Knife sharpening

[Downeaster]

Kme works for me. Looks like $199 on amazon now. I bought directly from them years ago and was hot and heavy on the diamond stones. They talked me out of them and told me to save my money. If i ever wore them out they would replace. That was the word then, not sure about now but they won me over with their honesty. Great product, no regrets.
As far as the worksharp goes, ive ground quite a few knives over the years, and a belt sander in anyones hand who doesnt use one regular is a recipe for trouble in my limited experience. I know its not even close to a real grinder of any sort, but steel comes off real quick as others have already said.
Best of luck.

 

[Duckman18]

Love my KME

 

[summer57]

Thanks for the tip! I hate my knives

 

[Baron85]

One thing I found with the guided sharpeners is that the angle changes over the length of the blade due to the fixed pivot point of the stone creating an arc. I went from Lansky clamp system to Spyderco sharpmaker, to wicked edge, and now to various stones. The wicked edge truly lived up to its name and put amazing edges of everything but after the initial wow factor wore off I realized those amazing edges only last for the first few cuts then I was down to the same working edge I was able to get free hand on stones and strop. I ended up selling the wicked edge due to the varying angle especially on long knifes more noticeable on 4”+ blades and the time it took to setup and I found I really didn’t need an absolutely perfect edge for what I do.

As far as freehand stones I use atoma diamond stones and Spyderco ceramic stones finishing with leather strops and dmt paste. The key with any sharpening system is keeping a consistent angle and creating a BUR.

The blade steel of your knifes will also be a factor. Some of the newer steels won’t be touched by older wet stones, you need quality diamonds or ceramics to cut the steel.

 

[danarnold]

wicked edge

 

[SkunkCabbage]

Spyderco sharpmaker
Diamond stones
Ceramic fine stones

All you need

 

[rayporter]

the work sharp is wonderful for fast kitchen knife sharpening. that is about all I would ever use mine for.

 

[Rich M]

I’ve been using these for years now. They’re cheap, super easy and quick to put a sharp edge on a blade, and weigh next to nothing.
Smith's CCKS 2-Step Knife Sharpener https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00032S02K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Q4WLCbBBBDEST
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

BINGO! Those are what I carry hunting & fishing. Always have one available.

Otherwise I'll use a diamond stone - medium or coarse.

or an electric sharpener - I have this one
Chefs Choice Knife Sharpener

 

[rekrapnave]

I have a Work Shop, and it does a good job...on the part that the belt can reach. I've found that it doesn't get the base of the edge, right next to the handle. So I've been left with a tiny portion of unsharpened blade, just do to the knife not physically being able to get all the was in there. It's a tiny portion of the blade base, but it bothers me. Just my two cents.

 

[corey006]

This is what I use. Works great and it is light enough to bring into the field. https://www.worksharptools.com/guided-field-sharpener.html

I use this as well....it's perfect and it will also do fish hooks, serrated blades as well.

The leather strop works well too.

 

[positivepete!]

Work sharp gets my vote. I carry a inexpensive knife for work that is always getting used for things it shouldn't and gets dull quick. I can usually get it back to sharp is about a min on the work sharp. Works great on my hunting knife although it takes a little longer. The plus is that my kitchen knives are always sharp because it's super easy for my wife to touch up an edge.

 

[Chazz]

Just get a works sharp. It's awesome and durable.

 

[Poptart]

I have had great luck with the V Sharp warthog sharpener. It is really great to take in the field as well. $100 and some change on Amazon.

 

[Hondo]

I'm a knife collector/sharpening hobbyist and have all kinds of stones, paper wheels, belt grinders, strops and contraptions I have accumulated over the last 30+ years or so. I still consider myself a student but here are some of my observations on sharpening.

The quickest way to sharpen a knife is with powered equipment. It is also the quickest way to screw up a knife. I personally like the Work Sharp Ken Onion edition with the Blade Grinder attachment as it is versatile and more portable than a paper wheel setup or typical belt grinder. I have a paper wheel equipped grinder and 3 belt grinders set up for sharpening and reprofiling in my shop and I use the Work Sharp KO setup the most and yes it is worth the price. There is a learning curve (practice on a beater) and if you are not willing to invest the time consider a manual guided system like a DMT, KME, Apex, Wicked Edge, etc. They all work and, as you might expect, the more they cost the better they tend to be in terms of less quirks and increased precision. I like the DMT Aligner Deluxe kit for an inexpensive and packable setup. I have a Wicked Edge clone that made by a friend and I think the Wicket Edge it is a great design that offers high precision but is certainly not for the casual sharpener.

The next fastest way to screw up a knife is with a carbide drag & scrape gizmo. Yes these wildly popular pocket sharpeners has a set angle making it seemingly foolproof and they will sharpen but they tend to remove excessive material and do so in an uneven manner. For a packable field sharpener I like the Work Sharp Guided Field Sharpener although I often just carry a Fallkniven DC3 or DC4 ceramic pocket stone with a diamond plate on one side.

If you are a patient man, get some stones and watch some videos. Murray Carter has some great ones and there are many others out there that are good. Freehand sharpening on wet or dry stones is a great way to decompress while making your knives work better.

 

[VAboy]

Been using the kershaw diamond for years. Small, light and screws back into itself for storage

Next Level Pocketknives | Kershaw Knives

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kershaw.kaiusaltd.com

 

[Hillclimberwv]

Once you get an edge on the knives buy a steel and learn how to use it. A few quick swipes before or after use and it will keep your knives sharp. I have a Chicago cutlery that I bought for $20 or so and you can hone a knife sharp enough to shave with. It is only good for honing or maintaining though. If you dont have an edge to start with its useless.

 

[Refohnek]

It takes a lot of practice

 

[LisaMcdowell8]

Thanks to everyone for the recommendations, I'm glad I found this discussion

 

[Mike Islander]

+10 on the Work Sharp. I have used many powered sharpeners over the years. Hated what they did to the knives. This one is fantastic. You can reprofile a knife, even with hard steels like S30V. I reprofiled my Benchmade Bug Out with no problems. Just takes a good bit longer and higher belt speeds than with softer steels. Soft steels can be sharpened dangerously sharp in minutes. Sharpened my F. Dick Boning Knife and was trimming a venison tenderloin. While washing the knife if flopped out of my hand and fell an inch or so onto my other hand. Put a decent nick in my finger. Razor sharp for sure.

You can use it for your kitchen knives and make Momma so happy she cooks you dinner and drags you to bed, and not in that order.

Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener Ken Onion Edition

IN THE FIELD
The hard steels hold their edge so well that they only need stropping or a very fine touch up in the field. I use the DMT FWEEE Double Sided Diafold Sharpener Extra Extra Fine/Extra Fine. Lightweight and effective.

Watch the tutorials on how to touch up an already sharp knife and practice. I learned how to use a stone as a very young kid, before I realized I couldn't do it. After a few failed attempts I was cutting deep gashes in all my fingers with boring regularity.

 

[mmac]

By far the easiest is the standard worksharp for me. I have stones for scandi grind knives and for kitchen and convex, the worksharp will take a lot less time then a stone and get hair shaving sharp every time. I even got the diamond belts and did a ceramic kitchen knife from unusable to hair shaving in 2 mins.