Professional knife sharpeners

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nettlle

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I have a Gatco with diamond stones that has taken care of my smaller hunting knives for decades. I still use it. However I am looking at something for our larger kitchen knives. I need something that will control the edge angle.

Edge Pro looks good as well as KME. Wicked Edge seems best to me. Wet stones seem appealing. How would a wet stone compare to a diamond stone?
 
The Wicked Edge is very good, but also expensive.

The guided sharpeners typically use dry stones. Diamond stones will work just fine as long as you pick a grit for finishing that gives you the finish level that you want. You can also strop for a final step if you want an even finer finish.
 
Wicked Edge IS very good, well worth the money to get set up. I've had mine going on 10 years I think and I'd buy it again.
 
Having a Wicked Edge , I would look at the Tormek sharpeners before I spent that much money again on one .
 
I've owned both wicked edge and KME. I prefer the KME. I agree that a Tormek might be a better buy, particularly for large knives, if you have the space for such a large device. You can get angle guides to help you use a bench stone if you want to go that route. I also think it's hard to beat a Spyderco Sharpmaker for quick setup and ease of use while still getting good, repeatable results.
Wet stones seem appealing. How would a wet stone compare to a diamond stone?
Coarse to medium diamond will have the deepest scratch pattern. Those will take the most work to polish out with fine diamond or fine ceramic, and finally stropping compounds if you want to get a mirror polished edge. However, if you have a badly damaged edge or you want to set a new bevel, extra coarse diamond will do it faster than anything that isn't motorized. Wet stone sharpening is a free hand art form. Dry ceramic will give a fine scratch pattern that's easy to polish. CBN (cubic boron nitride) is somewhere between diamond and ceramic.

What steels do you need to sharpen? What kind of edges are you looking for?
 
As a guy who has sharpened all of one knife in the past umpteen years, I find this discussion very helpful.
 
I spent around 20 dollars to make this inexpensive and easy to make sharpener. I use it to sharpen my kitchen knives and it does just as well as the expensive ones, like the Edge pro. If you choose to build one of these, make sure it is designed so the knife edge is facing away from you while sharpening to avoid a very nasty cut. See attached photo for a closer look. Hope this helps.


PICT1277.JPG
 
I've owned both wicked edge and KME. I prefer the KME. I agree that a Tormek might be a better buy, particularly for large knives, if you have the space for such a large device. You can get angle guides to help you use a bench stone if you want to go that route. I also think it's hard to beat a Spyderco Sharpmaker for quick setup and ease of use while still getting good, repeatable results.

Coarse to medium diamond will have the deepest scratch pattern. Those will take the most work to polish out with fine diamond or fine ceramic, and finally stropping compounds if you want to get a mirror polished edge. However, if you have a badly damaged edge or you want to set a new bevel, extra coarse diamond will do it faster than anything that isn't motorized. Wet stone sharpening is a free hand art form. Dry ceramic will give a fine scratch pattern that's easy to polish. CBN (cubic boron nitride) is somewhere between diamond and ceramic.

What steels do you need to sharpen? What kind of edges are you looking for?

D2 Steel for me. Recently bought a Bokashi knife my wife likes but not sure what steel it is made of. I prefer carbon steel over stainless. My wife wants me to look at something that may sharpen ceramic. I know nothing about sharpening ceramic. I have found that having a sharpener that controls the blade angle gives me a longer lasting edge. I'm not good at controlling the blade angle freehand.
 
My wife wants me to look at something that may sharpen ceramic.
You can sharpen ceramic, but it's different from sharpening metal. First of all, you will need to use diamond to do it--not much else is going to work. Second, you will not be able to apply any significant pressure while sharpening--if you do, you'll have trouble getting it sharp and you'll wear out your diamonds in a real hurry.

Coarse diamond will cause tiny chips on the edge which might not be all bad if you want a sort of serrated edge effect. But if you want to put the factory edge back on it, you will need a very fine diamond hone of some kind. Be patient--don't get in a hurry.
D2 Steel for me. ... I prefer carbon steel over stainless.
D2 is sort of a semi-stainless--not quite enough chrome to qualify, but it's close.
 
D2 Steel for me. Recently bought a Bokashi knife my wife likes but not sure what steel it is made of. I prefer carbon steel over stainless. My wife wants me to look at something that may sharpen ceramic. I know nothing about sharpening ceramic. I have found that having a sharpener that controls the blade angle gives me a longer lasting edge. I'm not good at controlling the blade angle freehand.
Have a link to the Bokashi knife? D2 has very large carbides, so it's probably not going to polish up. I've never even tried to sharpen ceramic. The only thing I know of that's advertised to do so is the ceramic knife sharpening kit (diamond belts) for the Worksharp brand powered sharpeners. The Worksharp will put a convex edge on blades, which should give you a long lasting working edge, but it won't stay shaving sharp as long as other methods. Other belt sanders with alumina oxide belts would probably also be suitable for ceramic sharpening. Using something like a KME, EdgePro, or Wicked Edge will put an apex edge on the blades, which should hold a shaving edge longer.
 
My kitchen favorites is an old set of Old Hickory. I use a Harbor freight 4 sided diamond and a ceramic stick. I've only had to put them on the diamond once. The ceramic stick keeps them hair spliting sharpe.
 
I have a Tormek and it is primarily for woodworking tools. That is how I justify having it. Not for knife sharpening.

I have and do sharpen my kitchen knives with it though. Only need to use it for that about once a year. I steel them for maintenance.

Buying one or anything else that pricey to sharpen your own personal knives would be an economically questionable purchase in my opinion but they can be fun to play around with.

Since I got my Sharpmaker, the utility value of the Tormek has declined as I only really use it for wood tools now.

The Wicked Edge system seems ultra expensive for what you get but then again Tormek jigs are pricey as well to increase the versatility.

I work at a place that has several restaurants on site and sometimes the sharpeners come here. I got to see what they use one day and their primary tools were Tormeks and the Razor Sharp system. There was a sharpmaker in there too. That is what these professionals used.
 
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I purchased a Warthog V-Sharp Classic II. I ordered a couple extra stones for it. It works really good. You can set the angle easily.
 
I doubt the Tormeks can be beaten for getting quick results, especially on large knives with mostly straight and non-serrated edges. If I were professionally sharpening knives, I would get something along those lines. It just makes sense to use a powered system if you're in a hurry, and the large stone water-cooled wheels are about as good as it gets in that category.
 
The title of my thread could have been better worded. The type of sharpeners like the Wicked Edge are described as professional sharpeners. I'm not going to professionally sharpen knives.

The Gatco sharpener has a guided rod angle system that I prefer and the Wicked Edge seems to be an improvement on the Gatco that I have. So I ordered a "Wicked Edge Go" .

https://wickededgeusa.com/collections/sharpeners/products/wicked-edge-go

I also ordered some 800/1000 grit stones for it. I read that ceramic knives can be sharpened with a 1000 grit diamond stone. I read this on the internet so it has to be true.
 
I don't know if 1000 grit is the exact number, but it is true that it needs to be a fine stone. A coarse diamond stone will make tiny chips along the edge of a ceramic blade The fine stone is probably doing the same thing, but the chips are much smaller.

I have watched a ceramic knife being sharpened using the Wicked Edge sharpener with fine grit diamond stones--I just can't remember what grit was used.

You don't want to apply much pressure.
 
I don't know if 1000 grit is the exact number, but it is true that it needs to be a fine stone. A coarse diamond stone will make tiny chips along the edge of a ceramic blade The fine stone is probably doing the same thing, but the chips are much smaller.

I have watched a ceramic knife being sharpened using the Wicked Edge sharpener with fine grit diamond stones--I just can't remember what grit was used.

You don't want to apply much pressure.

That's the way I understand it with ceramic blades also. Too coarse a stone will chip the ceramic blade. A couple of places recommended 1000 grit diamond for ceramic. The sharpener is due Monday and I'm on vacation next week so I'm going to give it a try.

My wife has been sending our knives out to be sharpened. Expensive as Wicked Edge is it is going to be a lot cheaper to sharpen them at home. Not to mention the two hour round trip taking the knives to and fro.
 
The Wicked Edge Go came today. I sharpened (8) knives in less than an hour. The Go is similar to the Gatco that I already have so a small learning curve.

It's nice to use. No flipping the knife (like the Gatco) which is a big plus for speed and removing the bur. The 800/1000 grit diamond stones shipped separately (Amazon) and did not come today so I didn't try the ceramic knives.

It is a high priced sharpener but it is more heavy duty and of higher quality than I was expecting. I feel I got my money's worth.
 
I sharpen knives and other things for a living. I was taught to use whet stones by my father before I attended school. Since then I have used a variety of stones and “machines” to produce a sharp edge for my customers.

The Wicked Edge is a decent tool. Expensive, not really in the long run. I have the Pro Pac 3 and use it for getting an exact edge for chefs who want a particular edge.

There is a learning curve but once you go through the instructions and set it up a few times, it is an intuitive system. Not for the occasional sharpener but if you sharpen weekly, it is an option.

Kevin
 
I sharpen knives and other things for a living. I was taught to use whet stones by my father before I attended school. Since then I have used a variety of stones and “machines” to produce a sharp edge for my customers.

The Wicked Edge is a decent tool. Expensive, not really in the long run. I have the Pro Pac 3 and use it for getting an exact edge for chefs who want a particular edge.

There is a learning curve but once you go through the instructions and set it up a few times, it is an intuitive system. Not for the occasional sharpener but if you sharpen weekly, it is an option.

Kevin

You pros who can put a scary sharp edge using whet stones by hand on blades made from high end steels are simply amazing! I could never master this; I just can't maintain that constant angle, especially coming past the belly to the tip.
:cool:
 
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