Sharpening knives

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Meigscl
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Sharpening knives

Post by Meigscl »

I have a huge collection of knives, but I never sharpened any of them. Im super afraid I will mess up the value and to be truthful ruin my knife. How do you guys sharpen them (carry knives) ? Is there a fail proof system ?
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Colonel26
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Re: Sharpening knives

Post by Colonel26 »

Get a good Arkansas stone and a couple of basket case cheap knives and practice. It’s a skill you need to learn.

Others will recommend some type of lansky system and those will work, but there is a learning curve there too.
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orvet
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Re: Sharpening knives

Post by orvet »

Any sharpening system requires that you fine the proper angle for the blade you are sharpening and hold it constant throughout the sharpening proceed.

You can do that with a Lansky System or with a Arkansas stone and muscle memory (from lots of practice). Either way you get a sharp knife. It really depends on you finding a method you can be consistent with and practicing until you can get the result you want every time.
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Steve Warden
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Re: Sharpening knives

Post by Steve Warden »

Lansky Turnbox TB2D2C (2 diamond coated rods and 2 ceramic rods). No special skill or practice needed. Drop the rods into the slots and run the knife edge down the rods. All you have to do is keep the the blade straight, the rods set the angle for you.

As I said, no practice or skill needed.
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OLDE CUTLER
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Re: Sharpening knives

Post by OLDE CUTLER »

I will also endorse the Lansky system. I have been using mine since the early 1980s.
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KnifeSlinger#81
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Re: Sharpening knives

Post by KnifeSlinger#81 »

The lansky does pretty much eliminate the issue where you sharpen at too low of an angle and get a really sloppy looking edge and scratch up the blade, which is what I'm assuming you'd be worried about not doing. It's also not expensive.
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doglegg
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Re: Sharpening knives

Post by doglegg »

Steve Warden wrote:Lansky Turnbox TB2D2C (2 diamond coated rods and 2 ceramic rods). No special skill or practice needed. Drop the rods into the slots and run the knife edge down the rods. All you have to do is keep the the blade straight, the rods set the angle for you.

As I said, no practice or skill needed.
For those who don't know me, it's fool proof.
For those who do, it's Steve proof. ::super_happy::
"Steve proof"!!! :lol: :lol:
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Cletus Awreetus
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Re: Sharpening knives

Post by Cletus Awreetus »

personally, having put myself on the track to mastering free hand sharpening is as satisfying as anything I've ever done with this hobby. if you just want sharp there are shortcuts but if you want to expand the relationship you have with your EDCs, as the Colonel said get some junk knives and an Ark or 2 and practice. you won't regret putting in the time. I've found that most guys who free hand enjoy talking about sharpening as much as talking about knives in general so there's plenty of help along the way to be had.
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KnifeSlinger#81
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Re: Sharpening knives

Post by KnifeSlinger#81 »

Cletus Awreetus wrote:personally, having put myself on the track to mastering free hand sharpening is as satisfying as anything I've ever done with this hobby. if you just want sharp there are shortcuts but if you want to expand the relationship you have with your EDCs, as the Colonel said get some junk knives and an Ark or 2 and practice. you won't regret putting in the time. I've found that most guys who free hand enjoy talking about sharpening as much as talking about knives in general so there's plenty of help along the way to be had.
The best thing about freehand is that when skilled at it there are no limitations. All guided sharpeners have some kind of limitation that makes it harder or impossible to do certain things. Also with freehand you can keep a pocket stone on you and sharpen when you are out and about which can be essential at times.
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Meigscl
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Re: Sharpening knives

Post by Meigscl »

Thanks for all the replies. I will try and get a cheap knife to practice on.
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Quick Steel
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Re: Sharpening knives

Post by Quick Steel »

Back in the late 80s I bought my first knife, a Buck. I imagined myself becoming a sharpening master who would dazzle friends, turning their blades from the crude plows they had become into edges that would rival that of a Toledo sword. I bought an Arkansas stone which came with a little plastic guide so you could learn and maintain the proper angle. Also came with honing oil. This was exciting stuff. I began. Not too much pressure now. Minutes passed, then an hour. Very little was happening. I checked the instructions. Yes, I was maintaining the same number of strokes on each side. Frequent checks. I began to imagine I was making some progress. I was deluded. And frustrated. I vowed to try again the next day. After more effort, I took a tomato and attempted to slice it. I eventually had to apply so much pressure the tomato exploded all over the counter top. I cursed the knife, the tomato and the honing oil. Switched to a V sharpener such as Steve described and have been content ever since.

A very inexpensive but effective sharpener is AG Russel's Field Sharpener. Easily placed in a drawer, a tool box, or a pack; comes with 4 rods two of which are diamond. Spyderco offers a similar but considerably larger and more expensive V sharpener which I use for larger blades. If you wish to learn free hand [which I now do fairly well] there are videos on YouTube including AG's.
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