Sharpening

[TomFromStLouis]

An endless topic for sure.

I started out scary sharp (sandpaper on glass) and went to water stones and stopped there. From a budget and quality perspective it is hard to beat AHill's combo of combination stone and strop.

For kitchen knives there are plenty of gizmos in kitchen stores that work. I just use a round thingy with handle.

[Tapper]

........ a WorkSharp 3000 and I love that machine for all chisels, and plane blades.

I have a Worksharp 3000 also and it takes all the guesswork and finesse out of sharpening IMHO - wonderful tool! I was just talking to a friend of mine today and this topic came up. He reminded me that Worksharp also makes a knife sharpening unit. With almost 3,000 reviews on Amazon it gets 4 1/2 stars out of five. The video in the ad is also very informative.

Looks like it just made my "future tools" list!

Doug

[Steve N]

Daughter of a good friend dated a guy who traveled from Columbus to Cleveland, and then down to Cinci on a circuit sharpening knives for cooks. He suggested one of these for homeowners use.




$15.95 for the Pro I haven't looked back, and can't imagine a sharper knife. Straight, Serrated, Steel, or Ceramic, doesn't matter. Probably a lot cheaper than the WS attachment

[BillinIN]

Awesome feedback.  Thanks, everyone!!

I'll need to sleep on this a bit and then, as Nike says, just do it!

Thanks much!

[Rob Young]

Combo India Stone : $21
https://www.amazon.com/Norton-6146368556...rton+india


Use thin oil, baby oil (thin down with kerosene), straight kerosene, WD40, etc.  Really, whatever you can get your hands on for the least amount of money.

Make a stone box.

Make a strop for a few bucks more.  No compound, green crayon stuff, chrome polish, whatever.  They all work.

Done.



But for fun, make a "power strop" using a leather rimmed wheel or the paper wheels.  Wow!

[paulmaine]

I have a Presto Eversharp for kitchen knives.  It has two small electric grinding wheels-a moderate and a fine.  Anyone can use one after a few minutes.  You pre-sharpen on the moderate wheel and finish up on the fine wheel. They are only $30. They are only $30 and are great on straight sided kitchen knives.  Can be stored in the kitchen.  I used more sophisticated methods but it seemed that everyone was cutting themselves.  Use a Dremel with a round cheapo diamond ball cutter for round indetented bread knives.

    There are an infinite way to sharpen shop tools.   If you are a one person shop you can get along without any electric sharpeners though I admit they are like a lot of fun with all those expensive attachments.  I have wanted a few types for so long, I can afford them, but I don't need them.  An exception is for wood turning tool sharpening is for the Grinding wheels and Wolverine attachments.

    I use larger DMT diamond stones for my chisels and and plane blades.  They can be used for woodcarving tools also.  They are a bit pricey but last.  Cheaper stones are available but you will always be disappointed like using cheap junk tools.  I have water stones but they have to be flattened and wear down.  You can buy Tape with embedded abrasives and use attached to flat glass  rather than water stones.  

    Once you get a tool sharpened it takes  little care unless it falls, etc.   I feel that buying new sharpening tools is the greatest joy of woodworking but often is not necessary.

[JSpill]

Two days of a sharpening discussion and no mention of Tormek? What's this world coming to?

[AHill]

Two days of a sharpening discussion and no mention of Tormek? What's this world coming to?

He's on a budget.  Tormek might be one of the most expensive ways to sharpen things, unless you're into high end natural waterstones.  Not knocking it's quality and results, just sayin'...

[BillinIN]

I wound up ordering a Norton stone kit.  I could have gone a number of different directions but I'll give this a try and keep you posted.  

Thanks for all the input!

[daddo]

I use a belt grinder and finish with stones. Belt grinders are expensive though (I had to make mine), but don't forget the traditional bench grinder with a good rough and fine wheel and then a stone to finish. This way, lawnmower blades, knives, tools and everything in between can be sharpened with less expense than most methods other than using a file and stone.
I would mention that the belt grinder can remove material quickly (10x faster than any regular grinder) or it can be used with a fine grit for fine work.