Knife sharpening for dummies

Crany06 said:

I found that I started getting better edges when I thought less about technique and went by "feel/instinct". Just like knifemaking, when I think about it to much I get caught up in the details and lose track of the task at hand.

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Rodney65 said:

Appreciate the tip. For what it's worth I don't spend a fortune on knives. I appreciate a good folder that holds an edge but given how often I lose them $100 is about what I max out at.

That said I have a butcher block of Heinkel kitchen knives and a bunch of pocket knives to learn on so I should hopefully get the hang of it eventually.

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Baron85 said:

I use atoma diamond stones and spyderco ceramics.

I have tried the wicked edge , lanky, spyderco triangle sharpener, multiple wet stones and glass stones.

I have. Gotten the absolute sharpest knives using the wicked edge. But I found the edge to only last a hand full of cuts, then it was down to what I could achieve by free handing. I sold the wicked edge because the time it took to setup wasn’t worth it. I now mostly use a 600grit atoma diamond stones.

For cheap knives I have been very tempted to buy the Ken onion work sharp. A friend uses one and seems to work pretty good and fast. If you don’t really care about learning the skill of hand sharpening and your but using really expensive knives I think the Ken onion work sharp is probably the best route.

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ToddM said:

That's the rub with the Wicked Edge and some of the super fancy sharpeners, you can get ridiculously sharp edges mirror polished edges with it, and it can reprofile a blade really fast with the lower grit diamond stones, but it'a a lot of setup time and effort to hold that level of consistency and that insane sharpness is usually gone after a couple cuts, then your edge is what a variety of much faster and cheaper faster sharpeners will provide. So it really comes down to if sharpening is a chore you want done fast with good results, or it's a labor of love that you don't mind spending hours on to get the perfect edge.

Over the years I've found that there's more value in evaluating what you cut and the right blade edge profile and stone grit to make that happen. A lot of people go for super polished fine edges these days when in reality for the average pocket knife they'd probably be better served with a more toothy edge.

My knife sharpening pretty much falls into two categories.

1) Pocket knives etc. that I care about. I'll use something (lansky, worksharp manual, wicked edge etc.) to set usually a 18 deg angle, then I use a sharpmaker at 20 deg to maintain it's edge between "major" sharpenings. I tend to set more toothy edges in the 600-800 grit range because for me they stay effectively sharp much longer than super fine polished edges. If they are just a beater knife I'll use the ken onion to set the edge.

2) Kitchen knives, the reality is they often take a beating, even if you use cutting boards, sooner or later someone won't use a cutting board or they cut on a plate etc. For those I use a Work Sharp Ken Onion to quickly set a 16-17 deg edge, then I maintain with a steel and a sharpmaker at 20 deg. The difference between the set edge at 16-17 deg helps a bit with slicing, and the 20 deg sharpmaker microbevel helps make the actual edge a bit thicker for durability, and it ensures the sharpmaker can maintain the edge for longer. If you set the main edge too close to the sharpmaker, it doesn't take long before the sharpmaker isn't enough anymore and you have to power sharpen the edge profile again. These I'll put a much finer edge on since for most kitchen knife tasks you want something that slices really well as opposed to a toothy edge.

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Numenur said:

I'm kinda hit & miss when it comes to sharpening, though I have noticed that I have a lot more success keeping a good edge on carbon steel than stainless. If I can't keep one sharp these days I blame it on the knife.

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jbell said:

Not to be argumentative, but I have to disagree about the "fancier sharpeners" creating an edge that is less durable. Those sharpeners are equally or even moreso capable of creating a durable edge. The user has the ability to choose the angle and the finish on the edge. I do agree it's much easier and requires less effort to put a polished edge on a blade using something with a very controllable angle that offers very high grit stones.

I can't really say that my wicked edge has elevated my sharpening game, it's just an other way to get the job done. I am just as proficient with a regular stone as I am with the W.E.

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ToddM said:

Yeah I wouldn't say the edge less durable, more that the extra precision and edge refinement that something like the WE can provide at the end of the day for a user knife doesn't buy you a lot in actual cutting performance itself that lots of other sharpeners can't do for a lot less $. Especially if you're willing to put in the effort to learn to sharpen by hand.

Basically with all the stones and extreme consistency/precision something like the WE gives makes it easier to get a super refined mirror polished edge (if that's your thing), but in most actual everyday cutting that extra level of edge refinement buys you almost nothing in real cutting performance, especially after a few cuts. Now if you really have to have that mirror polished super refined edge, the WE can probably make it happen faster and better than some of the other sharpeners, but rarely is a mirror polished, super fine edge the best option for most cutting tasks. If you just want a good everyday working 600-800 grit edge tons of sharpers can put that edge on quickly and with good performance.

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