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electric or manual knife sharpener?

  • electric

    Votes: 1 1.5%
  • manual

    Votes: 64 98.5%

i need a sharpener. which one would you buy?

8K views 33 replies 31 participants last post by  Passin' Through 
#1 ·
#3 ·
The only way to get a razor sharp edge is with stones, leather and patience... the materials for good manual sharpening kits may exceed the price of an electric model

If you want quick, convenient and dull blades... go for electric.
 
#5 ·
Been through the whole sharpening spectrum with woodworking tools. I am sold now on Japanese Water Stones. Look on line at Lee Valley Tool or Woodcraft.
 
#13 ·
I just use stones and elbow grease, although every once in a while I will take a few knives up for a 'professional' touch.:image035:
 
#17 ·
as others have said to get the sharpest edge the stone will be best. I have one that my grandpa used for years and years and its still going strong..or i think..if i could remember where i put it. I'm horrible with the stones for some reason so the auto ones are quick and painless for me. i forget which i have its not the one you linked to though
 
#21 ·
IMO the Edge Pro 2 is by far the best way to go. An Edge Pro will give you a professionally sharpened blade every time. Edge Pro is what many professional knife sharpeners and knife makers use. It will give you highly polished finger print shaving edges every time, in no time and little effort. Sharpen anything from razors to kitchen knives. In fifty years I have never been able to get as good an edge on my blades as I can with an Edge Pro 2

For creating and maintaining convex edges I really like JRE Industries EMS Sharpening Block. Easily switch abrasives as you go from profiling to a highly polished edge. They also carry a nice assortment of strops and compounds. Though personally I prefer the Japanese green compound and strops I pick up in antique 2nd hand stores

With these systems my knives will slice news paper in half. By simply setting a page on the blade and letting the pages weight do the work.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Just realized that the electric sharpener's name in the OP's post is a rip of of the real Edge Pro and is about to experience a world of hurt associated with trademark violations.
The real Edge Pro is a manual system that uses water stone and mylar polishing strips. Using top quality water stones and a precision alignment system that assure you quickly and accurately maintain a perfect angle for the sharpest knives and straight razors possible

Here are some reviews of the real Edge Pro
"Sharpener Review Magazine"
Sharpening Knives by Mike Casey
 
#26 ·
You know, I have used those Lansky's before and the only thing I acutally used was the stones. Flipped them over without the vise and rods, and what not, and just used the stones like any other. All you need is a good set of stones, and a good leather strap.

Every once in a while though, I will take my knifes in and get a professional edge put on. For some reason, I can never get them as sharp as they can.
 
#27 ·
Every once in a while though, I will take my knifes in and get a professional edge put on. For some reason, I can never get them as sharp as they can.
Use what they use and you will
 
#33 ·
There is no magic knife sharpening secret Sharpening is simple. Like many simple skills it is not easy to master. All you need do is
1) Use the same number of strokes on each side to keep the blade centered. Except chisel grinds
2) Use the correct angle for the intended use of the knife and the material it is made of.
3) The primary number one rule is you must hold the blade at the exact same angle the entire length of the blade every single stroke. Every time you sharpen that knife. A change in angle will mean that you are not sharpening the edge at all or are dulling the blade The more precisely that you hold the blade at the correct angle the sharper your blade will be. I can do that well enough create and maintain a paper cutting edge. Cleanly feather the edge of paper. But I like highly polished finger print shaving, hair splitting edges. Knives that skin with clean strokes, fillet with one smooth slice. Cleaning cutting a ripe tomatoes in two mid air and cut a newspaper page with its own weight by simply placing the newspaper of the blade. Many can sharpen blades like that by hand. In forty odd years I have never been able to hone my skills to that level.

As has been said machines take off too much material and risk damaging the temper of your blades. Fixed sharpening systems only sharpen at one angle about as well as I can sharpen by hand. Systems like Lansky and Gatco offer variable sharpening angles and everything from course to fine stones. They provide good results over all, as long as you remember where you placed the clamp on the blade and of course the angle setting you used. But because they clamp the blade in one position there are variations in the blades angle and width with the widest and most acute being at the tip of the blade. Some parts of the blade will be sharper or duller than others.

According to the literature Ben Dale put twenty years of research and knife sharpening experience into designing the Edge Pro. However he got to the design the Edge Pro sharpens very much the way you would without a system. The advantage is that the Edge Pro absolutely assures that every single stroke is at the exact angle you've set the full length of the blade. Each and every stroke exact, perfectly matching the last. So you create and maintain a perfect blade each and every time. I think that the Edge Pro has conditioned my muscle memory to better hand sharpen in the field. Because the settings are so exact touch ups take minimal material off of your blade extending your blades life to provide a life time of razor sharp service.

I have spent some pretty good money over the years trying other systems with varied results. So, for those starting to sharpen you'll save a ton of money in the long run with an Edge Pro because it is the only system you will ever have to buy. I think it may help you with learning hand sharpening too. A skill everyone should have a least the basic knowledge of. For those who like me that don't seem to have the knack but still like hair popping finger print shaving knives the Edge Pro is the last system that you will ever have to buy. There is a reason professional knife sharpeners use it, nothing else gives as consistently excellent results as the Edge Pro

Probably not the answer you wanted but it really is the answer that will save you the most money AND give you the sharpest knives possible.
 
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