Knife sharpening

dtrkyman

WKR
Joined
Oct 2, 2014
Messages
3,191
I have my best results with a piece of trim board that I glue multiple grits of wet sand paper to, follow that with a double sided strop.
 
Joined
Sep 28, 2018
Messages
2,216
Location
VA
There are lots and lots of kits out some are good, some are not so good. The hardest part of sharpening a knife is holding the proper angle. Sharpening a knife is NOT a fast process. It requires patience and practice. Knife material also dictates how fast a blade will sharpen

I've purchased higher end commercial chef knives and been given a custom chef's knife. The chef knives came from the factory with what I'd equate to being 800-1000 grit grind at ~20-25 degrees. The custom knife came with a 8000g finish at ~20 degrees

the chef knife takes more grinding at l000 grit due to the higher nickel content. The custom knife is a much higher carbon steel and sharpens very quickly. Basically what I'm saying is stainless steel knives are very hard to sharpen
 

*zap*

WKR
Joined
Dec 20, 2018
Messages
7,759
Location
N/E Kansas
I think it is best to know how to get a blade sharp using manual methods.....file if necessary, varying grit stones and strop. Takes a while to figure it out on our own but well worth doing.
 

mtwarden

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 18, 2016
Messages
10,478
Location
Montana
I still use sandpaper (various grits) on a mouse pad to get an edge; to maintain an edge- leather strop loaded w/ black compound and bare on the other side

I do have a very small ceramic that goes into the field w/ me
 
Joined
Feb 12, 2022
Messages
2,079
I used to sharpen my own knives, but never really liked doing it.

Now that I have knives with modern "supersteel", I hate it.

There's a local shop I spend a lot of time in. They have a retired former manager that loves sharpening. $1/inch, if you drop them off before about 3, it's next day pickup.
 

TX_Diver

WKR
Joined
May 27, 2019
Messages
2,593
I'm a fan of the spyderco sharpmaker. I've got some nice stones but the sharpmaker is easy and repeatable and fairly inexpensive. Use it for kitchen knives, hunting knives, butchering knives, pocket knives, etc. w/ no problems.
 

5MilesBack

"DADDY"
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
16,174
Location
Colorado Springs
I've been using a Lansky since the early 80's. I've added diamond hones to the mix and also tried several other sharpeners, but none have worked as easily and well as the Lansky. I also have a leather strop that I use for finishing.
 

S-3 ranch

WKR
Joined
Jan 18, 2022
Messages
1,150
Location
Texas / Hillcounrty
I used to sharpen my own knives, but never really liked doing it.

Now that I have knives with modern "supersteel", I hate it.

There's a local shop I spend a lot of time in. They have a retired former manager that loves sharpening. $1/inch, if you drop them off before about 3, it's next day pickup.
Hell yeah! Better to pay a small fee once every couple years with super steel or any knife, imo a knife will stay razor sharp with small amount of honing/ stropping as you’re cleaning game or fish , grinding off metal is pointless unless you didn’t do some small amount of maintenance.
 
Joined
Apr 2, 2013
Messages
548
Location
Idaho
The Spyderco Triangle sharpener system and a basic little Lansky are the only 2 I have been somewhat happy with.

I got a work sharp precision adjust and hate it. It only works on knives that aren't too big aren't too small, not too curved and not too straight, not too thick, not too thin. If your blade is any of those extremes it's horrible.
 

tony

WKR
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Messages
1,021
Location
WV
Spyderco sharpmaker takes a little practice to get the hang of it.
I also have the work sharp field sharpener. I plan to pick up one of the electric models.

For 10 bucks, this little thing does a fine job. Toss one in a pack and the kitchen drawer.
IMG_0131.jpeg
 
Joined
Feb 5, 2024
Messages
52
Location
Texas
I make knives when I’m not at work or chasing animals, for repeatability and efficiency I use a work sharp precision adjust. I forget which model exactly. But it gets them hair splitting sharp quicker and more consistently than anything else I’ve tried.
 
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