About to Buy a KNIFE SHARPENER – Advice Please (links enclosed)
Hi Guys!
I’m looking for a knife sharpener that doesn’t require a long, steep learning curve and I don’t think I would have a place to put a belt type unit. I would like to be able to make the knives “ultra-sharp” and it would be nice if the sharpener could also sharpen serrated blades (but that is not essential).
Spyderco Sharpmaker
This is $54.81 at Amazon. It seems to be well reviewed but it will only sharpen at 2 different angles and I wonder about the honing stage. It doesn’t seem to accomplish that. Some people said that if you have different angle requirements or need to remove a lot of metal that you should consider an extra triangle stone pair for the Sharpmaker or this OTHER extra STONE for use after using the Sharpmaker. Has anyone had experience with the Spyderco?
This SET is only $24.99 from Aliexpress in China seems quite good to me but people on the other thread said it couldn’t be because it’s too cheap and it comes from China. Has anyone used one?
Another Similar SET is $25.42 from the same seller and frankly, I have trouble telling them apart. Can anyone enlighten me? Also, people said it couldn’t be good because it’s too cheap and it comes from China. Has anyone used one of these?
Exduct also has a Knife Sharpening System they call the TAIDEA. The Exduct TAIDEA is $27.58 plus shipping cost of ? Does anyone have experience with it? It looks like it has been “slimmed down” by removal of 2 out of 4 sharpening rods and the elimination of the oil. Has anyone used this one?
Also, -I s good oil for this purpose expensive?
IMPORTANT: Last but not least are these two VERY EXPENSIVE but also very highly reviewed electric sharpeners. Again, I can’t tell the difference between them but the Chef’s Choice Angle Select 520 is $166.24 at Amazon and Chef’s Choice 120 (which also seems to have angle selection) is $134.16 in black at Amazon. By the way, once again, I cannot seem to differentiate between these two. A review says they have a learning curve as well but I can’t imagine that they would be very difficult to use and they are probably VERY FAST.
I have the exduct one and it is very easy to use. I just use mineral oil.
I don’t think it could do very thin knives like a Victorinox classic, but I guess you could just do it free hand with the provided stones.
I just did a Rapala fillet knife, which is quite thin, and it was a pain because the clamp gets in the way so I just did it in two halves.
I’m not sure what ultra sharp means, but I’d assume you would need more than the exduct system and probably much finer stones and a strop. If shaving sharp is enough for you the exduct system is very easy to use.
BTW, I was surprised to see your username because I sometimes use that name on different forums.
I have the sharp maker. And it makes things sharp. Lol. It is awesome and I love it but then again I am an amateur with this stuff and it is the only knife sharpening system I’ve used. But i am very happy with it!! And it sharpens almost anything!
Chefs do not want to spend time sharpening knives, they just want a fast and serviceable edge.
The electrics chew off way too much steel too fast.
The chef ends up replacing the knives fairly often.
Also, remember that almost all chefs knives are made of soft steel like 440a or 420J2….that encludes expensive German knives. The only hard chefs knives are from Japan, like Global knives.
If you are willing to put in 2 hours the first time you sharpen a blade, nothing beats the mouse pad and wet/dry sandpaper method, followed by stroping on leather. After the first time, it only takes a few minutes to touch up, unless the edge has been damaged.
Don’t have tons of experience, but since you are willing to spend the dollars….get the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Get an additional pair of Ultrafine stones.
It is very important to maintain the angle, else your results would be so variable even with texpensive stuff.
Thank you for the reply. I’m happy to hear that the Exduct System has worked out well for you.
About my username - my son is an expert on the Far East, particularly China but also Japan. He had a beautiful dog - a Japanese Breed - until his divorce. The dog’s name was Kuma so I took the name KumaBear as a username. I kind of like it.
I guess I’ll be watching some YouTube Videos! I’ve never tried to put a really decent edge on a knife and I’m anxious to learn how. I should say that over time, I’ve learned to get the right tool for the job.
Regards, Bob
Video… Spyderco sharpmaker with ultra fine stones. Finish with a 12k.
BTW it is always better to use 2 hands on the blade….much more control.
How to solve knives with a > 40 deg edge? Just lean it out a bit more.
Of course, I guess this could help you shave and cut tracing paper, but it would not be a hair whittling edge without a very very good strop. But do you need it in the first place in reality? If you are just using 8Cr13mov knives, that edge would not hold and your 20 mins of sharpening + stroping goes to waste.
Note: I was told to change the editor format so that the links I include in a Word Document will be transferred to the BLF posts - so I'm giving it a try here. Apologies for the repeat post but hopefully this will have some of the essential links.
About to Buy a KNIFE SHARPENER – Advice Please (links enclosed)
Hi Guys!
I’m looking for a knife sharpener that doesn’t require a long, steep learning curve and I don’t think I would have a place to put a belt type unit.I would like to be able to make the knives “ultra-sharp” and it would be nice if the sharpener could also sharpen serrated blades (but that is not essential)
This is $54.81 at Amazon.It seems to be well reviewed but it will only sharpen at 2 different angles and I wonder about the honing stage.It doesn’t seem to accomplish that.Some people said that if you have different angle requirements or need to remove a lot of metal that you should consider an extra triangle stone pair for the Sharpmaker or this OTHER extra STONE for use after using the Sharpmaker.Has anyone had experience with the Spyderco
This SET is only $24.99 from Aliexpress in China seems quite good to me but people on the other thread said it couldn’t be because it’s too cheap and it comes from China.Has anyone used one?
Another Similar SET is $25.42 from the same seller and frankly, I have trouble telling them apart.Can anyone enlighten me?Also, people said it couldn’t be good because it’s too cheap and it comes from China.Has anyone used one of these?
Exduct also has a Knife Sharpening System they call the TAIDEA.The Exduct TAIDEA is $27.58 plus shipping cost of ???Does anyone have experience with it ???It looks like it has been “slimmed down” by removal of 2 out of 4 sharpening rods and the elimination of the oil.Has anyone used this one?
Also, - Is good oil for this purpose expensive?
IMPORTANT: Last but not least are these two VERY EXPENSIVE but also very highly reviewed electric sharpeners.Again, I can’t tell the difference between them but the Chef's Choice Angle Select 520 is $166.24 at Amazon and Chef's Choice 120 (which also seems to have angle selection) is $134.16 in black at Amazon.By the way, once again, I cannot seem to differentiate between these two.A review says they have a learning curve as well but I can’t imagine that they would be very difficult to use and they are probably VERY FAST.
Thanks, that looks a lot better with the links.... and saves a lot of time doing the research. I would have also changed the font size to 3 or is it in bold letters? I kind of wish Mr.Admin would switch back to the advanced editor as standard for post and PMs.
Are you sure about this ?
It seems that there is two different sets to be sold: Taidea - T0931S = US$16.58. With 2 sharpening rods (480, 800). Taidea - T0931D = US$27.58. With 4 sharpening rods (360, 480, 600, 800).
Also available in the Special Limited Products tab: Taidea - SP931D = US$23.98. With 4 sharpening rods (360, 480, 600, 800).
.
Quick simulation for final price with shipping fees to France (Europe).
Precision Sharpener T0931S
Subtotal : US$16.58
Total Weight : 0.55 kg
Shipping and Handling Fee (China Air Mail) : US$7.72
Coupon Discount (BLFgiveaway) : - US$0.83
Total : US$23.47
or
Precision Sharpener SP931D (Special Limited Products)
Subtotal : US$23.98
Total Weight : 0.66 kg
Shipping and Handling Fee (China Air Mail) : US$8.96
Coupon Discount (BLFgiveaway) : - US$1.20
Total : US$31.74
Darn, didn’t see the SP931D. It’s literally the same as the T0931D…just $3.50 cheaper.
But then don’t really see the use for the 600 grit, and i guess 480 diamond easily cuts and re-profiles as well.
Not questioning at all about how razor sharp those expensive electric sharpeners can do, never seen or used from real.
I tend to agree with Stevetexas #3 post, for Chefs the Knives are "consumable tools" that need to be changed when worn.
I would not trust an electric sharpener for expensive knives, for fear of excessive amount of removed steel.
But even if that was the perfect sharpening machine, would it be fun? Not to me, at least.
This is a hobby, and sharpening a knife is one of those things one would like to take its time without any hurry to do it well, and the old way with stones water and leather gives much more satisfaction when you can stand up your result and know YOU made it.
German chefs in larger kitchen-systems, often use external sharpening services, if you have a lot of blades a single edge is pretty cheap overall. It's too expensive to replace all knives once they get dull. Some sharpening companies even have a sharpening bus to do it "in-house". The results are really great, especially on scissors.... I have never used scalpel sharp scissors before... spectacular experience.
yeah, very cheap stuff. even the grey-colored clamp is made out of plastic. the best part of the product are the diamond stones (velly good) and the blue container box.
I have been using this system for a year now and will absolutely recommend to anybody! Easy to use and dang near bullett prof execution to a mirror finish “scary sharp edge” in under 5 minutes for any blade, regardless of condition. Plus true Convex without the hassle of a mouse pad!
For belts I have been using. MicroSurface, that are only .59 each up to 12000 grit!
After seeing jacktheclipper’s Taidea pictures, if I had to choose a cheap sharpener, I would probably pick this one which has, furthermore, stones with better spaced grit numbers. With the Taidea sharpener, the jump from a grit to the next (360, 480, 600, 800) is really too small.
Apex edge pro sharpener is something that you can DIY:
