What Kind of Knife Sharpener for the Boys and I?

[DoosanMan]

Ok, I have three boys 7-11 years old.  Between us we have a number of pocket knives and multi-tools.  What about sharpening them?  All we have is the wife's kitchen knife sharpener and I'm a bit skeptical using it.......What is a good sharpener for pocket knives, multitools and the such?

thanks!

[b00mhower]

Ok, I have three boys 7-11 years old.  Between us we have a number of pocket knives and multi-tools.  What about sharpening them?  All we have is the wife's kitchen knife sharpener and I'm a bit skeptical using it.......What is a good sharpener for pocket knives, multitools and the such?

thanks!

Can't go wrong with the basics. Whetstones

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[captain spaulding]

I would suggest the Spyderco Sharpmaker. It is easy to use and keep a proper angle and works wonders. The one and only thing I see that can be a issue is if you have any knives that have a very hard steel. Without the extra stones the Sharpmaker might not be able to handle those types of steels. If we are just talking standard stuff like Leatherman uses then you should be fine.

I do not blame you on being skeptical about pull through sharpeners. I would not put ANY blade through one of those. They do more damage than anything and can completely ruin the edge on any knife.

[NKlamerus]

I'd move on up to a Lansky System. Buy one kit now, let the boys learn how to use it, one of them will most likely keep it for a lifetime.

I DO believe everyone should learn how to sharpen a knife on a regular stone, but you already have one right??

[captain spaulding]

I'd move on up to a Lansky System. Buy one kit now, let the boys learn how to use it, one of them will most likely keep it for a lifetime.

I DO believe everyone should learn how to sharpen a knife on a regular stone, but you already have one right??

I was not a fan of the Lansky system, but they work beautifully for others. 

[NKlamerus]

I'm just not a fan of holding the knife. I'd much rather use the stone across the blade, than the blade across the stone. That's just me though, unfortunately for the OP he may have to buy both and find out which one he likes

[JAfromMn]

The Sharpmaker is good but so is a lansky or just free hand on different stones.

There's so many ways to get a nice edge.

I use a spyderco 701 profile set and or Norton bench stones myself.
 

[PTRSAK]

you would be surprised how well this works




Bottom rim of a coffee mug or small plate can get your blades shaving sharp.  I use this trick all the time.

[kmanct3]

+1 for the Sharpmaker

[captain spaulding]

you would be surprised how well this works

(Image removed from quote.)


Bottom rim of a coffee mug or small plate can get your blades shaving sharp.  I use this trick all the time.

This does work, but only if your knife is not to dull to begin with.

[AimlessWanderer]

you would be surprised how well this works

(Image removed from quote.)


Bottom rim of a coffee mug or small plate can get your blades shaving sharp.  I use this trick all the time.

This does work, but only if your knife is not to dull to begin with.

+1 I tend to think of that method as more like steeling (edge straightening) than sharpening (material removal). Same can be achieved on a rolled down car window. For actul sharpening, I tried a few different sharpeners but you are better off learning to sharpen freehand, even if you move to using some assisted system afterwards. If you can sharpen freehand, you can compensate should your sharpening system not match up exactly with the angle on the range of blades you are trying to maintain ... besides which, it means you can sometimes improvise a sharpening medium if you are away from your system and need to improve the edge

[Pignut71]

I would suggest the Spyderco Sharpmaker. It is easy to use and keep a proper angle and works wonders. The one and only thing I see that can be a issue is if you have any knives that have a very hard steel. Without the extra stones the Sharpmaker might not be able to handle those types of steels. If we are just talking standard stuff like Leatherman uses then you should be fine.

I do not blame you on being skeptical about pull through sharpeners. I would not put ANY blade through one of those. They do more damage than anything and can completely ruin the edge on any knife.

I think The Captain has nailed it. Great bit of fuss free, easy and relatively safe kit..

Regards, Jon


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[Jetbo]

I been using these little guys http://lansky.com/index.php/products/mini-crock-stick/.  They are great 

[Grathr]

I love my spyderco pocket stone double stuff:
http://m.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=87


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[dks]

lansky, free hand, sharpmaker .....

all good, but you need to decide what suits you

[smiller43147]

Another recommendation for the Spyderco Sharpmaker.

[Syncop8r]

He wants something his boys can use as well.
It depends whether you want something you can all easily use, or if you are all keen to learn to do it freehand.

[Corwyn]

I'm a disaster at freehand (almost blinded myself when breaking the blade of a Nirosta on a stone).
Never used the Spyderco Sharpmaker so will abtain.
I can swear on my Lansky though... once you wrap the edges to avoid scratching the blade and find a trick to turn the knob (I wrap it in my sleeve) it's just amazing.
All you need is learning the trick: where to place the clamp and how to push the stones (use equal number on each side). I ruined a couple of cheapos before finding how to use it properly, but now I can get everything in my house razor-sharp in a few minutes (I even managed to reprofile two saks with it...).

[b00mhower]

I'm a disaster at freehand (almost blinded myself when breaking the blade of a Nirosta on a stone).
Never used the Spyderco Sharpmaker so will abtain.
I can swear on my Lansky though... once you wrap the edges to avoid scratching the blade and find a trick to turn the knob (I wrap it in my sleeve) it's just amazing.
All you need is learning the trick: where to place the clamp and how to push the stones (use equal number on each side). I ruined a couple of cheapos before finding how to use it properly, but now I can get everything in my house razor-sharp in a few minutes (I even managed to reprofile two saks with it...).

I'm extremely curious of how you managed that first part

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[Corwyn]

I'm a disaster at freehand (almost blinded myself when breaking the blade of a Nirosta on a stone).
Never used the Spyderco Sharpmaker so will abtain.
I can swear on my Lansky though... once you wrap the edges to avoid scratching the blade and find a trick to turn the knob (I wrap it in my sleeve) it's just amazing.
All you need is learning the trick: where to place the clamp and how to push the stones (use equal number on each side). I ruined a couple of cheapos before finding how to use it properly, but now I can get everything in my house razor-sharp in a few minutes (I even managed to reprofile two saks with it...).

I'm extremely curious of how you managed that first part

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After spending almost an hour trying to reprofile the damned Nirosta kitchen knives (spoons were sharper) and seeing they went right through the softer stones I pushed too hard on the side, blade snapped sideways and cartrolled through the air missing my eye by a few centimeters... no biggie anyway as it was still rather dull 

[b00mhower]

I'm a disaster at freehand (almost blinded myself when breaking the blade of a Nirosta on a stone).
Never used the Spyderco Sharpmaker so will abtain.
I can swear on my Lansky though... once you wrap the edges to avoid scratching the blade and find a trick to turn the knob (I wrap it in my sleeve) it's just amazing.
All you need is learning the trick: where to place the clamp and how to push the stones (use equal number on each side). I ruined a couple of cheapos before finding how to use it properly, but now I can get everything in my house razor-sharp in a few minutes (I even managed to reprofile two saks with it...).

I'm extremely curious of how you managed that first part

Sent from my LG-E980 using Tapatalk

After spending almost an hour trying to reprofile the damned Nirosta kitchen knives (spoons were sharper) and seeing they went right through the softer stones I pushed too hard on the side, blade snapped sideways and cartrolled through the air missing my eye by a few centimeters... no biggie anyway as it was still rather dull 

Patience brother....patience. sounds like you need some if you were pushing hard enough that you snapped the blade

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[eamo]

back to the original question - i'm in a similar situation, I bought a lansky blade medic and plan on getting a basic cheapie whetstone off ebay. the plan then is to practice on cheap blades until the kids (and my) skills are refined - re the blade medic, i haven't enough skill/experience to say how good it is, but i'm happy with it so far.

[Lichtbote]

Usually i´m not overly crazy with my blades, so i havn´t tried very much systems - mostly i just want them to cut, sharpening is no hobby for me.

Any knifes that just need to cut i use the IKEA sharpener: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/57145296/

I believe to remember it can also bought for more from Fiskars, but not completely sure on that.

For more, i go oldstyle with stones.

[Syph007]

I'd move on up to a Lansky System. Buy one kit now, let the boys learn how to use it, one of them will most likely keep it for a lifetime.

I DO believe everyone should learn how to sharpen a knife on a regular stone, but you already have one right??

I was not a fan of the Lansky system, but they work beautifully for others. 

Completely agree on the sharpmaker.  Great results and very easy to use.  The lansky while good, is a fiddly precision angle tool that is way overkill for simple knives IMO.

[AimlessWanderer]

I'd move on up to a Lansky System. Buy one kit now, let the boys learn how to use it, one of them will most likely keep it for a lifetime.

I DO believe everyone should learn how to sharpen a knife on a regular stone, but you already have one right??

I was not a fan of the Lansky system, but they work beautifully for others. 

Completely agree on the sharpmaker.  Great results and very easy to use.  The lansky while good, is a fiddly precision angle tool that is way overkill for simple knives IMO.

I started out with the Lansky, and I did actually find it a good aid to understanding what I was doing (especially when for some reason it didn't do what I wanted) but once I got bored of that I moved to freehand. I don't get the worlds greatest edges, but I get them sharp enough to cut as I need them to

[Higgins617]

I won't be of much help, I use the stone I used on my hockey skates! Works surprisingly well now that I sort of know what I'm doing.

[sir_mike]

You could get a Sharpmaker for touchups and get a Norton combo India stone to practice on so when it gets too dull or you need to fix any damage to the blade.

[cool123]

You can have any ceramic knife sharpener which will help you out to sharpen knife at home.

[Singh]

I wish I was one of those gurus who could sharpen a knife on a coffee mug, car window, or using  some sort of freehand system......but I'm not. So I use Chef's Choice model 120. It keeps all my knives shaving sharp.

[pfrsantos]

you would be surprised how well this works

(Image removed from quote.)


Bottom rim of a coffee mug or small plate can get your blades shaving sharp.  I use this trick all the time.

This does work, but only if your knife is not to dull to begin with.

I use a flat sharpening stone to get the blade sharp and then use this method for finishing it and get it even sharper and smoother. I usually make a few cuts in a piece of paper afterwards to remove any grits from the blade.

Works for me!