Wet Stone

[Kinman]

I have to admit that after having a video catch my eye while visiting Cabela's that I sprung the money for a sharpening system designed by Spyderco, its their Triangle Sharpmaker. I got hooked into using Croc-Stix years ago and a buddy showed me how to make a pocket Croc-Stix from a huge parking lot style light bulb. I like them because after a day of use I like to stop by my workbench, take out my knife and give it a couple of wipes across my old Croc-Stix, keeps that baby shavin sharp. The Spyderco system works on the same method but does allow for serious sharpening of a dull knive as well as scissors and serrated blades. I have fooled around with Lansky's system and although have done some fine work with it and don't truly see anything "wrong" with it other than it as about as precise as using a good quality diamond stone set or Arkansas stones. I have turned some pretty decrepit blades around with Lansky but do consider it kinda imprecise when it comes to a really fine edge. Pretty tough to beat a good strop for that final touch, I did score a barber's stone a couple of years ago that is made from a red material and supposedly was used by them to sharpen razors, I have used it with an angle jig to sharpen my leather cutters.

 

[Onomea]

I like knives a lot, and have some quite nice ones. I reflect at times that the highest quality knife, if dull, is not as useful as a lesser knife, sharpened.

While I can do it, I am not very good at sharpening. I take my knives to a local guy here in Japan who is a sword polisher, and sells, in addition to swords, kitchen knives and other edged tools.

Watching him sharpen blades is interesting.

He has many stones, wets them in wooden tub of water at his side, and, when sharpening, kneels with his legs tucked under him, sitting back on his legs, and his knees together. (This is the formal way, the respectful way, of sitting in Japan. I could do it as a young man, for limited periods of time, but no way nowadays!)

He uses both hands on the blade and, for a kitchen knife, simply pushes it straight away from his body and then pulls it straight back, switching to a finer stone as the blade sharpens. He puts a very sharp edge on a blade.

I agree with steelslaver's comment above that good blades cost money.