Sharpening a knife

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Rene T

Rene T

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Joined
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Farmington NH
I didn’t want to hyjack the post on “what pocket knife do you carry” so I started this one. How do you sharpen your knives? That includes pocket knives, hunting knives and kitchen knives? Do you use a stone, electric knife sharpener or a Bavarian Edge knife sharpener I found on Amazon? This one you draw the knife through two spring loaded vertical pieces similar to the letter “X” which sharpens it?
 
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Rene T said:
I didn’t want to hyjack the post on “what pocket knife do you carry” so I started this one. How do you sharpen your knives? That includes pocket knives, hunting knives and kitchen knives? Do you use a stone, electric knife sharpener or a Bavarian Edge knife sharpener I found on Amazon? This one you draw the knife through two spring loaded vertical pieces similar to the letter “X” which sharpens it?
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I have tried most of those knive sharpening tools. For my pocket and other personal knives I use a hard arkansas wet stone with water then honing oil. Kitchen and butcher knives get the sharpening steel treatment.
 
Rene T said:
I didn’t want to hyjack the post on “what pocket knife do you carry” so I started this one. How do you sharpen your knives? That includes pocket knives, hunting knives and kitchen knives? Do you use a stone, electric knife sharpener or a Bavarian Edge knife sharpener I found on Amazon? This one you draw the knife through two spring loaded vertical pieces similar to the letter “X” which sharpens it?
Click to expand...
All of the above. For our kitchen knives we have a nice electric one (Chef's Choice) that does a superb job (just touch a tomato to slice it), and for pocket knives I have a couple of pocket sized sharpeners of the "draw through" variety:

iu
 
Depends on the condition of the edge. I will stone badly worn blades but that is rare.

I apprenticed as a chef in my young life and still use a sharpening steel to keep the edge sharp.

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A few years ago I found this and I gotta say it's pretty awesome. A few strokes and all my blades a perfectly honed.

One of the best tests for an edge is over ripe tomatoes.

1688305547133.png
 

Tri-Angle Sharpmaker® - Spyderco, Inc.

The key to sharpening any cutting tool is removing the steel at the edge while maintaining a consistent angle between the blade and the stone. Spyderco’s Tri-Angle Sharpmaker takes the mystery out of this process and enables anyone to sharpen a knife...
www.spyderco.com www.spyderco.com

I've used this for years... Does a great job and simple to use...
Butch
 
Dad (87) still has the natural slate stone he found in a field while hunting arrowheads when he was a kid. It's rectangular, about the size of a bar of soap, and was already well concaved from use when he picked it up.
My brother and I will fight over it some sad day. In the mean time, I use a modern stone for pocket/hunting knives, and steel rod in the kitchen.
 
Any of those methods, depending on the blade and the condition. I use a high end electric (Chef's Choice) for periodic tune-up of kitchen knives, a small diamond stone for my pocket knife, and a larger dual-grit flat stone for chisels and such. I also have diamond coated sharpening steel for kitchen blade touch-ups - they work great on my soft steel filleting knives. Scissors I touch up with a small fine grit flat stone or a synthetic pad.

Over my many years I've learned that using the right tool for the job leads to success. A blade in bad condition needs a coarser grinding stone to restore the edge before it can actually be "sharpened", but a blade that is still true only needs a mild touch up. And the angle is paramount. The built-in angle guide of the Chefs Choice tool is one of its chief advantages for an amateur.
 
I make Knives, so I sharpen on a 2x72 belt grinder then a leather power strop on the same machine with white or green polishing compound depending on the hardness of the blade.

I do still use my harbor freight 1 x 30 belt grinder sometimes too, same setup with a leather power strop.

Grits of belt is determined by how hard the blade is.

Quit using steels and went to a ceramic rod for dressing between sharpening.
Your results may vary..
 
Complete old school here. Hard Arkansas stone. It has quite a bit of wear as it has seen over sixty years of use. I do not carry a knife on a regular basis but when hiking or exploring I use a five inch knife in a sheath and other times I will carry a four inch folding knife. Never thought of a knife as a defensive weapon because all the knife fights in high school showed that both sides always seem to take on damage in a knife fight. Never had to use my CCW as anything more than something to wear out pocket holsters. I consider myself lucky.
 
Rene T said:
How do you sharpen your knives?
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Hey, great post! Speaking as someone who has drawers full of dull knives and has been meaning to explore possible best methods for sharpening, I'll be watching responses closely. (y)
 
Sharpening knives:
Work: We have a service that comes in and sharpens our culinary work knives. Hone as necessary.
Home: I have a Chef's Choice Edge Select 120 for my personal knives, or I'll use my tri-stone if I get ambitious. Again, hone as necessary.
Pocket: I use a Smiths Pocket Sharpener similar to the one that Larry N. uses (#7).

Also, I have a bamboo cutting board that I use at home. At work we have plastic cutting boards. Never use a knife on a hard cutting surface.
 
"Worksharp" combo:
1688335044687.png

Two grits of diamond, selectable ceramic rod, leather strop. Time intensive but works well.

This is in the backpack for touch up in the field. The carbide V sharpeners tend to make the blade edge irregular but for once in a while does the trick.

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Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
 
I've used the rounded top edge of a car window or the unglazed bottom rim of a coffee cup. Mostly these days I use a Smith's diamond plate and a Gerber sharpening steel. In my opinion sharpening is more technique & not tool.
 
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I have a set of diamond "stones", a 180, 260, and 380 grit. They are about 2"X6", bought them at the big knife store North of Sevierville TN about 20 yrs ago. If they ever wear-out, I'll buy the same again.
I do not move the blade up/down them, but rather stroke the blade from heel to point. This leaves an extremely smooth, sharp edge that I could shave with, were my hands still steady, like when I shaved with a straight razor.
You'll cut your self more often with a dull blade than a sharp blade. Plus it's a lot easier to skin rabbits and squirrels with a sharp knife. Skinning raccons is a lot harder, you must avoid nicking through the skin or it is of no value, with a dull blade it's sure to happen.
 
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