Warthog Knife Sharpening System

[pipefitter]

Kind of neat. Seems like it would work pretty good.

http://www.warthogsharp.com/

[paladin]

an overly complicated use of stones/steels.....

[Jay Greer]

an overly complicated use of stones/steels.....
I suppose that if one is not handy with tools, this sharpening aid is a good thing. However, most craftsmen, I know, pride themselves at being able to hold a tool at a constant bevel to the shapening stone. free handed; a skill that evolves. over time, by constant practice.
Jay

[Bob Cleek]

http://www.performancebike.com/product_images/500/00-4911-NCL-SIDE.jpg

And how long did you use a pair of these before the other kids started laughing at you?

[Vince Brennan]

I gotta agree with Cleekster... I sharpen everything in the kitchen on a 2 x 6 dual grit carborundum stone freehand... took me a short learning curve (so long ago I don't remember it). I take a similar stone with me when "camping" at folk festivals.... never fail doing at least thirty knives for people over a weekend.

By no means a perfect edge, nor sharp enough to shave with, but more than adequate for food prep and slicing, and that beats 90% of the kitchen knives I run across at friends homes/ campsites/ etc.

BUT! I'd no more try to put an edge on a chisel or plane steel than I would try to walk a tightrope. Man's GOT to know his limitations!

[dennisbur]

my Father, a Master Cabinetmaker, trained in the old country sharpened his tools on old oil stones that had surfaces which resembled meat platters. Couldn't find a flat surface if your life depended on it. Yet his plane and chisel edges always came out straight and true. I keep wondering how he did it.

[Jay Greer]

The trick of hand holding a plane blade or chisel in order to sharpen it free hand is to skew the blade to the direction of motion. Japanese blades are by far easier to hold on the bevel. In fact the backs of Japanese blades are hollow ground to allow finger pressure to be applied right to the edge where it is needed without having the fingers slide down and come in contact with the surface of the stone which ends up producing a bloody stone.
Jay

[pipefitter]

I've been sharpening my blades shave ya sharp on stones for years. Not everybody can afford 200.00 per piece butcher sets, superior mail order plane irons or premium chisels that went out with the advent of the big box supply stores and most stainless steel knife blades can barely cut a hot turd much more than once, which is why most of them have to have protective serrated edges these days.

I've sharpened enough tools to where the novelty of such has worn off years ago. What difference does it really make? I bet it would be great for that fillet knife, when you are looking at 10-20 head of fish with their included scales and bones to go thru after being on the water for 10-12 hrs, not to mention the chore of tidying up the boat and assorted equipment. I still sharpen my drill bits 3/32nds on up on a grinder with repetitive precision and I'm half blind.

The machine that is mentioned doesn't show someone putting a historical edge on a museum quality samurai sword. Anyone who has spent any amount of time sharpening SS, will know that the wire edge folds from side to side until you wear it off precisely and stop sharpening right at that moment and fiddling off that one little shiny spot on the edge without ruining the rest of it. To be able to trap both sides of the micro edge simultaneously is what one can only hope to do with a traditional setup. I'd say that the machine shown pretty much matches the duty as an answer to the lacking quality of what is in most people's kitchen drawers these days in which to render them somewhat useful.

[Bob Cleek]

It's all about the steel. Simple as that. With the proper steel, sharpening is really rather simple. Problem is, you have a hard time finding the right steel anymore. Since your average housewife today has never seen a properly sharp knife, let alone knows how to care for one, the manufacturers have gone to harder alloys, attempting to impress us with "Rockwell this" and "Rockwell that" numbers, cryogenic hardening, and that oxymoron of sharpness... stainless steel. Just toss 'em all together in the drawer and bang 'em around. No need to wipe them dry... they don't rust! Ain't life grand?

Good, high carbon knives, chisels and plane irons, any edged tool made of the right stuff, will take and keep an edge practically forever with minimall maintenance if not abused. A few licks is all it takes. I have a bunch of old high carbon steel chefs' knives that I haven't put on a stone in years. Once properly sharpened, all they need is a few swipes on the steel each time they are used and they stay razor sharp. OTOH, I have a Buck folding rigger's knife that is a great design and well made, but the blade has never had a properly sharp edge since the day it came out of the box. All the "better mousetraps" they offer to sharpen blades really are only imperfect attempts to achieve the impossible... sharpening steel that won't take an edge worth a damn to begin with.

This is one good example of what is wrong with our economy today. Everybody has got to have the "latest thing" and they just keep spending and spending without ever really THINKING about whether they need it or not. Madison Avenue has been conning us all for decades into believing we need "new and improved" crap we don't need to begin with. No question, technological advances are improved our quality of life tremendously, but 90 percent of what is "new and improved" is just advertising and needless consumption and expense. A proper high carbon steel blade, a common stone and a sharpening steel and you're good to go. You can still find decent high carbon steel knives if you look hard enough or score some old ones at a garage sale. Unfortunately, it seems impossible to find a wife that will care for them properly. I live with "his and hers" knives. Mine are "too sharp." Hers, which cost ten times as much, have those little stick men shaking hands on them and are dull enough that she won't cut her fingers... and they don't rust.

[paladin]

I have a pair of the 2 inch by 6 inch Arkansas stones and a couple of smaller ones. My siblings will not mess with my kitchen knives as they swear they'll chop off a finger or two.....My working knives, all Randalls, are made from Swedish tool steel, and you can get a no drag shave from every one, from the 8 1/2 inch commando blade to the Smithsonian Bowie Knife. Each of the knife sheaths has a sewn on stone pocket with a good Arkansas stone in it. I only have three hand planes, all Lie Neilsens as are my chisels.....I don't have a large collection...just the basics, and all are razor sharp, so I make do with what I have. Everything will fit in the Craftsman tool box on top of the big chest...the big chest is full of specialized electronics tools.

[Brian Palmer]

You want a sharp knife? Talk to this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oI-z8i41Do

Brian

[pipefitter]

As a weldor, I have a pretty complete understanding of metallurgy. After so many years, I can pretty much recognize steel/alloy quality by the color of it or it's rust (or lack of) alone. I didn't get into this trade by accident. It was by early fascination of metalworking and I have the scars to prove it. When I was a boy, I used to make my own blades from shards of old shattered (sometimes intentionally) saw blades and horn,wood and leather. Were they masterpieces? Probably not, but I built a few skinning knives that a few hunters I knew swore by, even though they were most likely products of accidental experimentation and study by mixing heat with available materials.
It looked as if the guy had put some thought into his little machine beyond gimmickry. Without having tried it, I would tend to give it a benefit of a doubt until it proved otherwise. Seemed like a good idea to me, especially after seeing what some have called good cutlery around these parts.

[Bill Mercer]

I live with "his and hers" knives. Mine are "too sharp." Hers, which cost ten times as much, have those little stick men shaking hands on them and are dull enough that she won't cut her fingers... and they don't rust.

Generally, folks think of dull kitchen blades as more dangerous, not less--you have to use too much pressure, plus (at least in my experience) they may slip off of what you're cutting and dig in somewhere else, often a finger.

That said, I have a hard time getting SS knives sharp--all of my (limited) sharpening skills came from high-carbon woodworking tools, which seem to be easier to deal with (no weird hassles with wire edges that don't break off, etc.)

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

It is the work of moments to find good examples of razor sharp edges on stainless blades.


Did you ever meet a Bic disposable? - or a Gillette blade?

[Bob Cleek]

Yea, I've told her that time and again (usually right after she cuts her finger) but she don't listen! LOL