Smith's Tri-Hone Sharpening System

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blaydz

Joined
Jun 13, 2012
Messages
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First of all, I'm fairly new to knives. With that being said, I just got a USMC Ka-Bar that I ordered online and I'm currently looking for a good sharpener. The Ka-Bar website suggests that you use Arkansas Stones with their products, so I did some searching and found this:

http://http://www.amazon.com/TRI-6-Arkansas-TRI-HONE-Sharpening-System/dp/B00062BIT4/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&coliid=IHMBIKWPGDUZ9&colid=3E52BYM5B1P27

This sharpening system looks great and its only around $20. It also comes with an angle guide so the angle of the blade will be consistent, which is good for a beginner like me. Have any of you used this? Do you think it would be good for the USMC Ka-Bar, or do you suggest something else? By the way, I'd prefer it to be under $70.

Also, I'm not interested in the Lansky Sharpening System or any other sharpener that holds the blade for you. I'm only interested in getting a stone. I want to learn and practice the art of knife sharpening with a stone so that I can become very good at it.
 
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I tried to learn to sharpen on Arkansas stones and basically failed for many years. Only after I got diamond stones, and later waterstones, did I reach a decent level of sharpening competency. I've also tried other types but still find Arkansas stones to be the most difficult to use. I think it is because they are so slow at cutting and require frequent cleaning to keep them from getting clogged. Of course people have used them for years and years but those people didn't have easy access to better alternatives.

Also, if you didn't think of it, pick up a bar of green chrome oxide to strop with after sharpening. You don't have to buy a fancy leather strop to start out. I use a piece of cereal box cardboard taped to a flat piece of mdf wood that I rub the compound on as my strop. It works surprisingly well especially after it is "broken in" a little bit.
 
This ^
Arkansas stones are slow cutters. They leave a very nice finish, but for a beginner I highly recommend the Norton Crystalon (silicon carbide) or India (Aluminum Oxide) combination stones, with my preference going to the Crystalon as they cut real fast, have good feedback, and are very inexpensive. You could get a soft Arkansas to follow up either of these stones, or go with the edge they leave and strop them for a more refined edge. If you're looking at the Smith's tri-hone, they make one with diamond plates and an Arkansas to finish - might be better choice.
 
I would NOT recommend Arkansas stones for beginners. Like the above poster mentioned, they are slow cutters and require patience and experience for best results. When I first started out sharpening I used Carborundum, also known as Silicon Carbide stones. You can't go wrong with Japanese waterstones though. :)

I suggest you try sharpening on a cheapo knife before you dive in with your KA-BAR.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I might go with some Silicon Carbide stones since that seems to be the best for beginners. If I were to get some of these stones, which grits should I get? Should I just get a double-sided fine/coarse stone or is that not enough?

This one looks great for my needs: http://http://www.amazon.com/Norton-Crystolon-Combination-Oilstone-Coarse/dp/B0001MSA5Y/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&coliid=IZ4EJBJW84ZDA&colid=3E52BYM5B1P27


p.s. I'm definitely going to be practicing with a couple cheap smaller knives before I move on to the ka-bar.
 
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My advice is for the Norton combo stone in 8" or larger. Second is to pick up some compound from Sears - black, white and throw the green in for good measure. For a strop simply wrap a sheet or two of newspaper around the stone and lightly apply the compound - discard after it gets blackened from use or after each knife. A bar of compound will last forever. This is a good beginner set. You might want to try other stones, leather strops etc, but from a practical standpoint the above could handle nearly all your sharpening needs unless you get into straight razor shaving. Almost forgot, get a Sharpie too. Any other suggestions I could make as well as good advice from other members and some very nice video links are in this thread:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...advice-for-newbie-knife-sharpeners-(freehand)

Edit to add:
Diamonds are very good to use though I seldom use mine anymore.
 
HeavyHanded said:
Edit to add:
Diamonds are very good to use though I seldom use mine anymore.
Click to expand...


I was looking at the DMT Dia-Sharp stones. Are those any good? I've seen lots of positive reviews on them and watched many youtube videos that recommend them. And they don't get worn down at all!
 
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I got a tri hone 2 days ago, I can get a decent shaving edge , but I prefer diamond and ceramic. , id say buy a Sharpmaker, ceramic gives an amazing edge
 
I bought the tri hone as a beginner a while ago and love it. It comes with an angle guide that really helps set that muscle memory for a nice 23 degree angle that works well for most knives. I saw some people saying the issue being it takes to long with Arkansaw stones, but that was preferable for me. I didn't want to risk taking off too much blade material while I was learning. And they give a really nice polished edge. Anyway not to confuse the issue, I'm sure most of these recommended stones work excellent, but I had a great experience learning on a tri hone.
 
I don't understand the dislike for the Arkansas stone system. I started out sharpening with an Arkansas stone, and sharpened buck 110's, and Bowie knives with it. And it was a small 5 × 3 stone, also. I felt it took the metal off just fine, and I found just using that one stone and a strop with green compound worked fine with my buck, which I used as my work edc. Even though I'm late with posting here, I got one of these Smith's tri-hone system, which I bought at Wal-Mart, funny enough, when I was looking to get a cooler for fishing. And I really like it. If you kept it, blaydz, I recommend revisiting it.
 
Unless I'm re-profiling an edge or repairing major nicks or rolls on an edge I personally prefer a slow cutting stone.

Always remember you are grinding away from a limited quantity of material every time
you sharpen your blade.

So the more expensive that blade the more each stroke costs you!
 
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