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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:27:13 PM EDT
[#1]
I like a good stone for knife sharpening but for in a hurry I use the diamond impregnated block type sharpeners.
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:34:30 PM EDT
[#2]
I think a real man would sharpen the blade on the femur of the opponent he's just killed.
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:34:54 PM EDT
[#3]
Dremel tool and a steady hand.
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:36:29 PM EDT
[#4]
Real men embrace technology.
That said, anyone know who makes the best electric sharpener? |
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:36:45 PM EDT
[#5]
I like my 2" X 72" Belt Grinder, but it may be a little much for the occasional blade.
 I have a set of the ceramic sticks I leave on the kitchen counter. I hit my blade every now and then when I pass by. I start with a good sharp blade and don't let it get dull. |
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:37:00 PM EDT
[#6]
I've found that Lansky sharpeners work pretty well.
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:38:07 PM EDT
[#7]
Look into a Lansky setup. A friend of mine has one and he gets stuff razor sharp with it. He doesn't even have the really fine stones.
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:39:08 PM EDT
[#8]
I got a diamond stone.
Half the time I think I'm doing more harm than good. 
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:39:30 PM EDT
[#9]
Real men - like me
 - ain't got time to be farting around.I want my knife sharp, and I want it sharp RFN. Lansky - still using the one I bought in 88 or so (replaced the stones, of course) |
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:39:54 PM EDT
[#10]
I take all my big blades (bayo, kabar) to the little guy at the gun show and for $3 he does a great job.
For my pocket knife and filet blades I use a Arkansas wet stone. Put a little oil on it and hold the blade at a about 45 deg angle (give or take) and presto sharp knife. Get the stone from any knife stor or sporting goods store. ETA: Do not use a circular motion for the stiff blades use that for the filet knife. I draw back at an angle with my pocket knife or gerber. |
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:40:50 PM EDT
[#11]
On your enemy! 
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:40:52 PM EDT
[#12]
I think sharpening a knife with just a flat stone is somewhat of an art. My grandfather would sharpen the cheapest knife to nearly a razor edge after just a few minutes with his stone. After his death I was given many of his tools to include his sharpening stones. I can get a knife somewhat sharp with one, but nothing like he did. Since I don't have what it takes to get a great edge with a stone, I purchased the Lansky sharpening system. Works great!
I'd still like to be able to use a flat stone like my grandfather did though! |
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:41:06 PM EDT
[#13]
I'm in the same boat, I have heard good things about Spyderco Sharpmakers. I'm leaning in that direction right now....
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:43:36 PM EDT
[#14]
Old school leather strop.
and a new school lansky diamond set.
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:44:35 PM EDT
[#15]
I use a piece of cardboard to get a really fine edge.
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:45:31 PM EDT
[#16]
Always wanted one of those. |
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:47:39 PM EDT
[#17]
Chef'sChoice 120 Professional Knife Sharpener
This automatic sharpener turns out knives—both straight-edged and serrated—with a razor-sharp edge, and it won't destroy the temper of fine kitchen blades. It's quick and easy to use: simply pass the knife once through each slot. In a three-stage process, blades are sharpened and honed on 100% diamond abrasive pads, then stropped for a smooth edge. Blades are aligned at the perfect angle, and you can select the type of edge, depending on the knife's use. 9 1/4" x 4 3/4" x 4 1/4" high. Made in the USA. POS? Anyone know? |
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Posted: 10/9/2005 7:57:25 PM EDT
[#18]
The only thing I don't like about the lansky, is that it does not play nice with thick knives. Also has issues with odd shaped bladed knives. YMMV
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Posted: 10/9/2005 8:07:17 PM EDT
[#19]
I have Sharpmaker, if you can follow directions you can put on a razor sharp with this sharpener, and I have 2 left thumbs.
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Posted: 10/9/2005 8:08:34 PM EDT
[#20]
My Cold Steel Voyager is razor sharp.
I use one of these: Tri-Hone Knife Sharpener Use a rough stone to put a very narrow angled edge on your knife (called a base edge), then slightly raise the angle of your strokes and use the fine stone put a second edge on the first one. Razor sharp in no time once you have the base edge complete. Run it backwards across the backside of a leather belt (or cardboard box) a few times when you done. 
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Posted: 10/9/2005 8:10:33 PM EDT
[#21]
Arkansas stone or Crock Sticks
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Posted: 10/9/2005 8:11:38 PM EDT
[#22]
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Posted: 10/9/2005 8:22:54 PM EDT
[#23]
I use the Lansky sharpening system. Works great for me on my users but you are kinda stuck with certain exact angles to sharpen at. Very easy to use, and with the diamond stones, you can hone an extremely sharp edge. I love it for reprofiling some blades, but it takes awhile.
I have heard alot of people have luck with the Spyderco Sharpmaker as well, although I have yet to try it. |
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Posted: 10/9/2005 8:25:42 PM EDT
[#24]
Buy some 800 & 1000 grit auto sandpaper, put it on a mousepad (soft kind), and draw the blade on it....works like a strop, and conforms to irregular angles and trues up a blade very fast and easily. Very hard to screw up.
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Posted: 10/9/2005 8:32:58 PM EDT
[#25]
well I use soft stone and leather, and if I want it surgical blade sharp I take it to the gun show and pay the guy 5bucks for my buck trifold, it's so sharp I'm worrid about cutting something off this time
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Posted: 10/9/2005 8:38:03 PM EDT
[#26]
I start with a rough stone, sharpen it till th eedges shine, go to the next level stone and keep going on through until I have a mirror edge, after that I hit it with a fine stone, then a strop.
If it won't shave hair without pulling, or own't cut without me feeling it it is not sharp enough. I have been known to spen hours sharpening a knife |
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Posted: 10/9/2005 8:38:15 PM EDT
[#27]
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Posted: 10/9/2005 8:40:15 PM EDT
[#28]
Many good suggestions here. To those I'll add the following:
1. Be patient and persistent 2. Try your best to keep the same angle the whole time you're sharpening (on both sides). 3. Stropping will keep your edge in great shape. Use leather or the cardboard on back of a legal pad, whichever you have. A nice leather strop is great, but if you don't have one, do what I do. Find your local boot and shoe repair shop, and ask if you can buy one or two long strips of scrap leather. They may charge you a buck or so, but will probably give them to you (especially if you take any shoes to them for new heels and soles). 4. Keep working on suggestion number one! 
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Posted: 10/9/2005 8:44:34 PM EDT
[#29]
I can sharpen just about any knife good enough to shave hairs off your arm. I use whatever is at hand. Just takes practice at keeping the blade angle consistant. Lately I have been using a diamond block I got at Cabelas. $20 no oil or water, and follow with a leather strap or old belt... Bingo pops hair right off your arm! It comes a bit course but after a few uses it gets the right grit for general sharpening and all you do is alter the pressure on the blade to control how much metal you remove. I do keep a Norton two-sided stone that my father gave me, he used it to sharpen his machine tools. It is a great stone and it works awesome. They are available at most machine shops and online for a few buck.
Think about what you want to use the blade for also. Shallow angles are great for fine work but a steeper edge angle will hold up better and stand tougher work and stay sharper. Also never let your blade go dull. Pass it over a steel or similar occasionally to keep the edge aligned. Then when you do need to touch it up all you need is a few strokes. |
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Posted: 10/9/2005 8:55:09 PM EDT
[#30]
The problem with this soft mouse-pad idea, as with a strop in general is that the softness can actually work against you by possibly rounding over the edge of blade instead of getting the edge that last little bit of sharp. All a strop is supposed to do is take the blade the last little bit of the way to completely sharp, and it does so by removingthe wire edge that has been formed by a firm abrasive surface (like a stone or wheel). That strop needs to be on a firm surface as well, and not allowed to flex to round over the edge of the blade. Basic info on getting edge tools sharp (most pertinent to wood-working tools): www.shavings.net/SCARY.HTM#original www.hocktools.com/sharpen.htm A great resource for sharpening supplies: www.handamerican.com/products.html Or, try BladeForums for more specific knife sharpening info... |
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Posted: 10/9/2005 9:01:31 PM EDT
[#31]
For my Japanese kitchen knives, I have a ceramic wheel sharpener that is angeled just right.(My Mac knives have a 10 degree bevel)
For my single edge(single bevel) Japanese sashimi knife, I have a pro sharpen it. For all my other German kitchen knives, I have them pro sharpened. Why? I do not have the time to sharpen about 15 knives a month with the hours I work. Besides, the pro I go to takes almost no steel off and gets them razor sharp. |
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Posted: 10/9/2005 9:25:09 PM EDT
[#32]
I use Japanese water stones and a leather strop; I always have people asking me to sharpen their knives.
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Posted: 10/10/2005 3:41:19 AM EDT
[#33]
another edge pro vote.
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Posted: 10/10/2005 3:54:47 AM EDT
[#34]
 Wusthof Diamond Steel |
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Posted: 10/10/2005 3:57:51 AM EDT
[#35]
.
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Posted: 10/10/2005 4:04:40 AM EDT
[#36]
Edge Pro Apex for me.
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Posted: 10/10/2005 4:16:49 AM EDT
[#37]
I don't buy that for a second. I've heard it before about the mousepad idea being a bad way to strop....but my experience tells me it's very effective on a wide array of blade surfaces - from asymmetric grinds (like Swamp Rats) to a straight tang like and exacto blade. If it rounded the edge, I'd have alot of dull knives around my house and I don't have a one in my house that won't take the hair off your forearm with ease. I think it has the potential to round the edge, if you're a dipshit and attack the strop at a severe angle (I don't). |
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Posted: 10/10/2005 4:32:16 AM EDT
[#38]
You now begin a quest I have been on for much of my life. Firstly, you must understand that there are 2 problems with blades. Problem 1 is that the edge can get rolled over making the knife feel dull. This requires a honing process, which simply rolls the edge back in line with the rest of the blade. The edge was sharp all along, but because it was rolled it was useless. Second there is actual sharpening with involves the removal of metal to re-shape the edge. But in order to make the edge truly sharp you need the angle between the blade and the abrasive to be consistent. Some can do this by hand without trouble. Others, like myself, cannot. Thus we need something that will keep the blade/abrasive angle constant. The Gatco and Lansky systems work pretty well for that. Better than those, however, is the EdgePro. It is versatile, consistent, and easy to use. It will sharpen everything from chisels to scissors to every type of knife with precision. Usually folks who buy one never buy another sharpener. edgeproinc.com/index.htm |
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Posted: 10/10/2005 4:50:34 AM EDT
[#39]
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Posted: 10/10/2005 4:58:05 AM EDT
[#40]
It's all in the wrist...no, seriously.
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Posted: 10/10/2005 5:28:14 AM EDT
[#41]
Sharpmaker or lansky
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Posted: 10/10/2005 5:29:08 AM EDT
[#42]
I have several stones of varying grit.
On a knife that is nearly ruined I start with Carborundum to regain an edge. Then to a coarse Arkansas oil, then fine Arkansas. For final stone work I use an Arkansas Translucent Oil Stone. I just bought a new larger stone from this guy on ebay cgi.ebay.com/Translucent-Arkansas-Knife-Sharpening-Stone-8x2x1-2-2_W0QQitemZ7187522325QQcategoryZ7306QQcmdZViewItem When all that is finished, for a razor sharp edge I use a buffing wheel with rouge or auto polishing compound. ps. I DO NOT LIKE Serrated knives. 
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Posted: 10/10/2005 5:40:39 AM EDT
[#43]
 I have an older version of this sharpener. I am teh suck at sharpening knives, but this little gadget works incredibly well. It's also very portable. Unlike the knife sharpening "systems", i can keep it with me and keep sharpening in while out and about. |
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Posted: 10/10/2005 5:59:25 AM EDT
[#44]
Real men you say? We hone it on the bone!
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Posted: 10/10/2005 8:48:02 AM EDT
[#45]
You need to decide what you want to use the knife for, I prefer a slightly "toothy" edge as this helps cut most materials, kind like a microscopic serrated edge. For rough service go with a 30 degree edge geometry as this will hold up better to abuse, for the ultimate edge but the longest time to sharpen go with a three angle edge as this will give you a near razor edge and still stands up to abuse pretty well.
Using a stone takes a lot of practice to get right, you will scratch up a few blades untill you get it down. I have a chef's chouce 120 and it will put an AWESOME edge on a blade but it is pretty expensive to buy and large. I use it on my wife's Henkel kitchen knives every few years and use a Spyderco ceramic stick sharpener once a month to keep them in shape. Some of them are over 20 years old and they are still in excellent shape. The mouse pad trick will give more of a Japanese "clamshell" edge, very close to a three angle grind but it takes longer master. The best advice it to read up on the subject and then practice, you will make some mistakes but that is the way it goes. And don't wait till your blade is dull to touch it up, this will keep sharpening from being a major job and instead a quick tune up. |
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Posted: 10/10/2005 8:56:10 AM EDT
[#46]
Yep, absolutely. Try sharpening a Gerber MKII with one and you will drive yourself into absolute fits. Also, for all those who have a Lansky kit. Do not be fooled into thinking that just because it has a nifty carrying case that you can remove those index rods from the stones and store them only to reinstall them and be perfectly indexed. Take time to set up each rod so that it is straight to it's own specific stone. Go through and set each rod so that each stone will be matched to the blade at a perfect angle to one another, reason is sometimes the angles change if you hap-hazardly set the rods into the stone holder. Eye those rods and make sure they are on a parallel plane to the surface of the stone. Once they are setup, LEAVE THEM THAT WAY. Those aluminum rods bend easily, taking them in and out of the little holder of the case will make a ton of work for you each time you goto set up. When I'm sharpening I usually use a 25 degree angle on most of my blades, then when I'm doing the final pass on the blades I use my finest stone set on the 30 degree angle to knock the folded edge off the blade as well as make it so that it's not quite so razor thin. Helps with longevity of the edge a bit. For really razor sharp I'll get a chunk of leather out to act as a strop for the blade after having sharpened it on a 25degree angle and not giving it a final pass at 30degrees. |
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Posted: 10/13/2005 5:46:46 PM EDT
[#47]
Well, Costco had the Chef's Choice Deluxe Electric Sharpener for $69 so I gave it a try. Most of you already know this, but it takes off too much metal and I wouldn't use it on anything better than a steak knife. I had a better edge in 3 minutes with some old stones.
Which Lansky is the best, and can a Spyderco serrated really be brought back from heavy use? |
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Posted: 10/13/2005 6:00:29 PM EDT
[#48]
I think all of us Texas guys go to the same guy at the gunshow. Five bucks well spent!
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Posted: 10/13/2005 6:08:20 PM EDT
[#49]
+1 for the sharpmaker with the diamond stones! Easy as pie.
hippie.gif |
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Posted: 10/13/2005 6:17:01 PM EDT
[#50]
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