Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I am looking to buy a knife sharpener.

Would like recommendations.

I love my eze-lap diamond hones. They sharpen knives, sissors or virtually anything you can rub them against (except your wit or spouse).

http://www.knivesplus.com/EZELAP.HTML

I use the ez-lf, ez-lm, and ez-lc. They are inexpensive and last a long long time. They are 6" long, 3/4" wide, and have 2" of diamond surface. Harbor Freight (everyone seems to like them but most of the stuff they sell is disposable) may sell something similar. They are small, light, and take up virtually no room (no batteries required or included).

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Gus

A medium and a fine Arkansas stone, and lots of practice. I've tried a lot of the others but once you learn to sharpen a knife the old fashioned way, there's just no need for all the fixtures, diamonds and such. My Grand Pa gave me a pocket knife, a cheap sharpening stone, and taught me how to use them before I started school. I thank him for that.

Some of my "less skilled" friends swear by the Lansky system, either carborundium or diamond. They do get good results with no skill on the knives that will work with the system.

I like the Lansky. Works perfect every time, and it's fast.

I second the lansky system. No talent needed but great results.

I agree with Larwyn a good stone an a little pratice is all that is needed. I use a carburundum stome to get the edge and a Arkansas white stone to finish up. To finalize I whet the blade on the backside of my belt and if it will shave the hair on my arm I'm done.

I learned the value of a well kept blade when I was about 10. That summer I spent two weeks at my paternal grandparents. My grandpa found me playing mumbly peg with my pocket knife and totally out of character went off. He must have confessed to grandma because she set me down to have a talk. She pulled out a picture and explained why grandpa was so upset with me sticking the knife in the dirt. In a picture she showed me was a human arm in a mini coffin. Yes grandpa only had his right arm to just below the elbow. She told the story of how a clogged corn picker grabbed grandpa's glove as he tried to clear it while running. It grabbed the glove then the fingers then his hand. He was forced to choose to cut his own arm off or be drug into the machine. Though he is gone as I routinely sharpen my pocket knives or any kitchen knife he crosses my mind and I understand the benefits of a properly maintained tool.

Bob
My family had made and collected knives for many years. We have used every sharpener on the market. Wet stones are good, if you stay on top of the knives - but whos does that? Throw Lansky, wet stones, ceramic and others in the trash. Buy these:

After we tried these, nothing, and I mean even my beloved Lansky couldn't hold a candle to these sharpeners. They are called Edgemaker! Clicky We found them at a gun and knife show. Now I see they are even on e-bay. I own three different grades of courseness. I can bring them to Brown County if you want.

Thanks Dan,
I just ordered a set online.

Bad news on the Edgemaker, IMHO. I just received my set, and they don't work too good. The major complaint I have is the one I suspected...they leave a wire edge on the knife. A wire edge is common when the shapening devise is not moved away from the blade edge.

This is just my finding....your mileage may vary.

After I use a stone I have a burr edge just stropp it on a good leather belt 10 - 12 times. I can never shave my arm after the stone but as soon as I stropp the edge with some leather I can shave a little hair off of my arm to test that I'm done. Maybe those old barbers knew a little something about keeping a good edge.

Being a basic knife freak, I've tried everything out there, as well. In my experience nothing beats a good Arkansas stone for the final edge. Diamond stones are great on the workbench for a fast edge on tools. Ceramic sticks are okay for a quick touch-up in the kitchen. But the Carborundom/Arkansas combination is what I always come back to if I want something seriously sharp.

Dave

Here is a link to a good video.

In his show, Good Eats, Alton Brown says we shouldn't sharpen our own knives, that we should send them to a pro. Well, I like to do my own anyway, even though I'm sure a pro would do it better than I do.

The good thing about this video is that he shows a pro working on his knives, so we can see what he does.

He also does a good job of explaining the difference between sharpening and honing, and show the proper use of a "steel" to hone knives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hKXQHGwzAw

I always get a great edge with no wire edge with the Lansky. Nothing I have tried works better.

tddriver wrote:Being a basic knife freak, I've tried everything out there, as well. In my experience nothing beats a good Arkansas stone for the final edge. Diamond stones are great on the workbench for a fast edge on tools. Ceramic sticks are okay for a quick touch-up in the kitchen. But the Carborundom/Arkansas combination is what I always come back to if I want something seriously sharp.

Dave

Thanks for the second to my opinion Dave

I think if you'll talk to a professional with lots of experience sharpening knives, he will tell you it's more technique than the type of stone you use. That is why the Lansky system works so good...it makes the technique perfect every time.