Knife sharpener

OK,
Since we are talking about knives.
Lets assume when everyone uses their sharpner of choice correctly,What is the best sharpener out there ?
Lansky ?
Gato ?
Electric ?
Flat stones ?
I have a gato which I think copied from the Lansky. However, I do not believe I am getting the best out of it.
Knives are sharp, but not overly sharp, and after 1 deer, they need sharpend.
I have a Buck 110 folding lockback, a Buck 105 fixed blade, 2 uncle henry folding lock backs.
Also,
What angles do you guys use, the gato recommends a 25 degree angle with hunting knives, so that is what I use, should I try a different angle ?
Thanks

For butchering, sharpen at 22-25 degrees, then use a steel as you work to keep the edge.

Lansky.

Round whet stone, coarse on one side fine on the other.

I like Norton flatstones. I find their quality/ value excellent. And their products I own are made in America, and one is made half in America, half Italy.
I also own a Hall's Pro-edge for finishing fine edges on cooking knives. Excellent as well.

I use Lansky for nice knives, because there's virtually no way to slip and scratch the surface. But I don't really like them, because the angle varies with the width of the blade and how far you are from the center of the jaws.

Truthfully, a big flat stone of whatever persuasion you prefer is the best. I don't do knives often enough to stay good at it, so I have a cheap kitchen knife I start with to get my hand back in.

KeS

Being a machinist I used diamond stones ( Diamond Machining Technologies) decades ago for sharpening tools. It was natural if I could sharpen machine steel these diamond stones make sharpening my Gerbers very easy.

http://www.dmtsharp.com/

I have a med grit bench model in a kitchen drawer along with a fine diamond straight steel. I have a double sided folding model Med/fine in each of my day and freighter packs.

Now all the fish cannerys and fisherman have any number of these products handy to either sharpen or stand up an edge. These sharpeners have become very popular here the past 10 years with the above mentioned website products easily the standard here.

FYI

Neal

My sharpening skills, for years were hit and miss. Some times I would get a razor edge, most times not, but never understood why. Then a few years ago, I was in Tenn and picked up a book by John Juranitch called "The Razor Edge of Sharpening". Now I can get a razor edge on just about anything I try. I even made some steel broadheads out of a radial saw blade, and just for kicks, sat down with a file. After a bit I was able to shave hair with it. Not like fine steel, but I didn't need to "saw" it off either.

He goes into a lot of detail of the why's of sharpening.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Razor-Edge...+of+Sharpening

No affiliation with him or the book, but highly recommend it to anyone not able to be consistent like I was.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 358Hammer

Being a machinist I used diamond stones ( Diamond Machining Technologies) decades ago for sharpening tools. It was natural if I could sharpen machine steel these diamond stones make sharpening my Gerbers very easy.

http://www.dmtsharp.com/

I have a med grit bench model in a kitchen drawer along with a fine diamond straight steel. I have a double sided folding model Med/fine in each of my day and freighter packs.

Now all the fish cannerys and fisherman have any number of these products handy to either sharpen or stand up an edge. These sharpeners have become very popular here the past 10 years with the above mentioned website products easily the standard here.

FYI

Neal

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I have a very similar sharpener to yours, don't recall brand, but it's meant for in the field use. Has a handle, like a knife, and it has a course and fine side to it. It slips into a hard plastic case that it snaps firmly into. Helps keep that edge in perfect condition. It will even make a semi dull blade sharp enough to bone out a deer, quickly, I have found that out personally.

I actually use a 1"x30" grinder with belts from 120grit down to 1300grit. Makes for a razor edge. The last knife I worked on, slid out of my hand and filleted my fingerprints off. For the field I use a smiths diamond sharpening stone.

lansky
20 degree angle

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cloonsfoot

I actually use a 1"x30" grinder with belts from 120grit down to 1300grit. Makes for a razor edge. The last knife I worked on, slid out of my hand and filleted my fingerprints off. For the field I use a smiths diamond sharpening stone.

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Where do you get the high grit sanding belts? I have had trouble locating them.

For me a belt sander would probably get me in trouble. I am afraid I'd burn up a blade.

Today, I used the methods I mentioned above on the kitchen knives. The ones that came in the wood block wit the slots in it. It's a no name brand and sharpness has always been so so, even after I "sharpened" them. in 30 minutes I sharpened three of them, a heavy blade butcher knife, a fine blade butcher knife, and a paring knife. Hair just popped off my arm when either one of the three was used.

Then using the same book info, I sharpened the scissors we keep in the kitchen draw, that were getting sticky and dull. They would cut regular paper only about half of the cut stroke. Since he addresses single bevel blades, and especially scissors, in his book, it took about 10 min work, and I folded a piece of notebook paper enough so it was 16 times its original thickness.

They cut it like butter.

He said it would and I was doubtful. Not any more. He also tells how to not sharpen the scissors and have the blades digging into each other when you use them, another issue I ran into the last time I tried to sharpen scissors. Don't know about you guys but I had a LOT to learn, and glad I did.

Handy thank you for the update.
Actually gave me cause to smile if you will.
Why? For several years now 2 or 3 times a year I find myself going through that same block of wood with the same slots sharpening knives. More for me than my wife since I do the cooking. She just smashes things and literally she uses steak knifes for most of her cutting???????

Neal

all I use is DMT.

Neal
Yea this has been enlightening to me. I have been sooo inconsistent in my sharpening for many years, and FINALLY I get it. I also archery hunt and could never figure out, since I was a kid, watching Fred Bear discuss using a file to get his broadheads shaving sharp, now I get it. Thirty years ago would have been nice, but oh well.

I use a Smith's three sided stone in a wood block. I use fine grit diamond in between sharpening. I take a black sharpie marker and color the edge on the knife which helps me keep the angle correct. I have found leather stropping is worth it's weight in gold for hair shaving edges. I took a 4X4 and glued saddle leather to all four sides to make my strop. I then buy corse medium and fine stropping compound and apply to three of four pieces of the leather. I leave the other side alone for final touches. If you keep your edges in shape with just the strop, you will only use the stones about 1/3 of the time than if you don't strop. Always pull the knife towards you when using stones as if your trying to slice into the stone. This method keeps the blade angle more consistent. Stropping is the key to sharp edges.


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Go to , knives ship free.com , get yourself a 12" strop and course and fine media . Once you get a good edge with lansky or some guided sharpener , use the strop . Man , what an edge . Electric sharpeners work good for a quick edge too , then hone with a strop . Kenneth

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kenneth54

Go to , knives ship free.com , get yourself a 12" strop and course and fine media . Once you get a good edge with lansky or some guided sharpener , use the strop . Man , what an edge . Electric sharpeners work good for a quick edge too , then hone with a strop . Kenneth

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THIS. I have a Spyderco Police Stainless that I have carried for years, and I think I can count on one hand the number of times it has seen a stone... I just strop it a few times a week, and I can still shave hair off my arm.

First get a carbon steel blade instead of a stainless. Stainless will sharpen but will not hold the edge like carbon. I use a smith double sided for use in the field a flat stone at home, then a ceramic stick and if I want a very smooth finished edge I go to a block of ply wood with a piece of hard leather on one side and a softer piece on the other. I very seldom go this last step as it puts an edge that will cut a hair instead of scrape it off.

My hunting knives have d2 steel blades. I use eze lap diamond stones. I seem to get a longer life with eze lap than DMT. I use the diamond stones to shape the edge and finish the blade with a leather strop treated with yellowstone honing compound. The strop with the honing compound polishes the edge and leaves it incredibly sharp. I can de-bone deer using only the strop to touch up the knife.

Note that d2 is very brittle so you cannot grind it to a really fine angle or the blade will start chipping. Also you want to avoid the dropping the knives. They have been known to break when dropped onto a rock.

Holy crap you guys raised this one from the dead 2012!!!!!
BTW a strop is the way I go with honing a blade! I use three one with rubbing compund, one with polishing compound, and one just leather. Super sharp and stay sharp for me. I skinned 4 deer with the same knife last year in KY and never needed to sharpen it. Although I see a lot of guys skinning deer wrong hacking the bone and cutting WAY more hair then necessary.