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Let's talk knive sharpeners

Passive Aggressive Coach

By Passive Aggressive Coach
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Passive Aggressive Coach

Passive Aggressive Coach 87

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OK, I have been through a few. The stupid one that comes with the butcher block knife set. Useless. Bought a $10 one on Amazon. It did OK and broke after 2 Mos. I have a wet stone and that works pretty well but PITA. Then I found this. I don't know what it is called because I got it as a gift 2 yrs ago but it's the best knife sharpener I've ever had. My kitchen knives could slice a bitch. I am open to other ideas. I know there are electric ones. 

20211028_231531.thumb.jpg.4812e7e85d6cb368da41d14840a33155.jpg

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Passive Aggressive Coach

Passive Aggressive Coach 87

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1 minute ago, futureman said:

are you the guy that had the recent meltdown?

No, I am the guy that had a CR stalker that I pissed off and spent 2 days doing all she could to ban me.  Literally, she spent over 2 days hours on end negging everything I posted. If you want to do that. Go ahead. I cook/smoke great shit. I trade crypto like a machine and give great calls and had some very funny shit in the Urban thread. But if you want to cancel me go for it. Have fun. 

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Passive Aggressive Coach

Passive Aggressive Coach 87

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1 minute ago, ztejas said:

This thread is going great. 

Yep. I thought this site would be friendly to Texas grads and i guess it is if you hold a certain political belief. I was fine on surly for a yr until I went into CR. I know classic mistake. I said I'm against the mandate but for the vax. I also said I wont be getting the vax since I have natural immunity. Well, it pissed off so many I got chased around the site. It really pissed off one who spent 2 days doing all she could to ban me. This place is crazy.

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futureman

futureman 22485

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16 minutes ago, Passive Aggressive Coach said:

No, I am the guy that had a CR stalker that I pissed off and spent 2 days doing all she could to ban me.  Literally, she spent over 2 days hours on end negging everything I posted. If you want to do that. Go ahead. I cook/smoke great shit. I trade crypto like a machine and give great calls and had some very funny shit in the Urban thread. But if you want to cancel me go for it. Have fun. 

lulz

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RPM

RPM 26322

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11 minutes ago, Passive Aggressive Coach said:

Yep. I thought this site would be friendly to Texas grads and i guess it is if you hold a certain political belief. I was fine on surly for a yr until I went into CR. I know classic mistake. I said I'm against the mandate but for the vax. I also said I wont be getting the vax since I have natural immunity. Well, it pissed off so many I got chased around the site. It really pissed off one who spent 2 days doing all she could to ban me. This place is crazy.

Checks thread title... Yep, definitely says let's talk vax and ban hammers.

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ztejas

ztejas 43475

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13 minutes ago, Passive Aggressive Coach said:

I thought this site would be friendly to Texas grads and i guess it is if you hold a certain political belief.

There are varied political beliefs held here. Difference is most of us don't post in the CR to fuck around and find out. Because... we aren't here to talk politics. 

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Passive Aggressive Coach

Passive Aggressive Coach 87

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17 minutes ago, RPM said:

Checks thread title... Yep, definitely says let's talk vax and ban hammers.

I started the thread. Then futureman references me getting banned so it goes sideways brah. I dont let comments like that slide though. I'm happy as hell to see knife sharpening sharp opinions and get the thread back on topic.

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Passive Aggressive Coach

Passive Aggressive Coach 87

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14 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

The real answer is buy some whetstones and learn to use them.

I have a set. They work great but thats a process. I was trying to find a hack and this device shaves the time in half. (pun) I found the page for it. I would buy a electric sharpener maybe. 

OK, I found what I have. It's called a Bavarian Edge. It works.

 

 

 

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31495

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Most of that type knife sharpener thrives on creating a "ragged," micro-serrated edge.  It slices like gangbusters when it's fresh because it's more of a saw than a knife.  But it also dulls pretty quickly, and the sharpening process removes excessive amounts of material and can bend and twist your blades, depending on how careful you are when using them.

There are various rigs that use whetstones and brackets to hold sharpening angles while changing out the stones to get a progressive application of grits.  Some other that use abrasive belts ala a small belt sander.  Those or whetstones are really the only way to go with good knives.

Edge maintenance with a steel or the finest grit stone you own or in your system should be adequate to keep them sharp without a lot of work after the initial sharpening.

 

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Sam Lin

Sam Lin 3559

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We touch on sharpeners a bit in the kitchen knives thread.

First factor is whether your knives are 20' Western or 15' Asian angle. If the latter, your list of options gets much shorter.

Then you decide whether you want manual or electric. Both will give great results, electric is faster but wears your knife more and is more risky (more chance of knife damage) if you mess up. Manual will ultimately give you the sharper edge if we're talking microscopic details. And you can always manually finish a knife to that super-edge after using an electric (no one really does this, it makes no actual difference.)

Then you go buy something. Whatever you choose, watch Youtube videos on technique and practice on a shitty knife first!!!

Electric:
For a pull-through, look at Chef's Choice. If you go to Williams Sonoma for their knife sharpening service, they're likely using one of these. If you need the 15' angle, you need to pay more for a higher end model. Long-term downside of these is they can't sharpen near the bolster of a full-bolster knife (which as a side note no one should ever buy because they suck to grind and sharpen with any method).

Second pull-through type option is the WorkSharp. Again you need to pay more for the 15' angle in the Ken Onion edition. Same downside as above re: full bolter, a little more tricky to use (easier to eff up your knife if you have bad technique), advantage over above in that this is much more flexible, can do axe, machete, lawnmower blades, etc. So far this is the unit that I see all the knife sharpening booths at gun shows using. If you want your sharpener to have some garage/workshop utility, this the one to get.

 

Manual:
Manual you decide how good you want to get at holding an angle. A pro who can hold angle with his hands, freehand, just needs a stone on a nonslip surface, period. I don't sharpen enough knives to keep the muscle memory to do this, but I've seen plenty of masters do it. My dad can do it. The best stones are Japanese, but the home user likely won't notice the dfiference, there are hundreds of options on Amazon.


If you want guided manual, there are a bunch of options. Look at Wicked Edge and Apex Edge Pro for 2 popular options that are higher dollar. WorkSharp Precision Adjust is a good option for lower dollar. And there are China generic copies of all of those for much lower dollar, just with the caveat that the included stones on the China ones are generally dogshit, so buy a generic China and upgrade the stones. Then the generics basically work the same as the name brand.

 

----

The stock grits that come with most of the above will be fine for home users. Generally they have a roughing grit (<200), a finishing grit (300-600), and a polishing grit (800 or higher). For all but the most destroyed knives, you do NOT need to use the roughing grit, it just removes a ton of metal from your knife and wears it down unnecessarily. OCD knife people will usually add a honing and a polishing/strop grit on the finer end. This is totally unnecessary for a kitchen user.

 

Get used to using a honing steel on your knives (and the pull-through you show above works more as a hone than a sharpener) - quality knives made using hard steel don't need sharpening near as much as people think, they just need honing. Honing straightens the edge back up. Sharpening removes material to form a new edge. Related to this is the cutting surface you use. Wood or plastic cutting boards only. Do not ever cut on a plate/countertop/glass cutting board if you value your knife. I keep a few shitty knives for visitors to use so they don't wreck the edges on my good knives.

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Jerry Callo

Jerry Callo 8704

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9 hours ago, Passive Aggressive Coach said:

Yep. I thought this site would be friendly to Texas grads and i guess it is if you hold a certain political belief. I was fine on surly for a yr until I went into CR. I know classic mistake. I said I'm against the mandate but for the vax. I also said I wont be getting the vax since I have natural immunity. Well, it pissed off so many I got chased around the site. It really pissed off one who spent 2 days doing all she could to ban me. This place is crazy.

If you like this site, then stay out of CR.  I like just about everyone on the site, but I also don't know them as the assclowns they can be in CR.  No one knows my political believes and I don't care to know theirs.  

Back on topic - I can't sharpen a knife to save my life.  Tried just about every contraption mentioned.  I just get mine professionally sharpened every year or so.

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UnivTex34

UnivTex34 1763

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Yeah, I loved my sharp maker. I added the extra diamond finishing stones and it really got them sharp. 

Few years back my FIL bought himself a wicked edge system after talking about it with me, and never got into it. So I traded my sharp maker for the wicked edge.

It's more involved than the sharp maker, but it's basically whetstones/strops but with a guide so you are always at the exact correct angle. My knives all now have mirror edges they are so sharp. These are dumb expensive, but other than perfecting hand stones, I'm not sure there is a better way, and this is way easier.

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smuggs

smuggs 9353

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1 hour ago, TwiceHorn said:

Aren't tanto blades kind of a pain in the ass on anything?

On a manual system yeah, although I've sharpened mine on a Lanksy setup before (with the clamp) that seemed to be easier and more consistent. I have a Work Sharp electric that I use for my tantos that does it fast and dirty.

 

Edited by smuggs
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BHMCruiser

BHMCruiser 1814

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14 hours ago, Passive Aggressive Coach said:

It's a gaming thing. Man, y'all are tough. I was trying to be witty with the subject. I am now guessing FAIL. 

 

13 hours ago, Passive Aggressive Coach said:

No, I am the guy that had a CR stalker that I pissed off and spent 2 days doing all she could to ban me.  Literally, she spent over 2 days hours on end negging everything I posted. If you want to do that. Go ahead. I cook/smoke great shit. I trade crypto like a machine and give great calls and had some very funny shit in the Urban thread. But if you want to cancel me go for it. Have fun. 

 

13 hours ago, Passive Aggressive Coach said:

Yep. I thought this site would be friendly to Texas grads and i guess it is if you hold a certain political belief. I was fine on surly for a yr until I went into CR. I know classic mistake. I said I'm against the mandate but for the vax. I also said I wont be getting the vax since I have natural immunity. Well, it pissed off so many I got chased around the site. It really pissed off one who spent 2 days doing all she could to ban me. This place is crazy.

 

13 hours ago, Passive Aggressive Coach said:

I started the thread. Then futureman references me getting banned so it goes sideways brah. I dont let comments like that slide though. I'm happy as hell to see knife sharpening sharp opinions and get the thread back on topic.

I like this one:

https://www.grainger.com/product/45NU52?ef_id=Cj0KCQjwt-6LBhDlARIsAIPRQcIPh8hJCSr2149aWeY0Dy-2z0VVjYMdBlurPfB6vcsZHu1G5oVS2rwaAh7sEALw_wcB:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!2966!3!496359976444!!!g!472964099515!&gucid=N:N:PS:Paid:GGL:CSM-2295:4P7A1P:20501231&gclid=Cj0KCQjwt-6LBhDlARIsAIPRQcIPh8hJCSr2149aWeY0Dy-2z0VVjYMdBlurPfB6vcsZHu1G5oVS2rwaAh7sEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

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RollLeft

RollLeft 5045

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16 hours ago, Passive Aggressive Coach said:

Yep. I thought this site would be friendly to Texas grads and i guess it is if you hold a certain political belief. I was fine on surly for a yr until I went into CR. I know classic mistake. I said I'm against the mandate but for the vax. I also said I wont be getting the vax since I have natural immunity. Well, it pissed off so many I got chased around the site. It really pissed off one who spent 2 days doing all she could to ban me. This place is crazy.

Give it time.  We have to hate you, then really hate you, then gang hate you before you confess your life story then we feel sorry for you, then we take pity, then you post pics of your ex wife and then we kinda start to like you, then you get divorced, then you post your exploits in the sugar baby thread until we are forced to love you.  Then you bring up politics or covid talk and the vicious cycle starts again.  Prepare your anus.    

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Deej

Deej 76830

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I have a friend who holds an annual knife sharpening party. She has a mobile knife sharpener come to her house. Everyone shows up and gets their knives sharpened at a discounted rate (volume, volume, volume...) while we all get shitfaced.

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Shaddie

Shaddie 1651

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33 minutes ago, Shaddie said:

Damn!

Watched some videos before I got it and used it a few minutes ago on 2 knives. Got them cutting paper towels and not tearing. 
Best damn money spent in a long time. 
 

Thanks for the recs   The Ken Onion one. Won’t let me edit for some reason. 

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CooterBrown

CooterBrown 18014

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For ease of use, nothing beats the Trizor XV.  It takes about 2 minutes to get a knife back to factory sharpness.

On the coarse slot (1), alternate pulling the knife through 10 times on each side. Once there's a burr along the entire length of the edge, move to the medium slot (2) and pull through about 4 times on each side. Once there's another burr, move on to the fine slot (3) and pull though 2 times on each edge. Finish with 2 fast pulls on each side.

 

71C3Y1kF6gS._AC_SL1500_.jpg

Edited by CooterBrown
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Surly Bevo

Surly Bevo 25049

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3 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

For ease of use, nothing beats the Trizor XV.  It takes about 2 minutes to get a knife back to factory sharpness.

On the coarse slot (1), alternate pulling the knife through 10 times on each side. Once there's a burr along the entire length of the edge, move to the medium slot (2) and pull through about 4 times on each side. Once there's another burr, move on to the fine slot (3) and pull though 2 times on each edge. Finish with 2 fast pulls on each side.

 

71C3Y1kF6gS._AC_SL1500_.jpg

I have one of these and agree.  I'm sure there is fancier for the knife snob but I ain't Gordon Ramsey and just want to be able to get things sharp quickly.  

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31495

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3 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

For ease of use, nothing beats the Trizor XV.  It takes about 2 minutes to get a knife back to factory sharpness.

On the coarse slot (1), alternate pulling the knife through 10 times on each side. Once there's a burr along the entire length of the edge, move to the medium slot (2) and pull through about 4 times on each side. Once there's another burr, move on to the fine slot (3) and pull though 2 times on each edge. Finish with 2 fast pulls on each side.

 

71C3Y1kF6gS._AC_SL1500_.jpg

Note that that model uses 15 degree/side edge bevels, common on Asian knives and probably OK to great for the kitchen.  But a little on the thin side for utility knives or choppers or hard-use kitchen blades.

Some of the other Chef's Choice give you an option of bevel angle

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Gourmand

Gourmand 7774

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On 10/29/2021 at 12:34 AM, TwiceHorn said:

The real answer is buy some whetstones and learn to use them.

 

On 10/29/2021 at 12:45 AM, Passive Aggressive Coach said:

I have a set. They work great but thats a process.

I'm incline to think you don't, otherwise you'd enjoy the hell out of the back-and-forth motion of your steel on wetness.

 

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Homercles

Homercles 10206

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4 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

For ease of use, nothing beats the Trizor XV.  It takes about 2 minutes to get a knife back to factory sharpness.

On the coarse slot (1), alternate pulling the knife through 10 times on each side. Once there's a burr along the entire length of the edge, move to the medium slot (2) and pull through about 4 times on each side. Once there's another burr, move on to the fine slot (3) and pull though 2 times on each edge. Finish with 2 fast pulls on each side.

 

71C3Y1kF6gS._AC_SL1500_.jpg

This.  Been using a similar model for ages, on Wusthof knives that were wedding gifts a decade ago, and it was a game changer for me…I’ve got two young kids and no time, motivation or energy to get all Crocodile Dundee on my kitchen knife.  
 

They haven’t appreciably worn down and my electron microscope shows little damage.  I use them everyday.  

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