Best Knife Sharpener

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I've had just about every sharpener system you can imagine. While the manual systems produce great results, they take a lot of time, relatively. About 5 years ago I picked up a Chef's choice Edgeselect 120. Now, I can get a knife hair shaving sharp in less than one minute. There is also a professional version. They work very well and best of all are extremely fast. Great if you're going to sharpen your kitchen knives, your families....well you get the idea.
 
For the most part I use good stones...and sharpen by hand. I do have an EdgePro apex sharpener though and sometimes use it. Most people spend too much time trying to put an edge on a knife because they don't understand what is (and is not) necessary to achieve the proper angles and remove the burr.

www.accuratesharp.com/edge-pro.htm
 
flintknapper said:
For the most part I use good stones...and sharpen by hand. I do have an EdgePro apex sharpener though and sometimes use it. Most people spend too much time trying to put an edge on a knife because they don't understand what is (and is not) necessary to achieve the proper angles and remove the burr.

www.accuratesharp.com/edge-pro.htm
Click to expand...

Flint,

I'd be willing to bet I am one of those people you are referring to. Any tips or recommendations on how to properly put an edge on a knife?

Thanks!

Brian
 
AZkick-n40 said:
Flint,

I'd be willing to bet I am one of those people you are referring to. Any tips or recommendations on how to properly put an edge on a knife?

Thanks!

Brian
Click to expand...


Yes Sir,

The main problem people have is holding the angle the same (when sharpening by hand). Lansky and many other sharpening systems were designed to make the stroke of the stone repeatable, that is why they are so popular. But, if you're careful..it can be done by hand also.

For pocket knives, and hunting knives an angle between 18-20 degs. is about right. Regardless of what you use to sharpen with.. (oil stone, water stone, diamond sharpener, etc), you need only sharpen the blade until it forms a "burr" on one side. Turn the blade over and sharpen until a "burr" is formed on the opposite side. Remove the "burr" by making the angle just a little steeper (2 degrees more) and very lightly applying the stone.

Note: By "burr" I mean an edge that has rolled over to one side from the sharpening process, it is hard to see with the eye...but can be readily felt with your finger. If you never remove the burr, then your blade will never really feel sharp and will dull quickly. This is where most people waste their time. Often times, you'll get it feeling kind of sharp, and then the more you work it (not necessary) the duller it gets. Well, you just moved the burr to the other side of the blade.

Bottom line: Good steel (blade must be decent), decent stones to sharpen with, consistent angle while creating the burr, and then remove the burr by raising the blade slightly to create a steeper angle and GENTLY stroking the blade (both sides) until the burr is removed. You can check it with your finger, it is not uncommon to have only part of the burr come off and you'll have to work on the areas left. If you look straight down on the blade (blade facing you) you should not see any glint of light on the edge when its sharp. If you do, you have a nick... or part of the edge is still rolled over.
 
I believe the best edges usually come from a hand sharpened blade. But if you want to make it a no brainer, really, really fast, and very good to excellent results, then a machine is a good option. At least, that's what my old research and personal results showed.
 
I've seen one called a 'warthog' demo'd at gun shows. Looks pretty good. It has spring loaded V style rods they retract with each pass. Rod angles are adjustable. Kinda spendy iirc.

http://www.warthogsharp.com/

I've heard the motorized grinder wheel style can overheat blades causing temper loss. True?
 
I'll second flintknappers suggestion for the edge-pro it uses japanese water stones, and works very well if you have difficulty setting an angle on hand stones. for my hand forged blades, I use old hard arkansas stones with a 50/50 mixture of neatsfoot oil and kerosene as my lubricant. for touch up I like the ceramic rods.
 
flintknapper said:
Yes Sir,

The main problem people have is holding the angle the same (when sharpening by hand). Lansky and many other sharpening systems were designed to make the stroke of the stone repeatable, that is why they are so popular. But, if you're careful..it can be done by hand also.

For pocket knives, and hunting knives an angle between 18-20 degs. is about right. Regardless of what you use to sharpen with.. (oil stone, water stone, diamond sharpener, etc), you need only sharpen the blade until it forms a "burr" on one side. Turn the blade over and sharpen until a "burr" is formed on the opposite side. Remove the "burr" by making the angle just a little steeper (2 degrees more) and very lightly applying the stone.

Note: By "burr" I mean an edge that has rolled over to one side from the sharpening process, it is hard to see with the eye...but can be readily felt with your finger. If you never remove the burr, then your blade will never really feel sharp and will dull quickly. This is where most people waste their time. Often times, you'll get it feeling kind of sharp, and then the more you work it (not necessary) the duller it gets. Well, you just moved the burr to the other side of the blade.

Bottom line: Good steel (blade must be decent), decent stones to sharpen with, consistent angle while creating the burr, and then remove the burr by raising the blade slightly to create a steeper angle and GENTLY stroking the blade (both sides) until the burr is removed. You can check it with your finger, it is not uncommon to have only part of the burr come off and you'll have to work on the areas left. If you look straight down on the blade (blade facing you) you should not see any glint of light on the edge when its sharp. If you do, you have a nick... or part of the edge is still rolled over.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the great description. There is definately an art to sharpening correctly.

Brian
 
NMuzj100 said:
Good review of reviews here - ConsumerSearch on knive sharpeners

they happen to like the Spyderco so I'm not sure it will help AZkick.

I like their links especially.

Good tutorial here - Kitchen knife Link
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information! I'd agree that it is user error more than the Spyderco Sharpener itself. I'll read up more on how to properly sharpen a knife and see if I can get better at it. If not then I may go to an electric one to take me out of the equation.

Brian
 
I bought one of the triple Arkansas stone setups on a base. Gets my knives dangerously sharp. I really had to get used to handling them much more carefully than before - after a few deep slices in my fingers. LOL





















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I love my Edge Pro. The Wicked Edge looks like I'd like to try it. But the Edge Pro can put a great edge on any knife.
 
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