Thread: knife sharpening system???

I have the Lansky Diamond and use it for all my knives be they pocket, hunting or kitchen. It gives you the right angle with consistancy.

I was a meat cutter years ago and still butcher my game and the occasional steer. I have gutted and butchered more deer and elk than I can remember. All of my personal hunting knives are custom made out of 154CM, ATS34 or S30V at 61-62R. My butchering knives are commercial meat cutting knives made by Mundial or Forschner Victorinox.

I have had excellent results with a 1 inch commercial ceramic rod for touch up. I use a common butcher's steel to bring the edge up after some use. I use a Gerber hunter's steel in the field but rarely need it unless I bone out a carcass. Most knives are not really dull but have the cutting edge rolled to one side and the butcher's steel brings the edge back to where it can cut. Before you sharpen a new edge, use the steel to see if the edge returns.

When I need to really put a new edge on a knife I use soft and hard Arkansas novaculite stones (also known as Ouachita stone) and keep the edge at an exact angle through years of experience. If this is difficult for you there are many commercial jigs available to keep the angle correct and these have been already mentioned by other posts. Which one is best? Take your pick as most work well and choosing is personal preference. Hope this helps and good luck with your new tool.
Best regards,
300WSM

I hate sharpening knives. (For some reason I don't mind doing straight razors though.) So I like to get it over with quickly, especially on kitchen knives. For those, I use a Harbor Freight 1 x 30" belt sander, some decent belts, and a leather honing belt. The other day I sharpened ten kitchen knives in about twenty minutes, which included three belt changes. They come out sharp enough to shave hair off of my arm, but not crazy sharp like a straight razor.

I have pretty much all of the sharpening systems, stones, and jigs you can think of, but the Harbor Freight belt sander is cheaper than most, and faster than all of the others. You can get the sander on sale for about $35. Decent 1 x 30 belts are $1.15 each from Pop's (I usually use 220 and 600 grit), and the 1" x 30" SURGI-SHARP Leather Belt is $15.95 from Moon's Saw & Tool (it's 17.95 if you get the abrasive stick with it). (Put "Surgi-Sharp" into Moon's "Quick Search" to find the page.)

So, unless you are into extreme sharpening and have lots of time to kill, the little belt sander is my recommendation.

Freehand:
DMT, Norton, Shapton, etc hones
Ceramic or Diamond "Steels" (i.e. handheld rod)

Semi-guided:
Bench hone set on wedge block - User holds knife blade horizontal by eye
Crock stick systems - User holds knife blade vertical by eye. (Spyderco Sharpmaker)

Guided:
Lansky
EdgePro
Many others

Powered:
Belt sanders
paper wheels
etc


I like free handing on bench hones. Sometimes I tilt the stone to a set angle with a digital level. I also like the Spyderco Sharpmaker. When it works it works very fast. I have an EdgePro but I don't use it much.

By the way, when you use a 1" x 30" belt sander for sharpening, it's usually easier to turn it onto it's spine, so that the belt is horizontal and runs away from you. I just flip mine over while it's on the work bench, but some guys have made some really nice fixtures to hold their's. Here are links to two examples (example 1, example 2), and I'll post some of their pictures below.

Forgive me if I'm stating the obvious but you have to be really careful when using a belt sander to sharpen ? I would think heat would build up quickly ? Any tips on doing this without ruining the blade ? I have such a tool but never thought to try it with sharpening.

I saw your earlier post recommending grits. I am asking about the actual hands on mechanics of sharpening on the belt sander. Obviously no pressure ?

While it is possible to sharpen knives (as well as chisels, bevels etc) with a belt sander, you must be VERY careful when doing so. You can touch the belt with the blade for only few seconds and then put the blade into water to prevent it from heating too much.
I use water cooled grindstone or then just sharpen knives with handstones.

Jimmy, I have never over heated a blade while using one of the 1" x 30" belt grinders. I keep the blade moving across the belt and I don't use much downward pressure. It generally only takes two or three passes per grit to get the job done. That's why this method is so quick and easy. Over heating has never been an issue for me, probably because so few passes are needed. Perhaps the belt speed is also slower than other grinders, although I've never bothered to check it. If you are concerned about over heating the edge, you could always dunk it in water as you do while grinding a razor, but I have not found it necessary. I also own a variable speed Bader BIII grinder, but I have much better luck sharpening with the HF belt sander.

Cheap triangle hones with Arkansas soft/hard/black work just fine, as do synthetics designed to perform the same task. Bigger blocks = easier sharpening, but there are people who sharpen their knives on blocks the size of a dowel (looks more like a steel than a stone).

Keep in mind that most good knife systems are oil-based rather than water. You use more pressure and remove more metal, consequently the fact that water stones are typically faster and softer do not make them ideal for the task, although I'm sure they can be made to work.

Someone mentioned a V-sharpener (Or angled crock sticks).

I have bought these for my father. He uses them on the knives I've given him. I have three complaints.

1. They remove more metal than a decent sharpening job on stones would.

2. They are dead set at the "correct" angle. This is great if you don't know how to hone. It will be unacceptable if you are able to hone and use your knife with any regularity.

3. (possibly due to 2.) I am never pleased with the edges of my fathers knives when I visit and use them. I have recommended he send them out for sharpening on a couple occasions. The knives are nearly the same quality as my knives and are much better quality than the ones I use at work, the problem is the sharpening on them. They can cut however, and he feels they are sharp (not having a reference to compare against). Eventually I'll get around to putting a real edge on them for him.

4. (maybe) I've only ever purchased $25 (V's, not sticks) and cheaper ones, but these ones wear out fast. Very fast. Less than a year. He isn't particularly good at steeling, so he probably uses them more often than necessary, but still that is damn fast imho.

Basically if you just want to cook once or twice a week, only need to keep a single knife sharp, and don't want the trouble of learning knife honing, they are acceptable substitutes. But have no doubt, they are a substitute for a superior solution.