How does one become really skilled at sharpening knives? When I do a search online I mostly just get ads for different sharpeners. I imagine I am like most and love my knives to much to experiment on them and risk damaging the edge. I would like to be able to reprofile an edge if I have to and hone and strop a blade to a polished, scary sharp edge. I'm hoping to hear from some people who really know blades and how to get and keep one super sharp. Thanks

Look up the proper angle and how to obtain it.

The key to a sharp blade is consistency. That angle must remain the same with each stroke. The rest is just details. If you can't get the consistent angle down, nothing else matters.

For someone struggling the Ken Onion edition of the WorkSharp is about as good as it gets.

WorkSharp

Practice.

^^^^ this here ^^^^

and again in case it was
missed the first time. . . .

practice and lots of it!

get you a cheap $5/$10 knife to start with dull it on paper or cardboard and practice till it shaves

Lansky

It used to be the quality of blade, the "wet" stones, then finishing off with a leather belt. Doing it the old way took ALLOT of time to get the blade started with a good edge. Now they have every kind of knife sharpener you can imagine, so it's almost idiot proof. I don't think the blades keep the sharpness as long though using the new contraptions.

Did anyone mention PRACTICE?

I have cermaic sticks, stones, a Loray, steels, and several other sharpeners. The best of all the ones I have are DMT diamond sharpeners. I have 2 models one is flat and the other is sticks. I really like the sticks because they are foolproof and quick. I found the sticks at Smokey Mountain Knife Works but I think they quit carrying them. I have the flat models in medium and fine and they work very well also. I will never buy anything else. Look up DMT on the web and write them for dealer locations.

This I have a diamond stone and a steel. I rarely use the stone. Get it sharp and keep it sharp.

I agree with consensus....practice. It took me a long long time to become what i am today - mediocre. But I have people at work bring me their knives for me to sharpen, so I guess practice worked.

I just use a diamond stone and a piece of leather. I wish I were better with steel tho.

Well, yes, practice is what you need, but the first step is the one nobody ever mentions. And before the first step you really want to get two DMT diamond plates. Get a medium grit for shaping the edge and then a Very Fine (1200 grit) for putting the good edge on it. Then a leather strop will finalize the edge. Using diamond plates really speeds things up because they don't get glazed over like oilstones can get. You just use the diamond plate dry, and when you're finished just wash it with soap and water, dry it, and put it away.

Now, that first part I mentioned. When you get a new knife, and the definition of a new knife is a knife that is new to you. It could be 100 years old, but still it's new to you. When I say 'new', I mean that you have not sharpened it yet and you have not used that medium grit diamond plate to grind the edge to the angle that YOU will use. The angle itself doesn't matter too terribly much, but it needs to be the same every time and only you can grind the edge to your own personal angle and then repeat it in the future. So..the first sharpening is the toughest one you'll do with that knife, and that's where the diamond plates shine. They cut the steel really well and much faster than oil stones, and they don't dish like Japanese water stones.

So get the diamond plates (Woodcraft sells them and you can get them online) and get started. Oh, and remember that BOTH sides of the edge have to be equally sharpened and the very fine steel will remove most of the wire edge that you'll generate, and the strop will remove the rest of the wire edge. And then be careful that you don't cut yourself. I'll sharpen all the wife's kitchen knives and each time I tell her to be careful cause they are really sharp. She says "I know, I know", and then I'll hear her in the kitchen..."OW". And then it's my fault...

It also helps to know about the metal used to make knives so you'll know how best to put and keep an edge on them.

I prefer a knife that sharpens more easily, even if it must be done often. If you can't get an edge on a knife, it doesn't matter how often you need to sharpen it.

I also approach my carry knife the same way I approach ice chests. I want something that performs well, but won't leave me crying if I lose it.

Collector knives are a different matter.

If having a sharp knife is important to you and you do not want to spend the hours on practicing.. then spend the money for a good sharpener.

The Workshop Ken Onion is $149 or a $70 Warthog. Either one of these will put a new edge on any blade and you will be able to shave your face with it.

Gatco or a Lansky and a horse hide leather strop with red fine jewlers rouge. The two sharpening systems will replicate most factory angle grinds and the leather strop will polish off the remaining wire edge and give an amazingly sharp and finished edge.

of course, not everyone will be
able to do a good job at it, even
after many attempts, just like
repairing a toilet. those folks
can pay the guy at the gun show
4.00 or whatever it is and not
worry over it, or get their bud
to touch it up for them.

Earlier in this chat, I mentioned using diamond plates. I do use them a lot, when I'm in the workshop, but most of the edges I put on a knife are in the box blind with a folding two sided diamond sharpener that folds up. I can put a serious edge on it in just a few minutes, and then use a leather knife sheath as my leather strop. Fast, quick, easy, and I don't have a bunch of lumpy stuff to drag around or assemble. Ya'll can surely buy whatever you want to sharpen your knives, but I can't see how it would be any faster or easier than the way I do it. Maybe I'm just good at it with minimal equipment because I've honed my skills (pun intended) for over 50 years, but there's no reason that any of you can't do the same thing. You get good enough at it and when you are on the really fine grit diamond stick (maybe 1 inch wide and 4 inches long) you can actually feel the edge on the stick as you do the final edge polishing. Practice is all it takes.

The folder I use is DMT dual sided folder. You get choices of grit and I have the coarse/fine model (has a blue side and a red side). Prior to that I carried small oilstones and then went to a sharpening steel and also had a ceramic stick type sharpener. Threw them ALL away when I got this and started using it. It's cheap, though I don't remember the price. Minimal cost, minimal gear, maximum utility.

Drive over here and have a beer and I'll show ya....

I have several stones, lansky systems, diamond sharpeners etc...wish I had all that money back.

All you need is one of these

http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/accusharp-knife-and-tool-sharpener/pid-32428?N=300365095

Last sharpener you will ever buy

Love my Worksharp. I don't enjoy spending hours of my time trying to sharpen. Takes a few minutes and I could shave with it.

+3

And one of the most important things is don't wait until it is really dull to sharpen it.

This...got one for Christmas works very well for the sharpening impaired like me...my son on the other hand can hand sharpen one to shave, but he mastered that skill without my input...

A key is to know what kind of steel the blade is made of......SS requires a diamond stone.

My sharpening skills greatly improved when I started using a wood lath. Keeping a fine edge on expensive wood turning tools on a grinding wheel gives great insight to importance of angle and just honing an edge.

Knives don't need much more that honing once they are properly sharpened.

Sharpening is definitely an acquired skill, but not as hard as some make it. Lots of choices as to equipment. Most all work. It becomes a matter of personal choice but all boils down to the basics of type of steel, angle, and touch, in my opinion anyway.

I admire those that get a razor edge on a 30 or 25 degree bevel. There are two types of knives IMHO. One is the kind you see in all the current day magazines- the custom knife that costs $500 or more and is a very hard state of the art steel. I think you need a guide and a power tool to really do a good job on that type knife.
The other knife is the "tool" type I grew up using. A little soft temper that you could sharpen with a whetstone. The blade was often thinner but so was the primary bevel, maybe 20 degrees or less.