Knife Sharpener

I'm thinking about a new knife sharpener. I currently hand sharpen my knives (Lansky), but sharpening is such a time-consuming process I'm hoping there's a sharpener out there that will produce as good of results with far less effort - that way I'll sharpen my knives as often as I should.

What do you folks recommend?

My basic version of the worksharp grinder was a welcomed replacement for Lansky a few years ago, never looked back.

Poke 'Em said:

I'm thinking about a new knife sharpener. I currently hand sharpen my knives (Lansky), but sharpening is such a time-consuming process I'm hoping there's a sharpener out there that will produce as good of results with far less effort - that way I'll sharpen my knives as often as I should.

What do you folks recommend?

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I use a Havalon as much as possible, cheap and easy. Throw it away when your done. I also have a Gerber Gator Premium that holds its edge very well. I send it in at the end of each year and for ten bucks they put a razor edge back on it.

How lazy and efficient is that

ishootdasmallones said:

I use a Havalon as much as possible, cheap and easy. Throw it away when your done. I also have a Gerber Gator Premium that holds its edge very well. I send it in at the end of each year and for ten bucks they put a razor edge back on it.

How lazy and efficient is that

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I guess I should have specified. I'm looking for something that will work for both my hunting knives AND my kitchen knives.

Havalons are great though.

There was a thread on here a few years back about the worksharp that finally made me spend the money to get one. Wanted to kick myself in the butt for not buying one sooner after using it. I think at the time they were $100, now I see them for $70 on amazon.

Works on everything. When I take it out, I sharpen every knife in the house, kitchen, hunting, fishing and scissor. I also take it over to my different sisters houses a few times a year and sharpen all their kitchen knives. Quick and easy.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003IT5F14/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Those are awesome. You convinced me, I just bought one.

ishootdasmallones is right, worksharp. hard to screw up, works awesome

I'm glad I enabled some of you to loosen up your wallet. Love my Work Sharp.

I have the Lansky system with the various stones and love it. Yes it does take longer to get the initial sharpening job done but I've found out a couple of things. When you go to touch them up when they are starting to get dull it only takes 5-10 minutes tops to have them razor sharp again. My buddy used his work shop sharpener on his kitchen knives that I had sharpened for him with the Lansky when they started to get dull. Yes it might be a little faster on the "touch up" sharpening, but one thing he noted was his blades did not hold an edge as long and he had to sharpen them more often. I would wager that I can put a perfect edge on the knife that is sharper than anything that can be done with the Work shop sharpener.

There is another system that looks very precise and I've thought about purchasing it also. It is called the KME system. IT looks to be first rate.

6mm Remington said:

Yes it might be a little faster on the "touch up" sharpening, but one thing he noted was his blades did not hold an edge as long and he had to sharpen them more often.

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Although I've used both, I can't say I've ever tried to compare longevity of edges and degrees of sharpness. It could certainly be true. It's indisputable though, that I can do an entire set of kitchen knives in a matter of 10 minutes and each one is sharp enough to pop hair with.

The KME looks like a very nice system.

I've used a lansky for near 30 years now. Last year bought a works sharp. I can't get knives near as sharp with the works sharp as I can with the lansky. No doubt the works sharp gets knives plenty sharp. So my hunting and fillet knives I do on the lansky. Every kitchen knife in the house I do on the works sharp. But I also have 3 havalon knives and don't carry anything else in my pack.

Worksharp. It’s awesome. Razor sharp in 1 minute

I will add to what others have said. I have the work sharp ken onion, Lansky, Spyderco tri angle, and a Norton 3 stone.

I worked in a kitchen as a chef for over 5 years we would use the Norton on all our knives. It takes time and a lot of practice to get the angle right. But of the ones mentioned that is the best for edge and longevity I have seen.

I always used the lansky for all my hunting knives like above they will get them razor sharp but it takes time. Takes the longest of all the ones I mentioned.

I bought the Spyderco a few years back. I really like that one, it is fast and easy to use and the edge stays for some time. It also comes in a nice carrying case you can throw in your truck boat or pack. I would rate this just below the Norton.

Lastly the Work Sharp Ken Onion. I bought this for one main purpose my father and I decided to skin and debone deer this year as a side gig. It is fast and it is effective. You can get them razor sharp real quick. The cons of this heats the blade if you are not careful, can lose the tip of your knife over time they will start to round. and the edge doesn't last as long as any of the other ones above. Yes it is a very nice sharpener if you don't have the time to do it with other means but I think it is the hardest on knives IMO. I will not use my expensive kitchen knives on it.

I have a 12" round diamond and one that is smaller for my pack. It will sharpen up a knife in a few licks so never though about any other sharpener. Once you figure out the correct angle it is very easy to sharpen any knife.

I'm one of those old fashioned guys who takes pride in knowing how to sharpen a knife. A skill I learned when I was a kid in the Boy Scouts. My sharpener needs no electricity of batteries and works on all knives. The super fast and easy use it once and throw it away stuff is not for me.

I have stones & learned a long time ago how to get different knives sharp...even before I had to sharpen several knives razor sharp ,several times a day, as a fishmonger. Years of wood tool sharpening too.
I do carry a pocket Lansky for touch ups in the field.

Any reviews or thoughts on the Warthog sharpeners?

^ Interesting concept for a knife sharpener.

What kind of landsky do you guys use? The work sharp looks awesome but I enjoy sharpening by hand.

Poke Em one thing I forgot to mention is I strongly suggest getting the C-clamp with the Lansky system. It makes it so much easier and simpler to use the system.

https://lansky.com/index.php/products/dlx-5-stone-system/

https://lansky.com/index.php/products/super-c-clamp/
Couple more thoughts on things that work for me.

20 or 25 degrees is great for most hunting, pocket, and butcher knives. 17 is really good for a fillet knife. If you are not sure of what angle your hunting or whatever type of knife you are sharpening has do this. Use a large tipped black permanent marker to blacken the edge for an inch or so on both sides of the blade.

Set up the blade holder on the blade you wish to sharpen. I keep a small stubby Phillips screw driver to snug up the screw on the blade quide when I have it all set. It helps hold the blades a little more securely. Take and use a medium stone a couple times on each side on the finer angle (say 20 degree's on a hunting knife) and stroke over the blackened area. You can tell immediately without using much pressure if the angle you selected is correct. If you are taking all or most of the black off the area you darkened you are set to start sharpening.

When a blades been honed by hand or on some of the work sharp type systems, often times the edges are rounded. It might take a bit to hone the blade until you have a perfect edge. If it looks like it's going to take some work to get the edges both the same on each side of the knife start right off with the coarse or extra coarse stones. The instructions will say to only stroke with the blade but I have found that it takes a whole lot less time and I am doing a more even job on each side if I work the stone forwards and back. I do this for the whole length of the blade and then hone back to where I started. Flip the blade over and do the other side. Once you get a pretty good angle and you have cleaned up the edges on both sides, then I will switch to a finer stone such as the medium, then the fine, and finally the ultra fine hone.

I will use less pressure especially when I get to the finest hones to get that perfect blade edge. It seems to work for me. Like I said once you have the edges perfect on both sides, they do seem to hold that edge longer. It is also simple to touch them up. Down the road when they need it I would start with a medium stone and clean up the edges on both sides. Then got the the fine and then the ultra fine stone. This next touch up job will only take 5-10 minutes. Maybe a few more, but it's really simple to keep them sharp.

I wish I had a new host page for pictures. If I did I would post some up so you can get a look at how nice the edges are on the knives.

David

God bless you all who can sharpen a knife with just a stone. I can dull a knife like nobodies business using one and could not sharpen anything until I got the Lansky. I can touch up a knife with a small steel or ceramic rod, but sharpening, not so much.