OK fellas,

What is the BEST way to sharpen a knife?

I have a set of Henckles kitchen knives that I want to keep nice and sharp and am afraid that I will do more damage than good with the sharpener that came with the set.

Explain the technique...

TIA
JDP

Oh my! your sure to open a can of worms with this one! hehe

I'm no expert, so keep that in mind. But for kitchen knives I just use a steel on them. I've tried using my diamond 'stones' that I use on my Tac-folders but it don't work a whole lot better IMO.
I have found it seems to work better if you sharpen going 'with' the knife. Meaning move the blade across the steel, stone etc. like your actually trying to 'slice off a hunk'.
Works for me anyway.

[url]http://www.lansky.com/[/url]

I forgot to add you want what they call a "Crock Stick".

They work great!

John

hey beagles 747 you took the words right out of my mouth--that's exactly how i do it....Lansky and then crock stick.....if you spend a little more more the crock sticks and get the diamond coated gray ones-you won't regret it....Dick

Lansky makes a good system. The diamond coated stones work best for putting on a quick edge. Unless you are re-profiling, you won't need the extra-course. If you mantain an edge, you probably won't need the course, as well.
DMT has a good system, as well.
The system voted the best, on a poll at [url]www.bladeforums.com[/url] is the Spyderco Sharpmaker. I highly recommend bladeforums.com for anything, edge related. There are guys over there, who's knowledge of anything blade related, far exceeds what you are likely to find here.
Also, I've heard that a lot of forged kitchen knives use a saw-toothed edge. If you use anything other than a steel for that type a edge, you will ruin it. Saw-toothed is not to be confused with serrated. The teeth cannot be seen wiyh the naked eye. All a steel is supposed to do, is align the teeth (through vibration, I think).
Hope this helps.

Ditto Crookshanks comments [b]Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker[/b].
Recommeded by Cold Steel and others, I think it's the best and have used one for longer than I can remember.

"JDP" your Henekles are very hard steel and while they take a little longer than most knives to sharpen, they tend to stay sharp longer than most. The Syderco will sharpen them just fine. I have several friends that drag them out every time I visit so I can sharpen them, their great knives for around the kitchen.

Mike

Arkansas stones.  The ones my Grandfather gave me.

Eddie

did you get a "steel" or a sharpener with your set? the steel is the ridged rod like thing. it is used to allign or straighted an already sharp edge.

you'll need to sharpen when the edge is worn or damaged. a steel is not enough at this point. for kitchen knives there is a "chef's choice" product that works well. there is a manual and an electric.

provides the best combination of ease, efficiency, and edge for the knives...IMO. requires very little skill and makes no mess.

       SWEEEEETTTT

[smoke]

Lots of products (Thanks!), but what about the [u]technique[/u] of sharpening a knife using conventional methods (sharpening stones/ steels)?  How do you do it right?

JDP, I am a knife maker and can tell you that from my experience the only way to learn how to do it is to practice doing it!  To get an excellent edge it is critical that you raise an even "burr" on the edge of a blade, that is centered because of an even grind or bevel on each side of the edge.  The angle of the plane of the knife in relation to the plane of the stone is the critical step for getting the sharpest blades.  Most makers use 15 - 20 degrees on each side of the blade depending upon its use.  15 degrees is an excellent choice for skinning type knives and 20 is generally better for heavy use knives or those that will be used for chopping.  The Spyderco Sharpmaker, which I often recommend to clients for its ease of use, sets the angles for you at either 30 or 40 degrees, cumulative.  Note that the Spyderco is 15 or 20 degrees per side.  The other recommendations are all good.  The EdgePro is the best unit that there is for excellent edge geometry, but it costs more than $200.  I believe that Wayne Goddard, a famous knife maker, has a video that teaches sharpening techniques.