JW IN VA":3ocg79pr said:
For those if you who keep a sharp knife,what do you use? I know the old bench stone is the classic but I'm trying to hold consistent angles and haven't been able to do that.I have a Worksharp which does well but I'm concerned about taking out too much metal.Also have crock sticks which work well to hone a knife but aren't aggressive enough to reset angles or restore a dulled/chipped edge.
Maybe I'm overthinking this.Tend to do that but don't like spending money then finding out something else as better for the same or less.
The old pocket "Arkansas" oil stone works great. Someone gave me one when I was a child. It had a wedge to show you the angle to hold the blade. I developed a feel for it. There is also a change in sound when you start getting the edge refined. A dull edge versus a sharp edge sound completely different.
Now that I have learned the sound and feel, I can use it on diamond blades, steel, ceramics, tungsten etc.
A lot of folks hand me knives and ask me to put edges on them.
I've never owned a Lansky system. Didn't think I needed anything else. But I know a lot of people who love them.
If you learn to use sound, you won't grind the blade away. A 40 year old blade, sharpened regularly, should lose an 1/8" or so in normal use. If you abuse it or hack with it, different story. If you're a daily meat cutter, different story.
Anything you sharpen has to deal with angle. Lots of people throw away drill bits. I sharpen them. I still have much to learn with drill bits but I'm using a side grinder versus a stone. Sound can't be heard over the machine.