Sharpener recommendations?

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jimbob

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I'm looking for a good sharpening system. I was looking at the EdgePro and it seemed very good. The price is a little steep especially considering I don't have many knives and don't plan to make sharpening a career, but are there any other recommendations for other systems?

I hear good things about the Lansky, Gatco and Spyderco Sharpmaker, but what are the pros and cons of these systems? And are diamond stones really worth the premium or even recommended?

Thanks
 
I have horrible luck sharpenning stuff. I have never even been able to put on an edge freehanded with dmt diamond stones.

I have had success freehanded only with waterstones. I like the japanese waterstones and norton waterstones. The only drawback is they need to be flattenned on a flat surface when they wear unevenly.
http://www.tools-for-woodworking.com/subcatmfgprod.asp?0=215&1=307&2=-1&6=1

I just bought these guides for all stones. I hope they work as well as they look. http://www.razoredgesystems.com/store/index.asp?SelectedCategory=3#RE10

I heard such good things about the spyderco sharpmaker that I bought one. And, yes, you need to buy the diamond sticks for it as well. The diamond sticks are like coarse stones. You can't sharpen badly worn blades without them. The standard stones it comes with are useless by themselves in many situations according to people's opinions. I found the diamond stones for about half price here:

http://www.newgraham.com/sharpene.htm
 
The consensus on BladeForum for a beginner was to use the Spyderco Sharpmaker 204 - which I did and I´m totally happy about this unit - you can get it at places like newgraham in the low 40-ies. If you plan to do lots of bevel reprofiling and/or do have very hard steels to work on you might consider getting additional diamond hones or the very nice but expensive (mid 50-ies) diamond rods for the 204 Sharpmaker. I got the Sharpmaker 204 AND the diamond hones for it and I never looked back - recommended - very easy to get prety much everything scary sharp - and befor using that unit I pretty much dulled everything instead of making it sharper /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Klaus
 
the information posted by these two gentlemen is right on track IMO. whatever you get, be patient. it will take a while for you to get the hang of it and get things scary sharp.

BTW, klaus, that twirling rainbow is giving me seizures.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I've done a little sharpening before on some old japanese stones but I wouldn't say I'm very good at it.

I looked at the Sharpmaker 204. It seems very "normal". I know everyone seems to be raving about it, but what makes it so good? I also heard that reprofiling on the Sharpmaker is next to impossible.
 
Reprofiling takes forever without the diamond stones.

It's good for edge maintenance.

What makes the Sharpmaker good is that the stones are at a preset angle, which means if you have unsteady hands or don't know how to use bench stones, it's easy to put an edge on a blade. You just need to be able to hold a knife's edge pointing straight down. As opposed to holding a blade exactly 20 degrees above the horizontal for a bench stone for every swipe.
 
I agree with those who recommend the sharpmaker. Before the 204 I couldn't sharpen a pencil. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif The trick to the 204 is to keep the edge sharp, not letting it get extremely dull. I will eventually get the diamond hones but for now I'm still doing well without. dtsoll
 
I use this steel and a leather strop to keep my knives sharp. Depending on use I may go a year before needing to shape with stones. I usually just strop and use the steel only if I managed to turn the edge somehow.
 
I just got my razoredge guides in the mail today. I used the pocket knife guide to sharpen my large sebenza s30v on my japanese waterstones. Actually, I went throught a 220 grit and 1000 grit norton waterstone. Then, I went through a 6000 grit and then 8000 grit japanese artificial premium quality made in japan waterstones. The guide worked wonderfully. I followed the instructions including the part on shifting the guide toward the edge and tip at the end to put an extra sharp edge on the blade. I had to use circular motions to sharpen. At the end, on the 8000 grit stone, I used alternating strokes with the guide on the blade in a normal steeling type of a stroke instead of the circular grinding. I did this at the end to remove any wire edge or burr that might be present so my knife won't dull quickly.

It now is sharper than how it came from the store, discountknives.com. It is nearly as sharp as anything else I have, comparing favorably to even the brand knew one piece Chris Reeve knives I have which are brand new and very sharp.
 
Wow, 8000grit! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif My hightest is a 2000grit stone and this one already makes my knives razorsharp.
Btw, I am using the Lansky set and have been happy with it. It does have some limitations though: very long and very small knives for example or only 4 different angles to choose from. Other than that it works fine for my useage. There are lots of different stones to choose from, too.
But I know that the Spyderco sharpmaker is one a lot of people use, I haven't seen one as I would like to try one out before buying it. At the point of time where I bought the Lansky set I didn't know a lot about knives and sharpening, the Lansky set was the only system I knew, it looked easy and good - and it worked for me. I don't regret buying it.
 
I just bought the Sharpmaker 204. Been using it to sharpen a few knives. It does a very good job and I really like the system. I have a few knives I'd like to reprofile and it just doesn't do the job. I also have a DMT coarse stone and have to use that freehand to grind away at the material. The final honing with the fine stick is good enough to shave hair with.

Does anyone know of a good way to remove the final burr? I'm told that stropping is probably the best way, but I don't have a strop. I always feel that there seems to be a very small burr on the edges after I finish using the finest stone.
 
I have tried & own numerous sharpening systems. I don't think you can beat the Razoredge Guide + Dia-Sharp 8" coarse (320 grit) diamond stone for shapeing, along with the Sharpmaker for every day use. TX
 
I don't yet have the sharpmaker by spyderco, because I just orderred it and it's on the way to me right now along with the diamond sticks and ultra fine rod options. However, I trust the other peoples' opinions here and I believe it will prove to be my most valued, economical, sharpenner. Based on this, I would make the following recommendations to anyone interested in a sharpenning system:

Get a sharpmaker 204 by spyderco. Get the coarse diamond rods. Get an ultra fine ceramic rod for it.

If you want to know what's going on then buy the vhs tape by razor edge. Also, go here and read the free info on sharpenning; if you like it enough you can buy his book. http://www.sharpeningmadeeasy.com/

I also am waiting for my new fast sharpenner. The redi edge pro which is a carbide slot on a ceramic hone rod. http://www.klawhorn.com/rediedgepro.htm
I had a myerco sharpen it that an author recommended but for the life of me I can't get it to work well. I get much better and faster results with my cheap plastic carbide sharpenner. THerefore I'd recommend the expensive durable redi edge pro which should be even better than my cheap plastic thing. If, when it arrives in a day or so, I find it doesn't live up to its hype then I'll repost here. If I don't then it was all it was cracked up to be. I find the slotted carbide sharpenner, cheap plastic one I have, really can put an edge on fast. It can even sharpen dull edges like the FALSE double edge on knives made to look like a dagger but one side is really just decorative. With this carbide sharpenner, as long as the edge is reasonably narrow to begin with, it's no problem. I've sharpenned 2 of my kabar knives which came with false back edges. Now all the edges are razor sharp. The carbide sharpenner cuts a lot faster than the spyderco. It can get to shapes that are hard to sharpen on the spyderco. But, for knives suited to the spyderco, I prefer the spyderco for a quality edge. I find that together, these two systems work very well and FAST.

Unless you bought a bussecombat knife with the assymetrical edge in which case you need a strop and paste. However, I reviewed the company's posts and the owner of bussecombat said that they warehouse their knives as blanks that are sharpenned upon an order being placed. Therefore, he said that it costs his company nothing to change the edge type to suit individual preferences. So, if you want a bussecombat knife with a standard wedge or hollow grind, you just have to mention that with your order and then you won't even need to buy a leather strop. Although, the edge won't be as strong as the assymetrical edge, but it still will be stronger than anything else other than cpm3v blades.
 
Has anyone tried the edgepro system? I'm still thinking about getting it. While the Sharpmaker is good, I find it more suited for minor tuneups and touchups. It's not good at all for considerable grinding.
 
I have the Edgepro system and like all of the sharpening systems it’s not difficult to use and works quite well. For the most part I don’t need to use it very often, because I learned a long time ago how to touch up a blade with a steel. If you do get the Edgepro, the diamond fine rod is probably worth the price if you plan to use it often. I have it and it cuts down the final dress time quite a lot. A paper slice test will then show a very sharp edge with a slight bit of drag and some noise. I usually don’t have to go back to the Edgepro very often unless I’ve damaged the edge or angle somehow.

After I have a good angle and edge, I steel the blade. About 20-30 strokes on the steel rod and it will glide through a piece of Post-It-Note paper with a very noticeable improvement, silky smooth with almost no sound or drag at all. When a blade feels like that, you know it’s sharp!. To properly dress a blade on steel takes practice but it’s worth learning how to do it. One you get proficient, you can dress a blade in 10-15 seconds and get a razor edge every time. I use the following pattern to get the final dressed edge. The pressure I use varies somewhat with the type of knife and the blade material. Everyone has to develop their own feel for it. Your goal is to maintain the same angle as you put on with the Edgepro and to try to slice away thin slivers of metal. Of course you don’t put enough pressure on the blade to actually succeed in doing that, that’s just the best way to describe the process.

3 strokes on each side - not alternating, with a good firm pressure but not REAL hard.
3 strokes on each side - not alternating, with firm pressure but not too light
3 strokes on each side - alternating, with light pressure
3 strokes on each side - alternating, with very light pressure

Slice at the rod with smooth, fairly quick strokes, don't go too slow. After a while you’ll get good enough to stroke with ever lessening pressure for the whole 20-30 strokes. Test the edge before and after with a paper slice - use post-it-note paper if you can or any paper that always has the same consistency Hold the paper firmly and try to slice the very thinnest of slices from the paper. You’ll know when you’ve got the knack by the way it cuts, there won’t be any doubt.

I’d suggest you use an older, common 440 steel blade that you don’t care much about to practice on until you get the hang of it, 44 is durable and easy to work. Buy a good steel rod, skip the $3-$4 bargain store junk. A quality rod from Gerber or Hinkley costs around $30.00 and it will last a lifetime. A cheap rod is worse than useless because it may well be softer than your knife. A quality ATS34 or 154CM blade will actually slice metal off a cheap rod and never sharpen at all, just nick the rod and dull the blade.

To get the ultimate edge you can strop a blade, although I strongly recommend against this unless you really do plan to shave with it. Stropping produces a frighteningly sharp, but very, very fragile edge. For daily use it doesn’t hold up well at all even with the best blade metal. Stropping is good for razors but not work knives that you’ll be using daily.

Some people think that a blade can never be too sharp. Their wrong!. A blade can be too sharp. Slip and you’ll get a nasty cut from a steeled blade, slip with a freshly stropped blade and it’s a trip to the hospital every time.
 
I've had the Lansky and Spyderco for years and they are both very good.
I just found out how important it is to know what and how you are sharpening. After reading the Razor Edge Guide to Sharpening I was able to put great edges on some real dull blades. They are new and came that way.
I have many many knives (never too many) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif and think I will have use for the Apex EdgePro. My Lansky doesn't securely hold the blade well and I think the spyderco is good for maintaining an edge. I suck at freehand BUT I am looking forward to getting my Mora 2000 and trying that freehand due to the unique bevel on that.
READ up and know the angles and you will be rewarded. The links above are a wealth of info.
Tom
ps: the diamond rods for the Spyderco are sensitive and will come off if too much pressure is applied. Sal (Pres of Spyderco) posted this info in one of the blade forums.
I think the DMT stones are some of the easiest and best around.
 
I have an Edge Pro Apex and it's a bit of a hassle to set up, but once set up it's easier to use than a clamp system. It quickly gets a blade fairly sharp but I've never been able to get "scary" sharpness on it even with the ultra-fine stone (I don't have any of the diamond stones for it, they came out later). The fine stones in fact don't seem to do much of anything at all to the edge. The dealer recommended I get a ceramic steel for final touch-up, but I never got around to it.

I haven't been using the Apex much because I find I can do ok freehand sharpening on a synthetic stone that I got for $3 or so at a grocery store. I just test the edge with my thumb and slice strips of paper to find the rough spots, and touch them up with the stone til things are even, then use a steel for touch-up.
 
Which system would be considered idiot-proof. Klaus mentioned Spyderco Sharpmaker 204. Would that be the absolute easiest to use?

Can you ruin the knive? Does it make sense to practice on a cheap knife?
 
I use a dual-angle Crock Stick set for touch up and edge maintenance. Very dull knives go through a Lansky but I got the DIAMOND stones for it (not by Lansky but they fit perfectly, although I forget the maker right now and it's packed away) to "re-set" the edge. Had a Spyderco Sharpmaker and sold it, could not get it to sharpen as well as the Crocks...
 
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