[Doulos]

If you want fast. Then a Ken Onion style Worksharp is what you need. Almost no learning curve. Very simple to use. Had one. Sold it to a buddy who just wanted something that would do a decent job. Hes satisfied. Ill say this though. I could get knives much sharper on my Edge Pro or my KME.

 

[Slayer1962]

I tried stones, sticks and just about everything. I have never sharpened knives like i do with the work sharp

 

[Iron Duke]

Now ya'll done done it.....got me interested in the Chef's Choice 1520 sharpener. Wonder if the wife could use it and how will it work on her cheap kitchen knives?!?

It works ... on any knife. I've actually brought it along with a bag of my sharpening stones to dinner parties and sharpened ALL the host's knives. 99% of people have 99% of their knives in abysmal condition. I have noted that the worst thing on earth for a knife is ... a woman...lol Relatively speaking it flies through sharpening your garden variety kitchen & table cutlery. Gets them very sharp and kitchen capable. If the host has any premium knives I'll judiciously and lightly bring the blade back from the dead with the Chef's Choice, then make it really right with the whetstones or Spyderco. I have 3 diamond impregnated 12" flat "stones" in 325, 750 and 800grit and a 6000 & a 8000grit whetstone for the really $$$$ knives. So yes, the Chef's Choice will take all those nearly useless knives in "the knife draw" and bring them back to very sharp and usable condition. Sharper than they were when they were first purchased.

And while we're talking about "knife draws" get yourself a couple boxes of knife blade edge guards. They're cheap and they'll keep all those knives in the draw sharp. I have a few knives like an 18" turkey slicer in a draw and they all have guards on the blades. If I transport knives to use when away on a project, they have edge guards. Banging around in a draw (or dish rack after washing) is a sure way to muck up your knives. Even cheap knives can do yeoman duty if you treat them with respect.

 

[Runningbuck]

Let's face it, ladies have a bad habit of cutting everything on a plate. Ceramic and a sharp edge don't get along very well, that's what cutting boards were invented for.

 

[Runningbuck]

KME with the diamond stones…hands down the best.
I make hunting knives as a hobby…and use O1 tool steel for the blades. ( retired machinist)
sometimes I get the blades a little too hard and the KME sharpens the up perfect.
nothing better IMHO…Lloyd View attachment 229337

Nice work, always like to see mosaic pins on dark scales. They give the knife some class.

 

[Iron Duke]

Let's face it, ladies have a bad habit of cutting everything on a plate. Ceramic and a sharp edge don't get along very well, that's what cutting boards were invented for.

Exactly! ...lol I will say, in all my dating, and all the homes I've been in, my present Sheila is the only woman I ever ran into that knows how to handle a knife. She had some knife handling faults when we met like putting a good knife into the sink, but cutting stuff incorrectly wasn't one of them. I rarely have to sharpen her table knife and she never wrecks a working knife from the knife block. I just wash the knife when she's done and hit it a few licks on the rouge impregnated leather strop I keep alongside the knife block and a free standing 7" Wusthof Santoku she likes to use most.

 

[Canadian Idle]

Beautiful!!!

Thanks,…
Lloyd

 

[Canadian Idle]

Nice work, always like to see mosaic pins on dark scales. They give the knife some class.

Thanks,….
Lloyd

 

[bowmanmt]

For skinning a deer or making jerky what degree angle do you guys recommend. 15 or 20

 

[Runningbuck]

For skinning a deer or making jerky what degree angle do you guys recommend. 15 or 20

20 degrees will hold its edge longer than 15-17 degrees and will be easier to touch up. Skinning will dull an edge especially if you get into the hair a few times.

 

[jon.henry755]

Amen ... those super premium Japanese blades are way out of my need/use zone. Every knife on earth will become dull, it's just a matter of when. The premium knife brands have had hundreds of years perfecting knives for professionals and consumers that will FIT those people's skill set. That skill set includes keeping those knives world class sharp without exorbitant painstaking efforts and tools. A "too hard" blade is "too hard" to sharpen...lol As for stropping, it's my experience you can keep a knife razor sharp for quite a while by stropping religiously. BUT, it can't go on forever. Eventually you have to shape the edge again.

That’s what I love about your responses for the last several years. Each one brings both wisdom and reason to these forums, as does this one. In summary you are correct! It follows the same logic as the saying “there’s a nut for every bolt”.

When people buy a very high quality knife they are made to stand up to far more use before needing to be sharpened. But t when sharpening time comes it’s usually a more labor intensive job or it requires better quality tools.

Less expensive blades are often made of softer steel that fills and rolls its edge faster. This softer steel sharpens easier providing you have the ability to match and maintain the proper blade angle at all times.

I own fillet knives that I typically can use to fillet up to about 75 to 100 salmon before needing to resharpen. It’s not the gutting work that determines when they need to be sharpened. It’s when I remove the skin. When the blade goes down at the edge of the skin on the tail and I pull the skin against the blade edge it should slide through smoothly like a razor. If my blade hangs up or leaves any meat on the skin then it’s getting dulled.

A regular $25 or $30 fillet knife might get thru 1/3 that many fish before having to be sharpened.

There’s nothing wrong with either approach. It’s up to-each person which way they prefer to go. What is most important is understanding how to determine how to find that factory edge angle and then understanding how to maintain it. If the day comes when this is no longer doable it means you’ve either worn out your edge or over abused it and it’s time to replace the knife.
Please keep in mind that many blade makers use either a different mix of steels to produce their edge or shift the angle of the blades in the last 1/8” of the edge. There are single edge blades, double edge blades, tri-edge blades and beveled edge blades. How would you successfully resharpen each of these unless you knew what type of blade edge you’re dealing with?

Often when you’re purchasing a new knife if you ask the seller what angle the blade was sharpened at they either can’t tell you or they’ll tell you about the sharpener they sell that works with that knife. It’s almost always B.S. unless the seller is also the maker as in the case of custom knife makers. I always call the company directly and ask to speak to the guy or guys producing the knife. They can almost always give me the angle on the factory edge and I keep this information with the knife.

When I can’t get the info. I immediately go to my sharpie and find it quickly. Personally, I’ve used an Edge Pro Apex Sharpening System with both full sets of Sharpening Stones and full sets Diamond Stones down to a polishing of 5,000 grit. I also have polishing pasted by multiple makers which are used in conjunction with a leather stropping block.

I’m not advocating any of these things to anybody due to the fact they’re not cheap. They work exceedingly well and have for years, but I also have spent years learning many of things I’m now sharing with everyone. I have a good collection of very high end custom knives that I’ve collected for over 30 years. I maintain them in like new condition at all times so they ready for work whenever needed. If you employ some of the information I’ve provided I’m sure you can do the same.

 

[jon.henry755]

For skinning a deer or making jerky what degree angle do you guys recommend. 15 or 20

For the record, a 15 degree angle is sharper than most razor blades are produced at, so it would be much to fine an edge for any heavy work unless you just wanted to shave hair. For deer gutting any sharp folding knife with a 25 degree angle should do the job. The razor edge on fixed blade broadheads come it at about 19 or 20 degrees. This is to fine and sharp for a good working edge on an outdoor knife.

Making jerky is more of a kitchen knife process, so a very sharp kitchen meat knife with a 20 - 24 degree edge does the job nicely. I’d recommend starting the job with two good sharp kitchen knives. One for slicing and one boning style knife. Using two allows you to get much more done before any touching up the blades are needed.

I prefer to start with knives that have just been sharpened and then at the first sign that either knife isn’t slicing the meat like butter I stop, wipe the blade and give ia try 10 or 20 strokes on my sharpener. This makes the job very easy and smooth.

Once done both knives are cleaned, sharpened and coated with a light film of pure olive oil, then lightly wiped and stored.

 

[jon.henry755]

If you want fast. Then a Ken Onion style Worksharp is what you need. Almost no learning curve. Very simple to use. Had one. Sold it to a buddy who just wanted something that would do a decent job. Hes satisfied. Ill say this though. I could get knives much sharper on my Edge Pro or my KME.

The Edge Pro Apex System is what I’ve used for years. Great system as long as you keep your stones clean and in good shape. It’s not fast, but it is excellent.

 

[jon.henry755]

yes, learned marker trick from ranchfairy, its very usefull

was also thinking what to do if i ever encounter hard blade

When you encounter a very hard steel blade edge it’s common to think the edge is actually a soft edge and it keeps rolling on each stroke so it never gets sharp. What’s actually taking place if you could see it under a microscope is the edge is so hard that it’s micro-fragmenting on the blades edge from the sharpening tool. This can’t be seen with naked eye, but when it’s occurring the only thing that I know of that will resolve it is polishing. There two ways to polish. The most common is the same way barbers maintained their single edge shaving knives for years. That’s using a leather strop working the blade edge back and forth repeatedly until you can see the edge gleaming brightly. The other way requires a good sharpening tool like the Edge Pro by Apex. This system contains polishing materials well above the 1,000 grit level. You can get 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 or 5,000 grit stones or tapes. There may be higher these days, but I’m not sure what they might be used for. I’ve gone as far as 3,000 grit and that’s way more polishing than I can use.

Conversely, you can easily run into knife makers whose blades are so soft they don’t appear to be resharpen able. This is due to an edge that rolls over on every stroke.

 

[Tnmtns]

I use the KME myself. My every day carry is a ZT Hinderer with M390 steel, not easy to sharpen, but not so bad with the diamond stones. I keep a 25 degree edge on that knife, but most all my hunting knives have a convex grind. Those, I just strop usually.

 

[fly]

When you encounter a very hard steel blade edge it’s common to think the edge is actually a soft edge and it keeps rolling on each stroke so it never gets sharp. What’s actually taking place if you could see it under a microscope is the edge is so hard that it’s micro-fragmenting on the blades edge from the sharpening tool. This can’t be seen with naked eye, but when it’s occurring the only thing that I know of that will resolve it is polishing. There two ways to polish. The most common is the same way barbers maintained their single edge shaving knives for years. That’s using a leather strop working the blade edge back and forth repeatedly until you can see the edge gleaming brightly. The other way requires a good sharpening tool like the Edge Pro by Apex. This system contains polishing materials well above the 1,000 grit level. You can get 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 or 5,000 grit stones or tapes. There may be higher these days, but I’m not sure what they might be used for. I’ve gone as far as 3,000 grit and that’s way more polishing than I can use.

Conversely, you can easily run into knife makers whose blades are so soft they don’t appear to be resharpen able. This is due to an edge that rolls over on every stroke.

thats good news, im sure polyps will be nuisanse in a future

 

[Iron Duke]

When you encounter a very hard steel blade edge it’s common to think the edge is actually a soft edge and it keeps rolling on each stroke so it never gets sharp. What’s actually taking place if you could see it under a microscope is the edge is so hard that it’s micro-fragmenting on the blades edge from the sharpening tool. This can’t be seen with naked eye, but when it’s occurring the only thing that I know of that will resolve it is polishing. There two ways to polish. The most common is the same way barbers maintained their single edge shaving knives for years. That’s using a leather strop working the blade edge back and forth repeatedly until you can see the edge gleaming brightly. The other way requires a good sharpening tool like the Edge Pro by Apex. This system contains polishing materials well above the 1,000 grit level. You can get 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 or 5,000 grit stones or tapes. There may be higher these days, but I’m not sure what they might be used for. I’ve gone as far as 3,000 grit and that’s way more polishing than I can use.

Conversely, you can easily run into knife makers whose blades are so soft they don’t appear to be resharpen able. This is due to an edge that rolls over on every stroke.

Looked at ... the video. I like the way the system works. Seems fast, (compared to whetstones) accurate and easy to be consistent. I couldn't deal with a 320 grit edge though...lol I have a 320gr diamond stone and it feels like you're dragging the blade over concrete. Even the 750gr leaves a rougher edge than I prefer. The chef's knife the guy sharpened was tearing at the cut on the conveniently heavy paper the guy was showing the edge with. Sharper than 98% of the knives out there, but still. I have to admit, using the Japanese whetstones takes a lot of "feel" and practice. I often have to test, and rework to get the edge I want. When I'm done the knife will peel a newspaper lying flat on its side with little effort just like you're filleting a fish. I like that Edge Pro Apex System for the repeatability. With 1000 grit or above it would take care of my knife edge compulsion...lol

By the way, the Chef's Choice 15/20 allows you to sharpen a compound edge. Start out with the 15° to thin behind the edge and then a few stroke with the 20° to give the cutting edge a little more strength. I'll often do the same things with my stones. Sharpen the knife and the last very light stroke lift the blade a little to increase the edge angle ever so slightly.

 

[JH HUNTER]

I'm a pro with the Lanskey.

JH HUNTER

 

[Iron Duke]

I'm a pro with the Lanskey.

JH HUNTER

When I see ... "oil" all I think of is stones clogged up with grease and metal filings. When I was young I did the oil deal on your garden variety Norton double sided sharpening stones. I much prefer water and whetstones. I can feel the difference between a clean stone and a stone with metal buildup. I even use water on my DMT diamond stones. When I use the dry Spyderco system I always clean the stones afterward, sometimes even during use. I know oil has it's advocates and you can get a knife sharp with it, just not me ...lol My old Norton stones reside out in the garage and I use them for sharpening utility knife blades, old knives I use for cutting insulation, hatchets, axes, machetes and a finished edge on lawnmower blades.

 

[JH HUNTER]

When I see ... "oil" all I think of is stones clogged up with grease and metal filings. When I was young I did the oil deal on your garden variety Norton double sided sharpening stones. I much prefer water and whetstones. I can feel the difference between a clean stone and a stone with metal buildup. I even use water on my DMT diamond stones. When I use the dry Spyderco system I always clean the stones afterward, sometimes even during use. I know oil has it's advocates and you can get a knife sharp with it, just not me ...lol My old Norton stones reside out in the garage and I use them for sharpening utility knife blades, old knives I use for cutting insulation, hatchets, axes, machetes and a finished edge on lawnmower blades.

The trick with oil stones is, to never leave them dirty. You clean the stone by putting a few drops of oil on it, then use your finger to rub the oil into the stone in a circular motion. All the metal gets lifted out of the pores and you take a cloth and wipe it off. repeat twice and they are clean and ready for storage. That is the only trick to it. My oilstones are just as good as the first day I bought them.

JH HUNTER