Thread: Sharpeing Stones - Knives

220 grit on a knife with a good deburring by hand or whatever is as much as you need for all purpose kitchen work imo. I think a little tooth in the edge is good. That stage cuts arm hair easily. Obviously you can go higher. And I've done mine by hand up to 5k chosera. The edge is polished for sure. But I don't think I got any longevity or other benefit for what I do here. Lower angle like 10 to 12 degrees increases an edges cutting. Which is what I typically do with my kitchen knives. But trying to reprofile a knife edge by hand is a tedious task. I even sharpen my edc knife to that. The only tool that gets the 22 degree is the cleaver.

It is agreed that the WE does a hell of a good job! Consistent, flawless polish, and sharp as hell! This edge finished with 0.5 micron diamond lapping film. Excessive, I know...

Apologies for the poor picture quality!

I just use a couple of BBWs on my pocket knives and it works like a charm

My kitchen knives get some quick strokes on either a BBW and/or Coticule and they cut mighty fine as well

They shave arm hair (which doesn't matter) and meats etc. very well (that does matter), so I never gave it much more thought


My EDC knives get a good stropping session after a honing session, they're mostly use on the farm and I use cheap Opinel inox Sandvik steel knives, which are as utilitarian as it can get, I dig it

I'm always fidgeting a bit with my free hand honing angles though

I use either a Suehiro stone, a DMT, or an Ark on my knives. I can polish any of the edges on my strops coated with diamond sprays to give it a mirror finish - but of course my Black Ark give a polished finish anyway.

For the kitchen, I prefer my Suehiro stones. For my EDC and hunting knives, my Arks. I leave my DMT's for fast bevel setting or garden tools mostly. They are a nice edge too, but I prefer the others.

Arks are great if you love honing. You can't "over-hone" with one.

Originally Posted by Bill31521

220 grit on a knife with a good deburring by hand or whatever is as much as you need for all purpose kitchen work imo. I think a little tooth in the edge is good. That stage cuts arm hair easily. Obviously you can go higher. And I've done mine by hand up to 5k chosera. The edge is polished for sure. But I don't think I got any longevity or other benefit for what I do here. Lower angle like 10 to 12 degrees increases an edges cutting. Which is what I typically do with my kitchen knives. But trying to reprofile a knife edge by hand is a tedious task. I even sharpen my edc knife to that. The only tool that gets the 22 degree is the cleaver.

I sharpen all knives at 18 degrees. **KISS**

I am just the opposite of the OP I am looking to get something like the WE or EP Apex to put on a knife edge as I just can’t seem to get repeatable results, I’m sure it has to do with me no doing it enough but I also honestly don’t find much reward in sharpening a knife compared to honing a razor, the razor honing seems more rewarding and yes I know this sounds crazy.

Originally Posted by Jnatcat

I am just the opposite of the OP I am looking to get something like the WE or EP Apex to put on a knife edge as I just can’t seem to get repeatable results, I’m sure it has to do with me no doing it enough but I also honestly don’t find much reward in sharpening a knife compared to honing a razor, the razor honing seems more rewarding and yes I know this sounds crazy.

I fully understand what your saying. I also struggle with consistency with a knife on a bench stone and I am in now way ready to abandon ship from the WE. I do, however find myself using a bench stone on a couple knives when I'm running through all of the kitchen knives on the WE because I enjoy the process more. I may continue to use the DMT coarse + Chosera 1k for knives as it does a great job. That said, I would like a bit toothier edge on kitchen knives and will probably pick up a Chosera 600 to play with.

I have the same issues with a knife on a stone, but in using a small folding DMT on my knives, I can be consistent by holding the knife steady in one hand and rubbing with the DMT using the other. Works for me!

I use the WE system and I frequently say that I've never spent better money. I can't understand why you would move AWAY from the WE system. Some may get good edges from stones. Grit is grit. But the WE system nails the angle and achieves consistency every single time. In the end, this can save the investment you made in knives by not screwing them up or grinding away at 20 degrees this time and 15 degrees the next. Or, getting the heel and middle sharp while the tip is still dull. I swear by it. As a guy that gives my knives heavy kitchen use, its been the best investment I've made. Each of my knives is always in tip top shape. If you already know how to sharpen well on stones, great. If you're not used to it or have a problem keeping a consistent angle, the WE is money well spent. But, arguably, I don't sharpen knives for fun. Results are the only thing that matter to me.

I get my initial burr on dmt then I move on to either a fine washita or a charnley forest. I wouldn't use either of the latter on those steels with the incredibly hard carbides though.