Best value knife sharpening system?

[rob_s]

FWIW, I got one of those Ken Onion belt sharpeners last week and with a few passes through each grit had my Victoninox cheapo kitchen knives back up and running again.

[RJ]

While this is a great example of customer service and the knives probably come back to you fast, sharp and clean, it's good to have sort of system to learn and sharpen on yourself with instant gratification.

You wouldn't have to ship out and wait a week. It also is satisfying to resharpen yourself.

If you have other knives from other makers, you'd have to get those sharpened eventually too. I'd spring for, and learn a sharpening system of some sort eventually.

My .02

Good points. I will.

As a side note, I acquired my mini Grip through a Karma (you might say it was the first Karma on p-F.com) through the kindness of LSP552.

Since part of the Lifesharp(tm) service offered by Benchmade is a knife 'tune up', I felt in this case it'd be worth it to send it to Oregon for a sharpening and a refresh / lube.

But yeah, I get what you are saying.

I did also recently purchase a set of three grit emery paper to try that technique out; this was mentioned a few posts earlier.

[RJ]

Good points. I will.

As a side note, I acquired my mini Grip through a Karma (you might say it was the first Karma on p-F.com) through the kindness of LSP552.

Since part of the Lifesharp(tm) service offered by Benchmade is a knife 'tune up', I felt in this case it'd be worth it to send it to Oregon for a sharpening and a refresh / lube.

But yeah, I get what you are saying.

I did also recently purchase a set of three grit emery paper to try that technique out; this was mentioned a few posts earlier.

Got my mini-Grip back from Benchmade today.

Came in a nice box, well lubed and cleaned up. Blade is dad/gone sharp, that's for sure.

Took about 10 days from drop off here in Largo FL to Oregon and back to me.

Very good (free) service from Benchmade.

[RJ]

Hokay, back for some advice.

I got this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And a Harbor Freight (I know, I know) sharpening stone:

https://www.harborfreight.com/combin...tone-7345.html

Now, the first thing I am going to try to do is my ECD Spyderco Dragonfly 2.

What is a good angle to start with? Are all "daily use" knives pretty much the same angle? Or do Spyderco come pre-sharpened with a specific angle value?

TIA.

[blues]

Most Spyderco knives are between 15 to 20 degrees per side (DPS) for an inclusive angle between 30 and 40.

Let me ask you a question. Is your knife dull? Does it need reprofiling or a touch up?

Will it slice telephone book paper or newspaper cleanly now before you start?

Does it grab or shave hair? Give an idea of the starting point.

[blues]

Rich, I'm going to make a suggestion if I might, given the equipment you have at hand.

Looks like the HF hone is silicon carbide, so it will probably abrade pretty quickly. Lubricate it with either water or mineral oil. Everyone has their own preference. A light oil coat will help suspend swarf and keep the stone cutting longer. You can wipe it off periodically with a paper towel and reapply as needed.

Now, for the sake of learning, skip the angle guides at this moment. Try to set the stone at a height where you won't be towering over it but can get your eye down to the horizontal plane easily enough.

Now, set the knife on the fine side of the hone. You'll see that the edge is raised slightly off the stone. Now, raise the spine of the knife slowly and watch the "shadow' under the edge disappear and gently feel when the edge bevel is flat on the surface of the stone. That is the angle you are going to sharpen at.

Once you abrade the edge bevel on the stone sufficiently, it will thin out at the edge enough that it will turn upward and create a small burr. Your goal is to create a burr along the entire opposite side of the blade from the surface contacting the stone...and then turning it over and accomplishing the very same thing on the second side.

Once both sides have had a burr raised, you can do feather light strokes one on each side alternating until you don't feel a burr anymore. (Just kissing the stone.) Don't use much pressure on the burr raising portion either. Let the stone do most of the work.

At that point you should have a sharp knife without having had to reprofile the angle of the edge bevel.

This is one way of getting the job done and one of the simplest. Does it make sense to you?

We can talk about expanding your hones later...perhaps with a nice medium and fine ceramic but what you have should work.

Don't use the coarse side of the HF stone unless you really have a dull knife that needs a lot of metal removed to get to the edge.

[jeep45238]

I have the Edge Pro and the Sharp Maker.

The edge pro is GREAT for heavy work. The Sharp Maker is GREAT for maintenance - they should have called it the Sharp Keeper.

[blues]

I have the Edge Pro and the Sharp Maker.

The edge pro is GREAT for heavy work. The Sharp Maker is GREAT for maintenance - they should have called it the Sharp Keeper.

I have both also. I rarely break out the Edge Pro but the Sharp Maker gets a lot of touch up work when I don't feel like using bench stones.

[RJ]

Thanks @blues. I’ll have another go at it this weekend and report back. Appreciate the tips.

[blues]

Thanks @blues. I’ll have another go at it this weekend and report back. Appreciate the tips.

Happy to help. Keep us posted and we'll get 'er done.