What Sharpening Method is Best for Me?
Which Knife Sharpening Tool is Best?
The majority of knife users are using knives for cooking, hunting, work, or just to have on their person in case they need it. Even with how prevalent knife ownership is, very few people in the are official bladesmiths. However, one thing is certain: a sharp knife is convenient and safe for cooking, hunting, or any other use case. Unfortunately, all knives will dull with use. The good news is there are many ways that you can sharpen your knives but with an array of options out on the market, which knife sharpening option is right for you? This article will help you save time and money by helping you weigh the pros and cons of each sharpening method and let you decide the method that works best for you.
Whetstone Knife Sharpeners
A whetstone or bench stone sharpener is a block or brick composed of dense stone-like material. The whetstones can be natural or manmade. Manmade stones have some advantages in that the material can be fine tuned to a very exact grit level, and often come in 2 sided version where each side is a different grit level. Some bench stones use water while others use oil. Check out the whetstone produced by Absolute Peak Products, which provides a complete whetstone knife sharpener kit to help you get started and is a great value at a very affordable price. It is featured on Amazon as an “Amazon’s Choice” product, meaning buyer’s love the product and the price.
Pros:
Affordable and effective
Versatile, can sharpen kitchen, hunting, and EDC knives
Useful skill to have for everyday life and in the event of a disaster
You can achieve a razor sharp edge
Cons:
Can take some time and practice to get the angle correct
Some whetstone knife sharpeners can be expensive, depending on the material
Sharpening Rods
Sharpening rods can come as a basic honing rod that you will find in most kitchens but they also come in more elaborate setups where two rods are placed in a block at a 30 degree angle. In either variation they have a smooth metal surface down the length of the rod. The sole purpose of sharpening rods is to maintain the sharp edge of your knife by shaping the metal edge of your knife into a smooth straight line without removing much material from the knife’s edge.
Pros:
Good at maintaining a sharp edge
Easy to learn and easy to use
Can use on serrated edge knives (though with some difficulty)
Cons:
Can only sharpen the existing knife edges and cannot sharpen dull knives
Unique shape making storage difficult
Has set angles of the rods that cannot be altered for knives with different angles
Guided Sharpening System
Similar to a whetstone knife sharpener which comes with an optional angle guide, a guided sharpening system is a knife sharpener that has a permanent angle guide. You clip the spine of your knife into the angle guide and slide it along a diamond grit slab.
Pros:
Easy for on-the-go sharpening
Easy to learn and use
Maintains the same angle through sharpening
Cons:
Only sharpen standard size kitchen knives, not larger tools like really large knives, chisels, or axes
Requires some skill and knowledge, like using a whetstone, but does not allow for the same versatility provided by a whetstone knife sharpener.
V-Sharpeners
A V-sharpener is also known as a pull-through sharpener. It is a tool made with two pieces of tungsten carbide in the “V” formation. Gliding your knife edge between the two pieces of metal wears away the dull edge, making it razor sharp again.
Pros:
Small in size and easy to fit in your hand
Requires little to no skill
Sharpens relatively quickly
Cons:
The angles are not adjustable
Sharpening with a V-sharpener can wear away your knife if used too often
It would be unwise to use an expensive knife in a V-sharpener because you cannot get a perfect angle to match the knife.
Honing Steel
Similar to rods, a honing steel is usually sold with a knife block set. It is that long metal rod that you have never known what to do with. Like a whetstone knife sharpener, you can use a honing steel wet or dry. Honing steels can come with parallel ridges or can be smooth, but embedded with abrasive diamond pieces.
Pros:
Are usually sold with a knife block set. No extra cost
Easy to learn and use
Can hone multiple blades and different edges
Cons:
They do not actually sharpen a knife blade, they only realign a curled edge
They do not remove metal from the knife edge, which allows for a razor sharp edge
Strops
Strops are leather straps fastened to a piece of wood that take any remaining burr left behind after sharpening a using whetstone knife sharpener or one of the other methods already mentioned. They are available in suede or smooth options and each serves a purpose. Strops are the last step in the process of knife sharpening. You can use a strop to polish your knife with compounds that will give your blade a shiny and mirror-like finish.
Pros:
Can be used to maintain a sharp edge on a knife
Clears away any burrs or imperfections along the beveled edge of a knife
Can be used with or without polishing compounds
Gives your knife a finished and shiny look
Cons:
Is best if used in conjunction with a sharpening tool like a whetstone knife sharpener
Does not sharpen a blade, only maintains the sharp edge if not used with other tools
The Truth of the Matter
Each knife sharpening method has a time and a place. If you are looking to simply maintain a sharp edge, you can get away with a strop, rod or honing steel, but these methods will require you to be diligent in maintaining that edge, otherwise you will need to use a second sharpening method. By far the most effective and versatile method for knife sharpening is the whetstone knife sharpener. Although it requires some skill, it only takes a little practice before it becomes second nature. Absolute Peak Products even offers an angle guide with its whetstone, so you can learn the correct angle of the knife against the stone and practice until you feel comfortable sharpening without the angle guide. The whetstone made by Absolute Peak Products also comes with an ebook and provides step-by-step knife sharpening instructions, as well as general information about different types of knife edges and steel types. Check it out on Amazon now to receive a discount for a limited time.
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