OT - Anyone sharpen their own knives? Looking for advice.

[William_Wallace]

Here`s my feedback on the topic, you all probably saw this on the other forum, but just in case:

I bought a TSPROF K03.

It is the tier 1 guided sharpener system.
Better than Wicked Edge, Hapstone, Edge Pro, Lansky, Worksharp etc.

Here`s the one I got:
TSProf K03 Standard Expert Knife Sharpener - Gritomatic

Started with just the basic boride stones, then caught the bug and assembled a kit of 9 fancy stones.

Knife sharpening is much like paint correction when you get down to it.

I still use the sharpie method to dial in the angle and mounting.

Having a capable sharpening system has made me much more willing to use my nice knives to their potential.
Don`t have to worry about keeping that factory edge, because the edge you can end up with is superior.

I know you can freehand, but I don`t have the time, patience, or natural ability to learn the skill yet.
So, a small investment in a bullet-proof system has been well worth it.

The TSProf K03 is built like a tank. No plastic or fiddly parts.
Totally over engineered and over built. Idiot proof, thank goodness.
I`ve tried the Worksharp Ken Onion, Lansky, free-hand, pull through, etc and just never got good results until this machine.

It uses the "Edge-Pro" style stone. Its just a stone glued to an aluminum blank.
The Edge Pro, Hapstone, TSProf and maybe other systems can use this stone, so its not proprietary like the Wicket Edge, and other systems. Its like the "Glock" or "ONR" of stones.
Lots of places cut down the good stones and mount them, so you can get just about any stone you want.
Get them these places:

All 6" Stones - Gritomatic

Shapton Stones For the Edge Pro

1x6 Hapstone


My setup:


You can dial in the exact angle you want, then just go to town:


My favorite part: the Stones.
Its like buying a bunch of different polishes.
Shapton Glass 220
Shapton Glass 500
Shapton Glass 6,000
Suehiro Cerax 320
Edge Pro Diamond Matrix 650
Edge Pro Diamond Matrix 2,300
Naniwa Chosera 800
Naniwa Chosera 3000
Leather strop

My favorite combo for a every day carry pocket knife is
500 grit then 6,000 grit. Leaves a toothy edge, but polished for the best of both worlds


Here`s a "before" on one of my pocket knives. You can see the sort of unintentional microbevel from not getting dialed in and using an inferior system:


And an "after". Think this was post 800-grit:

Holy smokes is that a setup I’m envious of.

[Oneheadlite]

Hey gang

Sorry for the radio silence, been tough to get time to sit down to fire a response.

First off - thanks to all for the input! Happy to have some routes to look at. I forgot to include in the original post that my focus is only on kitchen knives.

We`ve got a basic Wustof set, so while they`re not exotic they`re still nicer than some bargain options.

Confession - with the sad state of the couple blades see the most use (due to high use and that drag through sharpener mentioned above), our current go-to knife is a < $15 santoku style knife I bought at the grocery store (Sacrilege, but truth be told I wanted a knife I could throw in the dishwasher on lazy weeknights; turns out I like how it feels in my hand so much that it`s never been run through once. It`s also been my intro knife for using a steel; I was always too paranoid to try it on our nice knives). Because it`s so cheap it actually regains a functional edge pretty easily from the steel, though the shape of the blade has changed where it sees the most contact with the cutting board (flattened the curve, so to speak) over time. I have a feeling when it comes time to sharpen, this will be my soft-black-respray detailing equivalent.

Craigdt - Thanks for sharing your setup here and on AG - great for others to be able to see if they were curious too. Amazing results without question! I think I mentioned on the sister site, makes it all to tempting to box up my knife block and send it to you... :laughing:


While a sharpening system makes perfect sense, I`m still thinking I might start at the ground floor with a whetstone and maybe a clip on sharpening guide like hawaiidude mentioned. I had seen those in the past and it seemed like a good way to help get started.

What are the differences between the different varieties of sharpening stones? What should I look for?

If starting off simple, with some correction that needs to take place, are 400 and 1000 roughly a good place to start?

Where do folks stand on Stropping?



Side note - wanted to add we`re not animals; the knives get used on wood and plastic cutting boards. No glass/ceramic for us.
I mention this due to my comment about the cheap knife wearing at the high contact point.

[William_Wallace]

Here`s my feedback on the topic, you all probably saw this on the other forum, but just in case:

I bought a TSPROF K03.

It is the tier 1 guided sharpener system.
Better than Wicked Edge, Hapstone, Edge Pro, Lansky, Worksharp etc.

Here`s the one I got:
TSProf K03 Standard Expert Knife Sharpener - Gritomatic

Started with just the basic boride stones, then caught the bug and assembled a kit of 9 fancy stones.

Knife sharpening is much like paint correction when you get down to it.

I still use the sharpie method to dial in the angle and mounting.

Having a capable sharpening system has made me much more willing to use my nice knives to their potential.
Don`t have to worry about keeping that factory edge, because the edge you can end up with is superior.

I know you can freehand, but I don`t have the time, patience, or natural ability to learn the skill yet.
So, a small investment in a bullet-proof system has been well worth it.

The TSProf K03 is built like a tank. No plastic or fiddly parts.
Totally over engineered and over built. Idiot proof, thank goodness.
I`ve tried the Worksharp Ken Onion, Lansky, free-hand, pull through, etc and just never got good results until this machine.

It uses the "Edge-Pro" style stone. Its just a stone glued to an aluminum blank.
The Edge Pro, Hapstone, TSProf and maybe other systems can use this stone, so its not proprietary like the Wicket Edge, and other systems. Its like the "Glock" or "ONR" of stones.
Lots of places cut down the good stones and mount them, so you can get just about any stone you want.
Get them these places:

All 6" Stones - Gritomatic

Shapton Stones For the Edge Pro

1x6 Hapstone


My setup:


You can dial in the exact angle you want, then just go to town:


My favorite part: the Stones.
Its like buying a bunch of different polishes.
Shapton Glass 220
Shapton Glass 500
Shapton Glass 6,000
Suehiro Cerax 320
Edge Pro Diamond Matrix 650
Edge Pro Diamond Matrix 2,300
Naniwa Chosera 800
Naniwa Chosera 3000
Leather strop

My favorite combo for a every day carry pocket knife is
500 grit then 6,000 grit. Leaves a toothy edge, but polished for the best of both worlds


Here`s a "before" on one of my pocket knives. You can see the sort of unintentional microbevel from not getting dialed in and using an inferior system:


And an "after". Think this was post 800-grit:

Wow the results really speak for themself that is a nice set up. What a clean edge

[Accumulator]

Can you tell us more about your setup? maybe I`m reading impaired but I picked up that you don`t use a belt driven sharpener for your nice knives.
Also- I`m mainly a pocket knife guy- if I wanted to get my dad a reasonably nice kitchen knife, is there a couple you`d recommend I look into?

My setups are basically: EdgePro (older model) for the "good ones", combo of Lasky/Loray for some others, SpyderCo Sharpmaker ("crock sticks") for the kitchen knives.

The belt-driven one was by Lansky IIRC, my dad bought it and promptly asked if I`d want it..I quickly found out why!

I really don`t know from kitchen knives, we`re still using the Wustof Tridents I bought back in the 80s. But I will say that for, uhm.."normal people", the ceramic crock stick sharpeners are good IMO.

[Oneheadlite]

Figure I should throw out an update

I ended up ordering the Work Sharp Precision Adjust Elite kit, as well as a 1k/6k whetstone with guides. While Craigdt`s system is an amazing bit of kit, I just don`t have that kinda dough in the budget at the moment. I briefly considered making my own version of it (Ok, I just like to visit the 80/20 site from time to time, and this was a good excuse... :laughing: Last time there I built an adjustable cargo holder for the back of the Mrs` car.), but I`m sure I could spiral that cost well above just purchasing a premade system.

The Precision Adjust operates on a similar principle to the TSProf, just on a much, much smaller scale. Poking around at reviews, it looks like it could work out well. Like anything there were some negative comments, but you get a, um... very wide population sample when you`re looking at Amazon reviews (Seriously - there was a video review attached to a negative review where they clamped the knife in the unit with the sharpening stone blocked underneath it, 100% user error but of course it`s the tools fault. I see it all the time with people doing their own car repair - just because you can work on your car, doesn`t mean you should work on your car...).

A lot of this is mainly to find out if this is a hobby that I`ll enjoy. As much as I love detailing, I joke it`s my "aspirational hobby" - I aspire that some day I`ll have the free time (and lately weather conditions!) for detailing to be my hobby. Feels like it would be much easier to find some time to pull up the stool at the counter and spend some time doing a different form of correction.

The bad part about getting into this has been now I`ve been looking at a lot of knives as well. I think a piece of Japanese cutlery may be making it`s way to the kitchen soon...

[craigdt]

I think you made a great choice!

That Work Sharp system will serve you really well. It looks like its in the "Lansky" class, but to me looks a bit more dialed in and easier to use.

Let us know how it goes- you should share your results after you give it a try.

[Oneheadlite]

I think you made a great choice!

That Work Sharp system will serve you really well. It looks like its in the "Lansky" class, but to me looks a bit more dialed in and easier to use.

Let us know how it goes- you should share your results after you give it a try.

Thanks! Really glad to hear you think it looks like a solid system.

I like how the stone slides on a rod set in a spherical bearing as opposed to just a rod sliding in a hole - seems like it would set you up for much more repeatable results. I figure even if I find out that it has some shortcomings (is a little wobbly, blade clamping issues, etc), it`s a solid base that I should be able to use some mechanical thinking to upgrade and dial in.

I`ll absolutely share when I get a chance to put stones to metal. My coworker mentioned he`s got a block of knives he doesn`t care about that was given to him that has some blades that could use some love, so I`ll likely *hone* my skills with those to start.

Where do folks stand on Stropping? I`ve seen it mentioned quite a bit in my poking around I`ve done thus far, but am not sure what to think yet. I`ve seen people mention it dampening the fresh edge they just sharpened, but I`m sure like the rest of the process angle/technique are critical.

For those that do strop, is it a dry process or do you add some sort of liquid abrasive?

*Update before I even finished typing this all up - The sharpener showed up at my work so I got a chance to check it out. Really happy with initial impressions. Everything locks in nicely and feels quite sturdy. The elite kit puts everything in a nicely thought out carrying container. Really excited to give it a go!

Also, the 165mm Nakiri I ordered showed up as well. That`ll be a present for the Mrs while I figure out how to bring life back to our knife block! I`ll add a pic from tapatalk after I post this.

[Oneheadlite]

For whatever reason Tapatalk was being fussy about letting me upload any pictures. Finally think it’s cooperating- here’s the recent addition to the knife block as well as a picture of my new sharpeners.

While I’m at it, here’s a Chicago Cutlery knife a coworker brought for me to use as a practice knife. He got it in a mismatched block of knives for free, and it’s easy to see why. This is after I gave it a thorough clean, it was dull/stained/the rivets were funky looking. Just went after it with some q-tips and small paper towels pieces using baking soda dabbed with a little water as the abrasive. Surprised the rivets brightened up as much as they did.

Should be able to put stones to metal tomorrow, I’m excited to see how it goes!

[Accumulator]

oneheadlite- AH, that looks very similar to my older EdgePro! I bet it`ll serve you very well, good choice

FWIW, I don`t do things like stropping (let alone use a steel) as I`d botch up the hard-earned edge due to user-error. The EdgePro has "polish tapes" that`re like ultra-fine stones and I use those when I want to be all Autopian about it. But once I have the edge I want, I leave it alone until it requires actual sharpening.

YOU, OTOH, might enjoy developing the ability to strop/etc. You`re already thinking about "new hobby" and heh heh, this might be another one of those Rabbit Holes that we Autopians tend to go down

FWIW, the kitchen knife that cut my wife so cleanly was one of those (generally crappy) Chicago Cutlery ones! It needed sharpening every two minutes, but it would take a good edge. Maybe your test-case will prove similar.

[hawaiidude]

Hmm, the work sharp looks cool! I might have to buy one.

Some other thoughts:
Stropping: I`ve wanted to get a solid leather strop to finish my knives but I saw a video where the guy ran his knife backwards on his whetstone and it served the same purpose as stropping. Seems to work for me. Not sure how effective it is.

Flattening stone: For anyone using a whetstone you absolutely need to get a flattening stone. It`s a stone that flattens your whetstone. I didn`t realize how important a completely flat stone is. It`s great, when you start using it, you see how unlevel your whetstone is.

Oneheadlite: check out the Dalstrong knives. They have been really great for me, goo entry level Damascus knife

[Oneheadlite]

Got a chance yesterday to try out the new system. Started with the guided sharpener; having never sharpened anything in the past I wanted to get some time getting used to the process before jumping to the whetstone.

Yeah, definitely happy with the Precision Adjust! Really impressed with how beginner friendly it is. I`ll confess it was more of a filling-time-between-things session vs a sit-down-with-intention-to-master, but it was quickly apparent that I`m going to comfortably be able to get the kind of results I was hoping for.

I should have tried to get a good close up picture of the blade on that Chicago Cutlery knife before I started, but it`s safe to say on a scale from 1 (butter knife) to 10 (scalpel) it was about a -2 (folded up take-out menu).

Started with the coarsest plate (220) and brought a uniform edge back to life. One thing I deviated from the instructions was regarding raising a burr - I kept checking for a burr, but not knowing how pronounced with was supposed to feel I really just focused on staying even between the sides and making sure I was getting any imperfections out. The guided system is really awesome about bringing a nice even bevel, despite starting with such a worn blade.

From there I switched to the finest plate on that abrasive rod (400) and made a few passes to smooth out the edge. Switched to the next rod and did 800 and the ceramic. I kinda sped through the second rod as Mom and Daughter were about through making brownies, so I wanted to be back to available.

Did a quick paper test, it can slice through for sure, but you can tell the edge is still on the coarse side. Tried slicing some carrots and it breezed right through them (side note, my daughter then requested more wafer thin carrot slices with lunch... ) - 100% back to being a serviceable knife even if it`s not something you`d post on youtube.

After removing the fear of screwing up a nice knife now that I`ve seen how easy it is to use, I think the Mrs` Wusthof Santoku daily driver is up next. This one I`ll spend some more time with for sure.

I was also thinking I`ll set up a bit of a knife sharpening diary; this way I can keep track of how certain blades responded to which plates as well as documenting exactly where the blade clamp was set to promote the most even sharpening during future sessions.

[Accumulator]

Flattening stone: For anyone using a whetstone you absolutely need to get a flattening stone. It`s a stone that flattens your whetstone. I didn`t realize how important a completely flat stone is. It`s great, when you start using it, you see how unlevel your whetstone is.

Hey, great point! SO glad you mentioned it as we`d somehow managed to overlook that

I had to order mine from a Japanese woodworking tool Co., only place I could find one back then. There *is* the sand-on-glass plate method, but the flattening stones are better IME.

Oneheadlite- So glad (but not surprised ) to hear how well it`s going!

What "paper" are you using to test? I generally use a page from an old phonebook, but eventually I switch to a single sheet of newspaper; idea being to cut it`s whole length without any "sawing", and to get a nice straight cut. Not that you need it that good for most kitchen tasks...

[Accumulator]

Oh, and has anybody else noticed that today`s *disposable* scalpels aren`t all that sharp?!? My EDC folder is a lot sharper than my Dermatologist`s scalpels; I teased her that she oughta trade those in on a #11 Xacto knife, which would sure be an upgrade (hey, I`ve done *very* minor surgery on myself with a sterilized #11 and it was much better than letting her do it with her junk!)

[jrock645]

I’m a professional chef by trade. There’s a lot to potentially discuss here. I’m a fan of the water stones myself. Just recently picked up some stones made by Gesshin to match my knives. That said, I had a 1000/6000 grit combo stone I got on Amazon that worked pretty well. Watch a few videos to get a handle on the technique. It’s not complicated per se, but it does take some practice. With some regular use, it shouldn’t take more than 10-15 minutes to sharpen a knife unless it’s in really bad shape.

[Oneheadlite]

...

Oneheadlite- So glad (but not surprised ) to hear how well it`s going!

What "paper" are you using to test? I generally use a page from an old phonebook, but eventually I switch to a single sheet of newspaper; idea being to cut it`s whole length without any "sawing", and to get a nice straight cut. Not that you need it that good for most kitchen tasks...

So far just whatever paper’s closest!

Honestly for the (sad) condition our knives are in, for a test after I’ve just been slicing carrots to see how they feel.

Went through the process on the Mrs’ daily driver yesterday. Hers unsurprisingly took longer than the Chicago Cutlery knife I started on.

Taking the paint correction approach of wanting to start as mild as I could, I started with the 400 plate. Again, hers had been roughed up by a drag through sharpener, so I ended up going one plate further to 320. Was able to get the cutting surface refaced, then worked through the 600, 800 and ceramic plates to refine the edge. I still had a little… I guess I’d call it tearing? left on the edge, but after a few “oh, what the hey” passes with the included strop I was happy with the end result.

Still just a bit of unevenness, but huuuugely better than it was. I also feel like it may work out after some use and upkeep now that I’m able to do so.

Oh, and it cuts carrots see-through thin now. :laughing:

Paper test on a post it note (again - it was closest) - had to hold the paper just-so to get the cut started, but once you were in it would glide through.

More importantly, when dicing onions making dinner last night it just breezed right through. I would argue the edge is at least as good as when it was new.

Overall really really happy with this system.

Long term I might play around with aftermarket add ons where you can use 1x4” stones instead of the included plates, but there’s nothing right now that makes me feel like I have to.

Some pictures:

Sad Before (don’t judge!)




During:





After:


Sorry for the terrible photo quality, my 5 year old phone tried its best.