I have used a lot of systems and stones, but think the Sharpmaker is a good lower cost method. One thought though.... For blades needing
serious work done to them, the diamond rods are a great time saver.
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I have used a lot of systems and stones, but think the Sharpmaker is a good lower cost method. One thought though.... For blades needing
serious work done to them, the diamond rods are a great time saver.
I use a Smith's CCKS sharpener. It's small enough to keep on your keychain. I don't have it on my keychain. I have zero complaints about this sharpener. It works as advertised and is very easy to use.
Lansky is good for a cheap rod-guided sharpening system. Edgepro is expensive and still sucks...too many breakable parts, too many moving parts, and too much chance for operator error. Not saying edgepro won't sharpen your knives, but it's a crutch and will drain your pocket with all the stones you go through.
As far as the BEST fool proof, easy to use for any amateur, durable rod-guide setup I would go with the EZESharp. It's aussie made, easy to use, won't move around while sharpening, and it clamps the blade in a way that you don't have to unclamp it to switch sides. There's no design I have found in my 14 years of sharpening that will surpass it. Just be ready to drop a few bills on it.
I've got the Lansky system, and it works pretty good. Interested in the belt sander method. Anybody know which belt sander the guy in the video is using? That looked like a really effective way to sharpen/fix knives that would take hours to do with a Lansky.
I use the WORKSHARP these days which is a belt sharpener system. It works VERY WELL but, you need to be very careful as you approach the tip of the knife or you may need to remake the point. Not really a problem but, worth mentioning. It is best to practice on your kitchen knives first and then you'll not have that problem.
With the Lansky Diamond - the secret is to use almost NO pressure. The weight of the actual hones is about all you need for the diamond to hone the edge.
It's a great sharpener. You'll really like it.
Here is the Work Sharp that I am using just in case anybody is interested.
It's a pretty good demo video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmC5GNbeYxM
I have used the Durex Worksharp for awhile. It's great if you need a super quick fix. That being said, it is capable of ruining your knives. Learn on this sharpener with thin knives that you don't care much about. The first time you hesitate while drawing the blade across the belt you will see an indention in the edge. The belt will not reach the blade's base so you will have about a quarter inch of non-sharpened blade at the bottom. If you use a thicker knife in the worksharp make sure you change the guide to the 25 degree or the 20 degree guide will give your 3/16" thick blade a 15 degree edge instead. These are the cons.
If you draw the knife across the belt with the handle down and the tip up you will have less impact on the tip and won't need to rework. If you draw the knife across the belt slowly, but maintain the same speed, with NO downward pressure on the blade, and with a FINE grit belt, you will love the Worksharp.
+1 on the Sharpmaker I like mine.
I guess I`m old fashioned also but I use a 2 sided stone that my grandfather passed to me and finish off with a leather strop. I do great on carbon steel but have a hard time with stainless. Almost all of my knives are carbon steel.
I love my Lanskey. Funny thing is, I bought mine because an electric knife sharpener tore up one of my blades. Now I cringe whenever I here an electric sharpener being used.
I recommend Lanskey anytime anyone asks me about sharpening (I get quite a few complements on how sharp my pocket knife is).
The Lansky Diamond set-up is is fantastic for the price. I have brought many knives back to life. It helps if the blade has a good steel to begin with like 154CM or S30V. I also use a set of Lansky Crock sticks for finishing touches and touch ups between sharpneings. I then use the backside of an old belt, or the back of a note pad, on the cardboard to strop the edge. Puts an insane edge on it. Since the last time I restored the edge a week or so ago, I've been using my mini-griptilian pretty hard everyday, but was still able to touch up my beard in the bathroom at work.
A lot of people swear by the Edgepro system. You can get Chosera Japanese wet stones and Shapton glass stones for them now. I've been eyeing one for years but haven't bought one yet.
I use a handheld stone just like my grandpa showed me. Works great.
Here is my setup. Coarse, medium, and fine diamond stones. But the most important part IMO are the 2 strops on the end. Rough side gets white jewelers rouge. Smooth side gets nothing. Run my knives over the stones, then the rough strop, then the smooth strop. You pull the blade across the strops opposite of the stones so that you clean up the edge but don't cut the leather. The strops clean up and polish the edge. It's the difference between sharp and scary sharp for us edge nerds. I can resharpen box cutter blades with it. My round knife for leather just gets some passes over the strop every little bit to touch it up. That thing will cut you just by looking at it. I've got a small DMT kit too. But I threw away the guides. I hate guides. I do everything by feel and sound. Just odd that way.
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...n/IMG_0791.jpg
I have one of these. Works great. Fast, simple and dang my knives are very very sharp.Quote:
Originally Posted by QKShooter