Now that I have some budget knives... can someone point me to tools and techniques for sharpening? I see a lot of stuff on the interwebs, but a lot of this seems advanced (expensive & time consuming).
I prefer budget oriented recommendations, but let me know what it takes (especially budget EDC folders). I don't even have a whetstone these days.
Thanks for any advice.
Still nothing better than a good ultra-fine Arkansas stone as far as my knives are concerned.
Yep .
You could try portable sharpeners like Smith's PP1 Pocket Pal Sharpener ($9 on Amazon) or Gatco Triseps (diamond or ceramic). Or perhaps Lansky 4-rod Turn Box. They are all simple to use because the angle of sharpening is already set.
For portable stone I can recommend Fallkniven DC4 (one side is coarse diamond other is fine ceramic). Example is @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gn9e2GC6o4
I would definitely second a crock sharpener like the Lansky mentioned above. Very simple to use, you set it up and since the angles are already set on the ceramic rods, you just keep the knife straight up and down to sharpen it.
you can use the bottom of your coffee mug and get a decent edge ! no lie and free try it or watch the cornballs on youtube do it lol - if they talk funny its cuz they are finishing their fried mayonnaise balls -thanks daniel tosh. de-licooouus !
stay away frm the carbide pull through Smith's PP1 and others - good only for DIRE emergencies
ceramic pull through are ok , they dont gouge, but what angle are they putting your knife ??
personally these cheaper knives are perfect for learning to sharpen - i just resharpened and touched up all my folders. was about an hour Smith's TRI-6 Arkansas TRI-HONE .they all are very sharp and $20 is good for 3 mounted stones IMO. IF YOU SHARPEN FREEHAND LOCK YOUR WRIST - best tip i ever got. this is cheap and will last you many years , also get some leather and strop you knife if you like a razor edge
lansky and other similar systems are nice - i have been looking at them for a while but its just too muchfor the diamonds, the stones are cheaper $25 . the diamond one here is $35tiawan version , wonder about quaility of the stones and diamonds - and budget busted here at $35
best advice get a med/fine 2 sided stone , found this , 2 sided and long ! 12''
here is a cheapo that will do the job - just make sure to elevate it a bit
my advice dont cheap out too much - just buy a good medium arkansas - dont forget to use oil
if you win the lottery get this Work Sharp WSKTS Knife and Tool Sharpener $70 - i love this thing its not cuz i am lazy just impatient and lazy 
, seriously i had a guy demo this on a spyderco vg-10 steel knife OMFG !!!!!! razor in seconds !!
only down side they have Coarse (P80), Medium (P220) and Fine (6000). i think it needs something in between fine and med
I use the Cabela's Diamond stone that you don't need to use oil with.
But I am lousy at sharpening, it is an art that takes some practice to master.
Thanks everyone. I was looking at the Smith's tri-stone (about $20 from Amazon). I had a cheap Smith's device (like a kitchen knife sharpener), but I did not like it and took it back to Lowe's.
Most of my knives are budget SRM, Gerber, etc. so good to learn on.
I use a three stone Lansky and highly recommend it as it takes the idiot factor [me] out of the equation.
That Work Sharp looks pretty cool. Not exactly the cheapest option, but certainly a fast way to put a convex edge on a blade. Time is money, too. I have a 3-stone Gatco, it works fine for smaller blades and is fairly idiot proof, but still takes a fair amount of time per knife. My Gatco is not a good option for larger blades (the unit is not big enough to maintain a consistent angle) and I've been wanting something for sharpening our kitchen knives. Seriously thinking about this one.
That work sharp system looks nice. Would that really put an edge on the knife as good as a stone?
id say better than most people using a stone - my knives are sharp with my tri stone this is flawless n fast
unfortunately , at least to me its a bit too expensive , but i like this company i have their drill doctor and its just makes sharpening these drill bits so easy - if you have ever used one you know . i used to fancy myself a good drill bit sharpener - this thing a monkey could do it
**funny story first time i used it was wrong - i turned the drill bit into something like a turkey butt - doh !
since rereading the booklet all have come out perfect.
the DDR takes out the skill - i get it that , hell i am a bit of a purist but after you use it it blows any silly preconceived notions. cuts steel and wood like butter. ONLY grip size limit
back to the sharpener - thsi guy , at the outdoor shop, pulls out a so so sharp knife ( wouldnt slice paper properly for sure ) . 6 passes on the 6000 grit - hair popping sharp , right now
what i dont like -
cost of the belts , limited angles, needs more grits ( 220 to 6000 is a large jump ) , this thing is $70 !! , if it were $20 i'd buy 2 .
$30 id get one right now , but all there shtuff is pricey but i guess is a better made product ...
I’d also like some advice on this. It’s with regard to what resources I have available (ignore the Sawsall Battery):
The felt wheel is on the left, the fine stone on the right:
I’m glad some co-worker is looking out for us, even though he took a risk by not being bilingual (Canadians amongst us will understand that remark):
‘II’ is the coarse, and the finishing is ‘I’. Apparently the note about ‘clean knive’ has something to do with ‘stuff’. Would that stuff be viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoan, nematodes or microsporidia?
Yesterday I sharpened every knife I could find in our house on this equipment. They all came out much sharper, but I’m thinking I probably could do even better if I knew how to fine tune my skills, and I know there are some on this forum with the requisite experience to point me in the right direction. E.G.: Is it better to finish on the felt wheel, or on ‘I’? What is the best angle to use on that fine stone wheel, and when should I use it?
BTW, after I did this, I went on a hike with our necrospsy vet and I told him I had sharpened my knives here and he said, “I hope you washed them all real good in the dishwasher after you did that!” Well, actually I did rinse them under running water before cutting food, but today my stomach was a bit funny, I wonder why? Hope I live long enough to read your replies…
Nice! 8)
Yeah. I don’t know who wrote that but I’m going to try and find out who did. I did appreciate that they took the trouble to do the illustration though (because I might not understand which way to actually point the knife), just as I appreciate that fact someone actually read this post. Thanks for the comment!
Pull through thing are usually inferior in general, and you don’t have angle control, so I would avoid that thing altogether. Nice gear you access to there!