How do you sharpen your knives?

[StrawHat]

I sharpen for a living and use a variety of things. For most of my work I use a series of wheels from 100 to 2000 grit. I spin them about 200 rpm and can get results quickly. I also keep my bench stones, diamond stones, ceramic stones, steels, and strops handy. I have used the ceramic cup and sometimes a sheet of emery paper but never thought about the top of a car window until I saw it in the post above. Great idea!

Some of the other sharpeners use the Tormek system and one guy uses paper wheels. There are a bunch of way to defur that feline.

 

[Cosmoline]

Arkansas whetstones followed by a stone chef's sharpener. I'm not as particular as some of you! And I've even been known to scratch blades while whipping them back and forth on the stone. It's terrible, I know.

 

[Jaymo]

I have diamond hones, Arkansas oil stones, and water stones.
What I'm honing has as much to do with what I use to hone it as what it'll be used for.

The straights only get the water stones and strop. Sometimes newspaper used as a strop.

 

[Spec ops Grunt]

I've got a Sharpmaker that I tend to use the most, except for my Scandi knives.

I've also got some cheapo diamond plates, the only time is use them is with the sharpmaker for reprofiling. I set the sharpmaker to flats, then use rubber bands to attach the plates to the rods. It works alright.

For my Scandi knives I have a Finnish waterstone I bought from ragweedforge.com, and a soft lansky Arkansas stone I bought from Midway, I use water with it.

For stropping I use a sheet of cardboard I glued to a block of wood, charged with Mothers Mag Wheel polish.


The cheapest stropping system ever.

 

[bikerdoc]

For stropping I use a sheet of cardboard I glued to a block of wood, charged with Mothers Mag Wheel polish.

Use a piece of cardboard with mothers mounted to a sanding disk on a reversable electric drill. Fast easy remarkable results.

 

[xm21]

I like stones,Arkansas and Norton Fine India for the most part.The stone above is a Lily White Wa****a that has since been boiled in water and scrubbed to remove the gunk that had collected on it from setting unused in its cardboard box for at least 50 years.Then it was soaked in mineral oil and is now used to keep my knives sharp.

 

[snakeman]

diamond stone, course, medium, fine, super fine, then a quality steel. I usually start with fine though unless I need to create a new edge.

 

[Jaymo]

So, is Wa****a pronounced Wah-SHEE-Ta, WAH-Shih-Tah, or how?
I've always wondered.

 

[Hamilton Felix]

I have a Lansky (I've had several over the years) that I have not used much lately, and I believe guides do eliminate the "human wobble factor." And we have those plastic handled "Edgemaker Pro sharpeners (look like a bigger version of the Hunter's Hone above, with little metal rods in a Vee) in the kitchen, along with a steel.

Lately, I've been taking dull knives to work where we have a little-used Wilton belt grinder (I am not impressed by its alignment and would save money for a Burr King if I was looking for a square wheel grinder) that has a half worn belt on it. A few careful moments with the Wilton, then finish with the 8 inch Norton Crystalon stone, maybe strop for a moment on the same cardboard I use to check the edge. That usually gets to where it shaves hair off of my arm OK. It's not SUPER sharp, but shaving sharp is fine for general use.

I sometimes use ceramic rods to touch up a knife. In the past, there were more fuses with ceramic bodies (I'm an electrical worker). They worked well. If you ever salvage out any knob & tube wiring, the ceramic tubes are great knife sharpeners. Look for an extra long one where they went through two or more 2x4's.

I have carried a small pen-sized EZE-Lap in my pocket for years. It's handy for a quick touch up.

I've had lots of sharpening gadgets over the years. In the garage, there's a WEN Wet Stone machine and a Wet Wheel machine. Right now, I'm looking at a fancy sharpener that cost me $100 at a gun show; it says Warthog on one side and V-sharp on the other. I need to track down the maker and get replacements for the diamond "stones" that are losing their diamond surfaces. They are square steel rods with a diamond grit surface.

A steady hand and some skill with a bench stone is always useful. Belt machines let you create a convex edge if you wish. They also let you destroy knives quickly.

 

[Ghost Tracker]

Tried (almost) everything. Settled on Lansky w/diamond hones, Spyderco Sharpmaker & some old-fashioned strop techniques. Learned the car/truck window trick 10 years ago. Lots of folks laugh at it until you hand their knife back to 'em...SHARP!

 

[zhyla]

For plain edges I use "scary sharp" (successively finer grits of sandpaper) freehand. Works on my straight razor, hand plane blades, chisels, etc.

For my Spyderco combo edges I probably ought to pick up a Sharpmaker. I keep meaning to mail them back to the factory for sharpening but I never get around to it. Spyderco used to come by the county fair every year and sharpen for free but not since they started metal detecting everybody.

 

[conw]

Sharpmaker, one of two ways:


From the ground up (for a very dull, uneven, or otherwise mistreated blade):

• Mark each bevel with a Sharpie
• Start with diamond extra-rough rods and make sure I'm taking off the sharpie evenly with each stroke; stick there until I get the bevels even. I prefer a 30 degree angle. This can take an hour with premium steels.
• Move to rough stones and reapply sharpie; stick here until all the sharpie is gone, and/or a burr has been raised on either side
• Move to fine srods. Depending on the role of the knife (outdoor work knife, kitchen knife, EDC) I may just do a few strokes here...or I may repeat the burr step, then do a few strokes on the ultra fine. I never do more than a few strokes on the ultra fine stones
• On a 7" piece of balsa wood that has Mother's polish on one side I will drag one to two VERY light strokes (like, the weight of the blade only), then repeat on a side with no polish

Touch-up (for EDC knives every few weeks)

• Raise a burr using the coarse rods on either side
• Optional: raise a burr on the fine rods on either side
• Optional: balsa strop as above

*Other considerations:

For serrated blades (my H1 ladybug for example) I usually just use the rough or fine stones.

For blades that really need a touch-up on the very tip, I use a method where I put the rods in the parallel slots on the underside of the sharpmaker, and drag the blade at a 45 degree angle with the blade facing upward. This really makes the tip pointy again but can cause some scratches.

For SD knives I am inclined to finish with the rough stones and a light strop as I like the aggressive toothy edge. For titanium SD knives I do a few strokes on either side of the rough stones, and a VERRRRY light strop.​

As far as cutting tests, EDC knives should shave the hair on my arms and "pop" it as well as push cut paper with ease;

SD knives should catch in my nail bed easily at a 45 degree angle, especially at the tip, and slice paper more easily than they push cut it;

and kitchen knives should be able to push cut a circle out of printer paper.

 

[MYREDTAIL]

I own a few Tri- Stone knife sharpeners from Smokey Mountain knife works,? Great company for all of your needs,? & they make your knives razor sharp with a little work on them.?

 

[JTW Jr.]

Right now, I'm looking at a fancy sharpener that cost me $100 at a gun show; it says Warthog on one side and V-sharp on the other. I need to track down the maker and get replacements for the diamond "stones" that are losing their diamond surfaces.

http://www.v-sharp.com/

Tried one , didn't like it , unless they redesigned it , it doesnt work for very thick blades. My Strider AR wouldn't even fit in the "slot".

 

[SniperStraz]

Yeah, I was really interested in the V Sharp for it's simplicity bit all of the reviews say that it's not all that great and that it only really accommodates coarser stones. Seems like Edge Pro Apex is the best product going.

 

[Hunter125]

I have a lansky systemm that I use for starting a blade and major touch ups, a plain jane kitchen sharpener that works well for thin bladed kitchen knives, and several cheapo pocket hone deals that I use every few days for minor touch ups.

My dad has a Razor Sharp system that is pretty neat, works really well, but it's expensive.

I refuse to ruin any more knives at work, so I carry a utility knife where the blade extends out of the handle so it's thinner than the folding ones. I switch blades about every two weeks, saves me a lot of sharpening.

 

[sm]

hso wrote:

If you want to learn patience, SM recommends the back of a notepad. That paste board has enough mineral content to put an edge on a knife if it isn't too far gone.

Three years ago hso shared with me, I could actually turn the notepad over and have something to write on.

I free hand, have a rep as hso does. Translated: we ain't normal.

Today I used 1500 grit emery paper as I was too lazy to get out my DMT diamond stuff, and my wittle legal notepad.

Until I get a piece of leather...I still strop on my jeans, or hand, or...

A lot of where I come from is the fact, one will be out and about and have to make do with what is available.

Improvise, Adapt, Overcome.

Define "normal" anyway - anon

 

[ARMike]

So, is Wa****a pronounced Wah-SHEE-Ta, WAH-Shih-Tah, or how?
I've always wondered.

its pronounced WAH-Shih-Tah... these stones are "mined" out of the Ouachita Mountains (same pronunciation) in West Central Arkansas.

 

[SDG]

I use the Spyderco Sharpmaker. As long as I can get my Benchmade sharp enough to shave hairs off of my arm, I am satisfied. The sharpmaker does this just fine.

 

[Quickdraw Limpsalot]

Dad taught me how to free hand sharpen when I was a kid and I don't like serrations, so all I've used for the last 10 years or so is an EZE LAP Diamond "Stone" (also have an identical one marked "Lansky" that is newer.)

I grab any ol' coffe mug or ceramic plate to fine tune 'em when I have time.
They work on anything from scissors to machetes with care.

 

[bikerdoc]

^ got one of them in my pocket.

 

[Skidawg]

The Lansky system has been my choice for 15 years. I am used to it and can gaurantee a knife that will "shave" if the steel will allow it.

 

[baylorattorney]

The warthog v-sharp @v-sharp.com is something I picked up this year and it is the best I've found in 20 years of seeking. Here is a pic.