Sharpening Systems

[pistolero]

Hi .32,

If your looking for a Quick Fix, you can always try the Lanksy Quick Edge, it has use carbide and will give you a decent edge in a jiffy.

Also you could try the sandpaper trick, I did sharpen a kitchen knife and the technique works! Buy a water stone, 400/1200 Grit and try your hand at that as well, its not expensive.

If your looking for a system to get the angles right, I did throw some money away on some Made In China systems, best to stay away from them in IMHO.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Pistolero

[Mack The Knife]

Guys suggest some good sharpners, easy to use for beginers, good on the knives & which do not cost a bomb...

http://www.kmesharp.com/

It's a very good system (better than the Lansky's, Gatcos, etc.) and is backed by a customer service that is second to none. Ron is the type of guy who will take time out to answer your every question in detail and will even spend the same amount of time teaching you how to use a competitor's sharpening system if need be.

Study the video and instructions and you will be able to maintain your edges very well.

[Skyman]

careful, carbide eats the blade quite a bit.

[Rajat]

what still eludes are the names of sharpening systems that could be used by an amatuer & not spoil the knives. While giving good edges & not burning a hole in the pocket.

Guys suggest some good sharpners, easy to use for beginers, good on the knives & which do not cost a bomb...

One misconception is that the quality of the edge depends on the sharpening system being used. This might be true to some extent but even with a guided sharpening system you do need some practice and skills.

So my advice would be to get a plain old carborundum two side (different grits) bench stone and practice on some cheap knife. It will be easily available at all hardware stores in India.

If you do not have someone to teach you or a place where you can learn by observing people do it then read some instructions on how to do it or watch a couple of videos on youtube and this will help.

Once you start getting good results with this then you will no longer need any other guided system, you might want to upgrade to a better bench stone but that's about it all.

The sandpaper technique that a couple of guys here use also seems pretty good. You might want to try it out too.

I myself use a spyderco sharpmaker (due to its versatility and ease of use but it is not a guided system) and a stick type sharpener (looks like a pen) made by Victorinox for some odd jobs along with a DMT benchstone.

[pistolero]

I really like the DMT Diamond Sharpening Rods for my Kitchen Knives, using the rod regularly helps me keep my knives keen for use in the kitchen

I just bought a MAC Black Ceramic Honing Rod, for use on the harder steel knives, lets see how that goes.

[.32]

@pistolero, checking out the Lansky now...Sandpaer tech. might be great but it would take a lot of time both using & perfecting.

@Mack The Knife, checking out Kmesharp.

@Skyman, so does it rule out the above two mentioned sharpners? Are these both Carbide..? Now this is what Im concerbed about, don't want to spoil the blades.

@Rajat, agreed its the skill of the person at helm that matters. Consider Im skill-less becasue would be using fo rthe 1st. time. So I need a sharpner that I use for the 1st time, is easy to operate, will use it carefully, doesn't spoil the blade, is not expensive & I don't have to look out for a sharpner again. I mean I would not be wanting to go out sharpner hunting again!

Spyderco sharpmaker seems a little pricey to me, how does the Victorinox one work? Its available in India & doesn't cost much.


I would primarily be using the sharpner on my 3 Spydercos(Delica, Persistence,Tenacious) 1 Kabar(Peter-Janda), 2 Victorinox(Kirpans). So that's a mix of both fixed blades & folders.

[Skyman]

As far as i know, if a blade edge is badly damaged, carbide is used to take much of the "Bad stuff" off to start with a clean slate of sorts.After that you can use ceramic or whatever.

Carbide is also used for edge setting, i haven't tried this nor know too much about it.

My advice, learn from other's mistakes before you make your own.Never try to sharpen a good blade with a bad hand.

[pistolero]

Let us know what you finally select .32

Hope it works for you..

Check out http://www.v-sharp.com

I dont know how good they are, but someone I know is looking at buying the XE model

[.32]

Not decided yet, Lansky are cheap to buy but the Carbide thing concerns me now.

Btw I have a Victorinox Kirpan that a local grinder spoilt, have ot set that right & another knife's edge got damaged, so need to correct both of these.

Also Sypderco Persistence has a few scratches on the blade, how to remove them?

Checked V-Sharp, they are good but expensive for my liking. Don't want to invest much on a sharpner. I know its as important as the knife itself but for the same amount, I can get another decent knife! IFG knife jaadu has worked on me big-time, from no knives, its always knives!

[Rajat]

@Rajat, & I don't have to look out for a sharpner again. I mean I would not be wanting to go out sharpner hunting again!

Thats highly unlikely! Once you begin, slowly get good at it and have developed your own style you will want one to suit your needs at that time.

how does the Victorinox one work? Its available in India & doesn't cost much.

Here it is:



It used to be available at the Basecamp stores. It is quite simple and you may use it the conventional way for sharpening by sliding the blades edge across the rod or by holding the blade still and sliding the rod across.

I do not use the V notch on the top and use this sharpener more for odd jobs rather than for sharpening my knives.

Ok for field use or touch ups but not as the primary system.

[pistolero]

I have finally received the Wicked Edge! Will give it a go on a Santoku which my wife needs sharpened! Have to justify the expense

Will keep you all posted on how it goes.

Adi

[Raghavachari]

Tandavbaba! Namaste Good to find a refreshing opinion on knives brother.

Knives made by blacksmiths here------ I made my first survival style chopper when I was 18 with a local blacksmith in Udupi. Yes it was the most useless piece of mall-ninjaery we have ever seen but it chopped!. The blacksmith knew enough about tempering and annealing to make it quite hard and tough. I own 2 Aruvals made to my specs by a blacksmith in Chennai and my current kitchen knife is a 4 inch wide reconditioned saw-blade that I freehand on 2 carborundum universal stones I got at the hardware store on the street downstairs and it compares really well to my Japanese Santoku in terms of edge-taking, holding and cutting ability. I got that from a dharwaala on a bicycle. So while I agree with the rest of these blokes about buying a good quality knife from a good quality maker I also subscribe to the idea that you can find a good knife anywhere if you know what you are looking for.

I would love to have one made by you to my specs too.

Sharpening- The purpose of all technology is to reduce the energy and skill required to do a particular thing. The guided angle sharpening systems have their purpose. I learnt how edges "behave" with my Lansky deluxe. I didn't know what a burr felt like until I used it. And it still sees use when I feel lazy. I can feel a burr when I sharpen freehand as well now

Made a strop out a clothes-washing bat and some leather. I found black emery and green buffing compound here http://www.indiamart.com/novelty/polish ... ition.html at Rs.50 per block. And the blocks are huge. I mean the 2 blocks I have will last me at least 2 years. Maybe lesser for someone who owns and sharpens a lot of knives. I don't know what grits these are but they work very well on my strop. I get hair popping edges on everything. Of course that edge doesn't last past a few uses. And that edge is pretty useless when it comes to out door use. Is it just me or do those super polished air-bleeding edges deteriorate to useless faster than the "working edge" on the same knife? Expert opinions anyone?

[pistolero]

Hi Raghavchari,

Rockwell Hardness is an important aspect to consider in relation to sharpness of the blade, as a general thumb rule, harder steels retain a keen edge longer and on the flip side take longer to sharpen.

Higher HRC steels such as 60 HRC plus normally used in high end kitchen knives, take a very keen edge and are able to maintain the same for a long time, all they need is a few regular strokes on Higher HRC sharpening rod or ceramic rod to retain the edge.

IMHO if your current knives are not of very hard steel, and have a very thin edge such as 15 Degree or thereabouts, you will experience the needs to constant resharpen, it also depends on how you use the edge

Hope this helps

Cheers
Pistolero

[Moin.]

EDc'ing the Izula for quite some time now, what a wonderful little knife this is. Very comfortable to carry in pant pockets, sturdy fixed blade, and the edge retention's quite good too. Had sharpened it on the Lansky and used it to cut everything from cardboard, jute, paper, fruit(after cleaning the blade ofcourse ), jute bags, cement bags etc etc. Felt the need to sharpen it once again so instead of the Lansky thought of convexing the blade using mousepad-sandpaper method to try and see the difference. Managed to get a get a good uniform bevel on both sides. Have the black and green polishing compounds but have yet to build a strop. The blade was taken from 400 grit to 2000 grit on emery paper mounted on mousepad glued to a piece of plywood. Took me 3 hours to get it this sharp, should get better after stropping on leather with black and green compounds.















Compared to a guided system this would be relatively easier to touch up and keep sharp.

Best Regards
Moin.

[Mack The Knife]

Compared to a guided system this would be relatively easier to touch up and keep sharp.

You don't say!

Job well done!