deeper scratches / a coarser scratch pattern the regular 600 stone would be an intermediate stone between diamond and ceramic. Meaning less work on the ultra fine ceramic.

I am not a strop guy. I don't think that the strop is a must. When I use fine ceramics the edge I get from those stones is good enough for me.
Should you prefer a strop (instead of the ultra fine ceramic, what I do not recommend) you should use two strops. One with the suede side and compound (which will take off metal) and one with the smooth side without compound. If you have a piece of leather you can cut it to the dimensions of your old Lansky stones and glue the leather cuts on top (the stone's surface would have to be flat).
Compound made by Fällkniven or Sharpal (for example) is not that expensive.

Remember: All roads lead to Rome. You can achieve great edges with many different methods. When it comes to knife sharpening the trick is to find the way that works for you.
 
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