sharpining a knife the right way

[markinstettler]

My father had a similar kit to the Gatco (he's not dead, he just lost the kit) mentioned above. He loved it and would ask anybody who came to visit if they had a pocket-knife on them that he could sharpen. Eventually, word got around and he started sharpening knives for the local restaurants. And then his sharpening kit was snarfed out of his truck. Too bad, because he could put a really nice edge on my knives and enjoyed it more than I do.

I disagree with Paul on the rods bending. If the rods bend, the user is doing something very wrong. Pressure is applied over the stones, so the rods would take very little force. Even if the rods were to bend, it wouldn't be by much and it would still be better than most will ever achieve free-handing. This comes from someone who actually prefers to free-hand sharpen using the same synthetic stones he uses for sharpening wood-working tools.

Although I consider myself proficient at sharpening wood-working tools and straight razors, I have yet to master free hand sharpening of knives. This doesn't stop me from putting a nice edge on them, but it takes longer than it should. The only point I would add to the above is to look into diamond grit pastes. They work both very quickly and well. (I was turned on to diamond grit pastes by an acquaintance who competes at the Olympic level in luge. They finish sharpening their sled blades with 100000X(!) diamond grit paste.)

 

[cheatherly]

I have several of those kits, my favorite is a Smiths Precision from Wal Mart. I keep it in my overnight bag and use it only on my Kershaw. I can put a razor edge on that knife in three minutes. My other knifes only see stones, mostly because they are to large for the kit.

 

[roundball]

"...anchor the stone and run the blade along it. "Slice" the stone at the angle you want (15-20 deg+/-)drawing the blade along the whole length, accomodating the curves if any. Hard steady pressure, 10 times on each side until the proper bevel is cut; then one stroke each side alternating until the edge is finished. Light strokes finish it..."

This is the way I learned too and it works fine...plus, I feel more comfortable (safer) holding & controlling the knife with it in my hands rather than it in a vise, etc...just my personal choice.