Knife sharpener

Roger in Wisconsin · Nov 24, 2018

The last 15 years I have used a small
electric knife sharpener. Recently I
went deer hunting. Before the hunt I
touched up my knife. My son got a
buck, he didn't have his knife so we
used mine. It was not sharp! Any
suggestions for buying a good one?

544hydro · Nov 24, 2018

I have the work sharp electric sharpener, I've had good luck with it and like it.

old · Nov 24, 2018

You could not pay me to use one those pieces of junk. only way I sharpen a knife is with a wet stone and I have 4 or 5 of them sitting on the count in the kitchen. To me a knife is not sharp enough till I can shave hair off my arm. I also keep my axes very sharp as in I can and have skinned a deer using one of my double edged axes. Once you learn the art of knife sharpening with a wet stone you will never go back to one of those junk electric ones which by the way eat up the knife blade pretty fast

jeffcat · Nov 24, 2018

Agree with the others but what is really funny, when Case or Buck make knives they sharpen them on a BELT sander. Dry no water. The last Buck was so sharp you couldn't feel any tugging when you shaved your arm. Real wet stone sharpening is almost a spiritual zen thing. Watch this video. Basic, but one very sharp knife.
sharp

kcm.MN · Nov 24, 2018

I've tried electric sharpeners every now and then for the past 40 years, and every single time I swear "Never Again!!"

There are several methods of getting a decent edge on a knife. As for me, I have such a tendency of dulling the edge that I usually don't try to get them sharp enough to shave with. I usually use a combination of diamond grits to put a quick-but-rough edge. These are my work (rough use) knives ONLY.

There are several good videos on Youtube about how to sharpen a knife quickly. One good method is the Scary Sharp method. If you own a bench grinder, then you might want to consider making a buffing wheel out of plywood and using various grit pastes on it for a quick job. Keep in mind, there's no one perfect way to sharpen.

Here's a few videos to start with. The first is very informative. It shows someone putting a razor-sharp edge on a $1 knife. As this is cheap steel, it won't hold an edge long enough to justify the effort, but it's amazing what this guy can do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P6klz6BTek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKH63_r0OCA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdxqplP4LBI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTtceJ71jrU

SDE · Nov 24, 2018

Google Lanski knife sharpener. There are others like them. I use mine on knifes and even my broad head blades. I use the third slot up from the bottom. I skip the second most coarse stone. I also use a leather strop to finish the edge.

JoeM(GA) · Nov 24, 2018

Agree!! Quick, easy and very consistent, I finish with one of their 1000 grit stones and then the strop, my wife calls them scarey sharp.

I use my stones dry now, I like the edge I get a lot better, stones don?t load up like they did with the oil, I need to try it with water, but just too happy with what I?m getting to change!

jeffcat · Nov 24, 2018

Many years ago I sharpen a machete to razor sharpness. Took a couple of hours but man was that thing sharp! Then I did the old arm hair test. This 3/4 inch scar on my arm proves how sharp it was! Kinda stung a little. Some red stuff was leaking out too. 😊

circus · Nov 24, 2018

Had one from Harbor Freight for about ten years. No fuss just a couple swipes. $2

Link shows sharpener
Untitled URL Link

JD Seller · Nov 24, 2018

Buy a cheap 30"x 1" belt sander at Harbor fright. Then buy a sharpening set of belts. They will have a course, medium,fine and a leather belt/dressing compound to finish with. I did this 4-5 years ago. You can make any knife sharp in minutes. If you keep up on the edge all you need is the leather belt and the dressing compound that cam with it. The wife's kitchen knives get touched up every month or so with just that. You can shave with them and it is easy to do. I also like that you can just lightly touch up an edge without really wearing on the knife edge.

Here is an assortment of belts for $19
https://prosharpeningsupplies.com/collections/1x30-belts/products/1-in-x-30-in-premium-silicon-carbide-fine-grit-sanding-belts-220-400-600-800-1000-2000-grit-sharpening-belts-12-pack-assortment

Here is the honing belt and buffing compound for $21

https://prosharpeningsupplies.com/collections/1x30-belts/products/pro-sharpening-supplies-1x30-leather-strop-belt-buffing-compound-included
Belt assortment 19

Honing belt and buffing compound

Moonlite37 · Nov 24, 2018

I have two good shapreners-- one homemade and another I bought that had diamond dust in it. It is very fast and makes a good sdge. The one I made is a piece of marble that I glued a narrow sheet of 2000 grit wet -or-dry paper on the face

M-MAN · Nov 24, 2018

There is such a thing as too sharp. Bought Pop a new Case xxx razor edge a few decades ago. He touched the edge to see if they were lying & split his finger open. After cleaning up the blood he says "yep, razor edge".

SodBuster87 · Nov 24, 2018

I HAVE A Work sharp. It works good once you use it a couple times. But if you sharpen knives alot the belts start getting expensive.

Bill in IN · Nov 25, 2018

Ceramic rods. About $5 a dozen, unbreakable, last nearly forever, and fit anywhere so you can have one with you. For finer work the one out of an HID lamp works well, gives a mirror like edge. All you need to do is learn how to use one,

Texasmark1 · Nov 25, 2018

Local grocery store sells a tomato worm green plastic cased hootus that fits on your drainboard or workbench, or in the palm of you hand (or pocket) and needs no lube for a couple of bucks or so. It has 2 sharpening channels that work dry. One is a steel V with sharp edges for fast metal removal and the other is ceramic rods in a V. If you keep it handy and don't let your knife get away from you, a couple of drags through that little sucker before you use your knife and you are good to go.

MarkB_MI · Nov 25, 2018

I use Japanese water stones. Not cheap. One source is the Japan Woodworker.
Water stones at Japan Woodworker

Mutt and Jeff · Nov 25, 2018

everybody is an expert
and those that aren't are inventing the next best thing

the new electric sharpeners most have diamond inpregnated surfaces
they dull and wear out too

You can get one of those "steel" things diamond impregnated
that was my last choice
works great
getting harder to find some fresh grit on it though

expendable and affordable
diamond steels

Knife sharpener

Roger in Wisconsin

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544hydro

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old

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jeffcat

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kcm.MN

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SDE

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JoeM(GA)

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jeffcat

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circus

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JD Seller

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Moonlite37

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M-MAN

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SodBuster87

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Bill in IN

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Texasmark1

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MarkB_MI

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Mutt and Jeff

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