amhaynie

I have never been the greatest knife sharpener. I can get by but nothing spectacular. What I am looking for is a VERY inexpensive knife sharpener or sharpening system that puts that razor edge on my blades. Any ideas?

JRaptor

I have always used the Spyderco Triangle Sharpmaker for my blades.



here

dlm1188

I wish I could help on the cheap side of your request, but here's my 0.02 anyways.



A few years ago I worked for a short period of time with a butcher and we used two different sharpening systems.



For the everyday sharpening of our boning knifes, we used one of these ... Chef's Choice Diamond Hone Sharpener The benefit of this was that it's fast and easy to use. It takes a fine touch to be a skilled sharpener with a stone system, so this electric sharpener was nice because as the blade wore down throughout the day, it was simple to put a good edge on the knives. The reason I emphasize good is because the sharpest knives I ever used were the ones my boss sharpened by hand with a tri-stone setup similar to this... Norton 3 Stone System



My skills are still novice, so the electric sharpener will sharpen blades more uniformly and more cleanly than I am able to do by hand, but with practice nothing works as well as a good set of stones in honing oil. At least that's been my experience.



Personally, since quality sharpeners aren't cheap, I have a cheap single stone that's half course and half fine. I use that and water to get my knives sharp, but they aren't quite razor sharp. Steeling your knives on a regular basis, after a decent amount of use, will also help keep the edge on if a bit longer.

GrumpyBiker

I do alot of wood carving and have become pretty good at sharpening my carving tools as well as knives. But I use oil as well as water stones and do it the old & slow way!

Jim-Bob

I got these as stocking stuffers years ago:



http://www.amazon.com/Lansky-2-rod-C...ef=pd_sim_sg_4





Cheap, easy, and keeps my blades razor sharp. JB

Reliable

I have tried many methods and have actually developed a liking to diamond bench stones.

yup

Diamond...anything diamond, is 5 times easier than natural stone to get a blade back in descent condition. I think a lot of folks try natural stones and give up although a set of natural stones and either skill or a guide system will get you 100% perfect.

I have a little 2 sided DMT that I can pick up and sharpen by hand any kitchen knife to 90 percent good in a few passes. It measures @ 2 x 3". I have bigger DMT's now. Love their stuff.

My son came back from hunting and the guys he was with had a Lansky Universal system. It's different than the one linked above. His knifes were all razor sharp, 100% perfect, from hanging around in camp and working it. Lansky Universal Sharpening System

I was so impressed that I bought the one with the natural stones. I soon gave up and sold it as it was too slow (for me). I think if I had the diamond version I'd have been hooked, the lad sure got results. For myself, I get a blade sharp fast, not perfectly sharp, just very good. When you are staring at a pile of dull kitchen knives and it's warm and clear outside....:-)

txshurricane

To be honest, I use this $3 gem: Normark® Two-Stage Knife Sharpener | Bass Pro Shops

Knife aficionados laugh at me, but all of my knives have great, consistent edges.

The most important thing you can sharpen a knife with is patience.

Reliable

No argument from me on the 5 times easier part. I'll often use a diamond or ceramic steel to keep up on the edges. Every so often a few swipes on the 600 grit daimond "stone" may be needed. The coarse one, I think is 320 grit, is relagated to axe and machete blades.

Natural stones give a great edge, no doubt. They do have one major draw back, with use, they develop cupping on the surface, they do not stay truly flat. I have chosen the diamond surfaces because they will stay flat and allow me to sharpen plane and other tool blades that must be true.

I do have a 5 stone Lansky system with the natural stones that I use from time to time on an appropriately sized edge but I much prefer the diamond stones for speed and effectiveness.