Knife sharpeners

[fredrussell]

I like the diamond sharpener sets - the ones with course, medium and fine ‘sheets’. Very effective on bahco scraper blades as well as knives.

 

[Refueler]

As another says .. OP is on a boat ?? Simple knife set - simple sharpener ......

 

[penberth3]

Get a thick piece of glass. Wet it, put some emery paper or cloth on it and the water holds it down, draw the knife edge over the emery at about 30 degrees from the horizontal on both sides . Result is a very sharp edge

A good idea. I use the glass from one of these for nearly all my sharpening, saved after the body of the lamp had corroded.

A problem with the 'gadgets' is they can remove a lot of metal, which the traditional sharpening steel doesn't.

 

[oldbloke]

Wouldn't it be nice to go on a course for sharpening knives ,saws and drill bits.

Lyme Regis boatbuilding academy do short look after your tools courses

 

[lustyd]

A problem with the 'gadgets' is they can remove a lot of metal, which the traditional sharpening steel doesn't.

Traditional steels do have the drawback that occasionally the knife edge needs to be reinstated. Modern sharpening tools remove that need and keep the knife sharper.

 

[oldbloke]

As I understand it, hard steel knives , stainless and high carbon., are sharper for longer but once the lose their edge are difficult to sharpen. (Impossible to sharpen acc to some fanatics) Whereas softer, low carbon knives lose their edge but are easy to sharpen. They also rust.
So for a small boat I would usecheap and cheerful and chuck them away once blunt

 

[Poignard]

We have one of these for the kitchen knives, works well and not silly money.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08P1LR7MW?th=1

Hmm, I could do with one of those gloves!

 

[VicS]

My Wife has a sharpener in the drawer which she will not let me have .... and I have tried to get another ... but so far no luck.

It has a handle and then a square metal frame at end ... set into the frame are 5 discs slightly overlapping .... you basically place it down on the table .. and draw the blade through the overlap of the discs ..
It only takes a few strokes and the blade is SHARP !!

This sort of thing

Google Search

I have one without a handle ( I think it could be screwed to the bench top)

 

[lustyd]

I'm not sure why you'd go out of your way to buy one of those these days if you didn't already have one. I'm sure they were effective enough, but have been superceded by modern ceramic sharpeners which are not more expensive.

 

[Humblebee]

As others have said, technique is the key to using a whetstone properly. My father-in-law, a joiner, taught me how to sharpen chisels and I've never regretted learning it, works for kitchen knives, folding pocket knives, plane blades, any and every kind of blades. Very satisfying too.
I find a diamond whetstone easiest to use, mine was bought cheaply in Korea but a quick look on Amazon shows many available, see below;


https://www.amazon.co.uk/SATC-Diamo...iamond+sharpening&qid=1767803246&sr=8-24&th=1

 

[Refueler]

This sort of thing

Google Search

I have one without a handle ( I think it could be screwed to the bench top)

That's the one .....

 

[LiftyK]

These are good. Buy this set when you are young so you can justify the price over a lifetime.

Look up

Lansky Deluxe Knife Sharpening System​

on Amazon

 

[Trident]

Fine Japanese Waterstones do the job properly. Gadgets are never that good. Plenty of videos on You Tube.

I have three grades for my straight razor and about a dozen (including mud stones!) for a Katana - there is nothing better

 

[Trident]

As others have said, technique is the key to using a whetstone properly. My father-in-law, a joiner, taught me how to sharpen chisels and I've never regretted learning it, works for kitchen knives, folding pocket knives, plane blades, any and every kind of blades. Very satisfying too.
I find a diamond whetstone easiest to use, mine was bought cheaply in Korea but a quick look on Amazon shows many available, see below;


https://www.amazon.co.uk/SATC-Diamond-Sharpening-Kitchen-198×70mm/dp/B0DLVWCPFT/ref=sr_1_24?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.rxHEj5YLw6Z8jgLDofh2ptfKD95s1zXwJvAhgYkbfSwyAUp_3CUAg8-wojYSEXgN8x5o5u9se6fwJY-bE4o7RsRphULRBhlPcNiMysiOmwJ_BHJQcX8mHKNG-zQ2Yer3_2MiyXLHbZoOxUPvi9lfuOiZasXWLRuGlNle2XpLsu8vLL6fyWN3myGnIIGF5S3nE3p5Fr3lPoKc76YWZFhqPO-HBub8OCsjzH4WIBmpSQ04JsYOLUsBHq_7ETL1H0FgbXdr6XsMYJJmxZNp5cT8v1xtMPbqf1et5TMTCxFShOs.cN4lt-HYQm4-VOq2oSGfaGY4ahwupkSGv-F06hNFphk&dib_tag=se&keywords=diamond+sharpening&qid=1767803246&sr=8-24&th=1

I have a collection of very good and expensive knives of all sorts and a 400 year old Katana sword and can sharpen all with great skill... and my mate who builds wooden boats still wouldn't let me near his chisel and a stone when it needed a "touch up"

 

[William_H]

My Wife has a sharpener in the drawer which she will not let me have .... and I have tried to get another ... but so far no luck.

It has a handle and then a square metal frame at end ... set into the frame are 5 discs slightly overlapping .... you basically place it down on the table .. and draw the blade through the overlap of the discs ..
It only takes a few strokes and the blade is SHARP !!

Funny I know the style you speak of. In fact I have (or had) one inherited from my granny so probably 70 years old. I have used it but I currently use an oil or wet stone I just feel gives a better ege. But of course difficult to hold the blade at a constant angle (about 30 degrees) ol'will

 

[bedouin]

Which rate the electric knife sharpeners better that the manual ones - their favourite is the Salter one

https://salter.com/products/diamond-electric-knife-sharpener.html

but you can still do better with a whetstone

 

[penberth3]

Which rate the electric knife sharpeners better that the manual ones - their favourite is the Salter one

https://salter.com/products/diamond-electric-knife-sharpener.html

but you can still do better with a whetstone

I said above, these things are going to remove so much metal you'll soon have no knife left.

If we're talking about knives on boats, why not use the serrated knives which last for ages without any sharpening?

 

[MontyMariner]

Sharpening is the first half of the process, Stropping is the other half.
Barbers use a leather strop for their shaving razors, I use a stick of Polishing & Buffing Compound on a homemade chipboard wheel in an electric drill. It produces a razor sharp edge.

 

[wonkywinch]

I did a Cordon Bleu course many years back. I learned - "How often should you sharpen a knife?" - "Every time you use it".

 

[Moodysailor]

Dull knives are dangerous, and dangerous things have no place on a boat!

The knife sharpener you need will depend on the quality of knives you have, and the type. I am a bit of a foody, and am slowly replacing all my kitchen knives to Global as budget and opportunity allows. We use Global or Sabatier on the boat or when camping too (I have a couple of Sabatier from many years ago).

We have a ceramic sharpener for the good knives, it works very well and isn't too aggressive - that's generally not needed on the higher quality blades unless they have been chewed up! I bought the Global ceramic sharpener, I just had to look as I couldn't remember when I bought it or how much I paid (£40 in 2021), and it is still in perfect condition, with approximately weekly use on about 4-5 knives. So I can reccomend that one. Global ceramic sharpener

I have a serrated divers knife and Witchard deck knife with serrations, for those I just boaght a cheap sharpening stick that does the trick. It also has a course & fine edge for scissors and knives, this has become by tool for utility knives. Cheap sharpener