which one

jefroman

jefroman

Gold Member
Joined
May 17, 2001
Messages
776
There are so many #*&@ sharpening products and kits that I don't know which one is the right one to choose. Every time I think I know which one I want to buy, I go to a site and it says how bad the one I want is and it tells me how good their product is. I would appreciate it if you guys told me which sharpening kit or brand that you like.
 
I'm a big fan of the Sydie Sharpmaker 204. I've had it for a couple of months and have had great success with it. Easy to use as well. And available for $50 or less.

Check it out. I think you'll most around here will speak highly of it.
 
Get a good benchstone, a cheap knife (with decent steel), and learn how to sharpen freehand. It takes a little longer to get good at, but I think it's worth it.

My advice? Pick up a DMT diamond grit stone, an Opinel folder, and practice, practice, practice.
 
I have used a Lansky Sharpeners set for sevral years. I like it alot. I know there is quite a few here who does not like it but it gives you great control over the angle. When I use mine I finish the edge by stropping it on a piece of leather glued to a piece of hardwood. I soaked the leather in kerozene and rubbed juvelers rouge on it. Any fine polishing compound would do. This strop is allso good for minor touchups on the edge.

Recently I got myself a sharpmaker. I like it alot too but only for maintanance of a existing edge. The thing I like the most is it uses no oils so it is not messy to use it. It is also easyer to use because it does not use a clamp. It takes abit of practise but it is a nice tool.

Finally I have several different Spyderco handstones that is good for those hard to sharpen shapes and also to bring along on trips.
Hope this helps.
 
Jeff, there is (if it got converted to new software...?) rich content on this topic on this forum. Use the search engine with different combo's of these words:

Lansky, Sharpmaker, 203, 204, sharpener, sharpening, system, best, diamond, Edgepro, favorite, ... you get the idea.

My opinion is this: give more weight to the opinions of those that obviously own or have tried more than one kind of sharpening system and can use the system that they prefer for different sharpening tasks, from small to large (e.g. machete, axe, small to medium folders, serrated knives, mid-to-large blades 5" to 12", etc), and from reprofiling an edge grind (lots of work and metal to remove) to quick touchups of a slightly dulled edge.

The Spyderco Sharpmaker 204 is a very widely owned and heralded system, and not without merit. However, it appears that many of it's proponents haven't used other systems... so of course the 204 is "great for everything". I own one. It is great for serrations. It's pretty good for quick touchups. You can round off the tip of your first nice knife learning on this system.

It's kinda like reading book reviews on Amazon.com or reading about mountain bikes and products on mtbr.com [insert your own example of overly generous ratings]... you often learn a lot more from the few people who DIDN'T give it 5 stars than you do from the unwashed masses who reflexively offer 5 stars only BECAUSE they read the book or happen to own the product.

Easiest for beginner (other than lamely sending back to mfg):
1. Spyderco Sharpmaker
2. Jig type (Lansky, Gatco, DMT)

Harder:
3/4. Bench grinder, belt grinder

Hardest:
5. flat bench stone

Buy John Juranitch's book and save yourself a lot of time and frustration.

http://www.razoredgesystems.com/catalog/book.html

Read Talmadge's FAQ (excellent) on this forum (somewhere).

 
Here's my take on it, if you do a search you'll hear me saying similar stuff all over the forums!

I have used: free stones, including Razor's Edge stones, water stones, and some other unknown stones. I have used my belt sander, a Sharpmaker 203, a Gatco clamp jig setup, and the Razor's Edge Pro kit, with a different clamp style system than the Gatco/Lansky style.

For a complete newbie, you should read, read, read! The Sharpening FAQ and John Juranich's book are awesome. Check your local library for the book.

For a simple kit, get a sharpmaker and a coarse bench stone. The sharpmaker is really easy to use, excells at maintaining an edge, but doesn't do that well at setting an edge. You use the coarse bench stone to set an edge, fix chipped edges, etc. Any coarse stone will do, though a DMT x-coarse would probably be ideal, though neot necessary!

I'd start there actually! Now I use my belt sander/buffer and my sharpmaker for sharpening, but that is a little harder to learn how to use than a sharpmaker.
 
I own a spyderco tri-angle sharpmaker and I can't recommend it enough, and I've used many, many different sharpeners. I sharpen every blade I own on it, and it works better than any of the others I've owned. Buy one, you won't be dissapointed.
:D
 
I have(or have had) every system I can think of up to and including Edge-Pro Apex with upgrades. For a beginner, or if I could only have one, it would be the Spyderco Sharpmaker 204 first, Lansky second (or first if I had a lot of damaged blades to work on). I'm not expert with my EdgePro yet, so I can't say, but judging by results it is supurb but costly and fairly complicated.Probably not for beginners.Just remember that every system has "tricks" you must learn by experience, so don't get discouraged if your results aren't perfect the first try.:D
 
If you expect that any of your knives may have a recurve blade style, get the Spyderco Tri-Sharp. Make sure that you do not opt for M2 steel such as the BM Axis though (I did, so I know) as it will take most of an afternoon to sharpen, and reprofiling (all my BM's) is a major job.
Rad
 
I have a lansky, I'm happy with it, but I hope to check out the sharpmaker soon and see what all the fuss is about.
 
The best system I've found to date is the Spyderco Sharpmaker 204.
This one will make all the others obsolete IMHO. With the 204 I'm able to sharpen virtually anything around my house that has an edge on it.
Oh BTW, it won't work on ceramic bladed knives, but that is about all it won't sharpen.

Also, send off and get the "how to" video from Spyderco if it's still available. Sal himself demos how to sharpen all kinds of edged implements with the 204.
I can't say enough good things about the Sharpmaker.
 
The "how to" video is included with all new Sharpmakers.. I'm not sure if it is available separately.
 
I have the Arkansas stones, a bunch of man-made stones, a strop and a 204. The 204 gets the most use, for new blades or touch-ups it's hard to beat, fast and no mess.

If a blade is old, heavily used or damaged, I start with diamond stones and work up to the 204. Depending on the steel and my intended use, I finish with a 1000 grit razor hone, black Arkansas or the strop.

After this treatment...only the power of the pyramid can make the blade sharper. :D

Scary!


Steve-O
 
My man Jefroman,

I've used the Razors Edge System (took off lots of steel), the Lansky system (Didn't work too well for me),and my most recent purchase, and probably my last was the Spyderco 203 system. I think the Spyderco 203 or 204 is the best of the lot. It works on all kinds of blades with equal ease. It gives me great edges without taking off more steel than necessary.

Willieboy,

P.S. I'm glad you decided to stick around.
 
Jefroman, here is what works for me:

Get yourself a lansky clamp system to reprofile blades when they need it. Your next purchase should be some sort of coarse benchstone. Practice using both. When you use the benchstone, just try to keep the angle you hold the knife at consistent. You WILL probably screw up a bunch of knives at first, so don't go grinding down your spydies and benchmades at your first attempts!

Your next purchase should be a spyderco sharpmaker. This is best used for maintenance. Reprofiling a knife made of any good steel is very tedious and frustating on one of these. Once you have a good edge though, the sharpmaker is hard to beat for when your knife starts to get dull. (When it might still feel sharp, but won't shave hair anymore)

Your next buy should be a strop of some sort. www.handamerican.com has excellent ones! You can even buy strop leather cut to your own exact dimensions at around $10 a square foot. You might also get some abrasive compounds there to put on the strop. It gives your knives a mirror polished edge that is scary SHARP!

Your next purchase should be a quality SMOOTH steel. Once again, I would go to www.handamerican.com for these. (you will be amazed at the quality!) A lot of times when your knife starts to get dull, the edge just needs to be re-aligned. Some people will start grinding away - you need to try the steel FIRST!

If there is any doubt, you should always use the LEAST abrasive sharpening method first. So that would mean: start with the steel first, if it doesn't work, go to the strop, if that doesn't work, go to the sharpmaker, if that doesn't work you must have been really hard on your knife (!) so you will need to use either the benchstone or the lansky.

Well, sorry my reply was so long, but I wanted you to know the surefire way I keep my blades almost TOO sharp. I learned by PLENTY of trial and error and lots of help and advice from the good people here. Stick around, learn, and enjoy. It will definitely be worth it!

P.S. - B 4 I get flamed - this is just what works for me. Be sure to do what YOU think is right, and it will always be right for you! :D
 
Originally posted by AntDog
P.S. - B 4 I get flamed - this is just what works for me. Be sure to do what YOU think is right, and it will always be right for you! :D
Click to expand...
Flamed? Those are great suggestions. Especially the steel, IMO, which I wish I had discovered the beauty of alot sooner!
 
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