Sharpeners

[cbickel]

I have recently got into knives. My first purchase was a Tenacious, followed shortly by a Delica 4. These blades did come razor sharp out of the box, but I know its inevitable that they will need sharpened at some point. I have done a bit of research and it seems that it is a bit of an art. To do manual sharpening on a stone take practice getting the angle and such. I am looking into a sharpening system that will get rid of all of the guess work out of sharpening.

Lets face it, I don't want to have to practice sharpening on blades that I use everyday, potentially ruining the edges. I have seen the Edge Pro Apex and Wicked Edge systems but they are freaking expensive. Are there any recommendations out there that are simple to lock in the angle of my edge and simple to use?

 

[seedubs1]

DMT aligner kit is great. They make the some of the best diamond hones in the business. So you can use the hones with the aligner to guide the knife at the correct angle, or use the hones on their own if you want to do some freehand sharpening.

The Lansky and Spyderco Sharpmaker are well loved by a lot of people as well. I just prefer the DMT kit out of the three because of the super nice hones it comes with. But any of them will get a knife sharp if you take the time to learn how to use it.

 

[bmbutch]

DMT aligner kit is great. They make the some of the best diamond hones in the business. So you can use the hones with the aligner to guide the knife at the correct angle, or use the hones on their own if you want to do some freehand sharpening.

The Lansky and Spyderco Sharpmaker are well loved by a lot of people as well. I just prefer the DMT kit out of the three because of the super nice hones it comes with. But any of them will get a knife sharp if you take the time to learn how to use it.

What I love about INGO, almost always pick up some good info, experience, etc... Just added a DMT kit to wish list. Thank You for head's up.

 

[Jeffrey]

I received a sharpmaker for Christmas and have had great results with it. I've already sharpened several of my knives, and I put a great edge on my dad's mini griptillian.

 

[cbickel]

DMT aligner kit is great. They make the some of the best diamond hones in the business. So you can use the hones with the aligner to guide the knife at the correct angle, or use the hones on their own if you want to do some freehand sharpening.

The Lansky and Spyderco Sharpmaker are well loved by a lot of people as well. I just prefer the DMT kit out of the three because of the super nice hones it comes with. But any of them will get a knife sharp if you take the time to learn how to use it.

Oh nice. That is pretty cool. Haven't seen that one before. Are those stones replaceable with different brands or do you have to use their stones? For $45 on Amazon, it seems like a winner.

 

[Rocketscientist]

KME Precision Knife Sharpening System (Works for many broadheads too)

Here's the one that I've been drooling over lately. Anyone have any experience with a KME? I suppose the "Made in USA" part has me about 75% sold on it anyway.

 

[tradertator]

I've bought a few different systems over the years, and I always seem to pull out the Spyderco Sharpmaker when I need one. Very fast setup, and easy to use. The extra fine stones are worth purchasing if you want a nicely polished, razor edge. And the diamond ones are nice if you've got something really hard and it's in bad shape.

 

[seedubs1]

I've never used anything but the DMT hones in it. You may check on bladeforums to see if any others will fit, but I don't know why you'd want to. DMT hones are very high quality and you won't gain anything by using some other brand. In addition, if you use them right, those hones should last you for a looooong time (barring you don't put too much pressure on them and ruin them).

Oh nice. That is pretty cool. Haven't seen that one before. Are those stones replaceable with different brands or do you have to use their stones? For $45 on Amazon, it seems like a winner.

 

[ghuns]

I have always sharpened by hand with stones. I am a toolmaker by trade, so sharpening things is a skill I learned years ago. But like any good ole fashioned old world skill, you need the right tools, lots of practice and lots of patience. I had a knife that was sharpened by an INGO member who uses the Wicked Edge system. It was amazing, but I'm cheap. Buying a $300+ sharpener or sending knives away at $10 a whack is just not gonna happen.

If you have the space, I cannot recommend a better, faster system than this...




These wheels were $30 on Amazon. And who doesn't have a spare Thor Farm and Home bench grinder laying around?

No, you will not have a perfectly symmetrical 20 degree bevel on your knives, but they will be sharp and they will get sharp fast.

When I mounted these up, I sharpened over a dozen kitchen knives, 6 steak knives, 2 fillet knives, 3 fixed blade hunting knives, 2 small multi-bladed folders and 2 large folders, including my ZT0300, in under an hour. Every one is hair shaving sharp. After a little strop action, the fillet knives will push-cut newspaper. Among the others, the higher quality blades would push-cut newspaper without stroping and the cheaper stuff will slice-cut newspaper easily, but not quite push-cut it.

 

[cbickel]

Thanks for the tips dudes. I think I will give the DMT a try. The price hits it home for me. At this point, I don't really think anything over $60 will be worth it have only a few blades.

 

[shootersix]

ive tried the laskey system,croc sticks,stones and the spyderco sharpmaker, and let me list the top 3 (imho)

1) spyderco sharpmaker
2) spyderco sharpmaker
3) spyderco sharpmaker

the sharpmaker, is easy,fast, inexpensive i have 3 sets of rods for mine, and its the easiest to use, and puts a nice edge on any knife!

i have a spyderco with 3 sets rods, and i can get hair popping sharp no no time at all

 

[RAMBOCAT]

+ 1 For the SHARPMAKER. I own 2 and use them on everything. Oh, you might consider ordering a set of Xtrafine sticks and a leather strop board if you want hair popping scary sharp.

 

[bwframe]

I really like my WorkSharp, but to get my blades the sharpest I finish with the Sharpmaker.

Anyone use the Smith's CCD4 3 IN 1 Field Sharpening System ? I bought one a while back for the truck bag, but have yet to use it.

 

[Relatively Ninja]

I have a Spyderco Sharpmaker that I bought on the INGO classifieds a few years ago. I can't remember how much I paid for it (maybe $60, tops). It came with the medium and fine rods, as well as the extra fine rods (which don't come with the basic sharpmaker kit). It's my first sharpening device, but I've been so pleased with it that I haven't felt the need to seek out an alternative. Like some of the other people have mentioned, it's very easy to set up and use. I do wish that I had diamond rods for it though. The medium rods just take too long if you've got a really poorly maintained knife made of hard steel.

Long story short: I recommend the sharpmaker. The extra rods are worth the expense.

 

[cbickel]

I have a Spyderco Sharpmaker that I bought on the INGO classifieds a few years ago. I can't remember how much I paid for it (maybe $60, tops). It came with the medium and fine rods, as well as the extra fine rods (which don't come with the basic sharpmaker kit). It's my first sharpening device, but I've been so pleased with it that I haven't felt the need to seek out an alternative. Like some of the other people have mentioned, it's very easy to set up and use. I do wish that I had diamond rods for it though. The medium rods just take too long if you've got a really poorly maintained knife made of hard steel.

Long story short: I recommend the sharpmaker. The extra rods are worth the expense.

How do you like the preset angles? I watched the videos by Spyderco, and its seems that there are only two angles, a 30 degree and 40 degree.

 

[rhino]

For people who don't want to spend the time and effort to learn how to sharpen for realz, the Sharpmaker is probably a wise investment.

A Burl mentioned, it's also a good tool for establishing and fine tuning the micro bevel after you use another sharpening method.

 

[RAMBOCAT]

How do you like the preset angles? I watched the videos by Spyderco, and its seems that there are only two angles, a 30 degree and 40 degree.[/QUOTE


I've never needed any other angles if I'm just fine tuning a knife.

 

[seedubs1]

If I were going with the Sharpmaker, I'd get the kit with diamond sticks. Just takes too long to profile and sharpen some of the tougher steels (like d2) without diamond sticks or hones. But I still like the DMT just because of how high quality the hones that it comes with are. I'd personally rather use a hone than a stick.

 

[Relatively Ninja]

How do you like the preset angles? I watched the videos by Spyderco, and its seems that there are only two angles, a 30 degree and 40 degree.

I think they're just fine. Haven't had any issues with them.

 

[winchester]

i started sharpening 30 yrs ago with a spyderco sharp maker and still use it now and again for old times. back then there was only 1 angle for knives and an angle out the end for scissors. it worked good and was until i tried to sharpen an old buck knife my dad bought me. it seemed like it took days to get that knife sharp. 20 some yrs ago i bought a gatco from the snap on man and i still think its one of the best just takes a little time but with the diamond stones it will sharpen any thing. soon after that i found the gerber sharpening steel and use it 90% of the time to get a very good edge then i finish it off with a flat ceramic circuit board that my dad brought home from delco electronics. i now have a new favorite, the work sharp knife and tool sharpener from the makers of the drill doctor. man this thing is sweet. its so easy to make the dullest knife or tool razor sharp in 2 minutes. start with a 200 grit to get the edge back then change belt to 6000 grit for a very fine polish. i didnt get the ken onion edition, just the standard one but i like it.[video=youtube_share;ImicZxkktR4]http://youtu.be/ImicZxkktR4[/video]