What is a good knife sharpener to buy?

[jeff43]

What is a good one to buy for typical hunting and carry knifes?I mostly carry a Kershaw but have several others.I have seen some sharpeners that you pull the blade through and it sharpens both sides.
Jeff

[Spots]

I use a 1 x 30 harbor freight belt grinder and can make a blade shave quickly

Sent from the backwoods of Nowhere

[jeff43]

Won't a grinder take off too much metal too fast ?

[jimmydeuce]

I use either a Spyderco Sharpmaker or a DMT Aligner. Both are pretty simple to use and do a great job.

[Spots]

Won't a grinder take off too much metal too fast ?

Go easy with a fine grit belt. I usually do an 800 grit, 1200 grit then a leather strop belt with compound. Finish of on a clean hand strop

Sent from the backwoods of Nowhere

[bronco302]

Won't a grinder take off too much metal too fast ?

 

All depends on the belt grit. I use these http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=48040&cat=1,43072  the 15µ (Micron) Silicon Carbide Sharpening Belts, and the  Aluminum Oxide Grinding Belts in 320, 500, and 1200 grit. I'v used oil stones all my life but these on a 1x30 belt sander are just cool. Oh and keep your blade cool.

 

Joe W.

[walton6467]

I use a Smith's kit that I picked up at Lowe's. I love it.

[quietmike]

The Spyderco sharp maker is great for home use and is simple to use. The Fallkniven. DC4 is a small diamond/ceramic stone for field use.
These are the two I always go back to. Edited April 4, 2013 by quietmike

[Citizen_B]

I've been using standard bench stones for years. Recently got the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Jury is still out on if I like it better than bench stones, but I would say the sharpmaker is probably a better system for someone just learning. Every "easy" sharpening system I've ever used is pretty much junk. Whatever you use, proper technique is more important than what system to use.

[willis68]

Spyderco Sharpmaker is the best bang for you buck, unless you want to spend more than $200.00 then I would go with Edge Pro Apex 4, that is the kit that I use and love

[Randall53]

I used to use the oil stones. Now I use the ceramic sharpeners and like them much better. You just can't let the blade go too long between sharpening, or you'll need the Arkansas oilstone again.

[Trekbike]

I use a Lansky system. Cheap and it works fine for my needs.

[Guest Broomhead]

I use a Lansky system. Cheap and it works fine for my needs.

 

Same here.

 

One thing to remember though, shaving sharp is not always the best type of sharp. Sometimes a toothy edge will cut certain materials just as good.

[bigbabysweets]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and state what may be obvious to many, but in the off chance someone doesn't know......

Sharpen a knife for the purpose you intend to use it. Being razor sharp is only good for a razor (or a show off lol) etc. it doesn't matter to most people and their pocket knives. I use mine for cutting string, cleaning my nails when I have to mingle with the uppity folks, and for showing friends, "look how sharp this is." When it comes the bushcraft knives, axes, etc.... It matters a bit more. You can't shave with an axe, and you can't chop down a tree with a razor.... Or can you?

Also it much easier and lengthens the life of the knife to MAINTAIN an edge than to resharpen it. If you have your knife sharpened the way you like it, as soon as you notice it cutting a little worse than it did when you started, maintain it! Some people don't realize a blade edge will roll at first before it breaks or chips. If you straighten the edge back out from the roll, you save it from having to be sharpened later. Ever see a butcher use his steel or a barber his strop, they're just restraightening the edge they already have. It keeps the knife sharp without having to resharpen it! I use a ceramic crock stick. I use this stick every time I make a knife. They're like $2 - $6 at Smoky Mtn Knife Works depending on how robust of a model you purchase.

[bigbabysweets]

Oh, and to answer your question..... When I was a cook we used one of the Smith's pull through double side sharpened at the same time doohickeys... Worked for us.

[glowdotGlock]

I've been using this lansky for a while now and am very pleased.

[Guest tangojuliet]

i like my smiths but would love to have http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200431964_200431964

[peejman]

I have a Smith's and it works for me.  I had some problems with it at first and I learned something in the process...   Any of the "systems" that hold the blade at a particular angle for you will likely not work real well the first time you try to sharpen a particular knife.  Why?  While they both may say 20 deg or 25 deg, the angle for the sharpener isn't exactly the same as the factory angle on the blade. 

 

Case in point....  The pocket knife the NRA sent me a while back.  I got it out and thought, meh... kinda sharp, but I can do better.  So I got the Smith's out and went to work.  The more I sharpened, the duller it got.  :squint:   When staring at it followed by cussing at it didn't help, I broke out the flashlight and magnifying glass.  A close look at the blade revealed the problem...  there was a nice, shiny, freshly polished strip about 0.020" back from the edge.  The angle I was sharpening at was slightly shallower than the factory edge.  So while I was removing metal, it wasn't from the edge. 

 

So I backed up and got the coarse diamond out, worked on it for a while until I'd essentially re-profiled the edge to match the angle of the sharpener.  Once that was done, the blade sharpened up quite easily. 

[Guest Broomhead]

Just a tip going off what Peejman said, color the edge of your knife with a sharpie. Then grab one of the finer stones and choose an angle. Slowly start honing it. The sharpie will tell you where you are removing material. You can adjust to a different angle and try again or just continue with a coarse stone and reset the edge to your desired angle. Wherever the sharpie gets removed the most is the correct angle. You can continue to color the edge if you're going to reset it so you can still see where you are removing material.

 

What BigBabySweets said is the truth. It is far easier to maintain your edge than it is to re-hone it every time.

Edited April 5, 2013 by Broomhead

[peejman]

Just a tip going off what Peejman said, color the edge of your knife with a sharpie. Then grab one of the finer stones and choose an angle. Slowly start honing it. The sharpie will tell you where you are removing material. You can adjust to a different angle and try again or just continue with a coarse stone and reset the edge to your desired angle. Wherever the sharpie gets removed the most is the correct angle. You can continue to color the edge if you're going to reset it so you can still see where you are removing material.

 

What BigBabySweets said is the truth. It is far easier to maintain your edge than it is to re-hone it every time.

 

 

The sharpie trick.  Duh.  :wall:    Wish I'd thought of that at the time....

[cknight8]

I use a handheld Smith's diamond stone & a Smith's handheld arkansas stone.  maintain the edge and it doesn't take long at all.  i never cared for the "systems" that hold a certain angle...i just usually "feel" my way for the angle of the particular blade.  guess i'm old fashioned though...

[Guest Broomhead]

I have never been able to hold a consistent angle with handheld stones. That's why I like the systems personally. Repeatability is key to me.

[jeff43]

Yeah on hand held stones sometimes I can get one sharp and sometimes I can't .That's what I'm looking for something easy and consistent and easy.
Thanks for all the replies
Jeff

[Guest Sgt. Joe]

I have never been worth diddle squat at sharpening knives and use to have it done by friends or at gun shows when they were still worth the price of admission and a blade only cost a few bucks to get done.

 

A few months ago I tried a very cheap (5-6 bucks) Gatco X shaped sharpener and I was shocked at how well it did work for me. I ordered a few more. 

 

I realize that you guys may have knives that are worth too much to use such a thing but they have really worked good for me and my cheap knives. I have one that is carbide and one that is ceramic and one that is both, they all seem to get the job done way better that I ever could before and they can be found most anywhere that we all shop online. I got mine from amazon.

 

But again I dont have expensive knives either. I will however try the sharpie thing just to get an idea of what I am doing, ya never know I may just learn something in the process.

[Guest ab28]

I've always used a 4" diamond rod I got off ebay for 10 bucks. I can get a pretty good edge now, took a little practice, but it is worth learning. You really don't need an expensive sharpening system to get a good edge.