Knife Sharpeners

[Windy Wilson]

As to not using hot water to wash a knife, IIRC the place I bought my Grohmann Canadian Belt knife from said to never put the knife in the dishwasher, as the jets of water were really bad for the blade. Except for once when someone put my AG Russell Skinner in the dishwasher, I've washed all my sharp knives (and knives intended to be sharp) by hand.

[bubblewhip]

In my experience sharpening knives I've spent somewhere around 300 bucks on my system.

Full redo

1. Start with a DMT XXC 120 micron diamond stone. I've learned at this point when you have your relatives ask you to sharpen their knives, they are basically butter knives and you have to basically remake a whole knife for them. This may seem extreme but it's the fastest way to re-profile a really abused edge.

2. Go to a 250 grit Japanese water stone.

3. Go to a 1000 grit Japanese water stone. I only used this because I bought it when I first started getting into it, and I honestly would have bought something else since Japanese water stones wear down quickly and create the biggest mess I've ever seen. But they do have their plus. The biggest one is the mud that forms helps polish the really rough edge caused by the 120 micron stone and polishes it really quickly. I find though it's very hard to get a good edge with these since it seems to dull the edge as it polishes. So I have something else to go a step further.

4. Spyderco Ultra fine 3 micron ceramic bench stone. If you have an option, go ceramic. They lasts forever, stay completely flat, the only problem is they don't make them in rough grits. This gives me a pseud-mirror edge on the blades. It helps hone the blade to a really sharp edge, and since it's so fine it tends to keep it for a long while.


Maintaining and just being lazy:

After point 4 with the ultra fine, if any of my blades need resharpening, I usually just go back to the fine 3 grit and that's good enough. If I'm feeling really lazy, I just use the spyderco sharpmaker and 10 passes makes it pop-hairs.

I might go to a leather strop with green compound, but at this point with knives I ask myself what's the point. My knives are sharper than 99% of anyone else's knives around me and I don't need it to be hair whittling sharp.


I hand do most of all my stuff since I valued the intangable "hand-sharpened" experience that a lot of people seem to value. But if you don't want to screw around, just buy the Edge-pro Apex. It's what most knife enthusiast use for consistent professional results without power tools. If you want it fast, you're going to have to use some power tools like a belt-sander and a buffing wheel.

[SeekHer]

So, to re-open a zombie thread... What would be recommended for keeping on a bench while butchering... (deer season is coming, so its time to start "decorating the tree" - yuppies hang ornaments on indoor pine tree, usually "up" by Halloween, we hang carcasses in an oak tree in the yard... :lol: )

Norton Multistone. It's standard shop equipment in grocery store meat departments. They are kinda' spendy for rocks, but they'll handle any blade you are likely to throw at 'em, and with care, will last forever.

Actually, if you care for your knives, you won't often have to go to the stone. A couple of trade "secrets":
1) Get a good steel and learn how to use it, it's your best friend. My choice is F. Dick-no jokes please :shock: .

2) Don't wash a knife with hot water-lukewarm at best. Hot water will turn an edge in a split second.

I only have to put a knife to stone three, maybe four times per year. Drives the rookies nuts.

Anything that is fast and easy to use--Firestone table top or hand held sharpener, Spyderco Croc-Stik, Boker Vulkanus, CRKT Slide Sharp, Tri Axe or even just a plain old butcher’s steel...You're not there to completely resharpen the knife, just touch it up to finish the job at hand.

Then again, if you got a good knife with good steel and a proper temper doing up four, five deer before a touch up is necessary is the norm...That's why I love my D2 knives by Bob Dozier--granted takes a little longer to put an edge on but when you can do two moose and a black bear and still shave slices off held paper it certainly pays off.

I do not understand this "not putting a knife in hot water thing"? While, I won't put my good knives through the dishwasher I'll hand wash them in the hottest water that I have but won't put wooden handles into the water (causes them to shrink and crack) but the blades certainly and with no adverse or ill effects to the sharpened edge...Those carbon or stainless blades with synthetic handles will go into the bottom of the sink, hot water and soap (anti-bacterial) is added, they'll soak for awhile then washed and dried immediately...I've done the same thing to folding knives but I'll use a hair dryer to get to the insides.

How else are you going to get rid of the crap that's dried up into the handles or into the liners of folders? I've even taken off the handles (where applicable) and scrubbed with an used toothbrush the underside of the scales and tang.

[morsetaper]

I do not understand this "not putting a knife in hot water thing"?

I don't have scientific proof to back this up, but I believe that hot water will distort the very fine edge on a knife blade. Particularly if the blade is cold, as is usually the case in a meat department.

I demonstrate this to apprentices by spraying hot water on top of the plastic cutting boards that we use. They bow up, returning to flat after cooling. Obviously, a steel knife doesn't have the memory of a poly cutting board.

The effect on a knife edge may be microscopic, but is cumulative.

[Weetabix]

CRKT Slide Sharp link didn't work for me. Here's where I found it:
http://www.crkt.com/Slide-Sharp-Knife-S ... id=1167372

ETA: SeekHer - which Warthog do you have?
Edited again to add: And which grit stones?

[308Mike]

One of the beauties of flexible knife sharpeners is that they can be used to sharpen MANY other objects. I am REALLY partial to my Spyderco Tri-Angle sharpener, and recently used it to sharpen not only several of my knives (on a regular basis), but also used it to refreshen, and polish the edge on my new Ka-Bar Kukri, which I had nicked cutting some brush at ground level. I removed the nick and refinished the blade and made it sharper than when delivered.

My only desire for this sharpening system is to include the diamond embedded sticks (but they ARE available for ordering, which I will probably get in the near future) so I can sharpen my ceramic knives.

I also recently used my sharpening system to sharpen a pair of scissors, some toe-nail pincers/cutters, several fish hooks, my Kukri, as well as several kitchen knives retouched after cutting multiple ripe tomatoes revealed a few knives had started to drag instead of cutting when applied to ripe tomato skin (unacceptable in this household).

I'm of the firm opinion that things designed to cut should cut when their edges are applied to things to be cut. If you have to WORK when trying to cut things which need cuttings, your tools aren't sufficiently sharp to accomplish the job and need attention. SHARP knives cut easier and are FAR LESS LIKELY to slip causing cutting accidents with the blade. Sharp knives are FAR safer than dull knives.

Do yourself a favor and make sure ALL your kitchen knives are VERY sharp, 'cause you'll have less accidents with them sharp than when they were/are dull.

[blackeagle603]

Agree Mike -- nothing like a good edge (on any edged tool: kitchen, shop, outdoor).

I've been pleased with this little flex belt unit I got last fall.
Work Sharp WSKTS Knife and Tool Sharpener


I'm able to go through a pile of blades in no time. Good edges and hardly any craft/art skill required. I like the convex edge from a belt. video
I've used it on a couple shop and garden tools also. Did a number on my fire wood axe -- faster and more consistent than on a bench grinder but a bit light weight to do much of that work. Thinking I'll go ahead and get their heavier disc bench tool sharpen for the shop. Worksharp 2000

[McClarkus]

I use the cardboard wheels with glue/grit on one and and rouge on the other. Works alright for me and it's quick. Benchmade pocket knife goes in the hot water, washed and is immediately blown out with air compressor and dried. One drop of gun oil and it is the next best thing to automatic.

[Windy Wilson]

Interesting about the hot water thing. I've always felt that if the water was too hot for my hands it was too hot for the knife, hence the never-in-the-dishwasher rule. I have never had compunctions about washing the knife in the sink with dishsoap, a washcloth and a softish brush.
I'll have to research that turning the blade thing.

[Darrell]

Here's a fresh one, the Tormek sharpening system. It's from Sweden. Looks like quite the rig:

http://www.thetruthaboutknives.com/2013 ... ng-system/

Interesting video at the linked article. It's a low rpm, water cooled wheel, with leather stropping wheel as well. Here's the Tormek T-3 version at Amazon, $379.00:

http://www.amazon.com/Tormek-T-3-Sharpe ... insta0c-20

Found via Insty. I probably should have put my Lansky Puck post in this thread as well.