What is the best sharpening kit/system for a layman?

[sgtdraino]

A buddy of mine is talking about getting me a Lanski kit for Christmas. I have a lot of knives, but have never really felt like I've been very good and sharpening them. What sort of kit or system do you guys think would be best for me? Price can be fairly high, probably not much higher than $100 though. And I'd prefer something non-electic, that I can take into the field.

Thoughts?

[crashdive123]

IMO a good stone or diamond board and lots of practice.

[SARKY]

Get the Lansky diamond kit and also get a hard extrafine arkansas stone to go with it.
The diamond stones make short work of the sharpening process and the hard arkansas hones the edge to smooth as glass.

[RangerXanatos]

I like to use the Spyderco Sharpmaker. It can sharpen just about anything from knives, to scissors, to straight razors.

[red lake]

Practice, practice, practice.

[Pal334]

I have used the Lanski kit for ever, travels well and is easy to use.

[crashdive123]

To amend my original post - I have a variety of knife sharpeners, including the Lansky system. They all work well, but the sharpest edges I have ever seen have been produced by a skilled individual using stones/leather. As a side note, I have found that the 6000 grit belt on my new grinder does pretty darn good. It is however a wee bit heavy for travel.

[tonester]

i like a mouse pad and some sandpaper.

[Bladen]

a little do dad that helped me when i first got started was to cut a chunk of wood to 20 degrees or 23 degrees or whatever youre after. then just lay it on the stone and after a short time youll have a good feel to what angle the knife should be at.

another little thing is to set the knife lightly on the stone and kind of tilt it back and fourth untill you feel the blade "set" at the proper angle.

like red lake said, practice lots.

i use 3 arkansas stones, course medium and fine. i dont know how well that would wrok for you in the field though.
mine are connected and you can flip them on a base. a little big for the field maybe. works for me though.

www.smithabrasives.com

mines the tri-hone. it came with a little plastic angle guide.
http://smithsedge.com/products/product.asp?id=35&cid=
30 bucks.
once ive got a good edge with them i can bring it back after its dull with just about anything. even a semi smooth rock from the ground.

hope that helps.

[NightShade]

Lansky system has always worked great for me! Makes it incredibly easy to put a uniform , sharp edge on

[Pict]

I have a Lansky but rarely use it. I prefer a flat stone free hand especially for Moras and other scandi grind knives. IMO all of the gimmicks and contraptions are simply trying to eliminate the skill factor of hand sharpening. It isn't that difficult to Learn.

Learn to convex using a mousepad and sandpaper. There is very little investment and it travels well.

I do all of my sharpening with a Smith's Tri-Hone as mentioned above, an EZ-Lap fine diamond stone, and a wooden block covered with leather as a strop. I use a white buffing compound on it that may be a tad too aggressive but it works for me.

Mac

[your_comforting_company]

I use the smith's stone kit. comes with a medium and fine arkansas stone, blade angle guide (which I no longer have) and oil. The angle on the guide I believe was 22½º, but anywhere between 20 and 25º. then lots of practice. Don't remember where I got it, but I've had it a long long time and I remember it was inexpensive, maybe 15 bucks.
I mention something about technique here: 5 strokes one way, 5 strokes the other, working your way down to 1 and 1 at the end. This helps eliminate the micro burr that will form. you should be able to place your fingernail at a right angle to the blade, and slide it off toward the edge without a burr catching. I've seen lots of folks spend a lot of time sharpening, only to leave a burr on one side, that doesn't cut real well. I can make a dull blade shave hair in about 15 minutes with regular stones.
For my reworked blades (old hickory I found in an old toolbox for example, that was broken and abused) I have different grits of sandstone for shaping them up. I don't like for it to be razor sharp tho, cause I use it for face fleshing and other detail hand work where it nicks my fingers often.

I had one of those diamond grid things that just didn't give me the results I get with stone. I passed it on to someone else. In a pinch, I've used a small wood block and a piece of 300 grit paper.

[sgtdraino]

This is some excellent advice guys, thanks. Keep it coming!


a little do dad that helped me when i first got started was to cut a chunk of wood to 20 degrees or 23 degrees or whatever youre after. then just lay it on the stone and after a short time youll have a good feel to what angle the knife should be at.

Wow. This never occured to me. What an excellent idea!


I mention something about technique here: 5 strokes one way, 5 strokes the other, working your way down to 1 and 1 at the end. This helps eliminate the micro burr that will form. you should be able to place your fingernail at a right angle to the blade, and slide it off toward the edge without a burr catching. I've seen lots of folks spend a lot of time sharpening, only to leave a burr on one side, that doesn't cut real well. I can make a dull blade shave hair in about 15 minutes with regular stones.

Loving this detailed description of technique. I'd like to hear more of this, too. How specifically do you guys sharpen your knives? How long does it take you? What angles do you like, and why?

What grits of sandpaper are and are not recommended?

I seem to recall reading that most modern blade materials are now too hard to sharpen effectively with a stone. Is this not true? Or is it that you guys tend to favor "old school" blades of a softer metal?

[your_comforting_company]

I favor the old black blades. Most stones just aren't tough enough to stand up to stainless or manganese wear. I've not had any problem with lower grade stainless, like the Old Timer I'm using in the skinning thread, when using stones. I have come across a few river stones that were flat enough to sharpen a blade, but rarely. mostly I think the harder steels of today are too hard on natural stone, and tend to wear them out more quickly. softer steels sharpen more quickly but will dull against harder materials more quickly too. when my knives get dull, I can hit them a few times across a medium and a few against a fine grit stone and in seconds be razor sharp again (but I have to do this more often). harder knives require either a more durable surface (diamond or ceramic) or a lot more time to hone back. my skinner takes a few minutes to get sharp but will stay sharp all the way through quartering. Harder steel holds an edge longer. I touch it up a few licks after every use and you can shave with it right now. I like Old Timer and Kabar blades for pocket knives and used them as skinners till I got hold of this one.

I liked learning to work with stones because once you understand the blade angle and surface of the stone, you can use lots of things you can find, like sandstone and cobbles and that stuff they called "flagstones" at the rock shop. I have a nice river stone I use on occasion.

I can't really tell you specifics, I just kinda go with the feel. I guess around 22º for an angle. if I need it really sharp I go a little less, like maybe 20. I read somewhere that if you could see the edge from the end like this "V" then the angle should be 45º or less, 45 being not quite a razor but a durable edge, and around 38 getting into "it'll cut you if you look at it wrong" (your sharpening angle is half of this angle). I try to stay around 42-45º, nice and sharp and doesn't dull too much if you hit a bone. You can use the technique mentioned by Bladen and "lock" the edge to the stone (really good tip btw!). this kinda "locks" you to the same factory edge tho. sometimes I want it a little sharper so I'll work it down. It really is a "feel" you get after a few times and as you get more practice in, you'll know what you want in a cutting edge for a specific knife.

Depending on just how tore up it is, It can take anywhere from an hour or more to about a minute. My Gerber takes about 2 - 3 minutes and is a higher quality SS blade. My Old timer takes about 30 seconds. The Old Timer skinner I use takes no more than 1½-2 minutes but I'm particular about how I use it.. processing game ONLY. no wood carving, bone working, etc. I have other blades for whittling, and some for just whatever.

There's a LOT more experienced folks on here than myself. Especially regarding sandpaper and other kits. I've been using stone ever since I was old enough to carry a knife and maybe I'm biased, but I just prefer the way it feels to diamond blocks and ceramic rods. I know Crash can offer more on grinds, angles, files, and papers, etc. than I can. He's got some real cool knife making threads.

anyhow, I hope I answered your questions without boring you to death.

[Bladen]

it takes me maybe an hour to get an edge on a blade
but less than a minute to bring it back after its dull.

its just that first time that takes a bit to get.
it does depend on the knife though.

as far as technique goes: i just kinda lightly hit the stone as if im trying to peel off a thin slice. then equal strokes per side. ive always just done one stroke one way then one stroke the other way. its a bit slower but i really enjoy sitting down with a knife and getting busy.

another thing to note is to try to go pretty light. you dont want to remove alot of metal.
a real light pressure will work great.

ive never used anything but a stone so i have no clue how well it compares to anything else.

take care

[sgtdraino]

How do you guys sharpen the curved forward part of the blade? I never feel like I get a good uniform edge on the curved part.

[Bladen]

i just sharpen it the same way as the rest of the blade.
i hit the whole side of the blade in one stroke.

it helps to do it at an angle to the stone.
on a bigger blade you may need to curve your stroke just a bit.

curve your stroke. yep, set myself up on that one.

[trax]

Practice, practice, practice.

Funny how that one word always seems so fitting.

[mcgyver]

Ya know, I've tried all kinds of gimics, Lansky included.
Somehow I keep falling back on my Norton India Combination bench stone, followed by ceramic "crock sticks". Even with my broadheads, it seems to be what just plain works for me. But, it may work for me because that is what I've practiced on the most.
I did try the mouse pad and sandpaper thing, I'm pretty impressed with that method too.

[old soldier]

JMO but right here, sharpens hatchets, stainless and carbon steel knives, serated and smooth blades, i have enough different stones here to reface my fireplace with them, but these are the best and fastest thing i have seen.most of the time, i don't even use the steel to knock off the burrs.

http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv89/cornhusker09/updated11-10-09274.jpg

[Winnie]

This is where I DO need some help, don't ask me how I can do it, but I take an edge off a knife when I try to sharpen it. I'm OK putting an edge on garden tools but my kitchen knives are pitifully dull. Anyone got any photos, video that can help??

[hoosierarcher]

KME Sharping system is my favorite. Watch the videos about them here.
http://www.kmesharp.com/kme_video.html

[Winnie]

Thanks HA I can't access the vid.
Just Googled it and it's not for sale over here! hey ho.

[hoosierarcher]

Thanks HA I can't access the vid.
Just Googled it and it's not for sale over here! hey ho.

I don't know why the vids won't work for you; but I think a youtube search of KME Sharpening will show the vid. The owner is a friend of mine. I'm pretty sure I could get him to ship you a kit.

[your_comforting_company]

Winnie, there is a fundraising knife catalog over here we use to raise money for the boy scouts. It's called RADA Cutlery and they have a sharpening doohickey that even my wife can use.
http://www.radamfg.com/Product.asp?SRCH_CATEGORY=Cat06&SRCH_ID=R119

although I still prefer my rocks ;)

[Winnie]

Oooo that looks Winnie-proof YCC. I've collected several doodahs over the years, but none have held up to their promise and I still end up taking my knives to the butchers once a week for him to sharpen them:blushing: How much does it cost? I couldn't find a price. My "to buy" list is getting huge!

[rwc1969]

My favorite sharpener was simialr to this one. http://www.lanskysharpeners.com/LCS5D.php except it had 10 to 12" porcelain rods. I don't remember the mfg. name. It put a perfect de-burred edge on all my knives in short order. The only down side was after years of use the rods got sloppy in the holes and it threw off the angle.

I suppose a sharpener like this wouldn't work for a scandi edge or similar. You only get one angle of attack with these.

[preachtheWORD]

I'll be getting my dad some kind of sharpening stone for Christmas this year. He is VERY experienced at sharpening, but needs a new stone. What would any of you "experts" suggest as the best stone for someone who has sharpening down to an art?

PS - He has always favored a stone that can be used freehand, i.e., without guides, etc.

[crashdive123]

Why not ask the "expert"? Just tell him you've been thinking of getting some sharpening stones and ask what he'd recommend.

[lucznik]

How specifically do you guys sharpen your knives? How long does it take you? What angles do you like, and why?

I know very few people who have the ability to truly sharpen a knife. I know even fewer who are willing to learn. If you are one of those who is willing to learn, then plan on following the advise already given of, "practice, practice, practice."

I tend to prefer the medium grit diamond sharpening stone from EZE-LAP.

For me, the length of time to accomplish the initial sharpening is going to be dependent on the type of blade being worked on. New blades from stores usually have a poor edge with a bad angle that must be reshaped. This usually means at least 30 - 60 minutes of work for me. A blade that I am sharpening for one of my friends or family and that has been abused for awhile might take more time.

After putting the initial work into the blade, I can resharpen/touch up the blade in a matter of mere moments.

I don't actually know what angle I sharpen at. My hands just know what feels right to me. I do know that I prefer a somewhat narrower angle with resultant finer edge than do many.

However, even if you don't have the ability, the time, or the interest to learn and practice "proper" sharpening techniques, then you still can have a wicked sharp blade. You just have to cheat a little. Here is a link to one of the best sharpeners around. I have found this to be a great little tool to have in my pack, especially when hunting with others who invariably seem to have knives so dull you could ride them bare-a$$ed to Boston.

http://www.alaskabowhunting.com/Broadhead-Pro-Double-Bevel-P88C17.aspx

[lucznik]

I'll be getting my dad some kind of sharpening stone for Christmas this year. He is VERY experienced at sharpening, but needs a new stone. What would any of you "experts" suggest as the best stone for someone who has sharpening down to an art?

PS - He has always favored a stone that can be used freehand, i.e., without guides, etc.

I agree with Crash here. If your dad is really "VERY experience at sharpening" he will undoubtedly have some very strongly held preferences and biases about what makes for the best tool.

[oldsoldier]

What sort of kit or system do you guys think would be best for me? Thoughts?

Get yourself a Hoosierarcher, Non electric,works on any blade, no hard work on your part, fairly easy to use, one of the best sharpeners I've ever seen:innocent:

[cranky1]

i use a lansky to get the angle right and then i use the 'crok' sticks for ever more. works great for me. for most new knives i just use the 'crock' sticks. mine are made by gatco. once they are sharp it just takes a few strokes to maintain the edge. good luck

[sgtdraino]

My buddy got me the deluxe diamond Lansky kit. Pretty cool so far, I just tried it out for the first time. Fairly intuitive, although the knife edge does not look as smooth as what I'd get from a professional with a machine. Is that normal?

[Ole WV Coot]

I get mine the way I like and have done it for 55 plus yrs and it boils down to practice and plenty of it. A medium and a hard Arkansas stone is all you need. The real trick is don't let the blade get very dull. When skinning or using a blade keep touching it up. That way you won't have to do anything radical to get the blade back to shaving sharp.

[pocomoonskyeyes]

IMO a good stone or diamond board and lots of practice.


Practice, practice, practice.


i like a mouse pad and some sandpaper.


I have a Lansky but rarely use it. I prefer a flat stone free hand especially for Moras and other scandi grind knives. IMO all of the gimmicks and contraptions are simply trying to eliminate the skill factor of hand sharpening. It isn't that difficult to Learn.

Learn to convex using a mousepad and sandpaper. There is very little investment and it travels well.

I do all of my sharpening with a Smith's Tri-Hone as mentioned above, an EZ-Lap fine diamond stone, and a wooden block covered with leather as a strop. I use a white buffing compound on it that may be a tad too aggressive but it works for me.

Mac


I use the smith's stone kit. comes with a medium and fine arkansas stone, blade angle guide (which I no longer have) and oil. The angle on the guide I believe was 22½º, but anywhere between 20 and 25º. then lots of practice. Don't remember where I got it, but I've had it a long long time and I remember it was inexpensive, maybe 15 bucks.
I mention something about technique here: 5 strokes one way, 5 strokes the other, working your way down to 1 and 1 at the end. This helps eliminate the micro burr that will form. you should be able to place your fingernail at a right angle to the blade, and slide it off toward the edge without a burr catching. I've seen lots of folks spend a lot of time sharpening, only to leave a burr on one side, that doesn't cut real well. I can make a dull blade shave hair in about 15 minutes with regular stones.
For my reworked blades (old hickory I found in an old toolbox for example, that was broken and abused) I have different grits of sandstone for shaping them up. I don't like for it to be razor sharp tho, cause I use it for face fleshing and other detail hand work where it nicks my fingers often.

I had one of those diamond grid things that just didn't give me the results I get with stone. I passed it on to someone else. In a pinch, I've used a small wood block and a piece of 300 grit paper.
All these guys and myself seem to prefer freehand. With so many different "Grinds" today You will always convert those grinds to a beveled edge,Always! I have bought the gimmicks kits and have tried numerous stones Some work better than others. They all work though. Learning the freehand method and PRACTICING it is by far the preferred method.Especially if you get a custom made knife that has one of the Various Grinds. You will end up converting that Grind to a beveled edge,which in the long run,ends up defeating the purpose of that particular Grind. Start out easy and slow, Concentrate on doing the best you can on duplicating the angles of the knife's Grind you are sharpening. All you are trying to do really is "Bring back to life" the original grind.

How do you guys sharpen the curved forward part of the blade? I never feel like I get a good uniform edge on the curved part.

Keep the angle of the blade the same as with the rest of the blade and "Sweep" the edge on around following the curve of the blade. It really is simple once you get the hang of it. Sharpening is really a lot like slicing. All you are really doing is Slicing when you are sharpening a blade,you just don't "see" the results of the slice. Key is keeping the same number of strokes and same angle on both sides of the blade. If you can do basic carpentry you can sharpen a knife. It is all about matching angles and "balance" of construction/sharpening. Some knife steels seem harder to sharpen than others but that just isn't true. The harder steels just take more work as they are just that - harder, so less metal is removed at each stroke.

[pocomoonskyeyes]

Just to show the different Types of Grinds so that everyone can more clearly understand what I was referring to;

http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/tt61/pocomoonskyeyes/knives/160px-Ground_blade_shapes.png

1)Hollow Grind (what most "store bought" manufactured blades have)
2)Flat Grind
3)Sabre Grind
4)Chisel Grind
5)Double bevel
6)Convex Grind

[Swamprat1958]

My buddy got me the deluxe diamond Lansky kit. Pretty cool so far, I just tried it out for the first time. Fairly intuitive, although the knife edge does not look as smooth as what I'd get from a professional with a machine. Is that normal?

If it is not as smooth as you think it should be it means you are not through sharpening yet. Be sure to start with a coarse or diamond stone and get the bevel cut like you want it, then work through the other stones until you get it finished with the finest or hardest stone. The first time on a Lanski may take an hour or longer to get the edge you want, but subsequent sharpenings are relatively quick.

[warrigal]

Best looking bloke on the 'net.LOL
*******************
Carl

[crashdive123]

Carl - it's ok to post a link to your youtube video as long as it doesn't advertise your site or try to sell something, but you cannot post a link your your site in the body of your post. You can however include a link as part of your signature. Thanks for understanding.

[Alaskan Survivalist]

I never paid much attention to brand names and I use just stones. Other things just don't last as long. I use oil so stone does not load up and I gat longer life from it. The ones I use are coarse on one side and fine on the other. I use one stroke one direction and one stroke the other. Always whatever your sharpen push blade into stone, this is what prevents a burr building up that is weak and will break off. To get knife sharper I lighten up strokes. If knife is real dull I use more pressure in the begining. It does not take much practice, just proper technique. Its been so long since I first learned to sharpen a knife I don't remember how I learned but I have a tendency to read the instructions when I buy things. I bet you will find this same information on the side of the box your stone comes in.

[Sticky]

Guided clamp systems, like Lansky or DMT, work fine; but eventually you might want to do it freehand. Freehand methods are a lot easier to pack along for camping and such.

For decades I just used a 600 and/or 1200 DMT 4 inch pocket diamond hone and a short piece of ceramic for my knives.

Lately I've been testing a Fallkniven DC4 combination diamond/ceramic hone. I will likely just use it from now on, if it's diamond side holds up as well as the DMTs have.

[Sarge47]

Guided clamp systems, like Lansky or DMT, work fine; but eventually you might want to do it freehand. Freehand methods are a lot easier to pack along for camping and such.

For decades I just used a 600 and/or 1200 DMT 4 inch pocket diamond hone and a short piece of ceramic for my knives.

Lately I've been testing a Fallkniven DC4 combination diamond/ceramic hone. I will likely just use it from now on, if it's diamond side holds up as well as the DMTs have.

Welcome, how about hiking over to the intro section & telling us a bit about yourself?

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=14

Thanks! :cool2:

[Solvey]

I have the Spyderco Sharpmaker 204MF. This item runs very very well. I am able to sharpen all knives i need. And i am not really good workman. I bought me also the Diamond Stones to sharpen all knives, also RC of 60 and above.

[Rick]

I'm not certain if the link was to a site you have an interest in or not so I removed it. My apologies if you have no connection to the site. However, since both you and the site are from Germany and since you buried it in the name of the sharpener it seems a good bet that you do. Posting a link to your site within the body of a post is not allowed. You can add it to your signature if you want.

[Solvey]

I am not related to the seller, i am only a good customer. (http://bekleidungskammer.de/spyderco-204-triangle-sharpmaker-triangle-204mf-p-26154.html)

sorry lot

[Jergg]

I sharpen by hand on oil (or water) stones, and finish off with a hard Arkansas stone. In my opinion no blade cuts like an oil-sharpened blade. I also use a Schrade hone steel to touch up the edge in the field. Its a skill I learned when I started out in outdoor stuff at about 13 or so. At first I had a lot of difficulty gettting ANY kind of edge, but practice, practice, practice and the advice and help of old timers helped me perfect the drill.

It takes me several hours to condition (basically re-shape) the edge of a new knife, but once that is done I maintain a sharp edge at all times. This takes about 4-5 minutes per knife, unless there is a problem like a nick or excessive dullness.

One of my rules is: "Touch up your knife every day, whether it needs it or not."

[cowboy's daughter]

[Cool kit]