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Thread: Best value knife sharpening system?

  1. #21
    Between day to day household use, hunting, and keeping up with work here on our property, I spend quite a bit of time keeping all manner of edged tools sharp. I use a Sharpmaker for everything from a 2" skinner to a Kukri. It's pretty easy to keep a working edge on stuff without spending a bunch of time doing it.

    I think it would work fine for you unless you are terribly OCD. The bevel on my knives are probably off a couple of degrees. They work fine and are still very sharp and I cut things with them. For some folks that would mean the knife is "ruined" and needs to be discarded or at the very least re-ground. There are also folks who spend several hundred dollars on fancy stones to sharpen a $100 knife and sit there for hours muttering about "my precious" under their breath. The Sharpmaker isn't very good for them either.

  2. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by maclin View Post
    Oh and for you guys who are able to blade well without guides just using stones, well I wish there were a middle finger emoji to throw up here for you.
    I can do that, and it only took me 30 years to perfect the technique.

    A DMT two-sided folding steel (https://www.dmtonlinestore.com/Produ...x?ProductId=29) works for 90% of what I do. I also have a couple of bench-sized coarse and extra-coarse steels from another maker. If a blade gets completely dull, then I use the coarse one to get it in shape, then finish it up with the folding steel. (I've never used the extra-coarse one, but it's so aggressive that I think I could actually make knives with it.) I keep thinking that one day I'll buy something like this (https://www.dmtonlinestore.com/10-Du...Base-P8C2.aspx), but it costs almost as much as a case of 9mm FMJ, so I haven't done it yet and probably won't for quite some time.

    There are a couple of other things to bear in mind. First, if you touch up a blade before it gets truly dull, then you can resharpen it with just a few strokes on each side. If you let it go too long, then you pretty much have to rebuild the edge, which is a drag. Second, don't let people put your knives in drawers or into the dishwasher where they get banged up against silverware--that destroys an edge way faster than actual use. Wash them by hand immediately after you use them and put them into a knife rack where they won't get screwed up. Third, you may have to teach people how a sharp blade will cut far more efficiently with a light touch than a dull blade will with a gorilla grip and 90% of your upper body strength. I can't tell you how many times I've had to stop someone from mashing a razor-sharp kitchen knife into a ceramic plate while cutting meat or vegetables. It's just not necessary...


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    Last edited by okie john; 06-21-2016 at 11:35 AM.
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  3. #23
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    Add me to the Spyderco Sharpmaker list. I've used a lot of others but always come back to this.

  4. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by Rich_Jenkins View Post
    Good thread, following along.

    What do you guys think of this gizmo? $9?

    Lansky Blademedic:

    "Diamon Tapered Rod-For Fast Reconditioning And Maintenance
    Tungsten Carbide-Three Or Four Strokes Will Restore Your Blade
    Ceramic Sharpening Rods-Polist To A Finished Edge In Three Or Four Strokes
    Serrated Knife Sharpener-Designed To Get Inside Even The Smallest Serration"

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=ATVPDKIKX0DER
    Stay away from it. Far away. Those types of sharpeners shave metal off.


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  5. #25
    There is no super simple answer, because it depends what steel and angles your knives have. Harder steels will need more than a medium ceramic. Kitchen knives grind angles don't do well on the Sharpmaker, ime. I use an edgepro for most knives, a Sharpmaker for those that match up, and a hand stone for everything else, meaning mostly scandi and hatchets/axes.

    Scandi ground knives rule though:-)

  6. #26
    Chasing the Horizon RJ's Avatar
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    Jan 2014
    Quote Originally Posted by misanthropist View Post
    Personally I have too many knives and assorted tools that need sharpening to mess around.

    $75 1x36" belt sander, $30 on belts from 400x up to 0.5micron, every tool in the house to any level of sharpness I want in an hour.

    When I hear from someone who wants to sharpen a knife that isn't seriously beat up, I just say "buy wet/dry sandpaper: 400, 800, 1500, 1 sheet each. Put them on a mouse pad. Match the factory angle. Five bucks, done."
    I like this idea. ^^^

    Quote Originally Posted by Shotgun View Post
    This. Lansky system worked for me but takes a long time. Never could get a good edge using wet stones. Mouse pad is quick and will put a convex edge on your knives. At least for me, mouse pad is easiest method for touching up pocket knives.
    Knife noob question: is a convex edge a good thing? My point of reference is my mini Grip. After months of constant use, I'd like to get it back to razor sharp. I don't want to spend over $10, and whatever I buy has to fit inside a small space (we live in a very small travel trailer for months at a time).

    Quote Originally Posted by firefighterguy View Post
    Stay away from it. Far away. Those types of sharpeners shave metal off.


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    Got it, thanks.
    Last edited by RJ; 06-21-2016 at 01:10 PM.

  7. #27
    Site Supporter Maple Syrup Actual's Avatar
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    A lightly convexed edge is a nice tough edge in my experience.

    On straight razors I like a flat grind but for pretty much anything else I have no problems with a slight convex curve.

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  8. #28
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    I've owned most of the main ones.

    Edge Pro takes some time to set up and can still be tricky to dial as the different stones wear at different rates.

    Sharpmaker is fine if the factory angle doesn't need to be reprofiled, but almost all will. Reprofiling takes forever.

    1x30 Harbor Freight belt sander is quick, but their is some evidence that edges made on a belt sander don't last as long. (The heat generated can damage the heat treat at the very edge.)

    I'm currently into Japanese waterstones (Cerax 1k and a Rika 5k are good stones to start with), but it's a zen thing for me. I finish with stropping on diamond pasted down to .1 micron (totally unnecessary except to have parlor-trick edges that will whittle hair but naturally don't last that long).

    Finally, the most economical is a Norton India combination stone. It's really all you need, and there is evidence that the toothy edge it leaves is more practical than a highly refined edge from higher grit stones. (Edges coming of the fine side of the India Stone will cut denim better than highly polished edges from a higher grit stone.

    Learning to free hand sharpen is not hard. I used to think it was, which is why I have all the "systems" mentioned above. If I had to do it over, I would have learned to freehand and not bothered with the other stuff.
    Last edited by redbone; 06-21-2016 at 02:34 PM.

  9. #29
    Site Supporter LtDave's Avatar
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    I'm surprised no one has mentioned a strop yet. Inexpensive and will bring back an edge back to razor sharp with a few strokes.
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  10. #30
    Chasing the Horizon RJ's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by redbone View Post

    Learning to free hand sharpen is not hard. I used to think it was, which is why I have all the "systems" mentioned above. If I had to do it over, I would have learned to freehand and not bothered with the other stuff.
    So, while there are probably dozens of knife-sharpening videos out there, it'd be useful for me to get a few pro tips.

    Could you share a few pointers to start me off?

    My last freehand sharpening attempt was in Boy Scouts, uh, a while ago.

    Knife is a Benchmade minigrip with combo serrated / smooth blade. Is it more complicated than steady even pressure, at the angle of the current blade, as if I was trying to slice a sliver out of the stone? Does the blade move in angle? (I assume not.)

    Thanks!

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