Knife Sharpeners Tier List
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- Опубліковано 24 лип 2023
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Good gravy its bricky on things
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The worksharp field sharpener is simply amazing. Once while on deployment on a Navy ship. Sheer boredom drove me to acquire a butter knife and go to work on it with the field sharpener. In the span of a little over an hour the butter knife could shave your arm
Memories. LOL I had a Buck 110 belt knife I used for basic stuff like cutting strings on lock out tags. I just had a fairly small stone that was pretty smooth. Sort of a 'marble' feel but I don't recall what grit. I used to keep that Buck razor sharp. Not because I needed it that sharp but like you said - boredom. Many long hours on watch in the power plants out in the Indian Ocean. You could not have books or any other entertainment down in the nuclear plants but you could maintain a tool (aka sharpen your knife).
You are definitely in the S tier category because you keep my knife knowledge sharp
Jesus dude, save some brownie points for the rest of us..
Omg, there ain't a stone in the world that could get that brown off your nose.
I have found exactly one use case for having a pull through sharpener. Every year we take a family vacation where we rent a house or cabin and the kitchen knives provided are always cheap and dull af. I don't care if I'm shortening the life of someone's Walmart kitchen knives in their million dollar+ rental home. Saves me from packing my knives and trusting that the others sharing the house won't drop them or throw them in the dishwasher and I don't lose sleep if the pull through gets left behind.
Usually I just use my own carry knife and don't share!
I love that a strop and the worksharp guided field sharpener are both in the S tier.
How sharp could you get a knife on Bricky?
Poor old Bricky
This id like to see
Brick with good technique than taken to the rough side of a strop to deburr it completely than to the smooth side of the strop you can shave hair
Bricky could bring a Buck 110 back sharp enough to spey pigeons.
Bricky eats knives. Check his teeth..
I appreciate how you keep it simple for those of us in the knife community that don't pretend to know everything. Thanks boss. You have my like and sub.
The best knife sharpener, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is the one that you are comfortable and efficient with.
The only thing more useless than a dull knife is a sharpener that doesn’t sharpen a knife
_comfortable and efficient_ i can agree to that. but the *and* is very important!
Just being comfortable but not able to sharpen a knife is worse in my opinion than uncomfortable but efficient.
Previous knife shop manager here. I can't tell you how many people walked out of the shop with both a Work Sharp Precision Adjust + Work Sharp Field, as a pair. They're products I use, and a perfect set for most average-to-above average EDC connoisseur.
I walked out of amazon with those two in my shopping cart
You, birdshot, dean o and knife krazy are why I bought a KME and I do love it
Bought the KME with all the bells and whistles a couple years ago cost me $500 plus but I love the edge it produces.
I started with a Lansky Turn Box. Compact and very simple. I glued a piece of leather to the side so I could strop with it as well. Served me very well for years
👌
Friend of mine was given a Benchmade Bugout with his name on it as a groomsman gift. He’s not a knife guy and had no idea that it was a nice knife. I bought him a Lansky Turn Box and showed him how to use it. Told him to touch it up occasionally instead of letting it get dull. That turn box will keep that benchmade and all his kitchen knives sharper than he would ever imagine with almost no effort and it as foolproof as possible. It’s ideal for most people.
I COMPLETELY agree! The work sharp field sharpener is my go to. I once used it to sharpen my EDC fixed blade to shave my face. I’ve sharpened hundreds of knives with it and I haven’t even replaced the diamond plates yet.
I love how many pull through sharpeners you own
Great vid Pete. Couldn't agree more on the WS Field Sharpener, been using and recommending that for years👌😁
I love my Edge Pro Apex. I sharpen my pocket knives and kitchen cutlery.
Australian knife UA-camr tier list:
S-Tier: Pete
Started with an edge pro and learned just how sharp things can get. Then I learned freehand on Japanese stones and sold the edge pro when i could get as good results on my own.
I got the Sharpmaker back when it shipped with a VHS videotape still use it in the kitchen almost daily. Eventually went with a Wicked Edge WE130 which is fantastic. I set my bevels with the WE130 and do quick touch ups on the sharpmaker.
Hi Pete, greetings from Bratislava, Slovakia (the heart of Europe)!
I am a hobby sharpener and I do mostly freehanding on Japanese whetstones.
Sometimes I need to do fine precise stuff on angle sharpener (I use the newest Ruixin Pro, which is a Chinese "stuff", however it has a surprisingly high quality... of course, you need to use hogh quality stones with it (e.g. Atoma diamond stones or Naniwa Pro stones)...
And I love worksharp field sharpener, too. I take it with me to every family trip or to every holiday... Either this one or at least Fallkniven DC4 stone...because you can find dull knives in every apartment. This field sharpener is truly a masterpiece...
Yep. The Woeksharp field sharpener is my go-to tool. It works awesomely.
damn, thats a lot of money on sharpeners...for the first 2 years i worked in a kitchen i used the underside of a dinner plate to sharpen my knives. Ive since upgraded to spyderco ceramic plates.
Appreciate the content, been watching and absorbing the info you output for years now. Its honestly been very useful in my professional life.
Tier lists are the highest calibre of UA-cam, I wanna see a tier list of your tier lists!
Hey man, I find you the prominent authority on all things knifey. You may not have the degree like Larrin Thomas (developer of magnacut), but you put in more blood, sweat, tears, and time than anyone on the planet. I listen when you talk!
That is awesome that you showed that Work Sharp pocket sharpener last. That is the one I primarily use and it does put a sharp edge on blades. And I am no expert on sharpening. I have ruined blades using the Lansky fixed system and then I tried free hand on a basic two sided stone which I'm ok at. But that pocket sharpener is perfect because it's light and you can pack it in your back pack. Cheers Pete!
That worksharp field sharpener is my go to... You can put a edge on a knife in minutes.
I keep one in my vehicle in case of emergency.
YES! I was getting concerned when I didn't see the WS field sharpener but then you pulled it out from off screen at the end proclaiming it as S-tier. The field sharpener has taught me how to sharpen free hand over the last couple of years and hundreds of sharpening sessions I have done on it. I actually just unboxed my grandfathers old norton india oil stone and diamond sharpening rod after realizing I naturally hold my blades at a consistent 20° when sharpening and now integrate them into the sharpening routine based on different circumstances along side my heavily used WS field sharpener. Great piece of kit for teaching through repetition and though better for touching up a knife, it as you said can be used to put an edge back on a knife with a destroyed edge if you are patient.
I don’t know, I had the Lansky Diamond set and eventually got the Tormek T8 and would never use the Lansky again unless my T8 broke down. Faster, way better edge, and didn’t take that much learning, just watch their Tormek videos. Of course way more expensive but if you’re into sharpening a whole wack of stuff I would highly recommend!
Before the Work sharp field sharpener came out I made one out of Koa. Interchangeable angles and full size stones but now the Blitz 360 with veneve stones. Big difference. 😊
I own several sharpeners and really enjoyed the list.I use the S tier work sharp field sharpener all the time at work.
Dude, you have that Clark Kent aura going on. But when you get around knives and sharpeners, Superman comes out! I have always enjoyed your videos and your methods. Thank you for the time you put into these videos!
Most people with 420 stainless knives can get by with the D list sharpeners.
As you move up knife materials the importance of a technically great edge greatly increases.
love everything you make bro. worksharp sent me a professional precision adjust and i was fairly impressed, but i could only compare it to the original version
Can’t believe he put the precision adjust over the Tormek 😂
Not only is the KME device an accurate, repeatable way to sharpen your knives, their customer service/tech support (Brian) is fantastic. I switched from a Lansky system to the KME system several years ago and haven't looked back. The included carrying case is also very nice.
Moving up to any fixed angle system from a lansky is an improvement.
The kme when introduced had its place, but they are doormant and no real improvements have been made. Initially I agreed with what you had sad about customer service, but that quickly changed when I had issues, that I was told were impossible. Finally, when my kme fully came unhinged, I went the tsprof route and haven't looked back, can still use all my stones from thr kme plus all formats of 6" stones thus making sharpening that much faster.
If the kme. Still rocks ur world then rock on, your results are all that matters.
Loved this video . I free hand on a bench stone for all my reprofiling and full sharpening but the WS field sharpener gets more use than anything else . I have sharpened other peoples knives from dull to scary sharp with it and I love it . Definitely my favorite . although I have not tried any fixed angle system .
I also had a lansky back in the day. A little bit tedious but I used to get razor sharp edges with that thing... I would actually put oil on the stones... my edge was borderline mirror pollished. I have a worksharp now but watching your video made me miss my old Lansky a little bit!
The best way to use a Lansky guided system is to hold the knife and stone exactly like you would if you were freehanding with a pocket stone. I have a video on my channel kinda showing this. I'll do a full sharpening if I ever get enough interest.
Seems like people prefer to ride the struggle bus 😆
PTSD = Pull Through Sharpener Disorder
Great video. Years ago this would have been really helpful to me. I went down the more traditional path of hand whetstone sharpening which took a LOT of practice. But jigs are only as good really as the guy using them. Great video.
Whew! I was afraid you would not cover the Work Sharp Field Sharpener. I agree with your evaluation. With the WSFS and a decent strop it's hard to go wrong.
I have two fällkniven DC4 and CC4 in my backpack all the time. With dbk 1micron compound and stroppy stuff 4micron sprayed on the leather sheath that it comes in. It's completely fine for the field. For home sharpening i'm using dmt diamond plates, resin bonded 12k and for the last step the spyderco 306UF and leather strops with dia compound.
Those pull through knife wreckers are definitely aimed at the tip down bread wetters😂
“Bread wetters” 😄👏🏻
Edge Pro Apex, 15 years and never disappoints.
Great video. I sharpen my kitchen knives on a silicon carbide stone and my pocket knives with a Lansky guided system using diamond stones. I maintain my kitchen knives with a honing steel and my pocket knives with wet/dry sandpaper stuck to a piece of wood and a leather strop. The sandpaper grit is 220, 600 and 1200 and lasts years as a maintenance tool. I get hair shaving edges with all these systems, but the edge I get with the Lansky is by far the best. Would love a KME one day.
Good stuff, best bit of advice in my opinion was that piece of leather on a bit of wood.
One thing not mentioned is the convexing attachment for the TSProf Kadet. The micro convex edge I put on my PM2 in M4 lasts forever. Another great feature of the Kadet is the ability to use any stone/plate on the market, even in sequence you can mix and match: you just make the adjustment for each stone/plate individually.
Thanks for info I have 3 knifes that are all quite different to cover all my needs and I'm trying to find a solution to sharpen all of them well this video helped a lot I'm still not sure what I'm going to get but I feel more informed. Thanks for getting straight to business also and not wasting any time.
Hey mate,
Hello from Ballarat.
Perfect timing on this video as I'm just about to buy my first sharpener. This information is just what I need! Thanks for all your hard work.
I went to a paper wheel setup and haven’t looked back. So fast, clean, and razor sharp.
Great video. I started with the Lansky, Recently bought the Worksharp fixed angle MK II and the Worksharp Knife and tool. Worksharp definitely makes it easier to get an edge sharp And learn how to get even better edges.
I really like my worksharp precision adjust but in my opinion you 100% need to get a brace for the jaws. Mine doesn't sit perfectly straight without a brace and the jaws flex down with very little force when sharpening if it isn't braced. But with a brace it's great!
Can you elaborate on the brace for the jaws?
Many cheap knives as a teen and Ka-Bars for my fellow Marines later, I’ve given up carborundum for diamond plates to profile knives. Still use Arkansas stones and strop to finish the edge. I don’t do woodworking or leatherwork, etc. so sharpening has become my manual art.
And, there are some people out there, who just buy new knives when their’s go dull! I like my Edge Pro Apex 4! Takes some getting used to but….excellent results! I also agree that a simple strop really brings everything together. Great vid Pete!!!
Something like the sharpmaker is ideal for keeping kitchen knives sharp. I run my kitchen knives over the rods a couple of times before putting them in the drawer. It even keeps my super cheap kitchen knife (3 euro at lidl) razor sharp.
The Simple Sharp from DMT is really good for larger knifes and is pull through. Perfect for kitchen knifes because you can keep your knifes very sharp in seconds. Only downside is that 3cm from the handle only get contact with the diamond plate from one side. This is only a "problem" for small knifes since you don't use the back 3cm anyway.
For my outdoor knifes I only use diamond plates with a guide. Fast, easy and I get a razor sharp edge in minutes.
Works for me:
1 - Lansky ceramic turnbox
(For quick and easy touch ups on 20⁰ bevel edge blades.)
2 - Lansky deluxe diamond sharpening system
(For re-profiling a blade or putting a new edge on a complete blunt knife.)
3 - Work Sharp Guided Field Sharpener
(Jack of all trades, can't go wrong with this one.)
Fantastic list bud,keep up the great work!
Excellent video. I sharpen knives all the time as teach bushcraft and completely agree a decent strop will do 80 percent of jobs. Would rate fallkniven DC4 higher though. Excellent compact field sharpener
I use the fallkniven CC4 which is the same size as the DC4 to sharpen a k390 police, and it works pretty well. That shows how capable the ceramics are
I bought quit a few back packing sharper before landing on the field sharpener. This one's a keeper.
Totally agree with your last choice 👏👏 that worksharp is a game changer , I am not the best but boy that thing makes me look great hair popping every time.
Great video! Thanks! I really like the Hapstone system.
Can't go wrong with a Norton India stone and a DMT Diafold, either. Or a good quality Arkansas stone, but they can get a little pricey, as can full size diamond plates. A ceramic rod is handy to keep around for oddly shaped blades and quick touch ups.
Good I love the Field sharpener. I have three. One for my truck, kitchen and office.
I got a couple fixed angle sharpeners and a handful of various bench stones, sharp maker and some other varients of the like. My go to for maintenance and light sharpenings is a dmt coarse/fine diafold and a strop i bought like 15 years ago. They fit in a sort of catch all drawer in my desk and keeps my pocket and kitchen knives good and sharp. When i need a reprofile because im not super good free hand ill use the kme or wicked edge go to fix em up.
I have a couple of those EZ lap pocket swatches. I don’t use them for sharpening, though. They’re GREAT for subtly knocking down sharp g10/FRN/etc. and smoothing down of spines/locks/etc.
Love that you included whetstones!
Dowels with wet / dry sandpaper is great for recurved blades. You can also get a dowel with leather and compound for maintaining those blades.
When I visit my dad or brothers I always take my worksharp field sharpener! It is awesome. I sharpen all of our knives on bench stones, but the field sharpener is so damn easy to use when I don’t want to take my stones! Everything I need is right on it. I even put diamond compound on the little strop to enhance its use.
Great rundown on all of them Pete
For whatever reason, I end up scratching my knives to hell and back behind the bevel when I use my KME. I'm not applying pressure with it or anything, and I've gone long enough with the stones that they're "broken in". I used masking tape to stop that from happening, but it's a pain. It just remains in its carrying case these days.
It's a much newer product, but the Worksharp Pro Precision Adjust works better for me. I prefer the clamping system that it uses, I haven't scratched any blades with it, and it has longer stones than the KME. It's like the middle between the KME and TSProf. It's also nice having a worm gear to set the angle and it comes with an angle cube if you're obsessed with getting a very specific angle.
What I will say about it though, which also applies to the standard Precision Adjust, is the diamond stones lose their aggressive bite faster than the KME diamond stones (only really applicable if you reprofile a ton of knives, standard sharpening folks probably won't run into any issues). They're a bit cheaper to replace than the KME stones, and VASTLY cheaper than replacing the TSProf's Venev stones, but either their bonding process isn't as robust, or there aren't as many bonded layers. Either way, you might want to keep in mind the possibility of needing to buy a replacement coarse stone or two over the life of the device if you like to set a knife's angle yourself rather than using the angle that's already set on them.
The diamond plates from TSProf suffer from the same problem, but I don't have a point of reference to compare them to the KME or Workshop.
I want to try the venev stones, but @ $80-100 per stone I'll probably just get a 400 grit and hope it lasts a long time.
I wish they would make a *super* coarse stone for reprofiling. That 220 grit can take forever if you have some actual work to do on decent steel.
For a new knife I use the guided Lansky system to initially set the angle I want. After it's all strops and smooth polishing steels (depending on the knife steel) then when that's not enough it's water and oil stone time until the angle needs resetting again on the Lansky.
To get working sharp for working knives, my go to is the large DMT Diamond Red block. That and a strop keeps most of my blades working at evil sharp.
Yes, I have a lot of the other sharpening systems you mention.
Agreed on the Worksharp field sharpener! Great video; thanks!
I've got the Wicked Edge, Edge Pro, Spyderco, and a 2x72 belt sander. Honestly I use the belt sander and Spyderco for almost everything. The belt sander does any big work, and the Spyderco is an excellent "maintenance" sharpener. I don't know how many I've given to people as gifts. As long as you tell people not to let the knives get TOO dull, it'll keep knives shaving sharp forever.
There is a very inexpensive Chinese draw-bar style sharpener sold under the name "Ruixin" that shows some promise if given a few tweaks, although it comes with a set of very cheap stones.
Great to see all those new videos!!
Of all the tier list videos i thought I would see, I did not think i would ever see a knife sharpener tier list. Cheers!
Checked out the Excel file. Wow! The motherlode of useful knife steel info. 😮
Such an interesting video, back when I was a young teenager in the Boy Scouts we all had to learn how to sharpen on a wet stone. Now it's considered difficult? Sure we weren't getting perfect grinds but it worked great especially since we of course were using cheap SAKs or Bucks with soft steel that needed to be resharpened often due to our whiting. Years later I got a Spyderco Sharpmaker and I found it amazing, especially for serrated blades in particular. Thanks so much for making this video, I'm totally going to pickup the Work Sharp Field Sharpener soon after seeing this video. Also where is the true S tier sharpener? The bottom of a ceramic coffee cup can make some incredible edges in a pinch and everyone is already going to have one. Haha so much better than those pull throughs.Great video dude!
Thank you, this is a very to the point helpful sharpening systems guide, i have a sharpmaker that i have used for many years and Im happy with the results, but im looking for a guided system now as well as something portable that i can carry with me that gives good results, your experience is very appreciated
Fixed blades / camp blades: ken onion work sharp blade grinding attachment. Puts a shaving shallow convex secondary edge on any blade, even recurves are easy. You can use a fine belt at high speed to remove minor flat spots, rolls, & maintan a shaving edge with a few passes. Full convex & scandi blades need whetstones imo.
Use the KME for folders.
The pull through sharpeners are awesome for sharpening cheap knifes in the field, while working on game.
I use one of them on my Morakniv companion all the time. Awesome if you happen to hit bone or use your knife to cut through the ribcage.
And if it massively reduces the life of the knife, or causes a rough edge, I don't really care. The knifes are only like 20 bucks, the carbide gets them plenty sharp enough and I regularly misplace my knifes anyways, so the reduced life will never be an issue.
You are absolute right though, in that these sharpeners are horrible for nicer knifes.
Worksharp field sharpener. It's all I use 95% of the time. Buy one, thank all those who recommend it.
I still maintain that a Smith's diamond system is still my go-to for getting a fast, consistent, hair popping edge on anything from Maxamet to s110v.
Hold the stone and knife exactly like you'd freehand with a pocket stone. IMO it's better ergonomically and safe (not driving your hand towards a blade you're not holding).
I've paid for professionals to sharpen my knives, and the edge quality is indistinguishable.
The TSPROF is some amazing engineering and provides fabulous results. Takes a big investment beyond the basic diamond stones (which do a great job). Also love bench stones From Atoma/DMT to the Japanese whetstones to the JNATs and Belgian coticles for straight razors (actually all my natural stones are razor sized but I have a set of Suehiro soaking stones which are top notch).
Looking at getting a full size 8x2 or 3 set of Arkansas as well (soft,hard and extra hard or black I think) but last thing I need to do is spend more on sharpening tools lol.
I do keep the workshop field kit in my truck tho. Comes in handy for quick maintenance
I love my Wicked edge set. Mirror edge in 5mins. They have a ton of options from diamond stones to ceramic lap film on glass and leather stops.
Got the TSProf Blitz and the Spyderco and a lot of stones to freehand. TSprof setting the edge, freehand to sharpen afterwards and Spyderco for daily touchups on kitchen knives. Pretty happy like this. 👍
Solid setup
My sharpening journey has worked its way up similar to your tier structure. I couldn’t sharpen anything freehand, so I used pull through sharpeners, which indeed are garbage, then went to lansky and a sharpmaker and started having success. Then I got an edge pro which has served me exceptionally well for over 10 years. Eventually I got good enough at freehand that I could closely match the sharpness attained with the lansky, sharpmaker and edge pro. The edge pro is still my primary sharpener for its speed and consistency.
I completely agree on the worksharp field sharpener, they are excellent. I have used one for years, and my uncle gave me another one so I keep it in my camping pack.
It’s for kitchen knives not folding knives but the chefs choice 15v triton edge sharpener does an amazing job in a matter of seconds on my chefs knives. I feel like it was worth a mention
The Tormek T1 is top of the list for kitchen knives and cleavers. The Work Sharp Kitchen Pro is also tops. I have all of these. I especially like the compound wheel on the T1 that NEVER needs loading and the diamond convex wheel.
As a noob I have bought a worksharp years ago and I still use it to this day for folding knives and works amazing. I’ll borrow some whetstones for the kitchen knives
Great content! All the best, Rob in Switzerland
I have used the work sharp angle guided sharpener and it worked excellently. I'm extremely gifted at Sharpening knives. I've used stones I've found in the deserts of Mexico to sharpen a machete. I've used antique and very pricy refining whetstones I've bought and a former family friend gave me to sharpen his knife collection. The worksharp-guided sharpener can sharpen my cold steel San Mai knives and my aus10 knife and I've used the worksharp to sharpen an older cold steel ODA San Mai vg-1 and even stronger stew knives.. that the people I've had try to sharpen my ODA as my Whetstone couldn't touch bcz of the strength of the steel. But the worksharp pocket guided diamond and ceramic that I got from my San Mai knives are super sharp again. The work sharp pocket guided sharpener is perfect for a bug out bag.
Very nice breakdown. Appreciate it!
i went from the lansky to the sharpmaker, to a precision adjust and finally to tsprof. also have a WS ken onion edition with the angle grinder attachment for larger stuff
I think you should use as a baseline sharpening your knife on the base of a ceramic mug or a car window. Seriously though for EDC pocket knives, and those on a budget, a lansky is a great place to start.
I feel as though the most important element of a good sharpener is the clamp that holds the blade. So i just made a a really nice one of those that is bullet proof. Then i use whichever of the techniques outlined above that i feel is suitable for that particular blade. Ive even modified a finger sander to use in conjunction with my rig (sometimes ya get tin-snips that are extremely hard and would take forever with a stone).
Also i will always run a marker along both edges of the blade for greater visual contrast. So i can see where i'm at with it.
Good vid. Agreed.
I have the Work Sharp Guided Field Sharpener for being away from home. I have the Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition for home. If you don't have steady hands, and you know you will never be good with wet stones, I recommend the Work Sharp Ken Onion.
I love that there's a Benchmade version of the field sharpener in case you want to spend forty bucks more on a logo.
People love paying the Benchmade tax.
Strops are king. Once I put a good edge on my knives all I have to do is periodically strop the blades with a bit of compound. For carving, I strop after every use. I love your videos. 🔪🎸
I love my worksharp precision adjust sharpener and use it when I really need to put a good edge on my knife but also keep a DC4 for in my car/backpack for anytime I need to just hone my edge back up to scary sharp. and the leather pouch can double for a strop in a pinch