knife sharpener

[lordharley]

I have been looking for a good way to sharpen my knives well at least my working and everyday knives. I have been stone sharpening for years and have never been able to get a knife really sharp. I purchase a Presto Professional EverSharp Electric Knife Sharpener from walmart tonight just on a whim. Well first of let me just say that this is the first time i have ever used and electric sharpener and i am very pleased. I sharpened a few knives that i had laying around to where they will all shave and it only took just a minute or two per knife. I even took an old chinese no name that got left in my truck and put a razor edge on it. I just thought that i would let you guys know my experience with it..i would highly recommend it for shapening your eveyday knives i am not sure about a show knife of a highly mirror polished knife it looks like it might scratch that blade a little. well i hope this helps i know there are other people out there like me that have been trying to figure out a way to sharpen their knives....here is a link to it..price was $29 and come change.


http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=1894449


ben

[Ray Rogers]

Electric knife sharpeners have long had a bad reputation due to the fact that some early models would overheat the blade causing loss of temper (yours and the knife's) and because they often removed a lot of metal that really didn't have to be removed just to get the knife sharp which caused excessive wear on the blade.

I'm not sure about your Presto sharpener but I know that my Chef's Choice doesn't have those problems, the technology has improved considerably. I think they are a great way to get a quick edge on a working knife. However, the edge you get isn't the same as the edge you get from a manual system like a Lansky or an Edge Pro. I would not deliver a hand made knife to a customer with an electric edge on it. Also, as knife makers we are often most concerned about how to get that first edge on a new knife and electric sharpeners are all but useless for that. They are designed to remove the minimum metal necessary to get a sharp edge on a slightly dull knife, they won't put an edge on a crow bar. So, electric sharpeners have a place in our shops but you'll still need a good manual system of some kind....

[Ken Kelley]

Ray,

I wholeheartedly agree that anyone who cares for his knives should be well versed in manual sharpening whether with stones or a guided sharpener. That said, though, I really prefer mechanized sharpening machines. my Tormek does a beautiful job of sharpening knives, scissors, chisels, turning tools, axes, adzes, and even an aardvark should I have need for a sharp aardvark. I also use paper wheels for small blades with excellent results. However, I do admit that the Tormek is expensive and requires some practice for consistent results. Same for the paper wheels only more so because they will overheat a blade in less time than it takes to think about it. As for removing a lot of metal to establish a new edge, the Tormek wheel can be graded to a coarser grit and will take off metal fairly quickly. When it comes time to polish the edge you simply use the grading stone to smooth the wheel to about 1000 grit. If you want, you can buy an aftermarket 4000 grit water stone for the machine.

I sharpen for utility as I'm not a custom knife maker. When I'm working in the shop I don't want to sit down and get the stones out to sharpen a tool. That's when I turn to the Tormek or the paper wheels. A few minutes to sharpen a tool or a few seconds to hone one and I'm productive again. However, when it comes time to go hunting I sure don't pack along my gadgets. I always have a Lansky diamond sharpening kit in my hunting gear.

K

[Ray Rogers]

Ken,

I pretty much agree with that. I've heard good things about the Tormek and, although it is electric, it isn't what I had in mind when I made the above comments. I would imagine that the edge produced on the Tormek's stone wheel would be similar to the edge produced by any other type of stone properly used. However, the edge produced by my Chef's Choice, while razor sharp, definitely does not look the same under magnification as a stone produced edge, not nearly as smooth.

So, I wasn't really trying to say that there's no way to produce a great edge when electricity is involved. I was thinking about the type of edge I would expect Ben's $29 Presto might produce and trying to illustrate the small niche such sharpeners might find in a knife maker's shop ...

[lordharley]

well i understand what you are saying and like i said i would not use it on a show or custom knife...but it sure works great for a just and everday knife that just needs to be sharp....as far as making knifes i wouldn't use it to create an edge i would use the usual methods or grinding with belts and hone with leather strop or a lanksy system...but i am not going to be using those knifes at work or for cutting boxes or rope....just my opinion its a great little cheap sharpener for everyday work knifes

ben

[AcridSaint]

Hey Ben - I think there's a place for a decent, quick and cheap sharpener in most homes. I might pick one up for our kitchen knives since my wife won't sharpen them. I use a grinder and a buffer for my initial edges, but I've got stones, ceramic rods and butcher's steel around the house. My wife knows how to properly sharpen a kitchen knife on a stone, she can probably do it better than me... just wish she'd do it

Anyways, I think all of these "systems" have downsides, but you're right that it may have a place for daily use knives.

[WNC Goater]

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