Sharpening systems

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JonE

Forager
Apr 11, 2014
246
0
Oxfordshire
Evening All,

As my knive collection grows it's become clear I am going to need some more/better sharpening kit.

I currently use wet and dry paper on a flat board but I'm getting through quite a bit of paper and I'm also finding free hand sharpening quite frustrating at the moment and would like something I can set up and use to get a consistent angle and decent sharp blade then put it away and use the knife knowing it's got a reasonable edge.

So does anyone use any of the sharpening systems such as the lanksy system http://www.heinnie.com/lansky-sharpeners-sharpening-systems-standard-system as always I also have to consider budget and the Lanksy system would be the top of that.

The other option would be a knife clamp http://www.heinnie.com/dmt-knife-clamp and decent stone.

I've got a selection of strops that I've made.

What's everyone's opinion and what do you use?

Cheers

Jon
 
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Dave Budd

Gold Trader
Staff member
Jan 8, 2006
2,895
321
44
Dartmoor (Devon)
www.davebudd.com
the dmt one shown above looks promising for those ona budget, but I can see it being limited to short blades just as the lansky set ups are. The only gadget I have found over the year (and I have a lot of them for teaching purposes) that is worth using is the Edge Pro. I got an EdgePro Pro when they were still hand made in the US and were inmport only, but apparently the Apex knock offs on Ebay aren't to bad either. The down side is that you have small stones and can marr your blade surfaces, but a bit of tape can mostly solve that.

To be honest there is no substitute for learning to sharpen free hand on stones, be them diamond, water or oil. I personally use waterstones, mostly ceramic but I teach folk with softer waterstones as you get more tactile response from them and it is easier to learn what you are doing right or wrong. I run classes in sharpening if that helps, but will do a demo at the Moot too if people would like :)
 

ozzy1977

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
8,558
3
46
Henley
I would just get a set of water stones and do it free hand, really easy to get a god edge quickly.
 

MartiniDave

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 29, 2003
2,355
130
62
Cambridgeshire
Jon,

With all your classic pocket knives, I would suggest the Falkniven DC4, that's what I use on my small folders, works really well, quick and convenient.

Dave
 

cranmere

Settler
Mar 7, 2014
992
2
Somerset, England
I have the Lansky set and it does a pretty good job. It's not as good as good water stones but needs less skill to get a good edge. I would go for that but also get someone to teach you how to use stones and then practice when you have time.
 

JonE

Forager
Apr 11, 2014
246
0
Oxfordshire
Thanks for the replies all, I think I will go for the decent stone and angle guide option, I recieved an old army jack knife in the post this morning that I got in a trade on here and got good results using my current setup so my faith in myself and free hand sharpening has been restored.

All my knives are pretty short bladed pocket knives anyway so hopefully the clamp I linked to will be fine, so I'll probably grab one of them and maybe a DC3/4 for now. Then maybe some waterstones when I've got some more spare cash.

Cheers

Jon
 

Ruud

Full Member
Jun 29, 2012
670
176
Belgium
www.rudecheers.wordpress.com
A good long leather strop with some plain steel-polish for kitchen use is what I use a lot. I use the strop after every use, which is why I almost never need to sharpen any knife. Even after a somewhat crappy sharpening-job, you can restore the edge in mint condition and give it a mirror-finish if you like. I like using sandpaper for the real sharpening, cheap, does what it has to do, lightweight.
 

zornt

Nomad
Apr 6, 2014
273
128
70
Ohio, USA
I have noth the lansky and the DMT knife clamp. I use the Lansky clamp with the DMT stones. It is difficult to set the angle with the DMT clamp.
I also have a Lansky BladeMedicpocketsharpener.It is agreat help ffor me as my sharpening skills,frankly suck!
 

Dave-the-rave

Settler
Feb 14, 2013
638
1
minsk
I took an interest in knife sharpening a few years ago. All I used until then was a butchers steel. My dad was a butcher so I knew how to use one. I decided to go down the freehand route just because that's what I wanted to do.

So I decided to buy a cheap stone and some cheap knives just to learn on. Here's what I bought...

http://www.knivesandtools.co.uk/en/pt/-eden-quality-combi-waterstone-grain-2000-5000.htm

Now before anyone has a go at me, I'm not suggesting they are the best stones on the planet. I'm saying that's where I started and at the price it didn't matter if I messed them up while learning...as long as they work of course, which they do. The claimed grits are probably way off but they work and they work well.

So I learned to sharpen freehand and how to level the stones as they dish with use. I messed up a few knives and some of them I managed to recover. All part of the learning process. I learned how different steels feel on the stone, how some are hard some are soft etc. Different steels along with different heat treatment have different characteristics and I enjoyed learning all of that.

Now I'm a bit OCD so I then got a piece of Welsh slate of ebay, cost about £12 as a polishing stone and learned to take an edge to a new level. By then I had no body hair left.

I started to learn about stropping and began by using a belt which I've never been able to master. I was going to give up on the strop as a bad joke when I read some more on the subject and bought a ''thin leather on a hard backing'' type of strop. The technique required there is very different from using a soft strop like a belt and I found it an easy skill to learn.

By now I was like a new born baby. No hair at all anywhere and my edges were like mirrors. I used and still use this guys strop and blue compound..http://www.longstrider.co.uk/longstrider_015.htm

Then I learned that all this palaver is just garbage fueled by too many hours spent online. There's absolutely no need to go to such lengths to get such a sharp blade. The shaving sharp edge is eroded from first use anyway leaving a good working edge which can last a long time depending on steel, Ht, sharpening ability and so on.

That said I enjoyed the learning process which is ongoing really and requires practice and experience to get better. I still wouldn't sharpen someones £250 knife in case I put a wobble in the angle but I can sharpen a knife pretty damn good still using the above items which were cheap and easily replaceable. I rarely use the slate now but again it was a nice thing to learn to use. With the slate I can really connect with the steel if that makes sense.

Learning patience and calmness as well as connecting with the tools and steel is a very meditative pastime, for me anyway. Or I can rush it, cut myself, get it stupid sharp and throw it in the drawer. It's still plenty sharp that way too.

So If ya want a sharp knife buy a Lansky or similar guide type thing. If ya like learning new skills and using your hands learn freehand which doesn't have to be expensive. If you want to spend a fortune you can do that and you can spend hours online telling people to spend hundreds on kit.

'Orses for courses really.
 

tombear

On a new journey
Jul 9, 2004
4,494
556
54
Rossendale, Lancashire
I used the Gatco version for a long time, picked up cheap with a few spare stones when a army stores in Oxford stopped stocking them.

http://www.gatcosharpeners.com/product/sharp_systems/edgemate_sys.mgi?mgiToken=12I90C911AEB5AE92G991

it worked fine, the medium stones seamed to wear out in the middle quite fast no matter how careful you used them. The super extra mega course or whatever it's called is worth getting if there's a lot of metal to get rid of.

In the end I lost the plot and blew the profits from selling a deactivated gun ( read paper weight ) on a Tormek -7 water wheel and never looked back. Just use a steel in the field to touch up.

ATB

Tom
 
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JonE

Forager
Apr 11, 2014
246
0
Oxfordshire
Cheers Dave.

Tom a friend of mine has the Tormek it seems like a good bit of kit for the initial sharpening/profiling.
 
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tombear

On a new journey
Jul 9, 2004
4,494
556
54
Rossendale, Lancashire
Yeah it's pricey is the main problem but since I was going to use it for chisels, gouges and all that as well I could justify it. One ting is with very heavy use the stone wears down at a alarming rate. Herself volunteered me to restore all the scout groups hatchets one year and rather than do the rough sharpening on the grinding wheel and finishing on the Tormek I did it all on the water wheel and lost about 1/2 a inch off the diameter in one session!

The leather stropping wheel does a great job. It's the only way I can consistently get a real razor edge. Others can do it with a river stone and palm of their hand but I need all the help I can get. The first time I did my big Grohmann no. 4 I made the major mistake of seeing how sharp it was on my rather hairy belly as opposed to the back of my arm. Major mistake as it left a baby smooth streak that ended up with me having to shave the whole thing, the stubble kept herself at a distance till it grew back etc etc. Not a good result.

ATB

tom
 

Hibrion

Maker
Jan 11, 2012
1,230
7
Ireland
The diamond version of the lansky system is really good for harder 'super steels', but for everything else waterstones are good.

Whatever sharpening system you get will work, but make sure to buy / make a leather strop to get that final sharpness from your blades.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
So If ya want a sharp knife buy a Lansky or similar guide type thing. If ya like learning new skills and using your hands learn freehand which doesn't have to be expensive. If you want to spend a fortune you can do that and you can spend hours online telling people to spend hundreds on kit.

'Orses for courses really.

Spot on. A basic Lanky will get any knife as sharp as it needs to be. Its pretty much all I use now (and mine will sharpen a machete length blade quite happily too ) :)
 

Bucephalas

Full Member
Jan 19, 2012
1,058
0
Chepstow, Wales
I have many systems i've used including DMT's but my fav is the knock-off edge pro.
I'm lazy so want an easy system which will do the job with the least effort!

Dave Budd can show you how to do it properly though.
Here's Dave at the recent knife show.
a5y8asyb.jpg
 

reedx

Tenderfoot
Apr 12, 2012
87
0
Durham
www.REEDX.net
Yep Edge Pro clone for me too. Wish I'd bought one first - if I'd bought a genuine Edge Pro it would still probably have been cheaper than all of the other systems I've tried over the years.

Colin
 

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