Sharpening Stones/ products

[JFish]

I did a search but did not find much info on this. What is everyone’s preferred method for sharpening items at home? I previously bought some cheap wet stones from amazon, and they worked well but I didn’t like soaking them and how long it took to dry out. In fact I put them away wet and came back to moldy stones. (My fault) What kinds of sharpening stones or sharpening products do you prefer for sharpening kitchen knives, field knives, broadhead etc.

 

[ignorethefringes]

I was gifted a work sharp knife and tool sharpener for this last Christmas and I really like it. I'm sure a talented knife guy could get them sharper, but it is perfect for a goober like me lol.

 

[6mm Remington]

KME makes a product that appears as if it does a great job. I probably would have purchased one of these, but I bought a couple Lansky natural stone Sharpening kits and love it. I can get any kitchen, hunting, or pocket knife razor sharp. I wish I would have purchased either the Lanksy or the KME years ago. Maybe one of these days I'll upgrade to the KME, but I like how well the Lansky works, it's hard to justify upgrading.

 

[rwc101]

Work Sharp for quickly sharpening knives that I use a lot and get beat up. Wetstone for the Japanese kitchen knife I was gifted. I have a Lanksy as well but haven't used it as much since I got the Work Sharp.

 

[Dsnow9]

Got the work sharp ken onion electric on pro from and love it. Do everything from hunting knives, to kitchen knives and scissors.

 

[Fire_9]

I’ve used a set of wheels for my bench grinder for the last ten years or so but they remove too much material and I finally started to notice the excess wear on one of my kitchen knives. I also think knowing how to sharpen a knife by hand is a good skill to have and is something I want to be able to teach my son. I just ordered a set of Shapton stones and I think they’ll work out nicely. I went with their 320, 1000, and 5000 ceramic whetstones.

 

[Stay Sharp]

I am a custom knife maker and I also offer custom knife sharpening. I also do custom sharpening for broadheads (yes people actually outsource their broadhead sharpening because they either suck at it or dont have the time for it)

Sharp cutting edges became a business of mine back in 2015 and its focused mainly on broadheads. (hence my screen name)

In my opinion, time is money so I personally only use diamonds and ceramic media and finish with buffing compound and stropping to get edges surgical sharp.

If I could impart any wisdom after decades of sharpening things and owning about every sharpening product on the market. Dont waste your time with the "V" drag through products unless you are a fan of destroying cutting edges.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

If you really want to get into the nuts and bolts of how to get a knife sharp, I'd get a DMT aligner, add the black DMT stone, and get a lighted hand held microscope. You will use the microscope to actually see what you are doing and how much work it takes when you have to fix a chipped edge or change the profile of the edge. You can see as the grit is changed how your edge is going.

I generally freehand with those DMT stones if a blade doesn't require much work as far as the profiling or chips is concerned.

I also finish on a leather strop mounted to a wooden board. I have the green grit on it, but have not reapplied in years. It's less useful to use the grit unless you are going way past 1000 grit stones. What a strop is really good for is straightening the waves in the blade due to using the stones and for breaking off a wire edge. Breaking off the wire edge is really important otherwise it will seem sharp and then roll over on you making you think it's dull. Stropping it off produces a really sharp edge. If you want a knife to shave hairs, finish with a stropping.

I recently got a work sharp that I'll use for the kitchen knives and other tools.

 

[6mm Remington]

One thing I forgot to add to the Lansky plug is to get the C-clamp they sell separately. It doesn't cost a lot and makes the job a lot easier and quicker. It's Nice to clamp it to a bench, counter, table, or just about anything. The Lansky certainly is slower than say the Work Sharp or one of those systems, but once I have put an edge on a blade unless it's really abused, the next time sharpening it only takes 10 minutes or so to have it back to shaving sharp. It usually takes me about 30 minutes something like a Buck 110 (for size comparison) that I have never sharpened to get the edge just perfect. Some that have really been abused or sharpened on a wheel of some type may take longer.

My buddy has the Work Sharp and the Lansky. His words: "The edge is better and the blade sharper when you sharpen my knives with the Lansky. My knives also seem to hold a sharp edge longer than one sharpened on the Work Sharp." Nothing wrong with the Work Sharp or similar systems, but I've noticed the some folks will roll the tips of the knife and the angle gets changed and sometimes too much material is removed from the bade..

I have never been able to get a blade sharp by using stones. I could sure make one dull though! Now everything in my house is scary sharp thanks to the Lansky.

 

[Sask hunter]

Work sharp. You can get it sharper with stones and strops and what not but a work sharp gets its pretty sharp in thirty seconds

 

[JFish]

Thanks for the replies

 

[Brandon270]

One thing I forgot to add to the Lansky plug is to get the C-clamp they sell separately. It doesn't cost a lot and makes the job a lot easier and quicker. It's Nice to clamp it to a bench, counter, table, or just about anything. The Lansky certainly is slower than say the Work Sharp or one of those systems, but once I have put an edge on a blade unless it's really abused, the next time sharpening it only takes 10 minutes or so to have it back to shaving sharp. It usually takes me about 30 minutes something like a Buck 110 (for size comparison) that I have never sharpened to get the edge just perfect. Some that have really been abused or sharpened on a wheel of some type may take longer.

My buddy has the Work Sharp and the Lansky. His words: "The edge is better and the blade sharper when you sharpen my knives with the Lansky. My knives also seem to hold a sharp edge longer than one sharpened on the Work Sharp." Nothing wrong with the Work Sharp or similar systems, but I've noticed the some folks will roll the tips of the knife and the angle gets changed and sometimes too much material is removed from the bade..

I have never been able to get a blade sharp by using stones. I could sure make one dull though! Now everything in my house is scary sharp thanks to the Lansky.

I use a Lansky as well, it's definitely a process but they work. What angle do you use on most of your knives?

 

[sbhooper]

I strictly use diamond stones on my good knives. Power sharpeners remove too much metal, but can be good for restoring the angle on a damaged blade. For cheap kitchen knives, I use the Bavarian edge.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

The DMT aligner is like the Lansky set up. I like the DMT diamond stones than what comes with the Lansky. The Lansky uses metal for the blade clamp which is stronger than the plastic the DMT uses. The plastic is less likely to scratch a blade, but if you get some grit in there, it will scratch.....

Probably the best set up is the Lansky holder, the DMT arms and stones, and put a little tape on the holder to keep from scratching the blade.

 

[Gut Shot]

I use a combination, 6" india stone for most of my sharpening here at work. I also use a 6" ceramic stone to polish the edge and sometimes strop on a wooden wheel. I also have an 8" wet drum sander that I use a worn 600 grit belt on.

For your moldy wet stones. Don't use water on them, use mineral oil.

 

[Idaho25-06]

I have had great luck using Eze Lap Diamond Sharpeners.

 

[6mm Remington]

I use a Lansky as well, it's definitely a process but they work. What angle do you use on most of your knives?

All of my kitchen knives use 20 degree angles except for one knife that's a fillet knife. I use the 17 1/2 degree angle on that blade.

For my pocket knives and hunting knives I use either 20 or 25 degrees. The literature says that the 25 degree blade will be a bit less likely to chip or be damaged as easily as the 20 degree angle, so they recommend the 25 degree for outdoor/hunting knives. I don't know it that's a really big deal as long as you really aren't abusing your knives when you are dressing and breaking down game. At least I haven't found where it's an issue.

So you ask what angle should I use? "I typically use what the knife came with." Well how do you know if you should go with the 20 or 25 degree angle on a new knife you might be sharpening, and how do you know which angle to use on a knife you previously sharpened? I sharpen knives for friends and family and I also do it to make a few extra dollars just for fun, so there's lots of different blade angles I might encounter. How do you keep those straight? I do this every time I sharpen one of my own knives or one I'm doing for someone else. It's simple, fast, and easy. There's no need to remember what angle was used as this is a really quick way to know which angle you should use on the particular knife you are sharpening.

1. Take a black felt tip marker and just mark the fine cutting edge on each side of the knife blade. Just do a spot about about 1.5 inches long in the center area of the blade.
2. Set up the knife blade in the blade holder. While you are doing this the permanent ink will dry.
3. Starting with the finer blade angle of 20 degrees lightly hone the blade w/o using any honing oil. (You are only testing what angle the blade is so no need to use honing oil at this point. ) You will quickly be able to see if the ink is being removed on the whole edge surface or most of it. If most or all of the ink is being removed, stay with the 20 degree angle. You can confirm that by doing the other side of the blade edge which you previously blackened. If only the top portion of the black ink is being removed then you know that the angle is probably 25 degrees. Try using the stone in the 25 degree angle slot. That will confirm which angle to sharpen the blade with. Hope that makes sense.

I've sharpened quite a few knives as I noted that I do it to make a few dollars. It's amazing the different angles that I have encountered. Many brand new knives I have sharpened have not had the same angle on each side of the blade. On a Benchmade, Buck, or other good knife maker that won't be an issue, but on some of the less expensive knives they can be really off. I've had one side of the blade edge be 20 degrees and the other side 25 degrees. On these types of discrepancies it might take quite a bit of honing to make both sides the same angle and get the edge perfect. Some of the knives that have been sharpened by hand using stones can also vary a lot as well. Hand sharpening can get a knife very sharp just as this system can but I find that it's hard for quite a few folks who do it that way to keep the same angle on each side of the knife. It will just take a bit longer to make those edges perfect on knives like that.

 

[6mm Remington]

I use a Lansky as well, it's definitely a process but they work. What angle do you use on most of your knives?

If you do not have the C-clamp yet it's a must buy! It makes it a lot faster and simpler. Also less likely to cut yourself!

https://lansky.com/products/super-c-clamp/

 

[Steiny]

I use a diamond stone, then coarse, followed by smooth steels. Learn to use sharpening steels and keep your knives touched up as you work and they rarely get too dull.
For stuff like kitchen knives in the house that don't get much attention, I will run them all thru the worksharp electric tool a couple times per year, and finish them with steels.

 

[Brandon270]

All of my kitchen knives use 20 degree angles except for one knife that's a fillet knife. I use the 17 1/2 degree angle on that blade.

For my pocket knives and hunting knives I use either 20 or 25 degrees. The literature says that the 25 degree blade will be a bit less likely to chip or be damaged as easily as the 20 degree angle, so they recommend the 25 degree for outdoor/hunting knives. I don't know it that's a really big deal as long as you really aren't abusing your knives when you are dressing and breaking down game. At least I haven't found where it's an issue.

So you ask what angle should I use? "I typically use what the knife came with." Well how do you know if you should go with the 20 or 25 degree angle on a new knife you might be sharpening, and how do you know which angle to use on a knife you previously sharpened? I sharpen knives for friends and family and I also do it to make a few extra dollars just for fun, so there's lots of different blade angles I might encounter. How do you keep those straight? I do this every time I sharpen one of my own knives or one I'm doing for someone else. It's simple, fast, and easy. There's no need to remember what angle was used as this is a really quick way to know which angle you should use on the particular knife you are sharpening.

1. Take a black felt tip marker and just mark the fine cutting edge on each side of the knife blade. Just do a spot about about 1.5 inches long in the center area of the blade.
2. Set up the knife blade in the blade holder. While you are doing this the permanent ink will dry.
3. Starting with the finer blade angle of 20 degrees lightly hone the blade w/o using any honing oil. You will quickly be able to see if the ink is being removed on the whole edge surface or most of it. If most or all of the ink is being removed, stay with the 20 degree angle. If only the top portion of the black ink is being removed then you know that the angle is probably 25 degrees. Try using the stone in the 25 degree angle slot. That will confirm which angle to sharpen the blade with. Hope that makes sense.

I've sharpened quite a few knives as I noted that I do it to make a few dollars. It's amazing the different angles that I have encountered. Many brand new knives I have sharpened have not had the same angle one each side of the blade. A Benchmade, Buck, or other good knife maker that won't be an issue, but on some lf the less expensive knives they can be really off. I've had one side of the blade edge be 20 degrees and the other side 25 degrees. On these types of discrepancies it might take quite a bit of honing to make both side the same angle and get the edge perfect. Some of the knives that have been sharpened by hand using stones can also vary a lot as well. It will just take a bit longer to make those edges perfect.

Thanks for the tip. The reason I ask, Buck advertises all of their knives including hunting knives are set at 13-16 degrees. I read the recommendation for hunting knife angles from Lansky like you explained. So it's been a bit confusing what to actually sharpen to. I'll try the sharpie trick with one of my new buck knives and see where it's at.