Sharpening my woodworking tools is still one of those new things for me. I have a Bench Grinder in the shop but it doesn’t have any guides and so I’ve messed up a few cheapo chisels as I’m learning how to use it. Two questions for you. How does a bench grinder compare against these? Would any of these options be a suitable or easier option for sharpening tools?
Thank you so much for this review, it is very helpful. There is one thing I would love to see added though, and that is video demonstration. Especially for the Bee Sharp (I have one)–I’m such a neophyte in the knife sharpening area that it would be really helpful to be sure I’m doing it right.
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Have hope, There are some “corrected” men out.
I got this to do my wife’s cutlery:
About once a quarter, I break it out and she get sharp knives.
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I have had pretty good luck with the diamond whetstones from DMT (start with the blue/course, and work up to a green/fine). Not the little handheld 4" ones, but the larger ones. You have to keep it continuously wet with water, and yes, I do clean it per the instructions to prevent clogging. And super important to dry it afterwards or the steel dust will rust over time, and that can cause an irreversible clog. Over time you learn to get the angle to the stone just right and keep it over the curve of the blade. And my wife is super picky, and she does the carving (being the surgeon) on meats, as she is used to a scalpel. The problem is she is used to disposable scalpel blades, so doesn’t think twice about cutting into bones (since in the OR you just throw that blade away after hitting bone - heck the blade we use to cut the skin is a single use blade, as in we cut the skin and then it’s done!). Luckily she hasn’t been throwing the Whustofs away after each cut…
Now I only sharpen knives in the kitchen and my Bucks, which I can get razor sharp, but I would love a really good description of how to sharpen tools (primarily chisels) as I don’t really know the technique (I have taken a ding out of a blade, but that was a fix, rather than primary flatten and sharpen)
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I would never use my bench grinder to sharpen anything because if whatever it gets too hot it is ruined. That is a danger even with a belt grinder but less so than a bench grinder.
Lots of different ways to sharpen tools but let me throw out two things. I am not as much of any expert on tool sharpening as some, I’ve become mostly knowledgeable on knives. Anyway, no matter what you are sharpening, the key is a consistent angle. So for lots of shop tools that means making a guide of some type to hold that angle, very much like sharpening knives. Some type of totally flat plate and sandpaper works great for all kinds of shop tools. I use a piece of glass as my plate but a stone counter top would work well as well.
Just glue the sandpaper on the plate and you have a sharpener.
Lots of videos on this on YouTube.
There is a video, but it is so bad that I am reluctant t post the link but if I can’t laugh at myself by now…
You can go to about 14 min. to start actual instruction.
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I struggled with sharpening for a long time. I now use a guide bar system and get moderately satisfactory results. It’s still not easy to use and I haven’t figured out how to get the best out of it. Inevitably, if I move to the finest stones, I seem to make the edge worse, so I stop after the medium stone and call it good.
For my nicest knives, I won’t sharpen them myself at all. I take them to a local specialty knife shop.
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Well, I’ve been doing it wrong…but I still got some sharp knives out of the deal! Chuckle!
(Seriously, remind me to snag a few wooden ones and a couple of the babies later…) 
Or better yet, when you’ve got a few really cool looking wooden ones set aside, shoot me a note and I’ll send you some bucks… and quit tempting me when I’m swamped!
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I love the work sharp, hate the lansky
Yup. I was doing it wrong! Or at least, differently from the ways you showed. I still got the knives sharper but these methods look a lot easier. Thanks so much for showing us!
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@Jules @cynd11 like long division, if you are getting sharp knives I can’t say that you are doing it wrong. Maybe a non preferred method?
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Thank you! I don’t spend much time with tools, but I have a pocket knife I got a long time ago that I use nearly everyday. I’ve always thought about getting a sharpener for it, but never really looked into it much. The only times it ever gets sharpened are when I happen to be somewhere that I can pay a few bucks for someone to sharpen it for me, and that’s not nearly as often as it should be. This was very helpful and I’ll be making a new purchase soon! Thank you.
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I have also had a long standing fascination with knife sharpeners. My list doesn’t overlap with Mark Evans’, so I thought I’d share.
Spyderco Sharpmaker: very easy to use, just hold the knife vertically and stroke through. Has two different angles, two different grades of ceramic stones, and you can use the corners or the flats of the stones. Very gentle on knives, but then if they are very dull it will take forever.
https://www.amazon.com/Spyderco-Tri-Angle-Sharpmaker-Sharpener-204MF/dp/B000Q9C4AE
AccuSharp knife sharpener: tried it because it was recommended by Cook’s Illustrated. Extremely easy to use, just pull it over your blade. Very aggressive and not adjustable. You can see the metal shavings it leaves after use. Better than having a dull knife, but maybe keep it away from your nice ones.
https://www.amazon.com/AccuSharp-ACCU-001C-001-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B00004VWKQ
EdgePro: easier to use than jig systems that require you to clamp your blade. You can move the knife around as you sharpen so that it is easy to get to all of the edges on knives of all sizes. Fully adjustable for angle, and depending on the model, comes with a few, some, or a ton of grits. Very good, but also quite expensive.
https://www.amazon.com/Edge-Pro-Apex-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B00BH17XAG
Japanese waterstones: Old school. I have a set of 1000, 6000, and 8000 grit stones. Practice is required, unless you use a clamped angle guide, like the Razor Edge guide, which can be difficult to mount and adjust. There are also some slip-on ones that are very cheap, which I haven’t tried. Only recommended if you’re super into it. Youtube videos can help with technique, I prefer the ones with old Japanese chefs.
I have several other ones, but these are the ones I have kept and can recommend. AccuSharp for cheap knives where you just don’t care, EdgePro if you can justify the price and want to be able to deal with any knife, waterstones if you have an afternoon and can justify the hours of practice, and the SharpMaker for quick maintenance. The BeeSharp in the original post also looks good for that, in that the sloped shape will help you maintain an angle. Either one is far better than a sharpening steel of any sort, which a) does not sharpen knives, just straightens the edge, and b) only if you use it correctly, which is super difficult.
Just for completeness, I will note that Cook’s Illustrated recommends the Chef’s Choice Trizor for electric knife sharpeners. I’ve had a Chef’s Choice, but I prefer the manual sharpeners.
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i’ve always used wetstones.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003J7QXGQ/
I use it on a tv tray while i watch TV. pull out a pile of knives a couple of times a year and it takes a while, but i’m multitasking.
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I have a Chinese clone of one of the units that clamps the knife to keep a fixed angle between the knife and the stone, which is the part that moves. I also purchased a variety of high quality US stones to use with it, from recommendations found in forum discussions.
I find it easy to get a knife back to “sharp” but when I try to reach “stupid sharp” I inevitably find that at some point I start making things worse. Even the guided units take practice, and despite my efforts, I have not really become fully proficient.
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A course edge can sometimes feel sharper than a very fine edge, because it creates micro-serrations which give it a tooth.
If you feel that’s not what is happening with you, try increasing the sharpening angle by a few degrees for the final few stones. This will create a microbevel and ensure that you are working the edge, and not the entire width of the bevel. Use a light touch and don’t overdo it; it’s like sanding, most of the work is done by the course grits.
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Thanks, I will try that next time.
Despite that issue I still found much more success than with purely manual methods. I never learned to use a stone well, and when I try I pretty much turn pocket knives into putty knives.
Yes! Look at the design of a shark tooth, evolution hasn’t changed that in 50 million years - because the design is at its apex.
Waiting in line at a register somewhere, I picked up a diamond block that felt kind of coarse and stroked my leatherman blade on it a few times. Next time I used it I was astounded! It was very fine serrations that gave it a killer edge. I had never had any edge including a new razor blade cut like that.
Had a friend ask if I had a knife, and I gave it to him to trim a rug pad. he came back in a few minutes with his eyes open wide and handed it back and said “That thing is a deadly weapon!”
Of course it depends on what you need a blade for, you wouldn’t want to shave with that thing.
Yeah, I would use porcelain for a finish on an edge. I Think @markevans36301 is a coarser porcelain for fast cutting.
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This is correct. I have made a few mini sharpeners with a very fine ceramic and people have loved them. If I can ever find that ceramic again I’ll buy a lot of it.
My regular sharpener is what I call a best compromise. Corse enough to sharpen anything shy of chipped but fine enough to give you a very good working edge.
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