Knife Sharpener

M

Madstabber

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Feb 4, 2015
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I was wondering what the best knife sharpener system there is for my folders that can do a good job with the powdered “super steels” of today? I’ve sharpened very few knives so my experience is minimal and want something that helps me hold an angle. Maybe a manual and electric recommendation if possible. Thanks for any help you can provide me with.
 
This is going to be a tough one. I have a sharpmaker. I need to use the diamond rods to quickly get to a burr on most knives that I sharpen for the first time. The first sharpening is the longest because you have to figure out what angle per side is on the blade and they are never 15 or 20 or the same on each side. I use quarters under the ends of the sharpmaker to adjust the angle.
Reprofile with the sharpmaker is a long process so I try not to do that.
Once I get a burr and move it from one side to the other and I am happy with the bevel profile I move to the other sharpmaker stones to polish up the edge.

I’m looking at the 1x30 belt sander options. The wicked edge is what I want but it’s over 500$.....
 
KME, Edge Pro, TS Prof, etc.

Keep in mind, some of the crazy blade grinds these days can make solid clamping impossible. Generally should be fine just need to consider it.

The little pull-through electric sharpeners are best left on the shelf.
 
If you are thinking about pull through sharpeners, both the manual and electric types then the response here is going to be unanimously underwhelming. Even the best remove a lot of material, damage the apex and don’t create a particularly sharp edge. To get a good sharp knife, and in order of ascending cost you can try the following:

-Freehand on bench stones / V shaped system (aka. Sharpmaker)
- Guided systems, edge pro, wicked edge, kme, TSProf etc.
- Belt sander (some such as the KO worksharp are equivalent cost to the cheaper end of the guided systems, 2x72’s are very expensive)
- Water cooled grinding stone (Tormak), again some interchangeability with the belt sander market wrt. cost
 
A sharp eye, steady hand, medium and fine stones, Mineral Oil and a strop charged with powdered Aluminum Oxide will sharpen any knife regardless of blade shape or bevel. Lasts a lifetime and works at home or in the field.
 
Madstabber said:
best knife sharpener...

want something that helps me hold an angle.
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You might get a variety of answers, but here's mine. Get the EdgePro Professional if you can rationalize the cost, or the EdgePro Apex which still isn't going to be cheap. The stones it comes with are fine for every-day work. But for exotic steel you'll want a full set of EdgePro's diamond matrix stones.

You'll have the precision offered by a guided system, and the flexibility that a non-clamped system provides.
 
For steels with over 4% Vanadium you need diamonds no matter what method you choose.
Angle guides for whetstones are available, you can use it for your starting angle if you want to use benchstones.
 
Thank you everyone I appreciate the opinions and guidance. I was looking at other threads I found in my search but they were all a few years old so I figured I’d ask again. Seems nothing new has come out. So I’m gonna avoid electric which I figured I’d hear and will probably jump in with both feet
And get an expensive system. Until then I think I’ll practice freehand with the one diamond stone I got, DMT fine, extra fine, I think it is. Try and master technique on some cheap blades and eventually get the wicked edge or edge pro or a similar setup. Thanks y’all
 
If you also use kitchen knives consider Worksharp's Ken Onion Edition, and later add the blade grinding attachment if you want to get fancy. My son in law swears by his, and my daughter love her knives sharp- they work a ranch. Wranglestar is another recent fan, who was earlier floored by quality n function of his TS-PROF.
92 % of over 4400 big river folks give Ken Onion Edition 4 and 5 stars, which I suspect is in the whole, folks that are in a busy season of life, and have not learned to sharpen on a stone first. Which could be the first sharpening skill parents guide the kids through.
Let us know how your sharpening skills grow.
 
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For a little esential tension, our guided system is KME + lots of extras, and a Spyderco Sharpmaker as training aid for kids.
 
Madstabber said:
Thank you everyone I appreciate the opinions and guidance. I was looking at other threads I found in my search but they were all a few years old so I figured I’d ask again. Seems nothing new has come out. So I’m gonna avoid electric which I figured I’d hear and will probably jump in with both feet
And get an expensive system. Until then I think I’ll practice freehand with the one diamond stone I got, DMT fine, extra fine, I think it is. Try and master technique on some cheap blades and eventually get the wicked edge or edge pro or a similar setup. Thanks y’all
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You could always get a Lansky kit with the diamond stones. Pretty cheap and does the job. Not very comfortable in use though.
 
Wow tons of good stuff, thank you everyone for taking the time, lots to think about. I will definitely let y’all know how it goes, what I buy, and if become a competent sharpener.
 
You don't need diamonds, a Norton crystolon combo stone would do you just fine, and maybe a fine dmt if you want a finer edge. Add a strop if you'd like. My personal setup is a Norton crystolon jb6 if I really want to hog off metal, a sharpal coarse/extra fine diamond stone, spyderco medium and fine stones, and a diy strop (waiting on my diamond paste).

You can do well with just the Sharpal stone, and it's around $30, don't really need anything else to start out. Everything else is icing on the cake.
 
Madstabber said:
Thank you everyone I appreciate the opinions and guidance. I was looking at other threads I found in my search but they were all a few years old so I figured I’d ask again. Seems nothing new has come out. So I’m gonna avoid electric which I figured I’d hear and will probably jump in with both feet
And get an expensive system. Until then I think I’ll practice freehand with the one diamond stone I got, DMT fine, extra fine, I think it is. Try and master technique on some cheap blades and eventually get the wicked edge or edge pro or a similar setup. Thanks y’all
Click to expand...
You might be better off to use a coarse (220 grit, Dia-Sharp Extra Coarse or equivalent) then finish on the ultra fine/1200 grit. That an an angle guide are all you need.
 
oceanrider said:
Just curious. If you buy a less expensive Wicked Edge version. Would you in not so long a time wish you'd have bought one of the more top tier versions or packages?
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Probably, if you can afford it. I guess it depends on what your needs are. I recommend the basic WE-130 to start off with if you don't have the money for the Pro Pack III. You can always add to it as you can afford to. I chose the 130 because it allows for asymmetrical grinds and I wanted a quality system that does not require electricity.
 
Madstabber said:
I was wondering what the best knife sharpener system there is for my folders that can do a good job with the powdered “super steels” of today? I’ve sharpened very few knives so my experience is minimal and want something that helps me hold an angle. Maybe a manual and electric recommendation if possible. Thanks for any help you can provide me with.
Click to expand...
The low cost TSProf Blitz 360 Standard comes with diamond plates and works great on super steel folders. It is a high quality CNC machined sharpener.
 
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