# Knife sharpening



## AZSongBird1973 (Jun 10, 2018)

I've tried a lot of different gadgets for keeping my knives sharp but they never seem to work. I'm trying to cut up some fruit for breakfast and not one of my kitchen knives is up to the task. What do you all use to keep your knives sharp?


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

AZSongBird1973 said:


> I've tried a lot of different gadgets for keeping my knives sharp but they never seem to work. I'm trying to cut up some fruit for breakfast and not one of my kitchen knives is up to the task. What do you all use to keep your knives sharp?


You and me both kid! Where's KK when ya need him.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

A couple of good Arkansas stones and knowing how to maintain the correct *angle* is all anyone needs.


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

I use a steel to maintain the edge. Doesn't take much. Most of my kitchen knives are Old Hickory. The others seldom are used.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

I’ve had great luck with old hickory knives weirdly enough they seem to be very inexpensive at yard sales ,seldom more than a dollar.
I prefer to sharpen on the wheel but there is a tiny little plastic gadget that has two small stones setting in it at an angle it’s aubout 2 in.² and 1/8 of an inch thick that I recommend to my mother.
If you pull your knife through it 10 times every time you use it it will cut cleanly through tomato skins etc.


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## Ryan. (Aug 3, 2018)

For all of my knives, I use a sharpening stick.


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## ticndig (Sep 7, 2014)

Look at the Lansky *Professional Kitchen Sharpening System . I have this tool and it is the best I've ever had . a lot of the problem may very well be poor quality steel in your knives . I too recommend the old hickory knives . they are inexpensive , easy to sharpen and get very sharp with the lansky . *


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## ridgerunner1965 (Apr 13, 2013)

I have one of the work sharp knife sharpeners. its kind of like a tiny belt sander.

it takes absolutely no skill to use. you simply turn it on and draw the knife thru the guide a few times.

in a matter of maybe 30 seconds your knife is very sharp. my gfren often comments on how sharp my kitchen knives are and how much easier they are to use.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

ridgerunner1965 said:


> I have one of the work sharp knife sharpeners. its kind of like a tiny belt sander.
> 
> it takes absolutely no skill to use. you simply turn it on and draw the knife thru the guide a few times.
> 
> in a matter of maybe 30 seconds your knife is very sharp. my gfren often comments on how sharp my kitchen knives are and how much easier they are to use.


I have one of these in the shop, and one in the kitchen.


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

AZSongBird1973 said:


> I've tried a lot of different gadgets for keeping my knives sharp but they never seem to work. I'm trying to cut up some fruit for breakfast and not one of my kitchen knives is up to the task. What do you all use to keep your knives sharp?


Super easy and fast










I have one of these. Made in USA. They stand behind them. I have had mine for maybe 10 years. Had a little glitch Friday, called them and they are sending me the part - no charge.

https://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-K...ons&keywords=work+sharp+knife+sharpener&psc=1


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## 4tu (Jul 24, 2018)

I have a Norton round India puck stone one side is 240 grit the other side is 400 and I finish with a knife steel.

as was posted 


Bearfootfarm said:


> A couple of good Arkansas stones and knowing how to maintain the correct *angle* is all anyone needs.


the angle is paramount to the type work and the thickness of the blade the reason why old hickory are so good is they are carbon steel from the same blend since they started making knifes nice steel. Most people cannot hold by hand or feel the angle in that case the Lansky mentioned 


ticndig said:


> Lansky *Professional Kitchen Sharpening System *


This has a clip that goes on the back of the blade and I think 3 slots for the guide rod for the stones of varying grits the lowest slot makes for a razor edge the upper more chisel shape, they do all the angle work for you no power required.

A knife steel requires you draw the knife toward your off hand that holds the steel. This is kind of unnerving as well you need to keep the edge at an angel appropriate for that blade. it has a guard as long as you do not loose concentration or nerve the worst it can do is hit the guard, I find I do not have to use a stone once I get it sharp the steel will keep it that way.

with the Lansky once it is sharp when it looses it's edge use the fine stone and bring it back to sharp other wise you will just cut away the width of the blade, and that's just not necessary it shortens the life and strength of the blade and change the shape and shape is a key issue for a knife to do it's job like a skinner is swept back boning is more pointed ..... so try to keep the blade dimensions if you grind it you loose the critical design and end up with an ice pick fro bread I like a serrated long blade twice the length of the width of bread so as it cuts it does not squash the bread to sharpen a serrated blade you need a round pocket steel I have a diamond one. 

I have other stones to 1500 grit but these are not for hunting or survival type use I have seen stones to 8,000 grit way to fine for anything I need and very expensive.and time consuming to work and edge cutting so little at a time 5 to 10 strokes a side my knife is sharp with a 400 grit it would take hours to finish and edge and you would need to incrementally increase grit or you would be sharpening one knife in a life time. 
I do have a 1 X 4 inch square glass block but that is for my straight razor or I can just strop it on a leather and canvass belt.


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## alida (Feb 8, 2015)

I used to use a old (1940's) carving knife that my father used as a sharpening stick in the fifties,when he brought it to Canada as a immigrant. Eventually it wore through in the middle and now I use a sharpening steel which works just fine but doesn't provide the same flashback memories to when Dad would sharpen the knives with a great flourish and clash of metal on metal.


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

I think knife sharpening with a stone and steel borders on art.

I have tried since I was a kid. Never mastered it. That is why I have the cheater tool.


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

These work for me.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

HDRider said:


> I think knife sharpening with a stone and steel borders on art.


You just pretend you're slicing a thin piece off the stone.

Keep it well oiled and keep the angle the same for each stroke and you can soon figure out when it's right.

Most knives will be 25-30 degrees.

Hold the blade with the edge up near your eye with a bright light from above while you sight along the length and you will be able to see the dull spots as shiny areas.

To determine the right angle, lay the knife flat on the stone.
You should see a *small* gap at the front edge.

Rotate the back of the blade until the edge is flat against the stone and that will be the proper angle. You can stack coins under the spine to hold it up while you figure it out.

Or you can "cheat" and use a protractor to measure the angles, although eye-balling works just as well once you learn what to look for.

A steel is only used to realign the edge on a knife that is already sharpened to the correct angles. It's mainly removing small burrs that occur during use.


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## Robotron (Mar 25, 2012)

Buy quality knifes to begin with. High quality steel will sharpen better and hold the edge better. That being said I use a large collection of stones that I have amassed over the years. I have wood carving knifes that require leather with diamond paste to sharpen. 
Learn the proper technique as many here have mentioned and don’t let them get dull. First sharpening is going to be your hardest. Have to work the edge back into shape. After that quick touch ups are all that’s required. A dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one.


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

If you are going to grind your knife sharp before each use, it won't be long before the blade will be worn away.
once you grind a knife sharp, a steel is all it takes to maintain it. 
some knives are just not worth sharpening. I have one such knife. the blade seems to be stainless steel.
it is thin and actually bends..
the more difficult a knife is to sharpen, the better.
that means that the steel is better.. some knives have very soft steel.. they are OK if you don't mind taking a steel to them often while using them..
my father had a knife made from a file.. I don't think he hardly ever had to sharpen it.
I like Chicago Cutlery .. 
most filet knives are very good..but beware of any knife with plastic handles.. cheap handles, cheap steel


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

Depends on the steel. Different steel takes different methods. Generally speaking, the harder steels, like a buck knife, takes a long time to sharpen, but holds an edge longer. Sometimes a softer steel like high carbon steel is better in a knife because although it gets dull fast, it is really easy to put a razor edge on very quickly. All that said, get some Rada knives for the kitchen, and one of their sharpeners too. You won't be sorry. Never mash tomato guts all over the place again. The Rada sharpeners are easy to use, and unless you have a real hard steel, you will get a perfect edge every time, I have them scattered everywhere. A butcher steel works good, if it is a good one, but it has to be harder than the knife blade you are using it on. Stones work, but most are best for dressing the very edge of the blade, sometimes if a knife gets really dull, it is just too much material that needs removing for a smooth soft stone to be effective. Stones of different grit do different things, the harder stones with rougher grit are more for taking a lot of material off to fix the bevel on a really dull blade. Sometimes it takes a mill bastard file to get your bevel back, there again, if your blade is harder than the file, it is going to take a lot of strokes and you will have a dull file when you get done. A grinder works, but be careful not to draw the temper out of the blade.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

You can do it by hand, aluminum oxide sandpaper glued to a mouse pad. You want to start with coarse grit to shape the edge, lot cheap knives especially have too wide of an edge. Then work your way up to very fine grit. Course this takes time by hand. 

I bought a $30 small bench belt sander from Harbor Freight. Belts are cheap. You need aluminum oxide to deal with stainless steel. Regular silicon sandpaper will work on the old carbon steel. Then its just practice, practice, practice. You should be able to sharpen anything, even put an edge on a credit card. But the cheapo knives can be some of most difficult. 

I personally wouldnt waste my money on the sharpener gizmos. They tend not to give you any options to shape the blade except one way, their way, and they only usually allow one grit so you end up with an unpolished edge. This unpolished edge will seem sharp at first blush, but not hold up nearly as long as a properly polished one. 

You also dont need some high dollar knife, just avoid the truly cheapo dollar store kind of stuff. The exotic high end steels are nice I am sure, but you pay a lot to avoid one or two extra sharpenings a year. I just dont see it being worth the money.


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## AZSongBird1973 (Jun 10, 2018)

HDRider said:


> I think knife sharpening with a stone and steel borders on art.
> 
> I have tried since I was a kid. Never mastered it. That is why I have the cheater tool.


I think its definitely something you either have a knack for or not. Kinda like knapping flint or stone. I dont have the proper juju for it at all.


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

I bought a set of 3 small diamond boards. I don't know the grits. they were labeled fine, medium and coarse.
( I told you they were cheap) Harbor Freight..
I sharpened a couple of sets of jointer blades with them. they worked fine. I touch up lawn mower blades with them. again they worked fine.
after reading this thread, I am going to try them on a kitchen knife..
an old farmer I worked for when I was a kid used to sharpen his pocket knife on the concrete window sill of a barn window. whatever works..
.....jiminwisc......


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## AZSongBird1973 (Jun 10, 2018)

[email protected] said:


> If you are going to grind your knife sharp before each use, it won't be long before the blade will be worn away.
> once you grind a knife sharp, a steel is all it takes to maintain it.
> some knives are just not worth sharpening. I have one such knife. the blade seems to be stainless steel.
> it is thin and actually bends..
> ...


I have Chicago cutlery in my kitchen. I had to go get my fillet knife out of my tackle box to use in the kitchen today. I used to take all my knives into the butcher that worked at one of the processing plants near where I used to live and he always did such a nice job. He tried to show me how to use a stone and a steel several times but it just doesn't seem to work out for me lol! When I got my bull elk in 2006 I took the quarters in to hang for a few days in the locker. He was nice enough to let me hang meat there and take a quarter home at a time to process...he even ground up my burger for me before I got my own grinder, real nice guy. Anyways, I gave him my dad's old hunting knife I had used on that hunt and he almost couldn't fix it because I screwed it up so bad with the stone as I was using it. It doesn't take much for a person to learn to appreciate a good sharp knife.


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

our industrial arts teacher told us that sharp tools/knives are safer than dull ones.. 
because you don't have to force a sharp tool..


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Put it this way, the European stuff and the high end Japanese stuff is expensive. What you want is either older American made or the factory made Japanese. Some of the Chinese is ok too. Its hard to go by brand anymore. The Chicago Cutlery brand mentioned was good middle grade back when it was American made. Now its just a label stuck on Chinese stuff.

Different knives for different purposes, but I have a couple 1950s small carbon steel cleavers made in Utica NY. Dull and somebody had beat on top edge with a hammer. I sharpened them up razor sharp and use them like a traditional wide Chinese chef knife though they are thicker than the Chinese knives. My favorite chopping veggies. Course I have a French chef knife and a filet knife and several paring knives, etc. Actually there when I was practicing sharpening, I was gathering any free or cheap knives I could find, probably have a half bushel basket of them. But course have my favorites and thats what gets used. Mostly that little cleaver and couple of the paring knives. I seem to chop a lot of veggies anymore.

Oh by way those $5 cheap Chinese folding pocket knives sharpen up pretty nice. Kinda brittle so wouldnt recommend prying with them, but they do take and keep an edge ok. And you dont feel bad if you lose one.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

[email protected] said:


> our industrial arts teacher told us that sharp tools/knives are safer than dull ones..
> because you don't have to force a sharp tool..


They are also more effective than a dull knife should you wish to amputate a finger..... Dull knives will give you some serious wounds but tend not to actually cut anything off. Biggest trick is learning to keep fingers out of the way of sharp edge of any knife blade.

Oh by way a hatchet sharpened razor sharp with polished edge is very effective cutting wood. I keep one when I am splitting wood to cut through stringy bits that dont want to come apart pulling on them.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

[email protected] said:


> an old farmer I worked for when I was a kid used to sharpen his pocket knife on the concrete window sill of a barn window. whatever works..


The unglazed bottom of a ceramic coffee mug works great to touch up an edge.
(Drink all the coffee before you start)

I like to use sandpaper strips on a sheet of glass or smooth plastic to get a rough edge in shape quickly. A tungsten TIG rod is great for honing sharp blades to a razor edge.

I have a Lansky set but almost never use it and don't really like it.

About the only blades I do mechanically are mower blades, machetes and the occasional ax.


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## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

AZSongBird1973 said:


> I have Chicago cutlery in my kitchen. I had to go get my fillet knife out of my tackle box to use in the kitchen today. I used to take all my knives into the butcher that worked at one of the processing plants near where I used to live and he always did such a nice job. He tried to show me how to use a stone and a steel several times but it just doesn't seem to work out for me lol! When I got my bull elk in 2006 I took the quarters in to hang for a few days in the locker. He was nice enough to let me hang meat there and take a quarter home at a time to process...he even ground up my burger for me before I got my own grinder, real nice guy. Anyways, I gave him my dad's old hunting knife I had used on that hunt and he almost couldn't fix it because I screwed it up so bad with the stone as I was using it. It doesn't take much for a person to learn to appreciate a good sharp knife.


There is no way you are a real person. You are probably a thirteen year old boy just messin' with us.Otherwise I am going to seek you out, have you cloned, and go into business selling said clones to sane men seeking companionship.


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## AZSongBird1973 (Jun 10, 2018)

gilberte said:


> There is no way you are a real person. You are probably a thirteen year old boy just messin' with us.Otherwise I am going to seek you out, have you cloned, and go into business selling said clones to sane men seeking companionship.


100% real Gilbert, I promise. Only thing close to a 13 year old around here is my son and he's 10. I'm taking your words as a compliment, so thank you! Not sure if cloning is a smart plan...I've seen movies about that sort of thing going horribly wrong!


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## flewism (Apr 2, 2007)

We have tried numerous manual knife sharpeners and used stones since I was taught as a kid. After decades of me manually knives mostly for the wife we broke down and bought an electric one similar to this.

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/chefschoice-edgeselect-diamond-hone-electric-knife-sharpeners

We still use the steel to maintain them while in use, now the wife is into glass cutting boards and they can dull a knife quickly.


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

I don't bother sharpening knives with stones or sandpaper, or anything like that anymore. Used to, and do have the "knack", I just have better things to do with my time. Buy one of these https://radakitchenstore.com/products/quick-edge-knife-sharpener , if it doesn't shave in about five strokes on this thing, ten if it's really dull, throw the knife away or give it to some poor soul that thinks sharpening knives is a worthwhile endeavor. 

Speaking of throwing away, these things are slowly making me consider throwing most of my hunting knives away. https://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Scalp...8&qid=1533560897&sr=8-2&keywords=wiebe+blades


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## AZSongBird1973 (Jun 10, 2018)

barnbilder said:


> I don't bother sharpening knives with stones or sandpaper, or anything like that anymore. Used to, and do have the "knack", I just have better things to do with my time. Buy one of these https://radakitchenstore.com/products/quick-edge-knife-sharpener , if it doesn't shave in about five strokes on this thing, ten if it's really dull, throw the knife away or give it to some poor soul that thinks sharpening knives is a worthwhile endeavor.
> 
> Speaking of throwing away, these things are slowly making me consider throwing most of my hunting knives away. https://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Scalp...8&qid=1533560897&sr=8-2&keywords=wiebe+blades


My son in law gave me a disposable blade knife for Christmas as kind of a joke. I've actually used it and it's not bad. I don't remember which one it is, will have to go look in my pack. It's not something you can put much force behind...too flimsy.


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

No need for force if it is sharp. That's what hatchets and saws are for. You would be amazed at the work those wiebe knives will do, as long as they are being used as a knife, and not a prybar, shovel, screwdriver, or anything like that. They will skin anything from fish to bear. I use them to clean skin beaver, about the most demanding thing you can do with a knife, and they make the job ten times faster. A taxidermist got us onto them, but I see everybody using them now.


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## 4tu (Jul 24, 2018)

guess I'm not everybody <};=)


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)

I have a few fancy German knives but I prefer my collection of Old Hickory over them and just touch them up with a steel as needed. I got a disposable blade knife that is perfect for skinning cats and removing their face from the skull.


https://www.havalon.com/piranta-60a-z-pack-includes


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

I just sharpened a hatchet to go whack on a birch stump. it sticks up just high enough to make the lawn mower blades chatter..
somewhere from that stump, back to the garage, it must have fallen off of the tractor.. 
moral of the story, don't bother sharpening a hatchet
......jiminwisc......


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

I see that several of us have the Work Sharp tool. Best and fastest i've seen for routine work. If you want to get fancy, use the 8,000 grit belt. 

And yes, the best and sharpest kitchen knife we have is an Old Hickory.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

[email protected] said:


> I just sharpened a hatchet to go whack on a birch stump. it sticks up just high enough to make the lawn mower blades chatter..
> somewhere from that stump, back to the garage, it must have fallen off of the tractor..
> moral of the story, don't bother sharpening a hatchet
> ......jiminwisc......


Dont bother if you are just pounding dirt/rocks/roots and arent going to treat the edge with respect, but putting a fine polished edge on a hatchet or ax is well worth it if you want to actually cut clean wood with it. Its amazing how much more efficient it is properly sharpened.


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

yep , I didn't get far on that spongy stump..I did knock off a few pieces though.
my main goal with the hatchet was to sharpen some wooden stakes for the grapes.. had to resort to the table saw for that..
.......jiminwisc.......


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Oxankle said:


> I see that several of us have the Work Sharp tool. Best and fastest i've seen for routine work. If you want to get fancy, use the 8,000 grit belt.
> 
> And yes, the best and sharpest kitchen knife we have is an Old Hickory.


There were garbage el cheapo crappo knives back in day of the plain carbon steel knives, run across some of them, though most now have disappeared. A good quality carbon steel knife will always take better edge than any stainless steel. Oh and if you dont like the oxidation of carbon steel, there was a period in there where you could buy chrome plated carbon steel knives. This was transition period from carbon steel to stainless steel. The chome plated knives looked somewhat like stainless, but guess at time were cheaper or easier to manufacture. They are not as rust resistant as stainless, but if chrome plating not messed up with stupid sharpening techniques, it does keep them from oxidizing. I have an old set, but some idgit earlier in their life, ran them through some grinder type sharpener and so lot gouge streaks in the finish. but they arent rusty. And they took very nice edge though very dull when I got them. I hate to think how many perfectly servicable knives end up in landfills cause people are clueless how to sharpen them and its cheaper just to go buy some more at Walmart than pay somebody to sharpen them. Alas most of lower end knives are not properly sharpened at factory, it would increase cost to do this. But YOU can sharpen them better than factory did.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

flewism said:


> We still use the steel to maintain them while in use, now the wife is into glass cutting boards and they can dull a knife quickly.


Yea always amazed me people complaining about sharpening knives, but then dont treat the knife with respect, they cut on hard surfaces, they toss them in a drawer, put them in dishwasher, etc. Seriously if you want an edge to last its lot more cost effective to protect the edge and only cut on wood surface, store them properly, handwash, etc. than it is to buy some exotic super hard steel knife that costs an arm and a leg. Buy a small maple cutting board and use it. 

I take care of my knives though they arent expensive and even ones I use nearly every day stay sharp a year or more. They only chop/cut on a wood cutting board and stored on a magnetic strip, not tossed in some drawer with all the other kitchen junk. Seriously just the knives I use regularly, would last me another 100 years if I lived that long.

I know some "steels" now designed to actually hone a bit, but traditionally a steel was smooth, only used to realign the knife edge, not sharpen it.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

barnbilder said:


> if it doesn't shave in about five strokes on this thing, ten if it's really dull, throw the knife away or give it to some poor soul that thinks sharpening knives is a worthwhile endeavor.


LOL, with my little belt sander I can sharpen ten knives in ten minutes. You must have a very high paying job if ten minutes is that valuable to you. Takes about same amount time to sharpen one as ten, since the only time consuming part is changing out the belts, going from coarse grit to super fine grit. Such a waste to toss knives, think of the time it takes to earn the money to buy new knife and the effort to go to the store to buy the new knife. And the gas money to get there and back. People forget actual total cost of items they buy.


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)

I made this counter just for cutting up stuff


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

HermitJohn said:


> LOL, with my little belt sander I can sharpen ten knives in ten minutes. You must have a very high paying job if ten minutes is that valuable to you. Takes about same amount time to sharpen one as ten, since the only time consuming part is changing out the belts, going from coarse grit to super fine grit. Such a waste to toss knives, think of the time it takes to earn the money to buy new knife and the effort to go to the store to buy the new knife. And the gas money to get there and back. People forget actual total cost of items they buy.


Knife time usually means fun time to me, and I value it very highly. A rada sharpener would sharpen a knife in about five seconds. A weibe never needs sharpening. Usually, if I actually need a sharp knife, I don't have accommodations for a belt sander. I have a rada sharpener in the kitchen, one in the truck and one by the skinning pole. It is not uncommon for me to need to sharpen a knife often, cutting against bone and cartilage dulls them quickly. I make at least fifty bucks an hour when I'm on the clock, sometimes more, so I figure working an hour for a few year's supply of disposable blades is not going to hurt me. Off the clock, I figure it is worth double that, at least. And I don't need to go to the store, amazon ships them right to my door. You are welcome to hoard junk if you wish, but I definitely do have better things to do than sharpen knives and dig through drawers of useless ones looking for one that will get as sharp as quickly as a weibe. Wonder why I never see belt sanders for sharpening scalpels in an ER? Often, when I need a knife sharpened, (when using a conventional knife), a belt sander would be useless, because the knife might be encased with something that would render a belt sander useless. A rada sharpener will put a razor edge back on it in a few strokes, bear fat, beaver guts and all.


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## AZSongBird1973 (Jun 10, 2018)

oneraddad said:


> I made this counter just for cutting up stuff


Thats gorgeous!!


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

My father in law used to buy $2 sunglasses by the dozen and just throw them on the dash board of his truck. His neighbor used to buy the $200 Oakleys. "Why not live in a little style?" he was ask. My FIL replied, because if I lose them I'm out $200. If I lost a pair of these I'm out $2 and I'm only a walk to the truck for another pair. I saw his point, however he used the same logic for knives; he bought crap steel, dull out of the box knives that wouldn't cut bread the first time across.
Get a good sharpener for the kitchen and get in the habit of touching them up every time they come out of the dishwasher. Same for the shop.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

barnbilder said:


> You are welcome to hoard junk if you wish, but I definitely do have better things to do than sharpen knives and dig through drawers of useless ones looking for one that will get as sharp as quickly as a weibe.


What junk? Didnt I mention all my knives are sharpened and ones I use regularly stored on magnetic bar. No useless knives around. No digging around drawers getting poked by unsecured knifes.




> Wonder why I never see belt sanders for sharpening scalpels in an ER? Often, when I need a knife sharpened, (when using a conventional knife), a belt sander would be useless, because the knife might be encased with something that would render a belt sander useless. A rada sharpener will put a razor edge back on it in a few strokes, bear fat, beaver guts and all.


Probably cause everything in an ER is disposible. Cheaper than paying somebody to sterilize everything in an autoclave like they used to do. And getting sued if somebody doesnt get it sterilized properly. I frankly remember when syringes were metal and glass and were reused. Blood samples went into glass tubes. Back before "plastics" was the word whispered to Dustin Hoffman in that movie. That was long time ago.

And the washer type sharpeners have been around since at least early 20th century. They arent that efficient and the edge produced by such doesnt hold up that long. It more aligns the edge than actually sharpens, much like a steel. I remember both my grandmothers having such and they both died back in the 70s. One in her 90s so you get idea when she set up housekeeping.....


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

+1 For the Worksharp system. You still have to know a little something about sharpening knives, but it's about as idiot proof as it gets. Even with the Worksharp however, I still use a steel frequently to touch them up and keep them sharp.


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

The rada sharpeners do more than just align the edge. They will take off metal until there is no knife left. I have worn out knives with a rada sharpener keeping them sharp to dismember my victims. I'm thinking it is not your grandma's washer sharpener, but uses super hard steel disks with a sharp edge that resemble washers. Best idiot proof sharpening tool on the market.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Ah, I looked some on ebay couldnt find one as old with wood handle like my grandmothers had, but this sort of close. Lot of washers, and I imagine they were hardened, but jeesh havent seen it since 70s.


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## AZSongBird1973 (Jun 10, 2018)

I saw these on Amazon. I saw some old ones on Etsy for a lot more $. Would this set from amazon be okay?


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Ok, your link just took me to Amazon search results for their warehouse closeout??? No knife sharpener at least on that first page.

I found this: https://www.amazon.com/Sharpener-BOJ-Ergonomic-Handle-Sharpening/dp/B006CNY186/ for $12.

They also had one of those Rada that Barn likes for like $8. 

I still say all these gizmos are not going to give good results. Either use the stones in varying grits or use aluminum oxide sandpaper by hand or via small belt sander. You want to end up with a very polished edge. The gizmos are a short cut. At best they give a rough sharp edge that is short lived. Barn says he frequently wears out knives using his. 

Seriously, a decent knife taken care of should last at least couple decades even with constant use, and probably a lifetime way most people use a knife. They only wear out from poor frequent sharpening techniques and other abuse. Seriously unless I drop knife and edge is damaged by hitting something hard, a good sharpening should last a year for me. Yea it depends on what you are cutting too.


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

Rough sharp edge is best for most things. Polished edge is a round edge after the first few strokes. Ride against a bone or cut cardboard and it's done. A knife is a tool. I make a few strokes and put a rough sharp edge on it and use it until it gets dull and then put a rough sharp edge on it again. If I'm skinning a truckload of beavers, I can't be bothered with a bucket full of knives with smooth polished edges that will be useless five minutes in, that need to be polished until midnight to make it through the next day. It has been my experience that the knife polishers don't actually use a knife very much. If they did, they would realize what a waste of time it was. I have known these people, and when they have watched me do the things I do, they recognized that they were in the presence of someone that was quite skillful with a knife. I have used their knives, that they were so proud of, and handed them back dull very quickly and resumed working with what they assumed was a rusty barn door hinge compared to their art piece. Art pieces belong on walls, and tools are made to consume in the performance of their task. Whether I'm winning another beaver or coyote skinning championship at rendezvous or butchering game or livestock, or beating a guy with an electric fillet knife in a fish filleting competition, I tend to treat a knife as a tool. You get points deducted for nicks in the pelt, to be quick you need that roughness to the edge to tell what you are doing. I can use the scalpels, but not in competition, I have to slow down to not make nicks.


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## 4tu (Jul 24, 2018)

This is oversimplification but there are 3 sharpening styles one is :
Chisel where one side is sharpened and the other flat.
Convex where both sides rounded the edge is sharp. 
V Both sides are equally sharpened to a centered edge. 

there are other types but these are what most hones stones and steels can do by hand without a lot of fuss.

A rough edge acts almost like a serrated blade, stays sharp longer there are occasions where this edge is not best and that is on live tissue and where the number of strokes is not important as your not going to be knife fighting for long. A polished V ground blade will slice through heavy leather or cloth where as a a rough edge requires more force and can skip off heavy cloth. Any questions can be answered by using a straight razor on a ham wrapped with heavy cotton shirt material and a rough sharpened knife. 

Since the idea is to shorten the time Fighting, techniques vary for a reason, Jim Bowie successfully used his techniques in defense and in duels. edged blade fights are won by speed and attrition "first" blood is important and that is why it is a saying.


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## AZSongBird1973 (Jun 10, 2018)

I don't know what happened with the link I posted. I was trying to show a set of old hickory knives for sale on amazon and was asking if they'd be OK or if the older ones were better or different.


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## 4tu (Jul 24, 2018)

AZSongBird1973 said:


> I don't know what happened with the link I posted. I was trying to show a set of old hickory knives for sale on amazon and was asking if they'd be OK or if the older ones were better or different.


they seem to have the same steel as the older ones good knives.


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

Dad had some kind of a pocketknife--don't remember what it was or where it went to--and an Arkansas stone. He could just spit on the stone and renew the edge whenever it was needed. Worked pretty good until the last couple of shoats...…

geo


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

The NOS you find on ebay and other online places are best. Some of the Old Hickory came on a card that was I think red or brown. Newer came on a blue card with a flag on it. All was good high carbon steel. I saw some in Walmart the other day, looked closer and saw that they were stainless steel. No idea how good they would be as I have far more of the older stuff than I need, and still buy more in Estate and garage sales when I find them, just like I do old cast iron skillets and dutch ovens. Have way more of those than I will ever use, too.


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

Get high carbon. Stainless kitchen knives make good wedding presents, but that is about it. They won't rust while they live out eternity in a kitchen drawer after their initial use dulls them. Unless you want to spend a lot of time sharpening them. With high carbon you get that good rough edge that still cuts even after it starts getting dull with just a few strokes on most anything. Easy to spot at yard and estate sales. It's the rusty one.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

4tu said:


> This is oversimplification but there are 3 sharpening styles one is :
> Chisel where one side is sharpened and the other flat.
> Convex where both sides rounded the edge is sharp.
> V Both sides are equally sharpened to a centered edge.


Chisel is easy to sharpen. Drives me crazy trying to use one as it will pull to one side in a cut. Like anything probably fine if you are used to using one, but feels horrible when one is used to a symmetrical v-edge knife. High end Japanese knives (handmade stuff not factory stuff) tend to be narrow angle chisel.

Convex rounded to point probably hard to do by hand, very easy and natural on belt sander. Its probably strongest as it leaves more metal supporting the sharp edge. I evolved to this shape as easiest and most practical for me. No difference in real world use over traditional flat V-edge. 

Symmetrical flat "V" is traditional and what most people are used to.

Probably more difference in width of the angle of the V or rounded V. A narrower angle and deeper edge will make for easier cutting, but also make it easier to damage the edge. Personally think narrow angle convex rounded V is best compromise.

If you notice lot knives from factory usually have shallow wide angle V edge. This is resistive to abuse and will hold up longer if you are clueless and abuse your knives, but you dont get good cutting performance from it. its just kinda perpetually semi-dull.

Sharpening is pretty simple, you want to first develop wire ridge at edge where bevels meet, then start the smoothing where the ridge pretty quickly disappears and you have a smoother and smoother sharp edge. Seriously a highly polished edge is very long lasting edge sans abuse. A rough edge dulls relatively quickly in comparison. More surface area exposed! Thus requirement for frequent sharpenings to renew it.

Rough edge is basically a weak imitation of a serrated edge. And a serrated edge is a saw, not a knife. If you need a saw, use a saw, but dont call it a knife, IMHO. Even before I taught myself to properly sharpen a knife, I did not like serrated "knives", they just dont feel right. Like cutting with a hacksaw blade.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

barnbilder said:


> Get high carbon. Stainless kitchen knives make good wedding presents, but that is about it. They won't rust while they live out eternity in a kitchen drawer after their initial use dulls them. Unless you want to spend a lot of time sharpening them. With high carbon you get that good rough edge that still cuts even after it starts getting dull with just a few strokes on most anything. Easy to spot at yard and estate sales. It's the rusty one.


Obviously we have very different philosophies of life. Yep the best high carbon steel will take better edge than best stainless. But in real world of medium grade factory knives, if well sharpened you wont notice much difference. I still have bit fondness for the chrome plated high carbon kitchen knives, they dont turn black and only edge without chrome has chance to get rusty. But they are pretty well limited to 1950s. Interim between carbon steel and stainless steel.


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

With your philosophy of knives you wouldn't get far with a truckload of beavers to skin.


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)

barnbilder said:


> With your philosophy of knives you wouldn't get far with a truckload of beavers to skin.



Could you post up a photo of your truck load of beavers ?

Maybe we could have a side by side of your beavers and AS's dogs ?


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

Sorry, this is a family site.


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)

Your beaver storys make your Keto stories less believable.


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

I will have to dig. It's been a while since prices were good on our beaver, and the big waterline pictures are all on the old computer. And I never took pictures when I worked for the fur buyer as a skinner and literally skinned truckloads of beaver. Day in and day out. I can close my eyes and smell that place.


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)

So it's like BFF's stories, something you did 10-20 years ago ?


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

15 years ago I skinned truckloads of beavers. Beavers haven't been worth skinning since then so I haven't skinned them or seen the need to take pictures, usually just take them to the customer, show them, get paid and go dump them. Here is some fur I put up a couple years ago, when it was worth putting up.


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

If you look real close you will see a grey fox that got me a top lot award from FHA.


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)

So no truck loads of beaver photos...

Cool story thou


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

I can't find any without my picture in it. I'm funny about putting my personage on the internet. Too many weirdos.


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## Clem (Apr 12, 2016)

The problem with cloning someone is that you may get a genetically identical copy of that person, however, it will take 45 years for the clone to be 45 years old. Also, unless you can engineer the identical set of experiences, your clone will have a different personality based on what the clone lived through vs what the original lived through. 

My barn full of Stevie Nicks and Cher clones can attest to that. You have an image of Cher, but I got 3 old fat clone women that can't sing.


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## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

Clem said:


> The problem with cloning someone is that you may get a genetically identical copy of that person, however, it will take 45 years for the clone to be 45 years old. Also, unless you can engineer the identical set of experiences, your clone will have a different personality based on what the clone lived through vs what the original lived through.
> 
> My barn full of Stevie Nicks and Cher clones can attest to that. You have an image of Cher, but I got 3 old fat clone women that can't sing.


I jest my friend, just a backhanded complement to AZSongbird1973 for her can-do attitude.


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## 4tu (Jul 24, 2018)

One point I do not use oil on my stones I use water and little of it if at all, I do wash my stones in water with a light fingernail brush or else the pores of the stone load up with metal dust and that makes it harder to sharpen a blade. 

When I oil my folding knifes I use Rem oil light and I only use a drop on each side as far as fixed blade knifes I don't oil them I just wipe them after I wash them I wipe them dry as most are high carbon steel.

I have made a few from Mora blades I like old Hickory brand I also have a Swiss Army explorer knife in every rifle butt along with a bore snake, small oil container and a bic lighter. dying stupid is a large group I'm just not a joiner -- think ahead or be dead.


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