Any knife nuts out there?

[blert]

I'll admit it... I truly suck at sharpening my knives (kitchen, EDC, garage). I need something that is stupid proof. What have you folks used that has given good results? Not looking to buy into the likes of a WickedEdge. Something under $100, that is quick and easy setup/breakdown.

 

[Ed Fenwick]

Years ago my wife bought for me a "Chefs Choice". It is 15-18 years old and still works well. It has one slot for coarse edge and a second one for the fine edge, used together it will give a very sharp edge and you will get the same angle every time.
I don't think that she paid more than $30. for it. But 15 years ago?
Ed

 

[MVanover]

I'm pretty good at knife sharpening. But I have found the Crock Sticks the best way to sharpen knives. Once sharpened they hold an edge and are easily re-sharpened. You just have to know up and down to sharpen.

Robot or human?

www.walmart.com

 

[CamoKorean]

I like spyder co knife sharpener. But usually just use sharpening stones.

 

[blert]

Hey thanks guys!

I will never use a pull-through style again. I have destroyed so many kitchen knives with those things that they all went in the trash. Maybe I wasn't using it right?

Had my eye on a stick-type set, the SpyderCo SharpMaker. Almost bought it as the reviews for it are all outstanding. But, since my son likes to go to the pawn shops, garage sales, and antique shops to find those gems that people just toss away, we needed something that could repair some damage. Would take way too long on a "V" sharpener. I may still score one for my birthday to use for touch-ups and quick honing.

Settled on a HapStone R2 with two sets of stones, one for the kitchen knives and lower end steels (Boride T2) and one for the higher end steels (Boride/Gritomatic SiC), two leather strops, and a tub of 2micron diamond paste. I got it during a 20% off sale they recently had. Love this thing...

Check out gritomatic.com for any sharpening stuff you may need.

 

[ReggieT]

As a meat cutter with 35 years experience with knives, getting a knife properly sharpened is only half the fight. Keep it sharp by stop letting people use your knives for plate or pan carving. Carve only on wood or plastic and buy a quality steel to keep the edge straight and sharp. My 35 year old knives are made by Case and I have never 'sharpened' them. But, I will take my favorite, which is a large steak knife and run it over the steel a few times. Do not put undo pressure on the knife as you draw it over the steel. Just enough to keep the edge straight. I do have a Dexter steak knife which I have had for 60 years and several Forschner knives which I have had for nearly as long, but the Case stainless steel knife is my favorite for all meat carving. And I never put my wood handled knives in the dish washer, but that is a personal choice. Steels can be bought with several finishes, but mine is smooth. It does not file away material in order to keep a sharp edge.

 

[ReggieT]

As a meat cutter with 35 years experience with knives, getting a knife properly sharpened is only half the fight. Keep it sharp by stop letting people use your knives for plate or pan carving. Carve only on wood or plastic and buy a quality steel to keep the edge straight and sharp. My 35 year old knives are made by Case and I have never 'sharpened' them. But, I will take my favorite, which is a large steak knife and run it over the steel a few times. Do not put undo pressure on the knife as you draw it over the steel. Just enough to keep the edge straight. I do have a Dexter steak knife which I have had for 60 years and several Forschner knives which I have had for nearly as long, but the Case stainless steel knife is my favorite for all meat carving. And I never put my wood handled knives in the dish washer, but that is a personal choice. Steels can be bought with several finishes, but mine is smooth. It does not file away material in order to keep a sharp edge.

I should mention that a steak knife to a butcher has a 8" blade, and for cutting steaks. A steak knife for consumers is about 4-5" in long and for eating steak. Not the same thing..lol..

 

[blert]

As a meat cutter with 35 years experience with knives, getting a knife properly sharpened is only half the fight. Keep it sharp by stop letting people use your knives for plate or pan carving. Carve only on wood or plastic and buy a quality steel to keep the edge straight and sharp. My 35 year old knives are made by Case and I have never 'sharpened' them. But, I will take my favorite, which is a large steak knife and run it over the steel a few times. Do not put undo pressure on the knife as you draw it over the steel. Just enough to keep the edge straight. I do have a Dexter steak knife which I have had for 60 years and several Forschner knives which I have had for nearly as long, but the Case stainless steel knife is my favorite for all meat carving. And I never put my wood handled knives in the dish washer, but that is a personal choice. Steels can be bought with several finishes, but mine is smooth. It does not file away material in order to keep a sharp edge.

Yup, I get it. I threw out my wife's glass cutting boards over 20 years ago when we first moved in together (who the hell thought a glass cutting board was a good idea?). My kitchen knives aren't crappy, they are lower mid-range I would say. What steel they are is a mystery as, like most kitchen knives, they say "high carbon stainless". That means nothing to me so, regardless of price, they get grouped with lower end steels. I never put any of them in the dish machine regardless of handle material as that tends to cause pitting. Kitchen knives rarely require much more than a quick honing or a short round of high grit attention.
EDC and garage knives are very different monsters though. They usually take some abuse and require attention far above the needs of a kitchen set. And since I usually know exactly what steels these are (8Cr13Mov, Aus8, D2, VG-10, S30V, M390, etc.) I know that the stones I use on my 8Cr13Mov won't work well on my M390 and some of the stones I use on the M390 are way too aggressive for the 8Cr13Mov.