I realise that most Singletrackers have a chef’s steel made of asteroid dust to sharpen their hand forged masterpieces made by a Japanese artisan who’s family have been making samurai swords for hundreds of years, but what about those of us who have some half decent knives that were a bit of a bargain at TKMaxx?

https://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/Shop/Knives-AND-Tools/Sharpeners/12644-Smiths-Two-Step-Knife-Sharpener.html

I’m a fan of these DMT diamond whetstones. My knives are not at all special , but they are bloody sharp.

[/url]image free hosting[/img]

Got one of these – http://r.ebay.com/6rxW6Y

Had it for about 4 years, works a treat. You can even pay £5 more for one with a logo on if it’ll make you feel more manly.

Google “Accusharp” I’m loathe to use mine too often as Mrs Davesport’s fingers end up covered in sticking plasters. Great for a working blade like a kitchen knife…quick and easy to use.

Same as DezB but with added logo.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AnySharp-Knife-Sharpener-PowerGrip-Blue/dp/B001DXVL6K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1482951590&sr=8-3&keywords=knife+sharpener

Just a note so I can find this later

I have one of those dmt diamond stones. Keeps my stabbers stabby.

Minosharp 3 by shinkansen, bought one twenty years ago,I like sharp knives,and easy to use.

That Fenix one is exactly the same idea as whats on a Wiltshire Staysharp carving knife I’ve had for about 25 years.
It definately works to a high degree!

This is very interesting…..

http://www.nesa.co.uk/forums/shore-fishing/135534-how-sharpen-your-filleting-knife.html

I took mine to a local butcher and said “can you sharpen these?” I can now shave with them, and he wouldn’t even accept a charity donation as payment.

If that doesn’t help, CZ to the forum….

In my head I’m homo-masculanious, stood at the head of my banquet table, showering all with a festoon of sparks as I sharpen my hand forged steel blades, in reality I’m actually using THIS one.

It works well, but above all is easy to use.

I does not matter what stone you use, within reason, but just go on you tube and learn how to sharpen them properly. The cheap diamond impregnate steels people have mentioned earlier are great and last ages.

There is a lot of tosh on YouTube , but you can get the idea pretty quickly. 🙂

Chantry:

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQyZFa2e2c4[/video]

My mum is still using the one that she got for her wedding in 1969 ( albeit with replacement steels ).

I does not matter what stone you use, within reason, but just go on you tube and learn how to sharpen them properly.

With the greatest respect, I really can’t be arsed with all that.

I’ll have a look at some of the pull-through ones mentioned, thanks chaps.

I took mine to a local butcher and said “can you sharpen these?”

Butcher nips out the back, makes a cuppa tea, drags the knives 3 times through his AnySharp. Drinks his tea. “Here you go, sir” 😀

Have always used a simple steel (30 odd years), a quick sharpen once a week or so. Have a mix of decent knives and cheapies, works well for both and has never caused a problem.

Bought one of these a couple of years ago. Uselss waste of money.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TAYLORS-EYE-WITNESS-CLASSIC-CHANTRY-KNIFE-SHARPENER-BLACK-/350956638403

Good thread this, keeping an eye out for one as well.

Global mino sharp 3 gets my vote. Will take a butter knife to razor sharpness if you so wish. Almost as good as a whetstone but with very little faff

Most steels maintain a sharp edge, not regains a ruined one. I also played with one of this any sharp thingies, seemed ultra aggressive and I felt I’d soon destroy a decent knife in one.

Tried loads of sharpening ‘gadgets’ but none seemed particaly successful at restoring the sharpness to my knives so gave in and got a whetstone…yes, takes some practice but strangely theraputic and my knives are scary sharp now 😯 😀

what about those of us who have some half decent knives that were a bit of a bargain at TKMaxx?

Then

With the greatest respect, I really can’t be arsed with all that.

If you can’t be arsed to spend a couple of minutes to learn how use a £2 tool properly then crack on, but the wipe through tools that I have seen people use shagged some good knives; not because they were crap tools, but because the person doing the sharpening did it not know what they were doing. They tend to be very coarse and take off a lot of metal. They can also cause a serration on the blade (think braking bumps on a downhill section) which gets exaggerated over time.

I teach kids of 7 upwards basic knife skills and the most basic one is to look after your knife properly. The knowledge costs nothing and you can always ignore it if you find out something better, but to not even try…..

Best of luck, but you did ask for advice and you have had some good feedback, just never use the “with greatest respect” BS when actually mean the opposite. Some of us know what you really mean 😉

Ordered one of those AnySharp thingies mentioned earlier in the thread yesterday. Arrived today and I’ve run a few knives through it. It certainly does the job, but not as well as a proper stone. It’s certainly adequate for general quick duties though, especially for the price

Lots of good suggestions, and I can’t add anything to what’s been said about getting some diamond ‘stones’, or some Japanese water stones and learning how to use them properly.
A really quick and easy system, although not cheap by any means, is the Spyderco Sharpmaker, which uses triangular ceramic rods set at an appropriate angle in a plastic base, all you do is hold the knife with the blade vertical and stroke it down the rods and towards you, alternating the sides.
Works particularly well with serrated blades:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spyderco-Tri-Angle-Sharp-Maker-Sharpener/dp/B000Q9C4AE
At £60, not cheap, but they’ll last for years, and the rods are replaceable if the edges get a bit worn.
I’ve got one I bought in LA, in 1993, still going strong, I use it for kitchen knives mostly.

i use the back step,like my mother and grandmother did. it works perfectly.

I’ve got an old steel I bought in a charity shop for a quid.

I keep thinking I should get something ‘better’, which is why I’m here, but all our knives are ****ing sharp, so I guess it’s working fine really.

(Mum’s got one of those run-through jobs, which she swears by, all her knives are blunt…)

It certainly does the job

Course it does the job. Do you think we’d say “Oh I bought this cheap piece of crap and it works well!” if it didn’t?
Mine’s used once a month or less, knives are sharp enough to slice tomatoes without squidging them.. I mean how bleedin sharp do you need a knife to be?