Knife sharpening

[sourpatch45]

i use i diamond \"steel\" that i used while i was in culinary school the angle should be 22.5 degrees the easiest way to find this angle is hold the knife at 90 and gut that in half so now the knife at 45 and cut it in half one more time and you have 22.5. if a knife is really dull it will require a more drastic method to get the edge back. but if you keep up on sharpining it then you wont have to worry about this. but i f by some chance my knife gets that dull i will take it to a knife shop and they will re-cut the edge. this doesnt happen much at all so i dont think its worth the investment for me to buy the sharpening tools besides my steel

[UncleBuck]

Originally Posted by jeep45238

I use a Gatco or Smith's precision diamond sharpening setup to set the angle and make the work go by faster. Makes sure the angle and edge is exact the whole time.

I finish up with an arkansas stone, honing fluid, and a sharpie.

+1 I use a Smith and it has the correct angles. I have used the stones for other work as well like triggers.

[Bill in San Jose]

I hunt a lot (some may say too much), and sharp knives are a fact of life. I've tried everything, looking for the holy grail of a razor sharp edge.

My suggestion, and what I do now, is take my knife to a real, professional knife sharpener, they do knives for restaurants, etc. Have him grind the blade to the 'right' initial angle and put the edge on it. That cost's me less than $10 per blade.

Then, I use a diamond-coated rod and lightly touch up the edge as needed. Have the knife sharpener teach you the correct way to do it, and practice in front of him. The "secret" I learned was to hold the knife blade itself between my thumb and 1st and 2nnd fingers when I sharpen, never the handle. He told me that it's impossible to control the angle accurately enough holding the handle. My skinning knives are like razors.

If you want to go another route, and a good plan "B", get the Smiths yellow sharper, ACE hardware near me sells them. It has a carbide V to set the angle on one side, and a ceramic V on the other. That plus my diamond-rod can put a very sharp edge on many knifes, but not all depending on blade thickness. I bought mine in a local gun shop, they had a big box on the counter, and the salesguy I know said they worked great. With the Smiths, I can get my son's Kershaw pocket knife shaving sharp, but not my Buck skinner- go figure??


Scoutingaround :: 2-Step Knife Sharpener

[Reeek]

Well I own about 45 knives now. If you steel them several times a week for general purpose you won't be using a sharpener very often unless you cut something brutal with the knife.


That said the Gatco Edgemate or a good set of stones is my choice. I often use the Edgemate stones as a manual touch up stone without using the clamp. My only complaint about the sharpening systems such as Gatco, Smith, etc is that damned clamp is a pain sometimes on smaller knives or knives that don't have a lot of flat on the blade for even clamp purchase. I also prefer the regular stone rather than the diamond on those systems. They seem to be smoother and not cause the knife to move and spin as much in the clamp.

[Broadside]

Originally Posted by Bill in San Jose

I hunt a lot (some may say too much), and sharp knives are a fact of life. I've tried everything, looking for the holy grail of a razor sharp edge.

My suggestion, and what I do now, is take my knife to a real, professional knife sharpener, they do knives for restaurants, etc. Have him grind the blade to the 'right' initial angle and put the edge on it. That cost's me less than $10 per blade.

Then, I use a diamond-coated rod and lightly touch up the edge as needed. Have the knife sharpener teach you the correct way to do it, and practice in front of him. The "secret" I learned was to hold the knife blade itself between my thumb and 1st and 2nnd fingers when I sharpen, never the handle. He told me that it's impossible to control the angle accurately enough holding the handle. My skinning knives are like razors.

If you want to go another route, and a good plan "B", get the Smiths yellow sharper, ACE hardware near me sells them. It has a carbide V to set the angle on one side, and a ceramic V on the other. That plus my diamond-rod can put a very sharp edge on many knifes, but not all depending on blade thickness. I bought mine in a local gun shop, they had a big box on the counter, and the salesguy I know said they worked great. With the Smiths, I can get my son's Kershaw pocket knife shaving sharp, but not my Buck skinner- go figure??


Scoutingaround :: 2-Step Knife Sharpener

I've got something very similar just a different name for a sharpner. Just be away these type of sharpners take metal off your blades and wear them down.

I bought a Hunter Honer it works pretty good diamond rods and doesn't take metal. They are about $20 with lifetime warranty and will get razor sharp in about 20 strokes.

Hunter Honer - the only sharpener you'll ever need and sharpens serrated knives.

[greensquares]

Any type of sharpening will take metal off the knife. Don't worry too much about it. When I'm lazy I sharpen with the Smith's yellow sharpener, when I'm not, I sharpen by hand with coarse diamond stone followed by finer Arkansas stones. Either way, strop on a piece of card board (yes, like from a UPS box) to put that razor edge on it.

In a pinch at work I used to sharpen my knives at work on the bottom of ceramic mugs. Those make great stones, too. You just need to learn how to properly sharpen with a stone and you can do it with anything that's flat-ish and has some sort of hard grit.