Sharpening for a complete novice

[TomahawkT10]

Hi all,

I think I’m going to need to sharpen some of my knives soon and I’ve never done it before. I want to get the proper equipment to do it properly and not scratch up the blade and do a bad job. I’d like to put an edge as close to factory as I can back on my knives.

Does anyone have any advice on what equipment to buy which is the most fool proof and any guides which are good to read? What methods to do people use and what grit stones etc?

I have some cheap knives I could practice on first.

Thanks everyone.

[VooDooChild]

Spyderco sharpmaker.
Easy to use, comes with instructions and a dvd.

[Jerome Howard]

Spyderco sharpmaker.
Easy to use, comes with instructions and a dvd.

This.

[elena86]

It depends how far do you want to go. For maintenance and regularly touchups a Spyderco Sharpmaker is enough but for reprofiling and more serious sharpening you need a sharpening system unless you want to learn how to hand sharpen. The system I recommend is Wicked Edge.

[Wartstein]

Another vote for the sharpmaker.

You can watch the instructuonal vid it comes with HERE: https://youtu.be/5LBDnJv5B58

If you don't let your knives get real dull the brown and white rods it comes with work perfectly well.
Für really giving a knife a new edge or if you want a real toothy edge I'd get additional CBN or diamond rods.

A cheaper alternative that works just fine (though not as well as the sharpmaker and takes a bit more skill) would be the Worksharp "guided" field sharpener.

To be clear: I am far from being as good at sharpening as many folks here are, but the above worked for me even when I was still quite a beginner.

I don't need perfect edges though and have no experience with actually guided systems .

[zhyla]

I usually only use a sharpmaker on SE knives. It works great for that. Not many other options.

There are some very cheap sharpening kits where you clamp the blade and there’s a guide rod that sets an angle. Look for Ruixin Pro but there’s cheap $20 versions out there. You can get stones up into the 2k grit range. These are easy to use and you can get very good edges with them.

Practice on your kitchen knives. They’re typically shipped with crap edges anyway.

[RustyIron]

Does anyone have any advice on what equipment to buy which is the most fool proof and any guides which are good to read?

For a good general purpose sharpener, look no further than the Spyderco Sharpmaker with the standard stones. You can get a very good edge with the Sharpmaker.

If you want greater flexibility and next level sharpness, get an EdgePro.

[CDEP]

Speaking as an idiot, Spyderco's Sharpmaker is the best and most idiot-proof system. For softer budget knife steels the rods that come with it are fine. I'd go with the ad-on diamond rods if you want to use it on premium, harder steels. For SE blades the Sharpmaker is the way to go.

I use a WorkSharp Precision Elite and a digital angle measure to reprofile plain endges- soft steels get 20 per side, and 15 for the harder stuff. I find it faster, and I know the angles are correct to then take them to the Sharpmaker.

I maintain them with a strop (I like the bat from JRE Industries) and the Sharpmaker. I also use the Sharpmaker on all of my kitchen knives. If I keep them touched up with the strop and the Sharpmaker I never need to go back to the guided WorkSharp.

For me this is the method to keep everything sharp at all times, but with the minimal amount of time and effort.

[Evil D]

I've probably spent $300 on Edge Pro related stuff, but I only use it for reprofiling bevels. I use my Sharpmaker for all other sharpening.

[Zipper]

Smart idea to practice on cheap knives.
I don’t think there are any terrible systems, just inexperienced operators. Practice plays a big part, bigger than steel type and system used.
If you want to put edges on that are close (in some cases better) to factory edges, get a guided/clamp system. Your budget will ultimately make your decision on which brand. I looked closely at the Edge Pro, Wicked Edge and KME. They all have their limitations … including price.
I use my Sharpmaker mostly to keep my kitchen knives sharpe. My kitchen knives are thin enough that a slight convex edge is no concern to me. Occasionally I touch up a pocket knife with the Sharpmaker.
I mainly use my Worksharp field sharpener to touch up my pocket knives. Handy in the field (as the name implies) and convenient in front of the TV. Fallkniven DC3/4 stones work well in that role.
I stay away from power sharpeners. When used properly, I would imagine they put an edge on quickly. Like any power tool, they can cause a lot of damage quickly.

[shunsui]

This website shows how deep the rabbit hole goes:

https://knifegrinders.com.au/05Equipment.htm

Nice list of resources:

https://knifegrinders.com.au/12Resources.htm

Vadim Kraichuk's book from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NQ48WG7

[TheGiant80]

Speaking as an idiot..

This actually made me laugh out loud. Well-played!

[zenith2]

I have gone full circle.

Started on benchstones, the guided systems, back to benchstones.

Granted, I now use diamond benchstones.

Working edge, 320 grit, maybe a strop, done.

For a novice, my advice is get a magnifier loupe. Learn to sharpen to the apex. From there, its edge refinement.

Good luck on this rabbit hole, everyone finds what works for them in terms of sharpening, so enjoy the journey rather than the destination.

[Scandi Grind]

Sharpmaker is the obvious choice for easy and effective, but a word of warning, if you are sharpening abused or neglected knives that have been used for some time without being sharpened, the Sharpmaker may take some time to remove the amount of material needed to apex your edge. I personally use coarse diamond benchstones to deal with very dull knives, but there is a big learning curve with freehanding. I'm not sure if Spyderco sells coarse rods for the Sharpmaker, but a coarse sharpening stone of some sort is considered the most important stone in my sharpening arsenal.

Moral of the story, if your knives are very dull, start with a coarse stone if you can, then the rest is refinement.

Good luck, sharpening is an adventure both deep and wide!