Stone Knife Sharpener

Was thinking about getting a Shun Whetstone to sharpen my knives but literally know zero about sharpening stones?

Any and all helpful info would be appreciated - are they worth it, are they any better/worse than paying someone to do it, which coarseness should one choose etc

Get a Lansky system Dan.

I bought two Shapton Glass Sharpening stones… 1000 grit and 4000 grit.

Creates a very nice edge!! Watch a few tutorials, FWIW

Here are a whole series of knife sharpening videos and tutorials that we have accumulated to date. We nick named these “knife sharpening for noobies”. We will be expanding this area significantly over the coming months so please check back

Videos & Tutorials

I’ve got a Shun combo stone, and it isn’t very good. Stone sharpening is the way to go, however!

Shapton Glass 1000 grit - works like a charm! I would highly recommend it.

Everything you could ever possibly want to know about knife sharpening (and volumes more) can be found here:

I have the Edge Pro Apex system, and absolutely love it. It is easy to use and works incredibly well. Much like the author states in the above link, you’ll have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands. No affiliation other than being a very happy, satisfied customer.

I just get my knives professionally sharpened once a year. $1/inch. This thread makes me think. Should I be sharpening more often?

The Edge Pro APEX is the one I really want. Do you hear that Santa?

Some good info…
how often do you guys (need to) sharpen?
Prices see a wide range it seems…
Can there really be much of a quality difference in stones?

btw awesome link Rick.

“Finally, your knife is not a can opener, a screwdriver, a pry bar, box cutter or hammer. There’s a special place in Hell reserved for people who abuse their knives this way.” [rofl.gif]

For me, it seems I need to sharpen my “work-horse” knives every 6+ months or so. For our more single purpose knives, they seem to last well over a year between sharpenings. They say you can go longer if you’re good about using the steel or ceramic hone but, honestly, my wife and I just aren’t.

As for the stones, the link I posted above will give you all of the pros/cons to the different stones available.

I’m a little confused.
I read the egullet link and see that they recommend creating a burr at the bevel, so I assume when you sharpen the knife, the movement of is that of stone going away from the thicker part of the knife.
However, I just viewed the Lansky system youtube video which demonstrated the opposite direction where the stone was moved toward the thicker part of the knife.

Can anyone clarify?

Nevermind.
I just saw a few more videos.

Confused:

Q: “How often do you sharpen your knives?”

A: “Every year…”, “Every 6 months or so.”

?? - isn’t the answer “whenever they need to be sharpened?”

Reminds me of kids asking their teacher about the newly assigned book report…“How many pages/words do you want Mrs. Smith?”… “However many it takes to answer the question.”

I think I use a honing blade/stick/wand every 3rd time I cut and break out the Lansky about 1x a month on my knives - which is related to my feeling of dullness with them, not a time-based decision.

What The Freak said.

Meester Freemott,

I didn’t intend it to sound like I am asking how often SHOULD a knife be sharpened.
…was just curious in how often you guys sharpen knives.

It’s not like I asked how often do you take a shower versus how often SHOULD you take a shower… neener

For those of you that recommend the Lansky system: Which one do you use? I was looking at reviews for the Deluxe 5-Hone System, and saw the following:

Is Lansky the perfect sharpening system? For medium and small knives it probably is. Knives over 6"-7" long, however, require you to sharpen 1/2 the knife and then move the clamp and sharpen the other half because the edge angle changes too much if you attempt to sharpen too far from the guide hole. The stones themselves are pretty small (about as wide as your middle finger and as long as your hand) so it can take a long time to do a big knife.

Can you guys comment on this?

Sure. Get some real stones and learn how to properly sharpen.

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Shapton 2pc Starter Set Sale price: $99.95

Paired up for a starter kit and at a discount to the open stock price, we have the Shapton 1K and 4K Glass Stones. These are two of the most popular stones in this series. They are perfect for beginners and what most seasoned sharpeners consider must-haves in their line-up. The 1K stone is a great place to start when sharpening because of the toothy edge it will leave. The 4K is the perfect progression after the 1K for the refining of the edge it will achieve. These are splash and go stones so no waiting while they soak making them exceptional for students and professionals alike.

I have had the deluxe set for over ten years now and have zero complaints having used it on knives of all sizes.