Sharpening: What Do you Use and How do You Do It?

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VorpelSword

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I have, for years, used a Lansky kit for sharpening small blades.

What do you use and how do you do it?
 
Smith’s Diamond stones, by hand.

It took a Lansky to show me what I was doing wrong. When I wore out the stones I never replaced them.
 
When I go all in, the progression is with my DMT plates (XXF, XF, F, XC), medium and UF ceramic Spyderco bench stones and DiaPaste loaded leather strops.

Mostly, I use just the UF ceramic stone on my folders, finishing with a very light stropping motion.

I maintain my convex fixed blades with Bark River white compound loaded leather strops.

I have a few Naniwa Chosera water stones for my normal HRC traditional knives. Also a Spyderco Double Stuff for when I want something pocketable. Thinking about selling the Choseras actually.

I carry a DC4 to go with a fixed blade beater in my backpack.

A couple of nimble Victorinox sharpeners (diamond and ceramic) for SAKs.

Lastly, there is a honing steel in the kitchen.
 
Listen I don't want to bore people that know what they're doing but I'm getting sick of struggling 😭. I bought a Lansky 5 stone kit and after just a few knives even the 70 grit extra coarse stone seems way too smooth. Is it possible I got burned with dodgy kit and should learn my lesson through my wallet and stick to bench stones and cheap knives until I get better? TIA Red
 
I have used lots of different things over the years, I have an old set of smiths crock rods that I got back in the 80's that still work good. Most of the time I use the Harbor Freight 4 sided hone knife sharpener and do it by hand, finish and refine the edge on a Smith's Arkansas stone, and finally deburr and straighten the edge with a Tungsten tig welding rod like a sharpening steel. Works great!
Usually for just regular maintenance I just use a leather strop and either use a sharpening steel or the tig rod to touch them up. I like to keep them where it will easily pop the hairs off my arm and slice receipt paper or phone book paper with ease
 
I typically use a old model Spyderco Sharpmaker. Unlike the new model mine only has one angle setting for the rods. I have been learning how to sharpen using bench stones. I use the Spyderco Benchstones retry much because I like the ease of using and maintains ceramics.
 
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I've tried a lot of different methods, and have finally found one I like.

2x72 with a 400g belt, sharpen on the slack for a slight convex edge, strop with green compound, then strop on top grain.

Going from a zero edge on a new knife (~.03 TBTE) to shaving takes maybe 5 minutes. Once an edge is established, getting it back takes a minute or two.
 
I'm barely qualified to say that I "sharpen" much of anything. More like "I wrestle with it until something approximating an edge appears." That said, the list of things I use for that wrestling include a Gatco system (similar to the Lansky), diamond bench stones, a combination water stone, and a Tri-Hone (that includes some unnamed coarse stone and a couple of Arkansas stones).
 
I use a lot of things. Freehand, mostly with Venev bonded diamonds, but also with Shapton and other stones. Sometimes I use the Hapstone angle guide with bench stones. I used a KME for several years, but recently got a Hapstone R1, so I've been using that a lot lately. And I also have a Work Sharp Ken Onion with the grinder attachment, which I mostly use for power stropping these days, or stuff like lawn mower blades.
 
Guided rod sharpener by EZ WARES that has an acute 10DPS slot for 20° inclusive, followed by a dry/no compound applied leather strop, on the rare occasions a stone is required. Usually stropping maintains a working edge.
For really small blades like are found on the SAK SD Classic, Signature, and Mini Champ, freehand on a stone, raising the spine just enough so the blade flat isn't dragging on the stone, (around 1/32 inch for those SAK, up to 1/16~1/8 inch for everything else, for a 8°~10° bevel) freehand on a stone when I don't have the guided rod sharpener with me, then dry strop.
Once in a purple, green, and hot pink plaid moon I might use the butcher's steel I have in my backpack on larger blades to maintain a working edge.

I don't bother with a "razor"/"shaving sharp" edge. After a one to three cuts depending on what you're cutting, it isn't anymore, so why waste the time putting one on?
 
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Some great answers here. I am thinking of investing a few hundred dollars in a guided system just so I can maintain my knives in an idiot-proof way, and get some diamond DMT stones and buy a couple knives to learn to freehand on. It's a bit daunting. Even stropping, I am kind of having trouble wrapping my head around.

Maybe I need better compound. I'm using some random green compound that came with my strop, on the rough side. It kind of worked on my BD1N Spyderco Z-Cut, seemed to cut paper a bit better after stropping, but not on my Case toothpick or Higonokami. Any stropping tips or compound recs?
 
I used a sharpmaker for the passed decade or so and strops. The sharpmaker is good for edge maintenance but man can it take a while to reprofile an edge. I recently got a KME and now I'm getting edges better than I've ever got in my life. I got the full diamond progression so when i need to do some serious reprofiling, which is almost every knife, I have all the way down to 50 grit and that sucker makes reprofiling so much easier. I really love the system. Once you get the hang of it, it's really comforting knowing you can bring your edge back in no time, every single time.
 
Hashishiin said:
Some great answers here. I am thinking of investing a few hundred dollars in a guided system just so I can maintain my knives in an idiot-proof way...
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The guided systems each have their own learning curve as well. They also work well on certain blade shapes but not on others, depending on the model you end up with. Some have real issues with recurves/kukri shapes blades, while others have issues with very upswept tips, etc. There are also thickness limitations on a number of the clamping systems. Far and away the fastest and easiest setup I've ever worked with for getting killer edges (no matter the blade shape) was the Work Sharp Ken Onion sharpener with the Blade Grinding Attachment. I burnt out the motor on the WS (user error :() and have never gotten around to replacing it, but I definitely will someday.
 
I have an Edge Pro Apex guided system which I rarely use, unless I am doing some serious reprofiling. After 45 years of sharpening knives, I am rather good at freehand now. I do use the Edge Pro stones however. They are affordable and work really well.
 
Hashishiin said:
Maybe I need better compound. I'm using some random green compound that came with my strop, on the rough side. It kind of worked on my BD1N Spyderco Z-Cut, seemed to cut paper a bit better after stropping, but not on my Case toothpick or Higonokami. Any stropping tips or compound recs?
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If you will buy only one suspension, get a 1 micron polycrystalline IMHO. Experiment with different leather and wooden (balsa, basswood) strops.
Less is more, eg strop ten times per side, usually no need for much more, or you will start rounding the apex. Use a light touch. Stropping is mostly about removing the remnants of the burr.
 
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