Tips for sharpening? **warning** noob : )

[BackWoods]

Hey guys. Picked up a Smith's diamond sharpener tonight as Im trying to get the edge back on a few cheap knives. It's got a coarse 325grit side and a fine 750grit for polishing. Any tips you guys can give? I'm a noob in the sharpening realm and any tip would be useful! What to do? What not to do?Thanks! Wish me luck!

 

[fondoo57]

I have one of these, they work fine. You'll want to strop you blade on the back of a leather belt. I got a Lansky knife sharpening kit off Ebay for $25, it works great and is practically fool proof.

 

[poppy926]

Practice. Cheap knives are good to practice with. Also I second the Lansky system, I use it on all my knives to help maintain the angle. One thing I will add is consider getting an eye loupe (10X or better). It will help you see what you are doing to the edge. I started doing this when I got into honing razors and started using it on my knives as well. It made a huge difference.

 

[ratfinkron]

I bought the Spyderco sharp maker and it is money well invested. It's very simple to use and takes the guess work out of angles. I follow up with a leather strop and end up with a high polished and razor sharp edge. I tried a stone like you have and never got the edge I wanted until I bought the other. Now if you really want an edge then save some coin and get a Wicked Edge kit!

 

[Cobalt 60]

A Lansky rod system is a lot easier to use than a flat stone. Pick one up and give it a try. Smokey Mountain Knife Works sells them if you cant find one locally.

The key is to keep your knives sharp. If you let them get dull, you will never get them back to shaving sharp without having to re-bevel the edge. That is a ton of work.

 

[Vdub5818]

Wicked edge.. nuff said

 

[Cobalt 60]

Wicked edge.. nuff said

Yeowzers that thing is pricey!!!

 

[sniper22]

Find yourself a filament from a 400 watt high bay light bulb. Best sharpener you'll own. If you can't find one I'll give you one if you wanna pay postage or stop by the shop in Cartersville and pick one up.

 

[nicaburns]

I bought the Spyderco sharp maker and it is money well invested. It's very simple to use and takes the guess work out of angles. I follow up with a leather strop and end up with a high polished and razor sharp edge. I tried a stone like you have and never got the edge I wanted until I bought the other. Now if you really want an edge then save some coin and get a Wicked Edge kit!

This^^

BUT, if you do not have a consistent angle sharpener like the spyderco or lansky, get a sharpie and black the edges of the knife,then work on keeping a consistent angle to remove all of the sharpie. It will help you learn to keep a consistent angle in order to remove the markings but will likely also drive you to get a system which can help you do that.
The spyderco is a great kit but so are the lansky and gatco if you like blade clamp systems. (The wicked edge is an amazing unit but it also has an "amazing" price.)

 

[Zastava]

Can't go wrong with smith products either