best knife sharpener

R

rootsmart

Joined
Sep 9, 2007
Messages
24
Hello. So I am a newbie knife person, and I just got a new kershaw cyclone. I am now looking for a knife sharpening system. It needs to be relatively cheap, under maybe 50 bucks, and easy to use. Also I really want one that has guides for the angle, because I don't want to freehand it. Last,I heard that kershaw sells the cyclones with a blade on the wide side (20 degrees) and that it can be a lot sharper if it is reprofiled to something like 15 degrees. How hard would it be for me to do this? Thanks!
 
Hey rootsmart,
I have a Lansky sharpener which works great and gets my knives razor sharp.
I'm not good at free-hand sharpening either...

Has a clamp and angle guide system, 3 stones from coarse to fine, oil and a container to hold everything when it's broken down.

I think I paid around the $50 range, I bought it a while ago and can't remember.

Hope this helps!
 
The Sharpmaker is great for keeping knives sharp, not as much for bringing back a really dull edge. Since you are starting off with an already sharp new knife, Sharpmaker is an obvious choice. It's easy to use, fun for those who enjoy sharpening (and I do :)), reasonably priced around your range, and the instructional DVD packaged with it adds extra value as a darn good introduction to the art and science of proper sharpening.

Also in your price range, Lansky is good, offers some advantages in setting bevels, and does the job. I was perfectly happy with it until discovering the Sharpmaker, which better suited my lazy nature.

Many of life's decisions have more to do with personality than calculation. :o
 
Welcome to Bladeforums!

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apex edge pro is the best i have ever used. short of a grinding wheel, you wont get your knives sharper with anything else.

the sharpmaker is good, and pretty simple to use. but i have always had to strop afterwards to get "shaving sharp".

an edge pro will run about 200.00, but well worth it.
 
I've tried almost all of them, and for under $50 I don't believe you can beat a Sharpmaker. I still use mine on occassion for touch ups. :)

I mostly use a harbor freight belt sander, myself. It's only $40, but you need about $60-$80 worth of belts to take full advantage of it.

But if you do much sharpening, and/or like to reprofile to convex, it's very well worh it. :thumbup::):thumbup:
 
Ya I don't mind spending time sharpening thr blade, so the lansky is looking nice. But how would I reprofile my blade with such a kit?
 
I have the choice of the sharpmaker or the Lansky system, the Lansky is actually cheaper in the UK.

Which should I buy in this case, I want to sharpen my primary Spyderco UKPK and some kitchen knives.
 
www.edgemaker.com. Here is a very good system for about 30.00. I have been using it for 16 years and all my knives are razor sharp and have been since the day I bought it. The only problem is that its awful easy to use, takes the work out of sharpening. Its not the best on very dull wide blade knives but for keeping a sharp edge really sharp, it has no equal.
 
MORIMOTOM said:
apex edge pro is the best i have ever used. short of a grinding wheel, you wont get your knives sharper with anything else.

the sharpmaker is good, and pretty simple to use. but i have always had to strop afterwards to get "shaving sharp".

an edge pro will run about 200.00, but well worth it.
Click to expand...

The Edge Pro Apex is a very nice tool, but fairly expensive, much more than $50. It does provide tremendous results everytime, whereas my freehanding can equal it if I'm having a good day, but on my over caffeinated days (pretty often, unfortunately) the Edge Pro will really kick my ass at getting a great edge.

You must be doing something wrong to have to strop after the Sharpmaker to get a shaving edge with it. With a fine Spyderco benchstone (same grit as the white stones on the Sharpmaker) I got my CPM D2 Military whittling hair and tree topping like a champ, it sounds like you were getting burrs that you stropped off or aligned to get your knife shaving. A sharpmaker should get your hairs flying off your arms with ease as long as you have the backbevel thin enough to work with the preset angles and you don't get a burr. Get your edge at least shaving very smoothly if not popping hairs with the brown stones before moving on to the fine stones. If you do get a burr using Jeff Clark's method of a few light strokes at an elevated angle to remove the burr, then lightly rehoning at the correct angle works wonders.

Mike
 
gunmike1 said:
You must be doing something wrong to have to strop after the Sharpmaker to get a shaving edge with it. With a fine Spyderco benchstone (same grit as the white stones on the Sharpmaker) I got my CPM D2 Military whittling hair and tree topping like a champ, it sounds like you were getting burrs that you stropped off or aligned to get your knife shaving. Mike
Click to expand...

Actually, the superior benefits of stropping are well documented.

http://mse.iastate.edu/fileadmin/www.mse.iastate.edu/static/files/verhoeven/KnifeShExps.pdf

Buzz
 
the Lansky is fairly limiting because of the few options in applying the clamp. This also means the angles marked might not necessarily be the ones you get, as the width from edge to clamp will vary knife to knife. Still, I used one for a few years with fair results for working knives.

The Sharpmaker is a very simple setup, but also really slow due to the fine stones. Congress tool sells triangular rods in much coarser grits that will fit, and you could still get in under $50 with some bargain hunting on the SM itself. The only issue in use I can think of is the possibility of rounding your tips if you let your mind drift. You can do a couple things to adjust the angle beyond the two slots, like wedging something under the base to tilt it (you can also put the rods in the bottom as something of a flat stone.

I had an Edge Pro for a while, but just didn't see the benefit where others do. With the extra time to set up the table, get the rest adjusted, set the height on the guide rod, put in the stone, I was still left with the duty of manually holding the knife steady on the table while moving the arm. With bench stones, I put some water on them, and hold the angle steady while I move the knife. A little time practicing at the beginning takes out all the extra time setting up for each and every use of the Apex.

As for the fine Spyderco and stropping, there's really no reason I can think of that the white rods shouldn't leave a shaving edge. Your hair may be very fine, and require something sharper than others. While some people suggest getting a shaving edge before moving on to higher grits, I don't do that until the brown Profile, and I do notice an improvement when stropping even after ultrafine. Still, the white rods should give a good edge that will remove hair.
 
I don't own a Sharpmaker but here nothing but good about them , I think I will have to purchase one myself . I have a lansky and the gatco, like the lansky the best though . but sharpmakers sound like the best for people like me who are not good at regular stones.
 
rootsmart said:
Ya I don't mind spending time sharpening thr blade, so the lansky is looking nice. But how would I reprofile my blade with such a kit?
Click to expand...

My setup includes a basic Lansky kit ($25), a 1000-grit hone ($9), and a coarse diamond hone ($18). The very fine hone puts on a nice, even finish before stropping, and the diamond hone is useful for reprofiling the bevel on hard to sharpen knives.

Whatever method you choose, look into getting a strop as well. Nothing makes good edges great like polishing them up.
 
buzzard767 said:
Actually, the superior benefits of stropping are well documented.

http://mse.iastate.edu/fileadmin/www.mse.iastate.edu/static/files/verhoeven/KnifeShExps.pdf

Buzz
Click to expand...

I strop with 1 micron and .3 micron 3M lapping film on a glass float plate (or on tape blanks when I borrowed an Edge Pro) after going to an 8000 grit finish on my Glasstones or my Spyderco UF stone when I want a really polished edge, so I know the benefits of stropping. Those finishes easily whittle hair and push cut great. What I was saying is that you should have your knife shaving and popping hairs once you are done with the fine stones of the Sharpmaker, no stropping is required to get it that sharp, just the stones. Stropping will of course refine that finish by polishing it and increase the push cutting, but you have done a poor job of sharpening if your knife isn't shaving after using the Sharpmaker. A DMT X coarse can leave a shaving finish, and the DMT coarse can leave a real nice shaving finish. The sharper you get your knives with the coarser stones, the sharper they will end up. The more time you spend forming a quality edge on your coarser stones the better your finished product will be. So, I wouldn't recommend moving past the brown sharpmaker stones until it is shaving very smoothly, and as you get better you should have hairs popping with that finish. You shouldn't have to strop the knife after using the fine stones on the sharpmaker just to get the knife to shave. At that point it should be a matter of stropping to get it to shave better or tree top better.

Mike
 
If you are re-profiling on modern high-end stainless steel, I recommend the DMT Aligner because of the diamond stones--and it is a guided system. Beware though, it is not good for thick blades.
Greg
 
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