Kitchen knife sharpening

[hbmcc]

Our steel rods have always been a space nuisance, so the standard forked steels keep everything slicing ... even me ...in the kitchen. A heavy hand ruins edges, so I fiddle with free hand shaping on the woodworking diamonds. Gizmos and anything elaborate always disappear.

There are a couple credit card diamonds and strop for knives. The D2 carvers are too tough for all but my standard diamond plates.

I'd try Adam's cup but know the floor would be flooded if I did. I will try that on a couple crappy steel edges in a bit.

[jstraw]

I purchased a large lot of worksharp accessories in an auction years ago, for a bunch of glass wheels and sandpaper. The lot included a knife sharpening attachment and plenty of belts for a Worksharp 2000. I have a WS 3000 and the knife sharpener did not fit. So, I built a jig to mount it and powered it with a very small, spare induction motor and flex shaft I had sitting around. It works great for most knives. I wouldn’t use it on most of the expensive Japanese knives that have different bevels than what the WS attachment was designed for.

I mounted the jig to a French cleat wall in my shop which allows quick access for fast sharpening.

Last week my neighbor was in my shop and asked about the contraption, so I demoed it. He was so impressed, he asked if I would sharpen one of his kitchen knives and a pocket knife. I agreed and he visited later with what turned out to be 1 full size knife and 7 abused pocket knife blades. They were all sharp in no more than 10 minutes.

[Timberwolf]

Our steel rods have always been a space nuisance, so the standard forked steels keep everything slicing ... even me ...in the kitchen. A heavy hand ruins edges, so I fiddle with free hand shaping on the woodworking diamonds. Gizmos and anything elaborate always disappear.

There are a couple credit card diamonds and strop for knives. The D2 carvers are too tough for all but my standard diamond plates.

I'd try Adam's cup but know the floor would be flooded if I did. I will try that on a couple crappy steel edges in a bit.

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"The D2 carvers are too tough for all but my standard diamond plates."

Try sharpening them on a silicon carbide stone to save your diamond plates....not many steels out there too hard for silicon carbide..altho I do like diamond...Here's a couple of my D-2 assisted opener pocket knives..I also have a couple Ross Oar D-2 pocket knives for wood carving..best steel for that purpose that I am aware of...can be sharpened to a very low angle and still keep it's edge. I am a big fan of D-2...

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[hbmcc]

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"The D2 carvers are too tough for all but my standard diamond plates."

Try sharpening them on a silicon carbide stone to save your diamond plates....not many steels out there too hard for silicon carbide..altho I do like diamond...Here's a couple of my D-2 assisted opener pocket knives..I also have a couple Ross Oar D-2 pocket knives for wood carving..best steel for that purpose that I am aware of...can be sharpened to a very low angle and still keep it's edge. I am a big fan of D-2...

Those are big for a pocket! Thanks for the pointer. I have not used carborundum for finer work in years. I think of it for shovels and axes in coarse grits. My diamond plates use paste. I did burn up the grit on a factory coated plate and now use the back for my coarsest paste. 

It's still a slow process to shape D2 and my Oar Carvers needed a lot of shaping; to my thinking. Who'd think those dinky tooth picks would take so long to sharpen. I may go to a motored belt, like yours; but by then my blade shaping will probably be finished and I won't need the extra speed. 

[Timberwolf]

Those are big for a pocket! Thanks for the pointer. I have not used carborundum for finer work in years. I think of it for shovels and axes in coarse grits. My diamond plates use paste. I did burn up the grit on a factory coated plate and now use the back for my coarsest paste. 

It's still a slow process to shape D2 and my Oar Carvers needed a lot of shaping; to my thinking. Who'd think those dinky tooth picks would take so long to sharpen. I may go to a motored belt, like yours; but by then my blade shaping will probably be finished and I won't need the extra speed. 

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"Those are big for a pocket! Thanks for the pointer. I have not used carborundum for finer work in years. I think of it for shovels and axes in coarse grits"

And they are pretty heavy as well...I need to make a belt sheath for them.,
As for the carborundum, I can't understand why more woodworkers don't give them a go...The only downside to them IMO, is the fact that they do wear hollow fairly quickly.., kind of like a waterstone...But for most knives they are outstanding...and a slight "hollow" in the stone is OK for a pocketknife or woodcarving knife..another good thing about silicon carbide is the price!!!! They are cheap in comparison to other hones...Even HF sells them. Useful for fast edge restoration, followed by fine diamond then Washitas and Arkies...

As far as stationary belt grinders go, I admit to being obsessed with them...but I don't think nine of them is too many...they are just a tool......and we all know one can never have TOO many tools !!!!!!

[AHill]

I like the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Easy to use and set up. And you don't have to find a way to hold onto the knife. I don't like anything that's powered unless it's a powered leather strop. It's too easy to take too much material off an edge with a powered sharpener, unless you really know what you're doing. If you have to use something powered, stick to very fine grits to avoid that issue. Do your edge repairs manually.

[adamcherubini]

Any recommendations on a decent pocket knife/kitchen knife sharpener ?
Just used a Wicked Edge WE50, and was impressed.
Any favorite sharpeners for pocket/kitchen knives?

Just watched the Wicked Edge video. Funny how he called it a "machine". I guess if that's a machine, I'm not sure what the definition of machine is.  I would call that a "jig".

Either way, I would think about whether you want recommendations for a jig or a technique. My answer (coffee cup) was a technique. Whatever you inevitably choose, my advice is, whether its a kitchen or pocket knife, woodworking chisel, plane iron or hand saw, to make sharpening something you can do while you are working, not something you do as some sort of periodic tool maintenance stand down. My "sharpening station" is my workbench. I can sharpen probably any tool in my shop within a minute of set-up time. That's the advantage of the coffee cup. Every kitchen has one. The handle is a convenient thumb hook that protects you from accidentally cutting yourself. Its like a perfect sharpener. The trick is to do it every time you use a knife.

But it doesn't matter what you choose. The key is that it needs to be convenient so you will do it.

[Timberwolf]

Just watched the Wicked Edge video. Funny how he called it a "machine". I guess if that's a machine, I'm not sure what the definition of machine is.  I would call that a "jig".

Either way, I would think about whether you want recommendations for a jig or a technique. My answer (coffee cup) was a technique. Whatever you inevitably choose, my advice is, whether its a kitchen or pocket knife, woodworking chisel, plane iron or hand saw, to make sharpening something you can do while you are working, not something you do as some sort of periodic tool maintenance stand down. My "sharpening station" is my workbench. I can sharpen probably any tool in my shop within a minute of set-up time. That's the advantage of the coffee cup. Every kitchen has one. The handle is a convenient thumb hook that protects you from accidentally cutting yourself. Its like a perfect sharpener. The trick is to do it every time you use a knife.

But it doesn't matter what you choose. The key is that it needs to be convenient so you will do it.

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+1

It has been my experience that many times when a kitchen knife stops performing as it should, the edge has just folded or "rolled over"...to restore it in most cases, all it takes is to "re-form" that edge on a "steel"..IOW, turn it back to where it was { or UNfold it}..It's as thin as foil and isn't hard to do..and it can be done on a coffee cup, steel burnisher or a ceramic rod...I like to test it on an ordinary paper towel....slice the towel in two directions..if it cuts cleanly, it's sharp enough. If the cut is ragged, it could likely stand a little attention on a stone or a belt grinder with a 600/800 grit belt or maybe a leather wheel or belt/strop..Learning how to use power sharpening machines takes time and understanding,, but once learned, it is very fast and satisfying, to me anyway...But I keep all my blades "hair-poppingly" sharp..One thing I cannot tolerate is a dull pocketknife...what good are they if they wont cut.....

[Reverb]

I use ceramic so-called "Crock Sticks" like these:

https://lansky.com/products/4-rod-turn-box/

in two grits -- gray and white. They do a great job in my opinion, especially if you "keep up with" the sharpening ... and they make getting the bevel angle right much easier.

[daddo]

I use the belt grinder to restore the bevel if need be and use a fine grit to edge it, then hone it with a final edge. I also change the profile of poorly designed knives- or to shape the blades the way I like them. I love the belt grinder- it almost makes wheel grinders obsolete for such work- and much much quicker, easier and safer.


I had custom built this belt grinder for a man who was serious about knives, however, he was struck ill quickly and will be unable to accept it, so it sits in storage.
 Mine isn't so pretty.