Sharpening knives

[John T Barker]

The thread on knives reminded me of a sharpening need I have. I have a pretty nice kitchen knife that I bought a ceramic sharpener for years ago. Its two ceramic round rods which you insert in two round holes so that they are held at about 60 degrees in a V. You draw the knife down vertically about 40 times on each bevel. The rods were white and now seem filled with filings as they are nearly black. Two questions;

1.) How are these cleaned?

2.) Can anyone suggest an alternative sharpener that is not too expensive?

[John Conklin]

I've got one of the same kind and have always cleaned the ceramic rods with scouring powder like Comet. They still work fine.

[Andrew J. Coholic]

Any ceramic sharpening implement (stone, rod etc) can be simply washed with soapy water.

For home, I find one of the many sharpeners on the market with two carbide pcs forming a V, that you similarly run your knife through, work fine. I have one with both the carbide and ceramic rods for a coarser and finer edge.

For an even better edge, I like the CMT diamond folder with two grits (red and green), just use under a bit of running water to keep a good edge on any knife.

[Luke Dupont]

Just get yourself some auto sandpaper to start off with. 400 grit should be fine to start, and you can go finer to finish up with if you want.

You could also look into diamond stones, waterstones, or oilstones. Auto sandpaper cuts very quickly and will leave you with a very good edge, though, so I recommend it to start off with.

If your knife is single bevel, you'll want to work mostly on the bevel side, and keep the flat side flat.

For a double bevel knife, do as follows:
On each side of the knife, pick an angle (about 15-20 degrees is good), and re-establish the bevel until you've gone all the way down to the edge at that angle with however many strokes are necessary. The angle doesn't have to be perfect - just make sure you don't start getting steeper than the angle you initially started at.
After that's done on both sides, keep roughly the same angle and work on both sides of the knife, flipping it with every stroke. This will work the burr off and leave you with a clean, sharp edge.

To get your blades really sharp, and help remove the burr, you can also use a stropping compound, such as Chromium Oxide (the green stuff) on leather or MDF, and strop away from the cutting edge, alternating as you did before, and keeping a low angle. Flip the knife over the spine, not the edge, to ensure that you don't accidentally roll it. You can go quite far with the strop if you're careful not to round over the edge - just remember that leather will give and flex.

In the sharpening process, don't worry about working the edge and staying there. Make sure to work the entire bevel, and take the back down until you've reached the edge in the initial reforming of the bevel. You'll know you're down to the edge by feeling the opposite side for a small burr. Then you can work the other side, and continue the process as I described.

Sharpening free hand isn't that hard - just takes a bit of practice. I wouldn't worry about ruining a double-bevel knife. With a little time in, you'll get quite efficient at this method and it won't take you long at all. You'll never use a dull tool again when you experience one that is properly sharp :)

I do not recommend the V-type sharpener things that you mentioned.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I have a couple of the AccuSharp carbide sharpeners. They do a great job. I also have Smith's version of the same, but with more features. In addition to the carbide burrs for knives, it has ceramic rods, plus burrs for sharpening scissors. The Smith's came from Lowes, and the Accusharp from a local supply house. They were all about ten bucks each.

[Rich Engelhardt]

The Lansky System is pretty decent and doesn't cost an arm and leg.

[roger wiegand]

I'm also a fan of the CMT folding diamond paddles. The knives get a quick lick with it every time I pull them out and stay nice and sharp. if one needs serious work it goes out to the shop.

[Dennis Peacock]

I've been using my ceramic sharpening stones for about 20 years now. I have always just tossed them in the dishwasher. They've worked fine all this time and still use them today.

[Izzy Camire]

The Lansky System is pretty decent and doesn't cost an arm and leg.

I have had the Lansky sharpener since 1989 and it works very well.

[Bill Jobe]

For a double bevel knife, do as follows:
On each side of the knife, pick an angle (about 15-20 degrees is good), and re-establish the bevel until you've gone all the way down to the edge at that angle with however many strokes are necessary. The angle doesn't have to be perfect - just make sure you don't start getting steeper than their angle you initially started at.
After that's done on both sides, keep roughly the same angle and work on both sides of the knife, flipping it with every stroke. This will work the burr off and leave you with a clean, sharp edge.

To get your blades really sharp, and help remove the burr, you can also use a stropping compound, such as Chromium Oxide (the green stuff) on leather or MDF, and strop away from the cutting edge, alternating as you did before, and keeping a low angle. Flip the knife over the spine, not the edge, to ensure that you don't accidentally roll it. You can go quite far with the strop if you're careful not to round over the edge - just remember that leather will give and flex.

In the sharpening process, don't worry about working the edge and staying there. Make sure to work the entire bevel, and take the back down until you've reached the edge in the initial reforming of the bevel. You'll know you're down to the edge by feeling the opposite side for a small burr. Then you can work the other side, and continue the process as I described.

Sharpening free hand isn't that hard - just takes a bit of practice. I wouldn't worry about ruining a double-bevel knife. With a little time in, you'll get quite efficient at this method and it won't take you long at all. You'll never use a dull tool again when you experience one that is properly sharp :)

I do not recommend the V-type sharpener things that you mentioned.

This is exactly how I was taught by a hillbilly I became freinds with. He picked out the knife and the diamond block (stainless steel?) It took me forever to get the process down, having to turn the blade over after every stroke, but when I finally got on to it I've never had a dull pocket knife.

[Luke Dupont]

This is exactly how I was taught by a hillbilly I became freinds with. He picked out the knife and the diamond block (stainless steel?) It took me forever to get the process down, having to turn the blade over after every stroke, but when I finally got on to it I've never had a dull pocket knife.

Haha. Well, I learned on woodworking tools -- chisels and planes, as I'm quite the neanderthal.

I consider myself more of a gentleman / intellectual neanderthal, though, I'm quite glad I measure up to hillbilly methods, as I merely abstracted what I learned on chisels and plane irons to sharpen my knives :D

I'm definitely not the expert when it comes to sharpening, but I have learned a lot through trial, error, research, and practice, so I thought I would share what I found to work for me!

Sharpening really is a fundamental skill that I think any woodworker should have. But, then again, I think any woodworker -- even the most die-hard power tool guys, should have a good plane, set of chisels, and backsaw. So, maybe I'm a bit biased ;)

[Bill Jobe]

The freind who taught me also found wood scraps for me to whittle on. We found ourselves working near one another on second shift. We, particularly I, had fairly long cycle times on our CNCs which afforded us the time to do some serious whittling. He was into geometric forms but I soon found pleasure in making fish pieces. During a few days with a machine cycle time of 20 minutes I started and finished an Oranda goldfish. I guess whittling just came natural to me because had it been colored like a real one and placed in an aquarium you be hard pressed not to think it was real. It was about 3-4" long and the entire piece, aside from the pecs and anal fins, was one piece. Even the very thin, flowing fantail was part of the one piece of wood.
It actually surprised me what I had made.
One day at home I decided to paint it to make it look even more real. Bad, bad mistake. I ruined it and I was so mad at myself that I think I must have thrown it away. Heartbroken, I laid the hobby aside and have never taken it up again. That's been nearly 30 years ago.
A few days later my freind showed up at my work area and immediately noticed there were no wood shavings on the floor. He walked up to me and looked me straight in the eye and said " Is you a hillbilly or is you not a hillbilly?".

By the way, from time to time we find ourselves dealing with hillbillies and I wanted to pass along a foolproof way I've found to determine if he is level headed or not. You can rest assured he is if there's snuff running out of both corners of his mouth.

And just so there's no misunderstanding, I use the term "hillbilly" with great respect.

[Luke Dupont]

And just so there's no misunderstanding, I use the term "hillbilly" with great respect.

Haha. As do I! I just like to show that intellectuals can be good with their hands as well ;)

That's pretty nice to have had the time to do some whittling on break! You should take it back up. While I've not done much whittling, I've enjoyed spoon carving quite a bit.

[John T Barker]

Thanks for all the input folks. I don't have much problem with sharpening my ww tools. I've got a good supply of Jap stones and oil stones but I'm too lazy to bring my knife to the shop and learn what I know how to do with a chisel and apply it to a knife. I've promised myself to get the Lansky set up or put together my buffing wheel sharpening system in my shop but it always seems that when I get there there is too much else to do. I think my biggest problem is to find out what my wife is doing to my knife to dull it so quickly; it seems every time I sharpen it it is fairly (or worse) dull in a short period of time.
The ceramic sticks will get a long overdue bath (come to think of it why didn't I google this?)

Thanks