sharpening with any method takes practice. sharpmaker is pretty [censored] easy, though.

the heat issue that people cite with sanders is blown way out of proportion. then again, everything in the knife enthusiast world is blown out of proportion. rust, lateral strength, carbon content, spine thickness, weight distribution, lock strength, point of origin...

Of the Lansky type systems the best is meant to be Edge Pro. A number of small but good custom knife makers here use them. There is a guy Frenchy over here who has some nice bushcraft knives and he rates them highly. I think Unsub has got an Edge Pro so maybe he can chip in.....

I am suprised you have worn out a Lansky stone though.....I have their "very coarse" diamond stone which I use for re-profiling....compared to how rough it was when I first got it....it is pretty smooth now....but not worn out...and that has re-profiled a lot of edges.

I tend to use a combination of three now....I reprofile accurately on the Lansky....then use a marker to make sure I am not removing the fine edge I put on the re-profile and take the blade to a belt sander just to convex off the V grind by rounding the edge profile not necessarily going for a sharpening to the pinnacle...just curving the edge like on a secondary grind to thin it out...and I check the marker to see if I have rolled over the pinnacle...if I have then I use a leather paddle and green buffing compound to bring back the razor edge but this time it is "convexed" and should last for the lifetime of the knife if you top up the use on the edge by frequent paddle stropping.

This seems to work best for me. Trying to get a "razor sharp" edge on the sander by changing belts etc was doable but it removes a lot more metal than I want to and it is very "hit and miss" for me on the "razor" aspect because you can roll over the edge...but the paddle is excellent and you can easily use this to bring it back.

Most of this I got from HD on what he does....he does'nt re-profile though on a Lansky....but goes straight to the belt sander....for me I like to know the angles on the edges before convexing....I think the liklihood of putting too thin an edge on the blade is too high if I did'nt go this route.

So far it works a treat....the paddle and compound was the missing bit or the last bit I added to the regime....cannot recommend this enough....so easy to get an amazing polished razor edge. Beats using light strokes on a Sharpmaker by a mile which is what I used to do.

Great memory Bruce!

Edge Select Chef's Choice 120 <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Stone one,a re-grind and re-set of a edge.

Stone two,a true sharpener a few strokes after abusing my Dog Father and it's razor sharp again.

Stone three,isn't. It is a diamond felt pad that takes off the wire edge from two or quick touches up a blade.Also re-brightens the edge on any serrated edges.

Mine is three years and 91 knives old. Works like brand new. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Around a hundred bucks or so. Well worth every penny for me.
I could no more sharpen a knife than perform brain tumor removals. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" />

This machine made me a master of skin splitting edges. I have the scars and band aids to prove it! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />


Peace.

Now that's what I call a true testimonial and endorsement! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

I've looked at those seriously myself, but I like a little more freedom in creating just the right edge myself. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I may just have to get a Chef's Choice someday just to see how good they are. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

i like to use lots of diffrent sharpner like dmt stones,spyderco sharpmaker,edgepro,and norton water stones all have thier ups and down like the norton stones cant realy sharpen 154 cm or cmp-s30v,and the sharpmaker only has 2 angle guids 30',40' ,the edge pro is a realy epensive sharpner that works great if you use it right and the dmt work ok to get a shave edge on all purpose knives from a buck pocket knife all the way to your dog father the only problem is that the lose thier diomand texture after a while so juat find the right sharpner that fits your needs

I see a few others are noticing HD has'nt been around? Is all well in Jawja? No more weather problems there is there?

maybe something happened with the vandals...scary thought.

A bunch of Mongols were raided down here in LA County recently. Maybe HD and his crew got rounded up as well...

I highly recommend the EdgePro for a non powered sharpener. It is in my opinion one of the best if not the best out there. It has served me well for nearly a decade and will get passed down to my kids when they are old enough. The edgepro is one of the few sharpeners that can put perfect symmetrical edges on knives every single time with little practice.

I also like the 8" DMT X-course diamond hones for heavy reprofiling and flattening my water stones.

Well now you mention it...the thought crossed my mind as well....hope all is well with our resident Viking....not seen him post on any of the Blade Forums or Knife Forum...might send him a PM....

Hi Ban....high praise for the edge pro...just saw your pics of that SHBM on the Busse forum....that would be a "grail knife" for me....very very nice...absolutely superb job.

I hope all is well with HD.

Yeah that SHBM is a awesome knife. I would own one if I could afford it. In the meantime the FBM will do everything I need.

I recommend the Edgepro to all friends and family who have problems getting a stupid sharp edge with other methods. It has a special place in my heart because I first learned to sharpen on one and also because it taught me how to appreciate and attain ridiculously sharp edges.

I've used the combination of a [color:"red"]DMT (red) [/color] stone and a lee valley [color:"blue"] ceramic (8000 grit) [/color] for over 10 years (same stones). The red DMT (600 mesh) is carried everywhere as my multipurpose sharpener as it can handle repairing some edges as well as maintain a nice edge. The ceramic stone comes into play when I want a nice, polished, sharp edge. Both are nice as I use spit or water (when spit is unavailable or socially unacceptable) for slurry and neither requires oil.

I too have just started the belt sander sharpening technique, but I always fall back to these two stones.