My dad laid carpet for a living. We used to have boxes of those green wood handled carpet knives. Kind of hawkbill shaped. He would use a long stone that resided in a metal screw down holder. Carpet dulls knives rapidly and he would sharpen them on a regular basis. They were plenty sharp and you could cut carpet or yourself equally well. They also looked like hell. Scratches all over and you could watch the blade get sharpened away. I am sure it was very soft steel.

If I had inexpensive knives that I used solely as tools I would sharpen differently than I do. I collect nice knives and I take a percentage of them and use them hard or as daily users. I only do this because I know I can return to better than factory edges.

I also sometimes do the mirror edge stuff. Not necessary, not an efficient use of my time, but I like to do it sometimes.

Guided sharpeners aren't for everyone. My buddies are happy with the Milwaukee brand knife that uses box cutter blades. He isn't wrong. It is fast, cheap, and cuts like a laser. I would never carry that daily, I like a nice pocket knife.

Guided systems make a very sharp edge, they are clean edges, and it is very repeatable. Hand sharpening is much more of a skill that you have to stay on top of to equal the guided stuff. I like to cheat. lol Guided is cheating.

I've been using whetstones for awhile now and have gotten pretty good at it. It does take practice, and can be a bit frustrating, but once you have it down it's fairly easy to get a hair popping mirror edge in just a few minutes. There's also plenty of Youtube videos to show good technique.

I picked up a set (220-1000-2000-5000) of Shapton Pro whetstones the other day and am simply amazed by them. Realistically, your average person could easily get by with a 220 and 1000 and maybe a strop. That'll get you a quick and easy razor edged knife.

I really wish I hadn't spent hundreds if not $1000+ on various guided set-ups that, frankly, I just don't like. I haven't cared for my Wicked Edge since the first time I used it. It's fine for a short stiff bladed knife, but it allows too much blade flex for anything else...which included pretty much any kitchen knife beyond a parer. I'll be selling mine soon.

Do it the old fashioned way. It's cheaper and a whole lot more satisfying.

I’ve tried quite a few sharpeners over the years and as have others have pointed out, the options and costs are almost endless.

Whetstones can be a challenge without a lot of practice (and frustration).

At the low end of the Wicked Edge pricing is the GO model. I only use it when I want to reprofile a blade.

For general sharpening I’ve found it hard to beat the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Other ceramic ‘V’ sharpeners work well too but the Spyderco comes with two different roughness sets of rods making it a decent value.

All that said, spend about $25 on a leather strop with polishing compounds (I have the type mounted on a wooden paddle). I use it for daily (as needed) touching up of edges and at the end of a reprofiling/sharpening routine. The first time I used the strop I was very surprised by how much sharper it would make an already ‘shaving sharp’ edge. Although now I test edges on thin phonebook type paper. Old Natchez Shooter’s Supply catalogs are the closest thing I’ve found to phonebook paper.

When they introduced the WE GO model I think they asked $150. I wanted to try it and potentially gift it. I bought 2. I still haven’t gifted the second one and I use the hell out of the first.

Gustofer isn’t wrong. Kitchen knives are more of a challenge due to length and flex. That being said, my wife is hell on kitchen blades. Laundry list of complaints include putting them in the dishwasher in the silverware basket, yea, she does that. Ugh. She also stores them jumbled together in a drawer. She will cut on ceramic plates. She used to have glass cutting boards. Who makes glass cutting boards?

So I put minimum effort into keeping them sharp. It’s pointless. At best I do the 220 then 600 and it’s a very workable edge.

My sharpeners are for my knives. I really don’t GAS about kitchen knives. Sometimes in the kitchen I will pull out my pocket knife if I need sharp.

I am amazed at the prices these guided systems ask. $150 was a steal. Of course good stones aren’t cheap either. Sharpening in general isn’t cheap.

I have learned a couple things from my WE which I prefer over my Edge Pro by a large margin (even though the EP puts equally good edges just takes longer and is messier). I used to clamp my Go down. I have discovered with pretty much all of my pocket knives that is unnecessary. Which means I can sharpen anywhere. I merely put it on top of any non slippery surface and away I go. The other thing I learned was that I need to listen to instructions. Once I went back to “get a burr along the entire edge before switching sides” it became childlike easy. I would get lazy and ignore the basics. Stupid. Once I figured out they know way more than I do it became easy, and pretty fast, to get laser edges. Plus, I find the better the edge the longer it stays sharp and the easier to strop back into shape.

Who knew? I do know I don’t have the patience or skills to do whetstones by hand. I wish I did but I’m too easily distracted by shiny.

I always wonder if it’s me when someone mentions the Spyderco Sharpmaker. I have owned 2 and still have one. I never found it be a very good system. I struggled to not round the tips. I struggled on any blade that needed a lot of work. I hate the Sharpmaker. Maybe I will pull it out again to refresh my memory. If WE sold a guided system for a “human” price I would be all over it. $500 to sharpen a Buck knife seems like a bad tradeoff.

I have the Ken Onion version of the WorkSharp, and have been very satisfied with it.

I can use a whetstone, but doing so for kitchen knives irritates me, and I usually need "sharp" faster that that.

Once I got a good edge on my knives with the fine belt on the WorkSharp, I changed over to the ultra fine, (I think its 5000 grit) belt and just use that to polish the edges. 2 or three strokes per side, and the knife is a razor again.

Since the Ken Onion version has an angle guide, it's also easy to tune the edge angle to your preference or type of work the knife is designed for.

I bought a knife from Scott McGhee, https://www.guineahogforge.com/ one of the few master blade smiths in the country,who appeared on Forged in Fire a few years ago. He recommended the Spyderco knife sharpening system. He only uses this for any sharpening needs in his shop. I bought one and it’s what he claims it is. https://www.spyderco.com/catal...e-Sharpmaker-reg-/77

Holy shit! I looked at that link. The Spydie Sharpmaker goes for $127 now. Yikes. That is a crazy ass price for a plastic base, 2 thin metal rods and 2 sets of stones.

I also have trouble believing that guy. I think there is a missing element in his story. No way is a knife maker merely using a Sharpmaker when he sharpens his newly made knives. It would take a week to get an edge off of the coarse stone. Nobody reprofiles off a Sharpmaker more than once. lol. It would take forever. He has to run it on a belt or something like that. Just looking at his website makes me call bs on his "I only use the Sharpmaker in my shop" claim. Look at his bevels. Those aren't off a Sharpmaker, which has 2 angles. That's it.

True , he didn’t initially use the spyderco to put an edge on his blades. I watched him work for about 30 minutes. He uses the shapener for touching up edges on knives he uses. I bought the sharpener system a few years back and, of course, the price wasn’t as high. I bought one for each of my three sons and they have loved the sharpeners for their chef and carry knives. No doubt there are many other stones and systems. I have washita stones and whet stones as well as a Smith sharpener. The Spyderco is quick and easy and removes just enough to get a sharp edge without messing up my blades. It easily keeps the bevel angle during sharpening. Just my opinion. I also have great respect for Scott McGhee and his amazing blade work.

Yes his work is very nice.

My goal has always been simple. I want to use a knife as hard or as easy as whatever is required. Then I want to return the knife to a factory edge or as I have discovered usually a better than factory edge. Not only in sharpness but also in appearance. I dislike unequal bevels and whatnot. The guided systems are the only way I can accomplish that. I wish I could do it freehand but alas I cannot. GB does a fantastic job but honestly with the better guided systems my wife could put a mirror edge on a knife. They are as close to foolproof as you can get. At least for pocket knife sized blades.