[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Decent knife sharpener. (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 5/24/2009 2:30:29 PM EDT
| Recommend me a decent knife sharpener, I like to keep my knives sharp but my current method of grinding them at work against a coarse grind wheel isn't going to give you a razor edge, sharp enough to cut through meat, but not factory sharp. Wears down the blade pretty fast too, making me avoid expensive knives. I want hair splitting sharpness. Any good kits out there with proper instructions etc? Don't want to spend a ton. |
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Are you looking to do it by hand, or the easier (but much less effective) electric. I'm lazy, and I got an electric (flame away). It's fine for me. Chef's Choice 120. |
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Are you looking to do it by hand, or the easier (but much less effective) electric. I'm lazy, and I got an electric (flame away). It's fine for me. Chef's Choice 120. I have a Chefs Choice too. use it for all my kitchen knives, carry knives and hunting knifes. Makes em' scary sharp (cut the pad of my finger off chopping taters and didn't even feel it!). Takes about 5 minutes to completely sharpen a knife the first time, but only a couple of seconds to keep it sharp. J- |
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Are you looking to do it by hand, or the easier (but much less effective) electric. I'm lazy, and I got an electric (flame away). It's fine for me. Chef's Choice 120. I have a Chefs Choice too. use it for all my kitchen knives, carry knives and hunting knifes. Makes em' scary sharp (cut the pad of my finger off chopping taters and didn't even feel it!). Takes about 5 minutes to completely sharpen a knife the first time, but only a couple of seconds to keep it sharp. J- Ditto on Chef's Choice. I went the stone\manual route first - but it does just as good a job, far easier and less chance of screwing up the edge. I know there are folks who can use a stone to get a razor sharp edge - I was never one of them. |
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Are you looking to do it by hand, or the easier (but much less effective) electric. I'm lazy, and I got an electric (flame away). It's fine for me. Chef's Choice 120. I got one of these in the AR15.com Christmas present trade thing a coupe of years ago. A very impressive knife sharpener. |
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Are you looking to do it by hand, or the easier (but much less effective) electric. I'm lazy, and I got an electric (flame away). It's fine for me. Chef's Choice 120. I don't mind taking the time to get a razor sharp edge, I just don't know how nor have any of the tools to do so. |
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I use a Lansky but some like the Spyderco Sharpmaker. FrankSymptom posted some good info on sharpening here: http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=6&f=4&t=280928 |
| Here is a site with some interesting things in it: http://www.agrussell.com/ |
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Are you looking to do it by hand, or the easier (but much less effective) electric. I'm lazy, and I got an electric (flame away). It's fine for me. Chef's Choice 120. +1 on Chef's Choice. I use it on all my knives and it does a great job. |
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I have a Lansky kit. It's not the easiest thing to use, but it puts a decent edge on my knives. I like mine. ETA: although I sometimes use a dremel with a polishing wheel and lapping compound to "strop" knives for a very sharp edge. They seem to retain their edge better this way too. |
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Diamond stones would be best, but good monocrystalline ones in medium, fine, and extra-fine would run you a couple hundred dollars. A Smith's Tri-Hone will do the job, albeit slower.
Whatever you decide on in the way of stones, finish up with a power strop in your drill or drill press - from really sharp to shaving sharp in seconds. BUT FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, MAKE SURE THE THING IS ROTATING AWAY FROM THE EDGE OF THE KNIFE. You'll get the thrill of a lifetime if it's rotating into the edge. Jane |
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Quoted: When I was looking for a sharpener, Chef's Choice got the best reviews of the electrics.Quoted: Are you looking to do it by hand, or the easier (but much less effective) electric. I'm lazy, and I got an electric (flame away). It's fine for me. Chef's Choice 120. I don't mind taking the time to get a razor sharp edge, I just don't know how nor have any of the tools to do so. |
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Quoted:
Diamond stones would be best, but good monocrystalline ones in medium, fine, and extra-fine would run you a couple hundred dollars. A Smith's Tri-Hone will do the job, albeit slower. Whatever you decide on in the way of stones, finish up with a power strop in your drill or drill press - from really sharp to shaving sharp in seconds. BUT FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, MAKE SURE THE THING IS ROTATING AWAY FROM THE EDGE OF THE KNIFE. You'll get the thrill of a lifetime if it's rotating into the edge. Jane SWEET! I'm getting that power strop 
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Dont waste your time or money with the spyderco sharpmaker.
The problem is that every knife has been sharpened to a different angle while the sharpmaker only has 2 preset angles. If your knife doesnt match perfectly to one of the two preset angles then you are reprofiling FOREVER, or 1000's or strokes whichever comes first. Not to mention scratching the blade if you dont hold it perfectly straight during those 1000's of strokes is common as is rounding off the tip. The sharpmaker is nothing more than a simple croc stick system that has been around for 30+ years. I own both a spyderco sharpmaker and an edgepro and the edgrepro gets 100% of my use. Infinitely adjustable angles and many different grit stones are only some advantages. The Apex kit 3 is what you need. EdgePro |
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Does the chefs choice work on folding pocket knives as well? Is there room to get an edge all the way to the handle? Ive got a Benchmade mini griptilian (non-serrated). It works on mine. My usual every day carry knife is a Benchmade Auto Stryker which has a 1/2 serrated blade. Does a great job on both the str8 and serrated potions. Like I said it makes em scary sharp. J- |
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Dont waste your time or money with the spyderco sharpmaker. The problem is that every knife has been sharpened to a different angle while the sharpmaker only has 2 preset angles. If your knife doesnt match perfectly to one of the two preset angles then you are reprofiling FOREVER, or 1000's or strokes whichever comes first. Not to mention scratching the blade if you dont hold it perfectly straight during those 1000's of strokes is common as is rounding off the tip. The sharpmaker is nothing more than a simple croc stick system that has been around for 30+ years. I own both a spyderco sharpmaker and an edgepro and the edgrepro gets 100% of my use. Infinitely adjustable angles and many different grit stones are only some advantages. The Apex kit 3 is what you need. EdgePro This man is correct. I have the Edgepro and it's awesome. |
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Honestly, for anything under 6" but even still sometimes for knives longer my Case XX Pocket Sharpener really is the most usefull sharpener I have. I keep on in my desk and one in my camping gear.
I'm not sure I'd shave my face with a knife sharpened on it but it'll take off a good amount of hair on my arm. 
Oh, and I bought them for $7 each. |
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The spyderco sharpmaker should be called the "sharpkeeper"...wonderful for touching up a blade, damn right irritating bringing a blunt one back to life. But if you are diligent about not letting one get dull, a sharpmaker and a simple block strop (try the 14 dollar one from Knives Plus) will keep my sebenza hair whittling.
I'm the envy of many men. Also one of the last great soft shoe dancers. 
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I give my knives, scissors, and chisels to the instrument repair guy that comes to the hospital I work in. He can put a scalpel's razor edge on this stuff, and take care of nicks and burrs. In fact he can make modifications to them too but all I get is sharpening. Runs me a couple bucks an item every few months. Good deal. 
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If you're looking for a great set of stones, Woodcraft has their anniversary set on clearance.
Woodcraft DMT 80th Anniversary Diamond Stone Boxed Set # The set includes:1 each of DMT's interrupted surface" single grit stones in 600 grit (red) and 1200 grit (green) # 1 single grit Dia-Sharp stone in the new, incredible 3 micron (8000) grit # Attractively packaged in a hardwood presentation case I bought a set and they're great. $59.99. |
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IMO there is no substitution for stoning/stropping to get a razor edge. Anyone who makes a sharpener that promises a better edge (as opposed to doing it by hand) is either lying, or just playing to lazy people. I get a WAY better edge, in a fraction of the time, with a belt sander. |
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I get a WAY better edge, in a fraction of the time, with a belt sander. Just because it's faster, doesn't make it better. I'll bet if you looked at your edge under magnification next to mine you'd see a pretty big difference. For most uses though, your belt sander will probably work just fine. I prefer to have a mirror edge on my blade, cuts better and (if used properly) lasts longer. |
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I am ashamed to say that I let my knife to waaaaaaaayyyy too dull before sharpening it. Butter knives had a better cut.
I have a tri-stone unit but for this time I just used the good ol' course/fine sharpening stone. Black on one side, brown on another. I snagged it from my grandpas estate sale. Ironically, its the EXACT kind my dad has used for probably 30+ years. Same box and everything. |
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Getting a good edge is more a matter of practice than equipment.
You really can get a good edge with a belt sander with an appropriate belt, many knife/sharpening places use belt-based sharpeners and most factory edges are put on that way. Just go real slow, use a sharp belt and don't let it heat up to the point where you can't comfortably touch the blade at the edge. My preferred sharpener is a very old barbers strop with sandpaper stuck to the fabric part and polishing compound on one side of the leather, gives me highly polished convex edges. I've got good diamond bench stones for flat edges but honestly a good china plate that isn't glazed on the bottom works just as good. Once you get the hang of working up a burr and then cleanly cutting it off, and then stropping/steeling to align the finished edge, you don't really need anything special to get the job done. |
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What is usually the best angle to use with a Gatco sharpening system? Knives involved are SOG Flash, CRKT M16 and Kershaw Blur. Any thoughts on which angles produce the best edge? There's no such thing as a best angle, with a flat-ground edge like that you're trading cutting efficiency for durability, the more metal there is behind the edge the more durable the edge will be, but it won't cut as easily, sharpness isn't really dependent on the angle, it's more a matter of cutting and aligning the edge. |
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IMO there is no substitution for stoning/stropping to get a razor edge. Anyone who makes a sharpener that promises a better edge (as opposed to doing it by hand) is either lying, or just playing to lazy people. I get a WAY better edge, in a fraction of the time, with a belt sander. What grit belt are you using? Jane |