Looking for a relatively foolproof knife sharpener

[32x20]

Which one? They make a whole bunch of different types.

Good call. I have the 'Mk.1' version of this: https://www.worksharptools.com/shop/...sharpener-mk2/. To Strongin's point, it will put a convex grind on the blade due to the nature of the belt, but it's been working just fine for me.

[dashDustin]

I recently went through this and couldn't decide. Paralyzed by indecision. So...ended up with DMT whetstones. Typically, though, I'd default to what Matthew Strongin suggests.

[ides1056]

send it to Bernal Cutlery and call it good

[j44ke]

If you just want something that is razor sharp, take a razor or a mat knife or box opener into the woods. A cutting tool is something different.

IMHO best test of a knife sharpness as a tool is sharpening a wooden pencil. If you can do that cleanly and neatly then the edge is good.

[Mabouya]

Good call. I have the 'Mk.1' version of this: https://www.worksharptools.com/shop/...sharpener-mk2/. To Strongin's point, it will put a convex grind on the blade due to the nature of the belt, but it's been working just fine for me.

Do you have any problems with the Mk.1 scratching the side of your blade? When I first started looking into sharpeners I considered a WS, but found a lot of people saying that would happen (unless you taped the sides). My knives aren't expensive for fancy, but still I don't want to damage them unnecessarily (or have to spend extra time masking the sides).

[choke]

https://www.knivesplus.com/KP-STROP8-STROPBLOCK.html

Wow. A simple hand made in the USA product that has recently changed my knife-life.

The strop is amazing, polishing edges to the level of sharpness that had always eluded me.

Stropping can be used to keep a sharp blade sharp, without taking material away like other systems.

JRE makes the best strop bat that I've ever seen. It has four sides and you can choose which compounds you wanted loaded on it. I've had one for probably 15+ years. https://jreindustries.com/shop/ols/products/strop-bat

Well, I just spent some time on a few knife-enthusiast forums, and the bottom line is that for nearly all of those guys suggesting they use a pull-through sharpener would be like telling us here that a $100 Walmart bike really is the thing we should be using.

I think that the Walmart bike might be the better deal of the two. The problem with a pull through is that you're only using a small section of the rods so it takes forever and they wear out very quickly.

Regarding the Lanksy, I owned one years ago but I sold it. The biggest problem that I found with it (and this would apply to any similar style that holds the blade firm) is that because the blade is clamped in place, the next time that the knife is sharpened it needs to be clamped in exactly the same spot relative to the length and width of the blade and that's nearly impossible to do. If it's not in the same spot then you are making a new bevel since the knife is no longer in the same location as the last time it was sharpened.

[Mabouya]

Regarding the Lanksy, I owned one years ago but I sold it. The biggest problem that I found with it (and this would apply to any similar style that holds the blade firm) is that because the blade is clamped in place, the next time that the knife is sharpened it needs to be clamped in exactly the same spot relative to the length and width of the blade and that's nearly impossible to do. If it's not in the same spot then you are making a new bevel since the knife is no longer in the same location as the last time it was sharpened.

In that case, wouldn't this be a problem with just about any commonly used sharpening method?

Hold it in a clamp, then you'd want to repeat the location as best you can.

Hold it in your hand, then you're surely not going to sharpen it in a consistent manner - there's no way you hand-eye coordination will be better than a stationary clamp.

[32x20]

Do you have any problems with the Mk.1 scratching the side of your blade? When I first started looking into sharpeners I considered a WS, but found a lot of people saying that would happen (unless you taped the sides). My knives aren't expensive for fancy, but still I don't want to damage them unnecessarily (or have to spend extra time masking the sides).

It does mark the side of the blade some. It doesn’t bother me and I don’t think it’s doing any significant wear. I wonder if felt strips on the guide would prevent it?

[spopepro]

Hold it in your hand, then you're surely not going to sharpen it in a consistent manner - there's no way you hand-eye coordination will be better than a stationary clamp.

I think holding an exact angle is a little overrated. Even for knives with sizeable bevels there's more leeway available here than I think bros on the internet will lead you to believe. In my experience hand sharpening, even with lots of practice and a steady hand, results in a very light convex shape. I think this is actually really good for cutting performance. We intentionally do this with japanese single bevel knives by putting pressure on different parts of the blade while sharpening. As long as you can develop a burr, and then strop it off, I don't think you'll be unhappy with the cutting performance of any blade even if the geometry isn't "perfect."

[9tubes]

Regarding the Lanksy, I owned one years ago but I sold it. The biggest problem that I found with it (and this would apply to any similar style that holds the blade firm) is that because the blade is clamped in place, the next time that the knife is sharpened it needs to be clamped in exactly the same spot relative to the length and width of the blade and that's nearly impossible to do. If it's not in the same spot then you are making a new bevel since the knife is no longer in the same location as the last time it was sharpened.

Yes, I've noticed that too. The engineering problem of the Lansky and WorkSharp style sharpeners is that the pivot is too close to the blade. As the sharpener swings through its arc the distance changes too much, so the sharpening angle changes a few degrees for a long chef knife. I've thought about taking a Ruixin Pro and mounting it to a board and move the vertical rod farther away.

[ColonelJLloyd]

send it to Bernal Cutlery and call it good

I recently ordered an NOS Sabatier from Bernal and received it today. They included a card/voucher for a "free first sharpening". I'm not going to use it, but happy to pass it along to someone here if they will.

[giordana93]

late to the party but I'll say what I always do: no matter which system you choose, make sure you have a good old fashioned sharpening steel (and not diamond encrusted either) and use it religiously, maybe not every time you pull out the knife but at least weekly. This will make your true "sharpening" sessions much less frequent and take way less material off the blade itself. Other than that, I think any system that you can get comfortable with and be consistent with is good, but a good diamond whetstone (or japanese water stone) is not that hard to master. Some of the modern stainless steels are tougher to sharpen but they also hold the edge longer and really should not need sharpening more than once or twice a year if you use the sharpening steel (or some other honing device as suggested above) and don't abuse the edge. If you do tend to abuse, switch to a less delicate bevel (think cleaver vs scalpel, axe edge vs razor blade). The little handheld DMT stones are great for the smaller knives btw and even work pretty well on bigger ones if you imitate the lansky technique but freehand (i.e. hold blade still and run stone across at a fixed angle until you get a burr). dmt also sells a lansky-esqe system with a few of the small stones.

[Mark Walberg]

.... make sure you have a good old fashioned sharpening steel .....

A lot of people use those steels way too hard.
I remember that I gave my mother a very nice Hattori gyuto years ago.
The steel is hard and brittle in those knives.
Later, I found it in the drawer, and it had chips all along the blade. It looked a bit like a bread knife then.
This was from hard use of the sharpening steel.
In my opinion, the lightest touch with a ceramic rod works a lot better to keep your knives sharp.

[giordana93]

A lot of people use those steels way too hard.
I remember that I gave my mother a very nice Hattori gyuto years ago.
The steel is hard and brittle in those knives.
Later, I found it in the drawer, and it had chips all along the blade. It looked a bit like a bread knife then.
This was from hard use of the sharpening steel.
In my opinion, the lightest touch with a ceramic rod works a lot better to keep your knives sharp.

I have a hard time imagining the kind of technique that would result in chipping a blade with a steel. There's no way you should chip an edge with a proper steel.

[spopepro]

I have a hard time imagining the kind of technique that would result in chipping a blade with a steel. There's no way you should chip an edge with a proper steel.

The steels that are sometimes coming with knifeblock sets these days have really aggressive serration. I could easily see those knocking the crap out of a thin knife. I think they put them in relatively inexpensive blocks because: those blades are soft so they don’t chip, so they are thick so they don’t roll, and an overly aggressive steel or electric sharpener will make a very light serration that will perform well with little effort for a short period of time. It’s all working together to make something that folks who don’t want to think about knife care will like.

A fine steel is ok, but you’ll have to buy it separate. That said, I still strongly prefer a ceramic hone or a prepared strop.

[j44ke]

When we bought one of our Japanese knives in Japan (Aritsugu in Kyoto,) the very nice saleswoman gave us a demonstration of the sorts of things we could not do with the knife because it was for vegetables only. One of them was use a circular steel sharpener. It is an amazing knife. See-thru tomato slices.

[9tubes]

I have a hard time imagining the kind of technique that would result in chipping a blade with a steel. There's no way you should chip an edge with a proper steel.

The problem is that the steel has a very small diameter and the edge of a high-quality Japanese knife is both very thin and very brittle. The two surfaces meet at a very tiny contact point. It's all about the psi. Even a couple of pounds of pressure is enough to bend the edge of the knife, and pop! a bit of edge disappears.

[Mabouya]

Well, as we all now know, there's no one perfect solution to this, but I finally ordered a Work Sharp Precision Adjust.

It most likely won't work with my itty-bitty Opinels, but will surely be better than doing nothing for all my others. Thanks to all, who contributed to the thread.

https://www.worksharptools.com/shop/...ife-sharpener/