Which knife sharpener do you use/suggest?

http://newgraham.com/detail.aspx?ID=7230 if you think you'll do reprofiling with it
http://newgraham.com/detail.aspx?ID=5485 I've had good luck using the fine stone (well the benchstone) for fairly HD sharpening and I like the finish the XF puts on (1200 grit, 9 micron; fine is 600 grit 25? micron).


Check out this page, you could get C,F,XF for about $30 plus shipping http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_store.html?ttl=DMT Diasharp products&srch=bwSKUdatarq=dmtd

I picked up F and XF DMT benchstones from Amazon.com for $75 with free shipping.
 
Personally I don't like pocket stones for anything but quick field touchups (F diamond, or washita). Just becareful with el-cheapo diamond stones, a lot use polycrystaline diamonds which will chip off causing the stone to wear out much easier.

What about the Diasharp stones? At $10 a piece, and from DMT, you can't go wrong. I've actually been quite curious how they stack up against the interrupted surface of their main line. http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=DMTD4F

Looks like, even with shipping, you could pick up three for about $40 (http://www.knifecenter.com/knifecenter/order/ship.html)... assuming 3+packaging weight less than 1 lbs.
 
Oh yeah, forgot to say... I've used a couple arkansas stones they work just fine. Especially for something like a SAK or any of the mid-grade steels they will be great. Won't cut nearly as fast as a diamond stone, but they do leave a nice edge. Again, I'd go with at least two "grits," soft and hard for arkansas (soft being the coarser).
 
I have a diasharp D8C and like it.

I have arkansas stones too. And India stones, Sic, etc.

Personally in oilstones I would prefer to have each stone than have dual sided ones, but the dual sided ones are easier to find.

Also I like big stones unless I am dealing with a very tiny blade.

A soft arkansas stone is good to learn on because it doesn't eat up your blade when you screw up. For a Sak, a soft arkansas should be fine. They are fairly easy to sharpen.
 
For quick touch ups on folders and smaller fixed blades, I use a Spyderco Sharpmaker. It works great. For heavier sharpening jobs I use my Bench Stones. When it comes to sharpening large fixed blades I strop them on 1200 grit wet/dry sandpaper over a cardboard backing. That always does the trick unless they're dull and I need more agressive paper.
 
I wonder how many BF posts are basically benchstone vs. sharpmaker or edgepro, etc. Anyway my vote is always for freehand. I was just watching a video on handsaw sharpening (with Tom Law), great video; it was obvious he had been doing it for a long time, defiantly one of those old world personalities that are growing scarcer. Anyway during the coarse of the video he tried to demonstrate the use of a jig for people who were uncomfortable with freehand, about halfway through fiddling with the thing he gave up and said something to the effect that gadgets just make it harder:rolleyes: Plus as Leon said benchstones are more versatile, you can sharpen chisels, gouges, just about anything you can think of.

I’m not slamming the edgepro or sharpmaker or the people who use them, I think there quality products and for some people they are just the thing. After all, no matter what technique you use, the fact that your knives are sharp is more than one can say of the general populous.

I really don;t think benchstones are "faster" because it's hard for me to imagine anything faster than the Sharpmaker. You can do it in the shop or at the kitchen table or on the counter. No oily or watery mess to clean up.
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I would say there faster just because there are more grits available. As far as being messy, for daily touch ups I use Arkansas and India dry, also diamond can be used dry and thus no mess.

Leon, as far as sharpening with bench stones, is there any specific technique you use? Do you use any oil? All I've ever been shown was to move the blade against the stone in a cutting motion.
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I know the questions not for me, but I use basically the technique you describe. I raise the angle slightly (or quite a bit depending on the knife) at the curve near the tip to make the bevel appear more consistent, alternating sides every pass. I also hold the stone in my left hand as zip7 does when using my daily stones (4X2” Arkansas and India slips, dry), I do it on a bench or table for larger stones. For the beginner I would recommend a bench because then you don’t have to pay attention to what angle you’re holding the stone. I have tried the folding handle diamond type, but have found that it’s easier to hold a bevel with a regular stone suspended between my thumb and fingers, holding the handle on one of those just screws up my leverage and angles. Basically there is lots of info out there, you just have to find what works for you.

I don't have much money to spend on sharpening implements (around $30). What kind of bench stones or diamond plates do you recommend for general sharpening?
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I really like the Norton India (aluminum oxide) stones http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/...&Product_Code=NO-WIDEOIL.XX&Category_Code=THO They are cheep, don’t wear out like comparably priced diamond, and you can get a pretty darn good edge on the fine India, heck you can get a shaving edge on the medium. I would recommend getting a coarse and med or fine (depending on the condition of your knives, usually the med is enough for everything except really blunt), then maybe stropping if you want a finer edge. For Arkansas I would not recommend the soft, they just don’t perform as well as the India and clog / wear quickly, but the Norton ultra fine (aka translucent) is great, puts a fine edge that’s also got some tooth for good daily use.
 
Use DMT diamond 6" or bigger and the new DMT diasharp ultra ultra fine (8000 grit) is awesome. Once you learn to freehand and you go to diamond sharpeners you wont use anything else.
 
Stones are to slow, esp. with very hard steels, stick with the DMT daimonds and you will learn to do good job much faster. If you have to drop down to a 6 in diasharp and spread out your purchases, do so. Start off with Blue then Red I think unles you could maybe find a blue/red combo (320/600). Don't forget the strop, you can make them cheap.

Leon Pugh
 
Haha, my uncle took my knife and used the back on my belt to strop it for a bit; I was amazed at how much better the edge got from just that!
 
Do you think the slips they sell would also work?
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yes, the med india slip and hard arkansas slip are what I carry with me to sharpen, IMO they work great. you can get them cheeper and in all grits from the J&L industrial supply catalouge (more expensive online). however they are harder to learn on if your a beginner, benchstones are easier. I would recomend spening the extra $7 and getting the 8X3 benchstones.

Stones are to slow, esp. with very hard steels, stick with the DMT daimonds and you will learn to do good job much faster.
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I agree, diamond is faster, and if I were a professional and sharpened a high volume thats probably what I'd choose. however the diamond (I've used most brands) are expensive and do wear out.

I've had no truble sharpening all the steels I've come across (D2, M2, A2, S30-V, Hitachi blue and white at 63-64RC, ATS-34, etc) with the Indias, they might be a little slower but they do get the job done at a significantly less price and I have yet to wear them out, wheras all my diamond stones are sitting in a drawr dull. If I were on a budget I would start with a course waterstone for speed to set the bevel and finish / maintain with the India. Also, although I've never used the really fine diamonds (finest Ive used is DMT Xfine) I've never been impressed with the finished edge from diamond, and I usually finish with a stone for day to day use. I typically use Arkansas to finish, but I would be satsfied with the edge I can get on a fine india. if you strop its less relevent what stone you use.
 
If we sharpen using the cutting stroke, will it be a problem with a diamond stone, i.e. with diamond stones should we only strop? Or is there no difference? I can imagine that if we use the cutting stroke with a diamond stones won't we rip out the diamonds and cause it to wear off prematurely?

Thanks
 
I've never heard of using a different than normal technique with diamond, I'm not sure if it would accelerate wear. I would think it wouldent, the diamonds are verry small and your not really cutting into the stone, just abrading on a flat bevel. someone else here who uses diamond more might give a better answer.
 
I have read through most of the comments here and I'm still a little confused and uneasy. I have heard from some good knife makers and others who swear by a diamond sharpening steel to keep a fine edge. I have used honing stones and unless you spend hours and mess up some knife blades they are really cumbersome to use. I was looking at a Diamond sharpener by J. A. Henckels. Any thoughts?
 
I second ninjajoe - If I had to go with one stone to do it all, it would be a fine India and probably a slip stone. A slip stone is really handy with some blade shapes, and a fine india stone will do the job on about any kind of steel.

I have noticed that mine seems to do better when I use WD40 for oil rather than mineral oil or honing solution.
 
The 10" diamond steel? Looks like a decent product. For the beginner (I’m not sure what your sharpening experience is) the crock stick ceramic sharpener (http://www.agrussell.com/accessories/sharpening/a_g_russell_ceramic_sharpener.html) is usually recommended, it’s very easy to learn. With a steel, you still have to hold the knife at the correct angle to the steel (in my experience the beginner usually ends up with a convex edge bevel, witch works fine), with the crock stick, all you have to do is hold the knife vertical and the angles of the rods do the rest.

Another crock stick type sharpener is the spyderco sharpmaker, it has a lot of fans around here. The problem with having just one grit in your sharpening arsenal, as with the basic crock stick or steel, is that it will probably be too fine to re-shape your badly worn or chipped blades, and too course to put a really fine finished edge on. Its sort of like having a one-size-fits-all glove, it really doesn’t. Spyderco has addressed this somewhat by having 2 grits in there basic kit and offering a coarse diamond sleeve as well. With the new psa backed abrasive papers, you can also “stick on” different grits to your rod. With the sharpmaker you can also lay the pair of triangular stones in the base to make a flat surface to sharpen on.

Learning on benchstones definitely isn’t easy, it takes time, practice, and patience. But I believe it’s a skill that’s not only rewarding, but very useful. It’s my opinion that if you rely on a gadget or system to sharpen, the time may come where you are without that system or gadget and need to sharpen something. There is also the fact that there is such a fantastic array of flat stones to choose from, it gives you so many more options than the stones or rods that the manufacturer of your system sells, also with the crock stick your stuck with only one angle (2 with the sharpmaker) and this will not work with all knives.There are a lot of other non-knife tools that need to be sharpened, chisels, gauges, plane blades, chipper blades, farm implements, etc. and usually the easiest and most versatile way to do this is freehand on a bench stone. From what I’ve heard probably the best and most versatile system is the edge pro, and the price tag is about what you’d pay for a good set of benchstones. With this you have a variety of grits to choose from, and the angles are infinitely adjustable.

All those opinions aside, a lot of people do like the various systems for maintaining the edge, and will often use benchstones to regrind badly worn and chipped blades, then the system to maintain or put a micro bevel on. Even though I’m not a fan of systems, I do vastly prefer a sharp knife over a dull one, and if someone doesn’t have the time or interest to learn the old fashioned way, I think the system is a great option. I will also say that opinions of sharpening equipment, technique, etc. are quite diverse, you’ll hear a lot of different suggestions, what you’ve got to do is find out what works for you.

I’m curious to know what your negative benchstone experience has been, what stones did you use? What technique?
 
Sharpmaker! for its practicality!
but me like bench stones too for its meditating aspect....
hmmm you may find it strange, but i do like the grinding sound.... it's calming for me....
 
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