Looking for knife sharpening set

Submitted by BlackEyedAngel01 t3_zvvbkv in BuyItForLife

I have a Zwilling kitchen knife set. After about a decade they’re still in great shape and could probably last another couple decades, but they’re in bad need of sharpening. I’m an experienced DIYer and would love to learn how to sharpen them myself. I remember my grandfather sharpening kitchen knives with his stone sharpening kit.

I see sets from Lansky and Gatco with prices from $50 to $100 and I don’t really know what the differences are. Any advice on what to look for in a stone sharpening kit? Thanks!

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TTMcBumbersnazzle t1_j1rc0lx wrote

Head on over to r/sharpening and read the wiki.

Unless it’s a really hard steel, a Shapton is probably going to be the most suggested for price and performance. Not quite BIFL, but it’ll last quite a while with minimal upkeep.

I’d head over and check the wiki out, watch a few links. They’re a helpful bunch over there. Even more so for thought out queries that have done a little research.

Edit: I missed the “system” part, but the sub and advice still stand. You can search for the systems you’ve been looking at and find some threads about them. Good luck!

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BlackEyedAngel01 OP t1_j1rch7z wrote

Thank you! I’m heading over there now, and I’ll look into Shapton too

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cherlin t1_j1rhzi1 wrote

Shapton glass splash and go stones, get a 1000 grit to start and then build out a set from there. They are basically BIFL for home use as they really don't dish out in any reasonable amount of time, and they cut great even on harder steels.

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TTMcBumbersnazzle t1_j1rcwyl wrote

Hope the information there can help you find something. Freehand takes some time to get used to but isn’t always as daunting as it looks.

And systems can be limiting, but again there’s plenty of information and posts about anything related to keeping a sharp edge on your knives.

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VisualKeiKei t1_j1rcwvp wrote

Spyderco Sharpmaker is simple with ceramic stones. I use those to touch up knives and the ceramic doesn't have problems with stupidly hard Japanese steels or exotics like ZDP-189. Clean the sticks with Barkeeper's Friend. Ive not seen any wear yet and there are rougher and finer grits available (but it compromises the compact nature of the set). I use King or natural water stones for anything that needs a super keen edge or requires heavy work (working out a chip or nick).

If you need more angle selections, you can 3D print blocks that contain numerous angles increments.

The clampy stuff like Lansky or Edge Pro are just too fussy for me.

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BlackEyedAngel01 OP t1_j1rf4a2 wrote

Thanks! Helpful insight, I have a lot to learn.

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VisualKeiKei t1_j1ru6ut wrote

If you've got a decade of wear on them, one of those clampy systems might be good to re-establish a baseline, symmetrical bevel on either side that you can then maintain with more frequent touch-ups. It depends on your level of patience since they do take some time to set up and figure out the mechanisms (if you set it wrong, your angle at the tip can be much more acute than the belly.) I mentioned waterstones and those can be a rabbit hole, but also a fun zen thing you like that kind of thing. Hard arkansas stones are also a thing but they remove material very slowly so it requires a lot of skill to freehand sharpen with them.

I'd definitely recommend avoiding any powered grinding system as they remove grotesque quantities of material from the blade, and do not recommend any type of pull-through vee notch systems because they also scrape off a lot of met

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Quail-a-lot t1_j1rd3lt wrote

For that budget, I would invest in a set of waterstones instead. I have a 1000 and 6000 grit set of King Waterstones and learned to sharpen Japanese style and now much prefer that method. (Lotsa nice tutorials on YouTube for this).

I also have a much rougher one for badly blunted things I might find which is clearly just a freebie handmedown a few decades old and a file which is mainly used for garden tools. The nice thing about getting waterstones or whetstones is you can use them for more than just your kitchen knives! (I have a few waterstones for my scythe as well which I use more for those other tasks, but I used to just use the household ones for everything and mine are easily going on a decade now.)

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Girhinomofe t1_j1rqi72 wrote

Whetstone sharpening is one of the most cathartic activities to me… so repetitive but I’ll put on some good music and just completely chill out during the process. Helps me slow down and relax, and leaves me with wicked sharp edges.

Will never sharpen any other way.

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Quail-a-lot t1_j1rs07k wrote

Yeah, I just put on some Welcome to Nightvale and zen out.

Onlt time I have ever wished for a different set up is when we do butchering and then I have to sharpen multiple times in a row at speed to keep up but that is not normal city use.

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BlackEyedAngel01 OP t1_j1rfh0k wrote

Thanks, I’ll look into those options and check out some YouTube tutorials!

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Cascadian73 t1_j1ri94h wrote

E Z Lap diamond sharpening devices (can't call them "stones" as they are steel with adhered diamond grit) will do a great job and last practically forever.

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hessmo t1_j1ssvdn wrote

Spiderco sharpmaker.

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nomorerainpls t1_j1tc8yd wrote

I’m not a pro or anything but I have a Zwilling V-Edge Pro that works well with my Henckels. It’s very simple to use and hard to screw up. It’s supposed to work with Japanese and Western knives but I think you need adapters for the rods when sharpening Japanese knives. It comes with 4 ceramic rods - 2 fine and 2 coarse. The rods can be rotated so you can use all four sides and make them last awhile. I use it maybe once or twice a month. Still looks and works great after ~5 years and have yet to rotate the rods.

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4cls t1_j1uxynk wrote

Project Farm on YouTube has a great set of videos on this...

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Cfwydirk t1_j1rhfzm wrote

Consider one of these kits. I bought one for my bench grinder. It works well for me.

The honing wheel with metal polishing compound helps me put a pretty good edge on knives.

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hacknix t1_j1v26m3 wrote

It's very easy to ruin knives on a bench grinder due to heat build up...

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Due_Cryptographer630 t1_j1ribim wrote

I have experience in knife sharpening. I would get to Dalstrong sharpening stones. You want one with a low Grit and one with a high grit.

Just do a bit of research. You also need an angle guide. It's a little piece of plastic that you use to angle the blade properly. If you're just sharpening the knife to use at home the sharpening blocks should last you a very long time.

It really depends on just how much you use it. I have less than five knives that I sharpen so mine will probably last me forever.

But it's a numbers game, because the more you use it the more it wears down. And it wearing down is inherent in the sharpening process. This is true for all sharpening stones.

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Muncie4 t1_j1rwziw wrote

You are not asking a BIFL question so this is the wrong subreddit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEDyYJJ6f9M has the answer you are looking for.

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_Mechaloth_ t1_j1udbhy wrote

Upkeep is part of BIFL, though…

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Muncie4 t1_j1xe41c wrote

You are confused as this is not an upkeep question. The question is which sharpening brand/type he should use/what types there are. I provided one answer. You should provide another answer vice grading my answer....OP needs help and I didn't ask for yours.

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