Thread: KNIFE SHARPENING SYSTEM ADVICE PLSE

I do all my knives on the belt linisher these days. Way faster, and with diamond belts and a leather stropping belt with some rouge, you get a great working edge.
Only problem is a linisher will set you back a big chunk of change.

However, you can down size it a bit.
My brother has a Macma 1x30" variable speed belt sander - https://www.macma.co.nz/item/?id=368
I tagged some belts for it onto a order I made to PSS Sharpening in the USA for some 2x72" leather strops - https://prosharpeningsupply.com/prod...b07ec0b8&_ss=r

Mound the sander to the wall or on an L-bracket on your bench with it laying on its back, with the top roller pointing to you belly and the motor furthers away from you. This way you will have the exposed section of the belt sitting horizontal. Remove the platens and let the belt run unsupported. This will give you a 'slack belt convex grind' which is a great practical edge.
Now, in this configuration, the belt will be traveling away from you when you sharpen. If you can get used to this, fine. Personally I prefer to have if traveling towards me so that I can see the feathered edge better as the knife comes up to sharp. Therefore, get a sparky to reverse the motor direction.

Originally Posted by Ftx325

Hi Guys

I am looking at getting some sort of sharpening system for my hunting knives but have little experience with them .
Any suggestions on a good , effective but realistically priced system ?
I struggle to maintain the angle just using stones 'freehand' which wasn't an issue when it was just my knife as I could spend the time to get it right .
Now I have the entire families knives to keep sharp it's turning into a bit of a mission .

What can you fine gentleman suggest as far as brands , systems etc to help things along ..??

Google "Tormec" Comes in two sizes 400&800 from memory. I have small machine & its all you would need.
Made in Sweeden & available ex Auck from Jacks. Easy to use.....never have a dull knife again.

And made a tool to re-size cases with this one.

Ive got a wee lanski...and its good to get your angles reset back to where they should be...definately isnt as fast as the higher priced options..... now putting the oilstone in the vice is VERY good advice,wish I had started doing it years ago..... and for the family...lanski also make ceramic rods that come in a wee wooden box about the size of a tobacco packet,you pull out the rods a bit longer but same shape as taylor made ciggy and fit them into predrilled holes in the box forming a V which you draw the knife through...MUCHMUCH MUCH MUCH betterthan any of the other pull it through systems...and so easy to use...let the family sharpen their own.... heck you can get a cheap swiss army knock off sharp in a dozen strokes using one.

Thanks for the advice fellas.
I like the idea of making a motorized unit but don't really have the funds for that.
Never heard of Scary sharp but had a Google and looks like the sort of thing I was thinking but the price was getting a little scary too , but I do have a birthday coming up shortly....
I have already made a leather strop and have the polish for it as always used one to finish and can get them arm hair shaving sharp with the what I have but certainly not the most even of edges and have to redo often due to buggering up the angle .
And after sharping 4 knives last night including fairly large nicks in 2 of them I thought to myself about there must be a better way .
3 of the 4 are d2 so takes a wee bit of work and I'm just not consistent enough so a fixed angle would really be helpful.
Thanks for the input fellas and I will look further into the other brands mentioned.
I like the sound of your suggestion to MD , Sounds closer to my budget and possibly even portable

@257weatherby, I used to watch my old man sharpen the carving knife on a concrete step, fuck me! I used to thnk. You're not alone

Originally Posted by Ftx325

Thanks for the advice fellas.
I like the idea of making a motorized unit but don't really have the funds for that.
Never heard of Scary sharp but had a Google and looks like the sort of thing I was thinking but the price was getting a little scary too , but I do have a birthday coming up shortly....
I have already made a leather strop and have the polish for it as always used one to finish and can get them arm hair shaving sharp with the what I have but certainly not the most even of edges and have to redo often due to buggering up the angle .
And after sharping 4 knives last night including fairly large nicks in 2 of them I thought to myself about there must be a better way .
3 of the 4 are d2 so takes a wee bit of work and I'm just not consistent enough so a fixed angle would really be helpful.
Thanks for the input fellas and I will look further into the other brands mentioned.
I like the sound of your suggestion to MD , Sounds closer to my budget and possibly even portable

If you are sharpening D2 and similar higher abrasion resistant steels, the warthog or similar will take ages.

It could be worth investing in a more aggressive stone. Get a nice 400 grit diamond and you will fly through that D2 in a few strokes

The scary sharp type systems are the best of the fixed angles.

Hand sharpening is just repetition.

Train ya family to sharpen there own knives.

Makes me wonder how I ever had sharp knives after reading the posts on here....

Generally have being oil stone n a file....graduated to using a strop to finish (usually a part of a ram harness)

Have bought a Lanskey set , good for setting up which degree you wish to attain, has a degree of repeatability....

Sent from my SM-T225 using Tapatalk

Seeing as we’re local to each other, touch base if you want to try out a scary sharp.

There was a thing about MDF wheels and jeweller's compound a while back - apparently easy to knock up and bolt to an average bench grinder instead of the grindstone and sharpens everything from ceramic to glass and everything in between including the D2 steels and the older hand laminated axe heads with the seriously tough edges. Yet to give it a try but for speed of results and cost outlay (especially if you already have a grinder) I'd find it very hard to go past. I'm going to give it a nudge shortly, I'm running out of sharp knifes and the Lansky knock off I have is painfully slow (quicker using the stones by hand). Gives a bloody nice consistent edge angle and a very good finish but if you are doing more than one or two it's a day of sharpening. That's a bit too frustrating for me which means I end up bashing them on the ceramic scraper doohickey or whapping them over the old butcher's steel (which works well when the kids are acting up and pissing mum off - they sod off for an hour or so even though it's nothing to do with them haha).

All sharpeners have there pros and cons where most people fall over in sharpening a knife is the steeling. You can have a wicked sharp knife and bugger it in 2 swipes on a steel. So what ever angle you set your machine/device that is the angle you steel at. The grind on the knife makes a difference too a flat ground knife needs to be sharpened flatter on the stone to help avoid shoulders where a hollow grind can have a steeper angle put on. For grinding out chips etc a belt sander upside down in a vice is better then a bench grinder. Hope this helps a bit