Got one coming - sharpworx master 2 - bought some stones off bestsharpeningstones.com (diamond) - we will see

^^^ this is what I did - got the Sharpal diamond 325/1200 he recommended from Amazon & watched his videos over & over … smallgame is correct - you have to lock your wrists & hold the angle solid … i take a permanent marker & mark a spot on my thumb & corresponding spot on my pointer finger to make sure my angle is correct on each side & same place on the spine of the blade … i started with our kitchen knives before moving on to my pocket knives …

OUTDOORS55 also has a DIY strop video - we have a bunch of leather straps from horse saddles that I used … i don’t load mine with compound - if you follow his technique to minimize the burr on the 325 stone there won’t be a whole lot left to strop off …

our knives now are very sharp & the ones with better steel are holding their edge well

I’m an outdoorsman, and all my uncles and pawpaw could sharpen a knife on a brick…
I can’t with high dollar stuff. I suck at it. Idk why.
Find the best price on these and buy you 3-4. These work for getting a knife sharp quick. Deer knife or kitchen knife. 5-6 passes and it’ll peel a tomato or a deer.
https://radakitchenstore.com/products/quick-edge-knife-sharpener

Knife sharpening is a talent I didn't inherit either. Have one of the RADA sharpeners and their carving/deboning knife as part of my deer processing set and it really works well for being so simple. Been using the same set for 20 years.

The trick to sharpening a knife is start with a good knife that can be easily resharpened. Don’t let the edge get ruined. A good sharp knife and a F, Dick polished steel go hand in hand. All my good Victorinox and F. Dick knives have never needed to be passed on a stone yet. I keep the edge in place with the steel constantly and they get used all the time. I’m sure it won’t be long before I’ll have to pass them on the stone. When that time comes, I use a 3 sided wet rock. A few passes on the medium stone then the fine and then back to maintaining the edge with the steel.

What i do. I keep a tiny victornox pocket steel handy also, lots of folks go grabbing for a stone when it's not necessary 🤷🏾‍♂️

Fella, I can go as slow as molasses in winter time, at an exact 20 deg angle and make the knife duller than it was when I started.
I bought a nice honing rod or two at Smokey mountain knives and thought, yeah this’ll do it….. nope.

a good, hard arkansas stone, wet/dry sandpaper from 400 to 1500 grit, green polishing compound, and a leather strop glued to a flat surface; add a good video, and practice. it ain't that hard. really.

😄

Any old pull through carbide an a filament from at least a 1000watt sodium flood will do you right

Best advice I ever got was on here: Use pressure like you were taking off a Pat of butter.

Straight from the fridge or after sitting out a bit

Friends don’t let friends use carbide on good knives!!!

The Lansky system has worked very well on my blades for decades now. Sold an Esee 3 online once and the fellow that bought it couldn't believe how sharp it was.

Wait

Why?

I have a filament tube I use as the last step usually or finish with ceramic gadget

I've always sucked at it too. I've got a workshop, warthog, rada, various stones and the spyderco sharpmaker. I still use the rada and warthog some, but the sharpmaker makes me feel like I'm an expert!! Well worth the money.

Carbide pull through sharpeners will make a knife cut but it really destroys the blade. It removes lots of metal and makes a very rough edge. I used to use them before I before I started buying quality knives. Heck a carbide sharpener was the only thing that would make the old cheap knives I had cut.

this is an “ideal” scenario - no question - but is not always possible with vintage knives or ones that have been used & never sharpened, which is what I was confronted with … in my case, OUTDOORS55’s method was the easiest & quickest way to get a new sharp edge on our knives & in effect “repair” bad sharpening technique or actual damage to the edge (like nicks & chips) … the 325 diamond stone worked great for re-profiling an apex again on those beat-up kitchen & vintage knives

but you are 100% correct - on my new RAT2’s & Spyderco PM3, i’ve taken very good care of them & a simple “touch-up” is all that’s needed

I love to sharpen any tool that cuts. Just makes me happy to see one that will cut like it’s supposed too.

ya - i gotta say - it was very gratifying to put a great edge back on my old Ulster BSA knife I used in the 1980’s - I could tell I sucked at sharpening back then as a kid 🤣🤷🏻‍♂️