Knife Sharpeners for the Unskilled

Joined
Feb 16, 2021
Messages
1,337
Location
Eastern Oregon
And impatient.

Any recommendations? Our family does Christmas gift wish lists and some sort of knife sharpening system will be on mine. I've tried manual sharpening with the worksharp field sharpener and I must just be unskilled with it. Knife gets a little sharper, not a lot. Maybe a whetstone system would be better to learn on. Have multiple blade angles to sharpen to. Fillet knives, chef's knives, pocket knives, custom, etc.

Something like this worksharp system is attractive but i see a few motorized options as well. I have an amazon "pull through" motorized sharpener that I've never been impressed with.
 

Gwchem

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 27, 2021
Messages
140
The work sharp is what you're looking for, but I wouldn't trust it at first with expensive knives. It has a learning curve, so practice on cheap ones. The dust can also scratch the blade, but it's easy to just use masking tape.
 
Joined
Aug 17, 2015
Messages
2,121
Location
Iowa
I too am very unskilled with a manual knife sharpener, including one like the worksharp system you linked, but I got the “regular” worksharp with the belt a few years ago and my knives come out scary sharp in no time. I believe the Ken Onion or whatever they call it version has multiple angle options.
 

Warmsy

WKR
Joined
Jul 24, 2020
Messages
536
Location
Mendocino County
You have to practice to attain the skills and be patient. Ain't no way around it. Even if you get the fancy guided sharpener you have to learn what's going on and what makes it sharp. Take it to a farmer's market there's probably a guy that sharpens knives for a small fee.
 

NRA4LIFE

WKR
Joined
Nov 20, 2016
Messages
1,632
Location
washington
The work sharp is what you're looking for, but I wouldn't trust it at first with expensive knives. It has a learning curve, so practice on cheap ones. The dust can also scratch the blade, but it's easy to just use masking tape.
This. Be careful with sharp tipped knives. You can easily ruin the tip with it. However, with some practice, you can get $2 knives as sharp as razors.
 

tony

WKR
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Messages
984
Location
WV
Spyderco Sharp maker, little learning curve with it.
https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=77 ( find it cheaper)

I also have these

This one for the money is great for quick touch ups, sharpening the kitchen knives is what I use it for.

I get decent results with all 3.
I would like one of the worksharp motor units. I've heard you can dick up a blade pretty easy thought
 

survivalistd

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 1, 2023
Messages
184
They all have a learning curve for sure. I now use a hapstone R2 with shapton glass 1x6 stones. Very happy with this set up.
 

Jpsmith1

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Oct 11, 2020
Messages
272
Location
Western Pennsylvania, Lawrence County
Are you using a sharpie with your worksharp?

The first step is to color the bevel with a sharpie and adjust your angle until a fine stone removes the sharpie cleanly

Now, drop back to your coarser stones, work the edges to build a burr, flip the burr and burr the other bevel.

NOW your edge is apexed. Work in successively finer grits to refine that edge.

I'd be happy to PM, email, text or talk to you to help you get your system working for you. I do sharpening as a side gig and I'm pretty good at it.
 
Joined
Feb 24, 2016
Messages
2,571
When we are butchering our deer, one of these is on the table at all times. Everyone knows how to use it. It creates a really sharp knife, really fast, for anyone. I don’t care if it removes too much metal as some people say. I’ll just buy another knife…

Also, I use this to bring life back to havalon blades all the time.

IMG_1315.jpeg
 
Joined
Apr 18, 2019
Messages
1,739
When we are butchering our deer, one of these is on the table at all times. Everyone knows how to use it. It creates a really sharp knife, really fast, for anyone. I don’t care if it removes too much metal as some people say. I’ll just buy another knife…

Also, I use this to bring life back to havalon blades all the time.

View attachment 787448
Do you use any different process for the havalons? I tried to sharpen them but couldn’t get a great edge compared to what I could do with my other knives, certainly nowhere near how sharp they are new.
 

nobody

WKR
Joined
Sep 15, 2020
Messages
2,070
As mentioned above, Spyderco sharpmaker. Simple and effective, and not too expensive. Just don’t let your knife get super dull and it’ll never take long. I touch my EDC up weekly in about 45 seconds on my sharpmaker and can easily shave hairs when I’m done.

Or, just buy one of these and never have to worry about sharpening again:

 

Gwchem

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 27, 2021
Messages
140
When we are butchering our deer, one of these is on the table at all times. Everyone knows how to use it. It creates a really sharp knife, really fast, for anyone. I don’t care if it removes too much metal as some people say. I’ll just buy another knife…

Also, I use this to bring life back to havalon blades all the time.

View attachment 787448
That's my opinion as well. Knives are tools. I don't care what they look like, but I'm not interested in having them be dull. I can do ten kitchen knives, my hunting and pocket knives, in less than two hours. I just do the whole house every few months.
 

Marble

WKR
Joined
May 29, 2019
Messages
3,557
And impatient.

Any recommendations? Our family does Christmas gift wish lists and some sort of knife sharpening system will be on mine. I've tried manual sharpening with the worksharp field sharpener and I must just be unskilled with it. Knife gets a little sharper, not a lot. Maybe a whetstone system would be better to learn on. Have multiple blade angles to sharpen to. Fillet knives, chef's knives, pocket knives, custom, etc.

Something like this worksharp system is attractive but i see a few motorized options as well. I have an amazon "pull through" motorized sharpener that I've never been impressed with.
I've been using a spyderco sharpener for 35+ years. I saw the workshop, got one, and didn't like it at all. I had the same experience. Total waste of money compared to the spyderco.

Spyderco got my knife sharper, faster, and easier.

I do not like motorized versions.

I've never seen a pull through sharpener that gets a knife hair shaving sharp.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk
 

Rich M

WKR
Joined
Jun 14, 2017
Messages
5,546
Location
Orlando
And impatient.

Any recommendations? Our family does Christmas gift wish lists and some sort of knife sharpening system will be on mine. I've tried manual sharpening with the worksharp field sharpener and I must just be unskilled with it. Knife gets a little sharper, not a lot. Maybe a whetstone system would be better to learn on. Have multiple blade angles to sharpen to. Fillet knives, chef's knives, pocket knives, custom, etc.

Something like this worksharp system is attractive but i see a few motorized options as well. I have an amazon "pull through" motorized sharpener that I've never been impressed with.
Get a better motorized pull thru sharpener - mine is just a chef's choice and it makes surgical sharp stuff. I then carry a pull thru carbide from Walmart (they yellow ones) is needed for an extended period at the fillet table, butchering a cow, or processing the 4th or 5th deer.

Part of it comes down to the knife you have - dexter russell is my fillet knife brand. The older ones hold edge better than the newer ones. Use a Buck 110 for hunting - have two 113 skinners and they don't impress me.

Easier to touch up a good blade that was sharp than a clunker knife. If the blade was sharp and you use it for x long, a couple swipes of a light diamond hone will bring it back to life - i mean like 3 or 4 passes on each side and good to go.
 

5MilesBack

"DADDY"
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
16,138
Location
Colorado Springs
I've tried a gob of knife sharpeners and systems over the last 40+ years, but I always come back to my Lansky. They're as easy as they come and they just work. Get the diamond hones and a leather strop.
 
Top