Sharpening systems. Which one?

[jmills]

When using a stone do you push or pull the blade or back and forth doing both?

 

[AZ D]

I just use a Fallkniven DC4. I’ve had a couple of “systems” in the past, but I now just use the DC4 exclusively.

I use it on everything. EDC folders, fixed blades, kitchen knives, and even my axes and hatchets.

It’s a small rectangular combo stone, that’s semi-course diamond on one side, and ceramic on the other.

I do the small circular motions, as recommended by Fallkniven, and it works great for me. It works great for convexed edges, and will ultimately over time, turn a v-edge into a semi-convexed edge.

I follow up with my leather belt as a strop, and I’m able to keep all of my cutting tools in good enough shape for all of my needs!

 

[MrHank]

This what I use.

I looked at this awhile back. Not sure if anyone here may have an opinion on it.

Ken Onion Worksharp

 

[streetsamurai7]

I picked up the Lansky Deluxe 5-Stone Knife Sharpening Kit, and it works well for me. It didn't break the bank, and I can get a very nice edge on most knives. I also picked up one of their strops to compliment the kit. It works best on a knife with more of a squared-off spine, due to the design of the clamp. I've had issues with some smaller knives wanting to rotate out of the clamp. But for general use, it's done well for me.

 

[jaymark6655]

When using a stone do you push or pull the blade or back and forth doing both?

One the course stone I do back and forth. Once I move over fine stones, I pull only, forming a burr, swap sides, form another burr and then move to the next finer stone and repeat. Eventually on last stone there is no burr.

 

[Jose]

Stones are a learning curve. Easiest I’ve used and fastest . 1x30 belt sander with a leather honing belt. I keep many households kitchen knives sharp, this way. You tube will teach you this method .

 

[jmills]

One the course stone I do back and forth. Once I move over fine stones, I pull only, forming a burr, swap sides, form another burr and then move to the next finer stone and repeat. Eventually on last stone there is no burr.

Thanks

 

[db308]

I used a Lansky for years. the clamp doesn't hold the blade truly perpendicular. I have quit using it.

Tried a sharpmaker. It's OK if the angle matches the existing angle. The stones are not coarse enough to change the angle. Well, it will but it takes a lot of work.

I bought the WorkSharp belt sharpener. I am happy with it. It works fine. Belts can be picked up in local retail stores. A buddy bought the Ken Onion version. If I was doing it over, I would buy the Ken Onion version.

I have the new Work Sharp Precision Adjust Sharpener on the way. Similar concept to the Lansky, but looks to have a much better clamp system, and adjustable angle.
Reviews are very positive.

If you're just getting started this will provide a ton of good information:

THE RAZOR EDGE BOOK OF SHARPENING

Good Luck!

 

[TJ Kackowski]

The Razor Edge system is what I use. Super simple and super effective.

https://shop.razoredgesystems.com/

I only use the large 8" hones for all my sharpening needs. I found the smaller hones to be ... well ... too small.

The KO belt systems are o.k., but if you are not careful, it will leave a tail near the heel of the blade.

The other stone/guide systems also work well and basically follow the principles outlined by John Juranitch. I just got hooked on the Razor Edge system when I started to sharpen my own knives. Haven't found any need to invest in anything else.

 

[airhog]

I want to get into sharpening my own blades. I have no idea where to even begin to look so I figured I'd ask you folks here. First and foremost, I'd like something easy to learn. As far as type, I really don't care. Wet, dry doesn't matter. Time isn't a factor either. When I need to do it, I'll make the time to do it correctly. I have plenty of blades to practice on but mainly my EDC, a Launch 5, will be my main concern.

So what do you use and how hard is it to learn?

Just my 2 cents based on how I maintain my Spyderco and Benchmade pocket knives. Wicket Edge IMO is the best sharpening system, but as others noted it's wicked expensive and overkill for DIY purposes.

There is sharpening and there's honing. Sharpening takes off significant metal where honing refines. Most of the time what you need is honing. When the blade gets damaged then more aggressive action (sharpening) is needed to repair the blade.

I would start off with

Amazon.com: Work Sharp Guided Field Sharpener: Home Improvement

which is great for decent honing for everyday use, and some degree of sharpening. There's an angle guide that you can use to practice locking your wrist which will work for most pocket knives. Angles vary a bit across blades but, overall, through practice you'll get the hang of it. You don't have to be perfect to get decent results.

To sharpen, I suggest trying something like

Amazon.com: Ruixin pro Aluminium alloy Knife sharpener system 360 degree flip Constant angle Grinding tools Grinder machinewith 4pcs stones: Kitchen & Dining

as a starter tool which you can find on amazon and ebay for cheap. It's not trivial to switch sides and keep the angle of attack the same but you'll figure it out.

Once angles are reasonably fixed, the trick is to know when to stop and switch sides. That's where Wicked Edge really shines because you're doing both sides at the same time. When doing one side at a time, the rule is feel for burring by running your finger over the other side of the blade's edge. When you sharpen the edge curves over to the other side. That's the time to switch sides. And you keep alternating with progressively finer grits. That's the theory.

In many cases, detecting burring is not as simple as it sounds. It's easier for high end blades ($100+ pocket knives) but lower end blades are prone to collapse. You keep on removing metal without reaching the sharpness level that you desire. My suggestion is to get a digital microscope which can be had for cheap (less than $50) for 4" monitors. I use

Amazon.com : LCD 7 Inch Digital Microscope 1-1200X Maginfication with 32G TF Card, Yvelines 12MP Camera Video Recorder with HD Screen Suitable for Teaching, Circuit Boards, observing Antiques, Jewelry Identification : Camera & Photo

which is easy on the eyes. You'll clearly see uneven spots where you need to sharpen more, and areas where microscopic knicks in the blade's edge have not been sufficiently smoothed out. You can't see those with naked eye. When you do the paper cut test, you'll notice it because of resistance.

So, with about $100 bucks you should be able to get a set up that you can use to hone and sharpen your knives to a decent standard, and most importantly practice and see what sharpening is all about. There are also excellent books by Leonard Lee, Ron Hock, Thomas Lie-Nielsen, and others if you're inclined to learn from the pros.

At the beginning I would caution against using

Amazon.com: Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener Ken Onion Edition: Home Improvement

It's a great tool and highly recommended. However, the danger with this tool is that you'll take off too much metal. Also, most of the time you'll want to hone, not sharpen. Once I sent off a Benchmade 940 to replace the broken spring but forgot to check the box not to sharpen the blade. It came back razer sharp (it was already very sharp) but Benchmade had removed 1/16-1/8 inch of the blade. I use belt sanders and grinders occasionally when blade damage is significant to speed up the process, but it's not a frequent occurrence. These tools make quick work but also shorten the lifespan of your knife.

Lastly, when you get a cheapo sharpener that I linked to above the whetstones you get will be low quality. Obviously there's no free lunch. But they'll suffice to get things started, get your pocket knives in satisfactory shape, develop skills and experience to determine what to do next.

These are just observations from a hack who's been maintaining his own pocket knives. So take it with several grains of salt. Expert advice it is not.

 

[gregr]

Easiest is a spyderco sharpmaker, break down and buy an extra fine set of rods too, it should come with a corse and fine, but you will have to buy the extra fine rods separately.

The other choice would be the work sharp “ken onion” version it’s a lot more expensive, and had a learning curve (play around with cheap flea market knives!), it changes the profile of your edge (an apple seed edge) but will get your blade so sharp, the hair on your arm will jump off!

I have a Work Sharp, NOT the Ken Onion, and have yet to figure it out really. I can get "an edge", but NOT a shaving sharp edge like it`s said it can produce. It just cannot be that difficult...

 

[shootersix]

I have a Work Sharp, NOT the Ken Onion, and have yet to figure it out really. I can get "an edge", but NOT a shaving sharp edge like it`s said it can produce. It just cannot be that difficult...

Buy a few flea market junk knives and practice, also you tube can be your friend watch a few videos

 

[sugarcreekbrass]

One thing I noticed about the Work Sharp is the curved edge it produces. The edge doesn't feel sharp like a flat edge but it definitely is sharp and cuts. They claim the curved edge also will last longer.

 

[bwframe]

I just received my Worksharp Precision Adjust Sharpener. Got a deal on a used one on Amazon. $40, received in a day and a half.

So far, very happy after sharpening 3 blades. Razor edge on all, but the 6" fillet knife is sharper on the ends than in the middle. It was the first to sharpen and I might have been impatient? Skinny fillet knife also didn't readily fit in the blade holder as instructed, so I had to guestimate a bit.



The EDC Benchmades might be as sharp as they ever have been? Might be sharper yet, after I get a bit more experience and do some fine tuning?

Part of what sold me on trying the system (besides the crazy good pricing,) is the amount of online support frome the manufacturer and lots of YouTube knife nuts...




https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=work+sharp+precision

 

[bwframe]

OK, this one took a lot longer. I made a rookie mistake, assuming this cheap Cuisinart blade was cut near a 20 angle. Should have inspected much closer in the beginning.



After sawing on this thing for quite a while, I was getting no where near sharp. Looked closer and opened the angle to 25 degrees. That done the trick for the moment. I can reprofile the angle later, if needed. Maybe using a differerent tool?

Arm hair gone. Done sharpening for now. Fish to clean and produce to chop.

 

[JeepHammer]

I want to get into sharpening my own blades. I have no idea where to even begin to look so I figured I'd ask you folks here. First and foremost, I'd like something easy to learn. As far as type, I really don't care. Wet, dry doesn't matter. Time isn't a factor either. When I need to do it, I'll make the time to do it correctly. I have plenty of blades to practice on but mainly my EDC, a Launch 5, will be my main concern.

So what do you use and how hard is it to learn?

Wet or Dry, it's a stone and finish to take the burr off.

Leather or pine wood work pretty well.
Leather as in razor strap, but woven cord or canvas work pretty well to take the burr off.

Its keeping an angle to the stone that you need to learn for a good edge, some cutting tools use more than one angle tapering down to the edge which complicates things.

Wet stones use the slurry of water and grit that come off the stone, not much pressure is needed.
It gives a really fine edge since it's literally wet polishing the edge.

Dry stones are literally grinding stones, you won't get as fine an edge with a dry stone but that's not always required, like axes...

Super fine polishing compound on something like fiberboard, some people use cardboard, on a bench grinder makes for a quick, fine edge, but watch digging the edge into the cardboard pad.

 

[bwframe]

I just received my Worksharp Precision Adjust Sharpener. Got a deal on a used one on Amazon. $40, received in a day and a half.

So far, very happy after sharpening 3 blades. Razor edge on all, but the 6" fillet knife is sharper on the ends than in the middle. It was the first to sharpen and I might have been impatient? Skinny fillet knife also didn't readily fit in the blade holder as instructed, so I had to guestimate a bit.

View attachment 165714 View attachment 165715

The EDC Benchmades might be as sharp as they ever have been? Might be sharper yet, after I get a bit more experience and do some fine tuning?

Part of what sold me on trying the system (besides the crazy good pricing,) is the amount of online support frome the manufacturer and lots of YouTube knife nuts...




https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=work+sharp+precision

This system was so economical I ordered a Hutsuls strop block to final finish my blades. I have used strops for years, but they are pretty rudimental leather belts with stropping compound worked in. It seems as though that in the modern day, the block is the way to go, with more control of knife edge angle.

After a little YouTube study, I loaded the rough leather side of the block with Herb's Yellowstone compound. I had good results, but they were also bittersweet.

The Saddle Mountain Skinner is very sharp, readily lopping off every hair with no effort along the whole length of the blade. The Hidden Canyon Hunter is that sharp towards the tip, but takes a bit more force and trips, along the rest of the blade, to readily shave every hair in it's path. Still quite sharp, but now I am challenged to get the Hunter to the same place as the Skinner.

More learning and experimenting, but so far this new system yields results that I can keep track of. Seemingly, no more wondering how I held my mouth to get and keep the same angle as the last time?

.

 

[Jaybird1980]

OK, this one took a lot longer. I made a rookie mistake, assuming this cheap Cuisinart blade was cut near a 20 angle. Should have inspected much closer in the beginning.

View attachment 165739

After sawing on this thing for quite a while, I was getting no where near sharp. Looked closer and opened the angle to 25 degrees. That done the trick for the moment. I can reprofile the angle later, if needed. Maybe using a differerent tool?

Arm hair gone. Done sharpening for now. Fish to clean and produce to chop.

Mark your edge with a sharpie before you start. It will help you figure out the angle quicker, you will see where it is making contact.

 

[bwframe]

Mark your edge with a sharpie before you start. It will help you figure out the angle quicker, you will see where it is making contact.

Thanks, I did. Just didn't pay close attention to reading the the results of it as I should have.

 

[ancjr]

I use 3x8 diamond plates

LA Awesome cleaning fluid is my favorite fluid to use on them. It's just over $3 a gallon, doesn't evaporate quickly or freeze, is easy to wipe off, and doesn't promote rust or leave a residue.

And then a big piece of veneer plywood or MDF coated in CrO2 to strop.

I'm more often sharpening axes, chisels, and plane blades than knives, but I do it all on the above. My opinion, but daily use knives seem to have a better feel to me without stropping.

I also have a King KDS water stone that I sometimes enjoy using, but I don't think it's as practical for me as the above. The sheen the 6000 side leaves on an edge is nice and low drag.