Knife sharpener...

[Ready_fire_aim]

Sharpening systems.
Many are over marketed hype....

Something as simple as a block of hard wood with lapping paste worked into the surface is a fine sharpening tool if the edge is no in bad shape. It's also a great way to sharpen irregular shaped blades like gouges.

The objective is to develop a uniform wedge on the edge of a piece of steel, rather than a bunch of microscopic nicks with blunt ends where the scratches intersect.

All you are doing is polishing with finer and finer grits so that the scratches from the current grit remove the scratches left by the prior grit until you get to something that will actually cut. If you can't shave with it, you have not done it right.

Round stones apply the load to a very small area and cut faster, but ware out faster.
Diamond lasts longer, stays sharp longer and costs more
Soft stones ware faster and cut faster than hard ones because they expose new sharp grains faster.

In my opinion, get the blade sharp with any basic technique (emery paper stuck to plate glass with double sided tape is fine), and then put some money into the final grit or two, and touch it up regularly.

I keep a stone on my work bench and touch up my tools every few minutes of carving.


Dont use oil on water stones or vise versa- the residue can leave a hard to remove film on the stone that prevents contact with the cutting grit.

Dont use oils that evaporate or thicken quickly (vegitable oils) for the same reason.

Diamond plates can be used to dress other types of stone damaged by these blunders.

Do take the time to develop the hand eye coordination needed to keep your blade consistently aligned with the cutting surface.

Work through progressively finer grits with dull blades until you reach the final polish. Once the edge is reformed and sharp, keep it that way. Its faster to touch up regularly and you get better cutting action from a sharp tool.




You don't need to spend a fortune on jigs, they are just a shortcut if you don't want to take the time to develop hand skills.

Hear hear! Most gimmicky knife sharpeners make me cringe.

We’ve got some expensive kitchen blades and I have a variety of Japanese style water stones and a rough lapping stone to flatten the sharpening stones with. I will use different grits of stone depending on the type of steel. Cheap blades don’t need all the fine polishing.

When I figured out how to use stones I loved them and won’t go back to any other gimmicks

 

[Ready_fire_aim]

OP, your deal you bought will be fine for keeping pocket knives cutting. But real knife snobs use some sort of stones lol

 

[Glock 'em down]

OP, your deal you bought will be fine for keeping pocket knives cutting. But real knife snobs use some sort of stones lol

Well, that's just it. I'm not a knife snob. I don't make enough money to be snobbish. My humble collection consists of 5 by Case (4 Sod Buster Jr's, and 1 Copperlock) 3 by Victorinox (1 Rambler, 1 Recruit and 1 Cadet) and one lonely Spyderco Tenacious. Yeah, I do not qualify for snobbery.

 

[Ready_fire_aim]

Well, that's just it. I'm not a knife snob. I don't make enough money to be snobbish. My humble collection consists of 5 by Case (4 Sod Buster Jr's, and 1 Copperlock) 3 by Victorinox (1 Rambler, 1 Recruit and 1 Cadet) and one lonely Spyderco Tenacious. Yeah, I do not qualify for snobbery.

And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that!

 

[SoonerP226]

Thanks, but I think I'm gonna go with the one that tynyphil suggested.

Looks like a knock-off of a Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker. The Sharpmaker is the only sharpening system I’ve ever been able to use to get consistently good edges, so hopefully it’ll do you good.

 

[dennishoddy]

I've been a stone guy since old enough to sharpen a knife. As a kid made .10 a knife to sharpen kitchen knifes of relatives and neighbors. One even brought them back and asked if I could dull them a little as they kept cutting themselves.
I've evolved as stones have eventually getting into diamond hones.
That being said, I have friends that just can't seem to hold the angle to get a blade across a stone without rolling back and forth which ruins the angle. A friend in that situation got this sharpener for Christmas from a daughter.

Amazon.com

He swears that it's the best ever.

Again, all that said, I own three Mccrosky knives that are surgical sharp. He offers lifetime sharpening for his blades.
His method is a paper wheel on a grinder with rouge. Watched him do it.
I can use a stone to get a blade sharp enough to shave with, but Dave can use the paper wheel to skim the meat under the hair on the arm and you won't know it happened until the blood starts flowing.
Several members on this forum have his knives and can back that up.
@mike miller on this forum also makes an incredibly sharp blade. I have one of his knives as well that is razor sharp. Skinned two elk and a deer so far with his blade and can still shave with it.

 

[surjimmy]

I've been a stone guy since old enough to sharpen a knife. As a kid made .10 a knife to sharpen kitchen knifes of relatives and neighbors. One even brought them back and asked if I could dull them a little as they kept cutting themselves.
I've evolved as stones have eventually getting into diamond hones.
That being said, I have friends that just can't seem to hold the angle to get a blade across a stone without rolling back and forth which ruins the angle. A friend in that situation got this sharpener for Christmas from a daughter.

Amazon.com

He swears that it's the best ever.

Again, all that said, I own three Mccrosky knives that are surgical sharp. He offers lifetime sharpening for his blades.
His method is a paper wheel on a grinder with rouge. Watched him do it.
I can use a stone to get a blade sharp enough to shave with, but Dave can use the paper wheel to skim the meat under the hair on the arm and you won't know it happened until the blood starts flowing.
Several members on this forum have his knives and can back that up.
@mike miller on this forum also makes an incredibly sharp blade. I have one of his knives as well that is razor sharp. Skinned two elk and a deer so far with his blade and can still shave with it.

I have heard from reliable sources that you're going to have about five More to go before it needs sharpening.lol

 

[Snipe]

Lansky Deluxe 5-Stone Sharpening System https://a.co/d/cgVU1b9
That's the standard in the knife making world. Helps keep your edge at the proper angle instead of slightly changing it each time you sharpen. Knife blade angles are more important than most assume.

 

[Ahall]

All sharpening systems (except burnishing scrapers) use the same basic principle.
If you want a keener edge, go to a finer grit.

Powered systems let you remove material faster, and some have fixtures help with the angle.

For my money stones are fine.
My water stones go to #6000, which is almost a mirror finish.

My brother goes into the range of diamond lapping compound for polishing jewelry, on chisels.
You can use the blades for mirrors, and they will quite literally split hairs.

His wood inlay work is quite impressive, and the super sharp edge eliminates any chipping and tear out.

With a little time and practice anyone can achieve remarkable results.