Sharpening stones/tools recommendations

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  • lkenefic

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    3,778
    I've used a wet stone for what seems like forever, but I'm looking at a myriad of tools and new products for doing this task. Are any of these better than using a stone? Thanks!
     

    cb51

    Active Member
    No, not really.

    If you've been getting a good sharp edge on a stone and been happy, then it's okay. I've used plain old stones since I was a kid, and they do work if your careful. Home Depot or Lowes has the plain Norton gray stone that has worked forever.

    Basicly, all those neat gizmos and gadgets are mostly for getting your money out of your wallet and into the wallets of the gizmo and gadget makers. It's a fancy mousetrap. With being able to freehand sharpen, you can take a small pocket stone and resharpen anywhere at any time. I kep a little Eze-Lap model L in my wallet with most of the plastic handle cut off, and it's resharpened a knife in some pretty far out places.

    Norton silica stones, diamond stones and hones are good. Don't over complicate it.
     

    campns

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 6, 2013
    1,191
    Germantown, MD
    I will say that for someone that does virtually the same as CB51, I do enjoy using a Ken Onion Worksharp with little effort you can sharpen everything you have in short order and have your kitchen knives damn near stupid sharp quickly.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,810
    I like Lansky type systems, especially for reestablishing blade bevels. Once I get my edge fine, I rely on crock sticks for touchups and maintenance.

    I use the Worksharp on my German kitchen knives because the steel is much harder.
     

    DanGuy48

    Ultimate Member
    I use Spyerco Sharpmaker and an older set of crock sticks. I find it easier to hold the correct blade angle using them. The edges I get are good enough to cleanly shave slivers of paper off a suspended sheet's edge. One of the keys to getting a good edge is, when you feel it starting to sharpen, start using a much lighter pressure. It does slow things down a lot at that point but too much pressure on a fine edge doesn't seem to produce very sharp results.
     
    Last edited:

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    Picked this up at a flea market for $60. Looks like it's been barely used. It's for sharpening wood lathe chisels but I just used it to restore the shape on some old kitchen knives and it worked pretty well. When I get around to it I build a dedicated blade guide to keep the edge at 20°.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    ohen cepel

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 2, 2011
    4,509
    Where they send me.
    I usually use a ceramic rod, paper wheels, and/or a strop. Somethings a nice stone also.

    If you do a lot of sharpening and have a grinder the paper wheels are great to have!
     

    cantstop

    Pentultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 10, 2012
    8,158
    MD
    I have the work sharp standard model. I use to destroy knives trying to sharpen them with stones. I could never keep the angle straight, even with little plastic guides. The Work Sharp is easy, but I took the point off a (thankfully practice) pen knife when I first tried using it. The manual for the standard model is good, but the manual for the Ken Onion model is better (and can be downloaded for free). I sharpen my kitchen knives, scissors, pruning sheers and even my Ken Onion serrated Vapor II with it.

    This guy has a bunch of videos that are really great if you own a Work Sharp.

     

    woodline

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 8, 2017
    1,947
    I use the Spyderco Sharpmaker system and a strop. The work sharp tool seems pretty awesome though.
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,876
    #1- If you are experienced with a whet stone, these newfangled things don't do anything * better * .

    #2- Whet stones are as much art as science, and lots of people lack the Mojo.

    #3- Even if you are competent with whet stones, for dealing with either virgin or abused blade, it wil save time to use a gadget to establish basic edge geometry, and then do the final 20% or so Freehand with whet stone.
     

    lkenefic

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    3,778
    #1- If you are experienced with a whet stone, these newfangled things don't do anything * better * .

    #2- Whet stones are as much art as science, and lots of people lack the Mojo.

    #3- Even if you are competent with whet stones, for dealing with either virgin or abused blade, it wil save time to use a gadget to establish basic edge geometry, and then do the final 20% or so Freehand with whet stone.

    ^^^ THIS! ^^^ I'm fairly experienced with a whetstone, I guess I'm just looking for something a little faster now that I've accumulated a few more knives than I've had in the past, and some of those knives were put away because I simply lacked the time to devote to putting a really nice edge back on them.
     

    cap6888

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 2, 2011
    2,556
    Howard County
    Recommendations for a serrated knife? I have an old (almost 30 years) Spyderco rescue knife. I've never really sharpened it and it has always accomplished every task. On a call last night I had to cut several inspection holes in drywall. By the third hole, I was basically pulling the knife through just to break the drywall. Any suggestions on how to give it a new life?
     

    Speed3

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    7,816
    MD
    Recommendations for a serrated knife? I have an old (almost 30 years) Spyderco rescue knife. I've never really sharpened it and it has always accomplished every task. On a call last night I had to cut several inspection holes in drywall. By the third hole, I was basically pulling the knife through just to break the drywall. Any suggestions on how to give it a new life?

    I believe the worksharp can do serrated blades. More than likely the edge of the serrations has rolled over and become dull. If you sharpen on the backside of the serrations it should bring them back to life.
     

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