Beginner To Advanced Knife Sharpeners That Actually Work - And What To Avoid

Knife sharpeners in this video. Beginner to advanced⬇️

Affiliate links⬇️⬆️
As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
(FULL PERSONAL disclosure below)

DO NOT BUY THESE⬇️
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Worksharp MK2 review⬇️

Powered knife sharpener thing, review⬇️

Tumbler rolling knife sharpener review⬇️

KME fixed angle sharpener review⬇️

Sharp pebble sharpening stone review⬇️

SHARPAL diamond stone review⬇️

Cheap pull through knife sharpener review⬇️

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Best VALUE diamond sharpening stone⬇️

A CHEAP $20 diamond stone (you don’t need this is you buy the value stone)⬇️

Ceramic splash and go stones I LOVE⬇️

MY FAVORITE OF ALL TIME BUT VERY EXPENSIVE⬇️ (get these for super steels)
Get the 400 and 1200. Don’t buy a coarser one, a cheap diamond will work better for profiling.

A fixed angle system I recommend⬇️

Strop compound (I recommend anywhere from 1-6 micron. 1 micron if using a 3k+ stone, and 3-6 If using a 400-3k stone.⬇️

How to sharpen a knife in 5 minutes⬇️

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SOME of my Camera Equipment ⬇️
Some (not all) of my close up lenses)⬇️
Microphone ⬇️

Photos camera for close ups⬇️

These are Amazon affiliated links.
As an amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Personal statement⬇️

As an affiliate, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you.

Recommendations, comments, and criticisms, are based on personal experience with products.

At this time, (time of video upload, subject to change) I am NOT sponsored (under contract) by any company, but may, or may not, receive commissions / payments after the fact. I pride myself in honest reviews, and everything said in my reviews / videos is my opinion, based on my knowledge and opinion at the time. And with personal experience, with the products, or Services mentioned. All my reviews, and videos are my opinions on the subjects discussed.
Thanks
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CHAPTERS
00:00 INTRO and ranking system
00:55 WE MUST TALK ABOUT THIS FIRST!
02:36 SHARPENER #1 LEAST SKILL REQUIRED who are they for, and what to avoid.
06:04 Sharpener #2 Are rolling sharpeners any good, who are they for, and what to avoid.
08:31 Sharpener #3 Are fixed angle systems any good, who are they for and what to avoid.
11:25 Sharpener #4 Freehand who is it for, and what to avoid. ITS NOT THAT HARD if you know what to get!

All music from Epidemic sound. A paid subscription Service.

[OUTDOORS]

Knife sharpeners in this video I recommend, Beginner to advanced⬇ Check Description for video links mentioned, and products to AVOID AT ALL COSTS!😬

Affiliated links
As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

[Rigel_Z]

I would love a video where you sit down with a total noob and guide them through sharpening a kitchen knife on the sharpall from dull. There's so many little mistakes that a pro can have a hard time remembering and seeing the learning process would likely help get people up to speed faster.

[retta]

I'm so honored that you made a video to answer my question! Thank you so much! This was so helpful. I think i like the freehand method with stones the best. I have been practicing with them since i posted my question and getting good results so far. I'm going to order a better stone, probably the Sharpal and a strop.
Do you have videos on sharpening garden tools?

[pawel]

Dude, your first 2-3 min feel like the intro to either the best knife documentary ever or the most technically aggressive sales pitch on earth. I dig it. I would now officially like to petition for "the sharpening knife documentary" when you're feeling up to it.

[nickschroeder]

I've been freehand sharpening for years. I always had "meh" to "okay" results until I started watching your videos. After I learned about creating, locating, and removing the bur it changed everything. I can now get shave sharp knives within minutes. This includes my 940-1 with S90V steel. Thank you for putting out content that is educational and entertaining.

[mouseherald]

I've been watching your videos for a while now, sharpening now and again when I felt like it. Just a few days ago I whittled my first hair and it felt great.

[livewire]

I have had the Work Sharp Onion about 2 weeks and combined with 60 years of Knife sharpening I finally have a system that allows me the get Outstanding results on Knives, Tomahawks, Axes, and even Serrated blades. Order extra Belts if ordering the Work Sharp. My stropping leather is a 1/4 inch by 3 and a half inch belt. I sharpened my CRKT hand ax razor sharp in minutes. Scary sharp. That impressed me the most. I use your stropping technique and it's definitely stepping up the Game Results. Also, Flattening your stones often is a major maintenance factor Great Stuff

[rekire___]

Perhaps the best sharpener is the one we made along the way

[dogstar]

I use Japanese water stones for my knives and Japanese chisels. Scary polished sharp, like a mirror. I spend a couple of hours in the garden with a beer sharpening stuff twice a year. It’s therapeutic getting it perfect. I’m a carpenter of 30 years. Sharpening is an art.

[johnglenncsardas]

I went through a phase where I bought the stones, tried many times to learn the skills, watched many videos including yours, which are good, but I gave up. I found a local place that sharpens knives, scissors, axes, etc. they also build belt sharpening machines. I drop them off and get back results I old never ever get at home no matter how much I spent. Your videos are by far the best in the knife sharpening YT world. So, well done, now I know what kind of knife person I am (not). Just one person’s experience.

[KristinaCMigo]

When I was looking into buying my first sharpening system for my knives, I was thinking of a fixed sharpening system like the Lansky. But coming across your videos made me want to learn how to freehand sharpen, and now I can't imagine sharpening my knives any other way! I have a DMT Extra Coarse diamond stone; three Shapton Kuromaku stones in 1000, 2000, and 5000 grit; and two strops, one with 6 micron diamond paste and one with 3 micron diamond paste. It has been very rewarding for me to learn how to sharpen any knife at home from kitchen knives to pocket knives. My biggest accomplishment in sharpening so far is sharpening my Buck knife that has a Magnacut blade! Thank you for all that you do to educate us all about knife sharpening!

[couriersec]

A few years ago I decided I wanted to learn to sharpen properly and bought a 50 diary at of water stones, green stropping compound and a chunk of leather.
Got a hold of a bunch of totally wrecked knives and kinda went to town. I was so frustrated because my results were all over the place. A few I got to be totally serviceable some I just couldn't get to do anything useful and that was that. I've revisited a few times and picked up since inexpensive diamond stones since and had way better results but I haven't had the motivation to really dig in like I did originally. The but of success I have found I attribute to the nuggets of info I've picked up from your videos asking the way. Especially some of your older ones. Always happy to see you in my feed. Never watched a video of yours that I felt wasn't useful.

[Mr.Suave]

The combination of 3 years of knife lore put into 1 video.💯

[dirtyketchup]

Alright, I'm going to go ahead and make my case here for the fixed angle sharpeners (lengthy comment warning). First I will start off by agreeing with you: yes they do take more time. I admit that it sucks having to take out my system and assemble it and get everything set up just right. However, the vast majority of people who are interested in sharpening are not your ultra sharpening nerds; they are people who just think it would be valuable to be able to sharpen the handful of blades that they have in their lives. For me, those are essentially kitchen tools, mostly the knives, and occasionally the mandolin and meat grinder blades.

But here's why I will still stick with my fixed angle system and put up with the time investment. First of all, the time argument for the average person is negligible, as we commoners will only sharpen a handful of knives a couple times a year. Besides, learning the skill of free-hand sharpening will also cost you a LOT of time, but it won't just stop there. It will also cost your knives a lot, too. The process of learning to sharpen will take a heavy toll on your knives. Sure, you could argue that you can mitigate this by practicing on cheaper knives, but once you graduate to nicer knives, you will have to relearn your techniques over again once you realize how different steels respond to the same stone, and you'll start all over, experimenting with techniques until you find what works best for that knife. After learning everything that I have in my knife-sharpening journey, there is no way in hell I am ever going to trust myself free hand with a $300+ knife.

I almost lost my mind trying to learn free-hand sharpening. There were just so many variables to account for. One of the most frustrating was dealing with curved tips and bellies on larger kitchen knives; achieving the correct angle with free-hand means you need to significantly change your geometry as you reach these areas, or you risk flattening out the curve or missing the apex entirely. I watched many youtube channels trying to explore different techniques to account for this, all the while, my poor knives were paying the price for my inconsistencies. It's very difficult to develop a muscle memory when you don't trust the results you're getting. It stopped being worth it because I wasn't after some sort of pride that comes with artisanal craftsmanship; I just wanted properly-maintained tools without having to ship my knife out and begrudgingly dish out a chunk of change. I wanted the freedom and pleasure to be able to use my knives with reckless abandon, without the constant fear of consuming my edge too quickly. So why was I faffing around adding so many unnecessary variables?

Once I got myself a truly cheap Ruixin fixed angle sharpener ($35) with upgraded 4” DMT blue diamond stone ($15), my understanding of knife sharpening completely blossomed. By isolating the variable of angle consistency, I was able to explore the effects of different techniques:
- The sawing method
- The swiping method
- Edge-leading strokes
- Edge-trailing strokes
- Micro-bevels
- Coarse grit
- Polished vs unpolished edges
- Light vs firm pressure
- Soft vs hard steel
- Burrs vs a wire edge
I even bought a $20 digital microscope so I could better understand what I was doing (another invaluable suggestion, albeit a rabbit hole). Believe it or not, those crappy Ruixin sharpeners (with a decent diamond stone) can form a very pro edge if you know how to set it up correctly and consistently, and now I am able to give my most heavily used kitchen knives a very respectable edge a few times a year. There is no way in hell I was ever going to figure all of this out so rapidly if I didn't have the confidence to know that my angles were perfectly and consistently dialed in.

Now, I am not saying that there is no value in learning the free-hand skill; I am a perfectionist who absolutely loves honing a craft. But for the average person, knives are a tool, and the process of sharpening is not part of the journey for them. For those people who are like me, I strongly recommend finding a fixed angle system that doesn't break the bank, and learning the grinding techniques to give yourself the gift of professional quality edges on your own terms. No matter what system/method you choose, there will still be a break-in learning period, but I think the most efficient way past this is with a fixed-angle setup. This way you can rule out the most difficult variable: human inconsistency.

[whiskybar]

I can only agree. I tried everything and I bought one of the diamond stones but was too afraid to use it. I botched so many edges with electric and other systems and this knife beyond kitchen dull was sitting in front of me. I watched your video again to my surprise - it finally worked! I'm so happy... and you're right, the freehand is fast! Maybe I got lucky but this is the way folks.

[MrGsteele]

Outstanding contribution to the dialog on "sharpening for the common man." That's why I subscribed ages ago, and am glad I did. This is good, practical, and aimed at the needs of the majority of people like your letter-writer. "I just want sharp knives in my kitchen to cut food with; I don't have to split atoms." Great. Thanks for this.

[kxrsuperstar]

Love the special edits in your latest videos man.

[DamirUlovec]

Like also for being honest with Yugo. The Yugo also had a rear window heater, to warm the hands of those pushing it in the winter days.

[DarthCiliatus]

I think I finally have figured out that my perpetual failure to sharpen a knife freehand is because I've only ever tried the cheap aluminum oxide stones since that's what stores in my area stock and I don't like online ordering.

[DavidSwarthout]

What a gem of a video. I've sharpened my own knives free-hand for 60 years and have always wondered about the other systems you cover here. I live in 3 places so cannot afford to have an expensive sharpening system in each of those places so I carry with me in my suitcase a set of light, portable diamond stones. These sharpeners are decent but I've seldom if ever gotten a blade that I would call super sharp with them.

Thanks for the information and the motivation to get better at sharpening.

PS: I got a few really good laughs out of this video too and that's worth almost as much as the advice.