cutlery Best knife sharpener?

i have used dozens of sharpeners over my lifetime and I'll say most are functional.....  to me the root of the problem is poor quality steel in the knives you are purchasing or are available. 
 
I am basically a cleaver guy as I prefer cleavers to butcher knives as I tend to find them with better quality steel which holds an edge and sharpens easily.   The funny thing is I have an expensive Cleaver but I most often use a cheap brand from "Kiwi" brand knives and cleavers.   They are super cheap and hold an edge and very easy to sharpen.  I first bought one at a Thai Grocery I frequent and I ended up buying many different models of this brand. 
 
Just my two cents. 
 
 
 
I still use my Knives from the 80's :D
 
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Edmick said:
 
Geez louise thats a spicey meatball!
 
The cleaver I ordered is coming from Pakistan from what I grock.
 
And yes, some damascus will be done better than others.
 
That one though....
 
For that amount of money I would expect nothing less than the maker pounding that steel out with his own dick!
 
And with a certificate and official photographs.
 
Depends on what the the job and the steel.  I can completely debone/fat/sinew and package a deer with a Victornox and honing steel without.  Takes me 45 min or so but there are youtube vids doing it in 8 min.  With a steady hit of the hone before it gets to dull that knife usually never needs anything else. 
 
When a hunting knife gets dull from gutting and ribcage it will need a 3 sided stone, oil and belt.
 
Kitchen knives cutting board, especially bamboo or hard plastic take the most abuse and are hardest to get the proper angle/edge back.
 
Any other sharpeners are just overpriced gimmicks that don't last IMO.
 
I have a waterstone setup, if you go that route don't forget to get a lapping/flattening stone for waterstone maintainance. Also a nagura stone is a good investment if you buy fairly hard stones, way easier to work up a good slurry on your wetstone using a nagura.

Lansky is a good system, similar to the Spyderco but less expensive. On the other end of the spectrum I have never heard anyone that has an edge pro system complain. Very low learning curve for excellent results.

http://www.edgeproinc.com/
 
Buzzman19 said:
i have used dozens of sharpeners over my lifetime and I'll say most are functional.....  to me the root of the problem is poor quality steel in the knives you are purchasing or are available. 
 
I am basically a cleaver guy as I prefer cleavers to butcher knives as I tend to find them with better quality steel which holds an edge and sharpens easily.   The funny thing is I have an expensive Cleaver but I most often use a cheap brand from "Kiwi" brand knives and cleavers.   They are super cheap and hold an edge and very easy to sharpen.  I first bought one at a Thai Grocery I frequent and I ended up buying many different models of this brand. 
 
Just my two cents. 
 
 
We use the kiwi vegetable cleaver all the time lol. Its the best bang for the buck and if it drops who cares :)
 
BTW- I have several nice vegetable cleavers between $40- $100. But these are our everyday go to ones.
 
Most of the time I use a good old 2 sided whetstone, then I touch them up with a ceramic tube that used to be a light bulb. Like TB said I have also used cardboard (not corrugated kind but inside of cereal box type). I guess it all depends on if you want barber sharp or butcher sharp. Merry Christmas to all !!!!!!


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I've been using Japanese water stones plus a diamond plate for flattening them, and a leather strop with honing compound.  But I recently started to use a 1" belt sander.  Got to take care not to overheat the edge, but it works great.  Have belts from 320 to 1000 grit and even a leather belt.  Kind of overkill but much quicker than the water stones for me.  There are several videos on the process on Youtube.  I use this Rikon but Harbor Freight sells one that's about half the price at $55.  
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I have the one from harbor freight. I might give it a try on some of my cheaper knives to see how it works first. I really like the wet stone idea but I know it takes some skill to get the angles right.
 
Edmick said:
I have the one from harbor freight. I might give it a try on some of my cheaper knives to see how it works first. I really like the wet stone idea but I know it takes some skill to get the angles right.
 
 
if you do go with the water stones watch these  videos a few times first .   Bob Kramer knows about knives, and what he shows in these vids is all you really need to know about water stones to get a great working edge.  
 
I am sure those stones he uses in the vids are awesome but the technique works just as well with the stones I picked up a Lee Valley tools for considerably less money, although I do have to soak mine in water for about 10 mins before I use them. 
https://youtu.be/kFhMGJYhYpU
 
SavinaRed said:
We use the kiwi vegetable cleaver all the time lol. Its the best bang for the buck and if it drops who cares :)
 
BTW- I have several nice vegetable cleavers between $40- $100. But these are our everyday go to ones.
 

The Kiwi Vegetable Cleaver is my favorite also, I am the same and use it everyday.  I usually dont even bother and pull out my expensive Cleaver anymore.
 
These Kiwi Brand knives and cleavers are so easy to sharpen as well.  
 
Ashen said:
I have a waterstone setup, if you go that route don't forget to get a lapping/flattening stone for waterstone maintainance. Also a nagura stone is a good investment if you buy fairly hard stones, way easier to work up a good slurry on your wetstone using a nagura.

 
 
I love this guy.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6czVKkIz3Us
 
I actually came up with a pretty good way to get a razor edge. I took a ceramic sharpening rod from my lanske sharpening set and put it in a drill. Just run the knife over it like you would a honer and the result is a very very very sharp knife. Theres two different rods too. One coarse and the other fine. Works great.
 
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