Knife sharpening system

[UKRob]

I know there are many members on here who keep their kitchen knives up to scratch so I’m looking for advice and guidance on a foolproof system for my Global knives. I already have a good selection of stones but lack the skills to freehand sharpen large knives so I would appreciate your thoughts on the various mechanical systems available. If you have some idea on price that will also help. Thanks in advance.

 

[hotmetal]

A lot of people rate things like the Lansky system, EdgePro or Spyderco. A bit expensive though. I use the EZE-Lap DMD/C diamond kit. It's OK, you basically get 3 choices of angle and the most useful 'stones' are 1200 grit and the ceramic finisher. The others are 250/400/600 so too coarse for anything other than chip repair. I keep my Japanese knives very sharp with the 1200 diamond, the ceramic and a field strop loaded with Dialux compound. The stropping means long gaps between uses of the EZE. I got mine from Knives And Tools (NL based), but not sure they still do my kit. It is similar in concept to the Lansky Deluxe (£125) but was probably half the price.

 

[slapo]

I bought one like this:

Variant A-B here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004672234065.html.

The YouTube channel the video above is on can be fairly helpful if you'd like to see how some of these work.

However, I haven't tried it yet, because I also bought this at the same time:

2023 New Upgraded Version Ruixin Pro RX009 Aluminium Alloy Knife Sharpener System 360 Degree Flip Constant Angle Grinding Tools - AliExpress 15

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005048083124.html (I'd call this a very helpful upgrade and wouldn't want to be without it)

I initially wanted to go for something like a Lansky system, but I think it only goes down to 14 degrees, but I have a knife that's 12 degrees.
The rest of them seemed too expensive for what seemed to be diminishing returns.

The stones that came with the Ruixin Pro RX009 might not be the best there are, but they've done the job on a few knives so far.
I also bought a digital protractor, because while a phone could do the job with an app, a standalone protractor is a simple tool and better suited for it.

 

[Rowlers]

I know there are many members on here who keep their kitchen knives up to scratch so I’m looking for advice and guidance on a foolproof system for my Global knives. I already have a good selection of stones but lack the skills to freehand sharpen large knives so I would appreciate your thoughts on the various mechanical systems available. If you have some idea on price that will also help. Thanks in advance.

I seriously doubt you lack the skills to sharpen a kitchen knife Rob! I maintain my Globals freehand on some DMT stones, and I doubt I have anywhere near the honing skills that you have. As a side note, I am not overly impressed with Global knives, (apart from the looks of course!), my Kai keeps a much better edge and is easier to hone.

 

[slapo]

I seriously doubt you lack the skills to sharpen a kitchen knife Rob! I maintain my Globals freehand on some DMT stones, and I doubt I have anywhere near the honing skills that you have. As a side note, I am not overly impressed with Global knives, (apart from the looks of course!), my Kai keeps a much better edge and is easier to hone.

Which Global and Kai knives are the ones you have, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Rowlers]

 

[MichaelS]

Rob, I've tried my neighbour's Horl sharpener:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9PqnQ3RlO4&t=4s


I found it very easy to use, fast and takes little space on the counter. I'm more of an old-school bench stone person (only use 2 or 3 knives and not every day) but I imagine chefs in a busy kitchen would love it. Prices start at around 100 gbp but you'll probably soon want some of the extra accessories .

 

[UKRob]

A lot of people rate things like the Lansky system, EdgePro or Spyderco. A bit expensive though. I use the EZE-Lap DMD/C diamond kit. It's OK, you basically get 3 choices of angle and the most useful 'stones' are 1200 grit and the ceramic finisher. The others are 250/400/600 so too coarse for anything other than chip repair. I keep my Japanese knives very sharp with the 1200 diamond, the ceramic and a field strop loaded with Dialux compound. The stropping means long gaps between uses of the EZE. I got mine from Knives And Tools (NL based), but not sure they still do my kit. It is similar in concept to the Lansky Deluxe (£125) but was probably half the price.

It seems that this is no longer available as a kit - K&T don’t list it and when I looked at the Eze-Lap website, it’s just replacement hones.

@slapo - your suggestion looks to be good value but I was concerned about the quality of stones so I’m now looking at the Work Sharp Precision system as it has a ceramic finisher as well as an easy to use angle set. At around £70 it won’t break the bank either.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[davep90]

I have a spyderco tri-angle sharpmaker great for keeping a razor edge on knives. Maintenance makes life much easier than waiting until your knives are blunt.

 

[UKRob]

I have a spyderco tri-angle sharpmaker great for keeping a razor edge on knives. Maintenance makes life much easier than waiting until your knives are blunt.

I have one of these but, just as with stones, it’s not a foolproof system and I find it quite time consuming.

 

[davep90]

I have one of these but, just as with stones, it’s not a foolproof system and I find it quite time consuming.

Nothing is foolproof

 

[Lockback]

I bought a Work Sharp Precision Adjust Knife Sharpener a couple of years ago and I've used it several times on my kitchen knives and my pocket knives. It really works and is easy to set up. I highly recommend it.

 

[semajohn]

Bought this from Amazon and it does the job

 

[R181]

I bought a Work Sharp Precision Adjust Knife Sharpener a couple of years ago and I've used it several times on my kitchen knives and my pocket knives. It really works and is easy to set up. I highly recommend it.

I am happy to hear that. I have been watching this thread closely and had decided to buy that sharpener. Mine should arrive shortly. Thank you to the OP for starting this thread.

Bob

 

[UKRob]

For anyone interested, the Work Sharp kit has been used and I’m very impressed with everything about it. Assembly is straight forward and using it couldn’t be much easier in terms of setting the desired angle and getting a very good edge. I need to spend some time re-establishing the edges and getting rid of some nicks that have gone unattended over the last couple of years and I’ll do that on some lower grit bench hones before setting the bevels on the Work Sharp. After that I’m hoping that maintenance should be easy using just the ceramic plate.