Sharpening Knives?

[recon]

Easiest way to sharpen knives? I hate doing this and have no patience so I want the easiest cheapest way to do this.

[Richard Simmons]

I sharpen one knife or another almost daily and have found the Spyderco Sharpmaker to be the best bang for my buck.

http://www.cutleryshoppe.com/tri-anglesharpmaker.aspx

If you start off with a fairly sharp knife that will work with the 30 or 40 degree inclusive settings on the Sharpmarker the medium and fine stones it comes with will work fine. If you end up needing to re-profile a knife or let one get really dull then getting the coarse diamond stones is a good idea.

Mine stays set up with either the fine or ultra fine stones and I routinely touch up my knives at the end of each day.



I recently picked up a Wicked Edge sharpening system as an Xmas gift to myself. So far I think it's going to work out fairly well. Though easy to use it's probably more money than most folks need/want to spend but if you like your knives sharp it's another option.

http://www.wickededgeusa.com/

[NAPOTS]

I too hate sharpening knives but I hate dull knives too!
I had one of the ones with the ceramic rods where you draw the knife through to sharpen it and it wasn't worth a shit.

I ended up with an Arkansas stone set and am learning how to use it, I can already get the knives sharper than that POS

[Nimbly]

Use a steel. If you want em really sharp you need a good steel.

[ltorlo64]

I use ceramics and they keep my knives razor sharp. I have a set I travel with, which are pretty small and generic. I bought them from a store in Groton, CT more than 25 years ago. They work just fine. I bought a larger set for home. Here is what they look like and a link to where you can order them.



http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/st...tml?s=LSLCSGM4

This is a good system. You just keep the knife at right angles to the floor as you swipe them down the ceramics. After about 5-10 minutes, you have a razor sharp knife. I am talking shaving sharp. This is what I would go with.

[Blacksmith]

I’ve got one of the steel rods that come with my kitchen knife set. Not as fancy as the setup that Itorlo64 posted. But it gets the job done. Before this, I had a ceramic rod. It took a little longer, but it did not wear down the knives like the steel does.

[Richard Simmons]

A steel doesn't sharpen your knife. It will reset/hone the edge but it's not how you sharpen a knife once it gets dull.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honing_steel

[Blacksmith]

A steel doesn't sharpen your knife. It will reset/hone the edge but it's not how you sharpen a knife once it gets dull.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honing_steel

They work damn good. I have a Trail Master that had a nick in the blade. The steel rod has almost completely removed it. not to mention the kitchen knives are razor sharp and have never seen anything other than the rod. Grant it that you can not restore a broken blade. But for any knife that has not been abused, they work great.

[O.S.O.K.]

I have the ceramic rod type system too though mine is plastic and folds. But for general sharpening, I use the little two-sided yellow sharpeners - using the ceramic side, I sharpen going one way and then reverse and sharpen the other way and that gives me a good edge.

[Darrell]

I always hang my head in shame when this subject comes up.

I have never been worth a damn when it comes to sharpening knives.

It always bugs me too. I think this is a very useful skill. I just can't seem to get the hang of it.

[old Grump]

Collection of whetstones in my shop and one old one that might have been my Great grandfathers sitting on my desk gets used regularly. Keep the edge up and it's not that much work to touch them up.