Knife Sharpener

The Sharpmaker is one of the perennial favorites on many of the knife forums too.

I've been using one for a few years. It gets my knives about 85% as sharp as a waterstone & strop combination – but is about 4 times easier / convenient.

Tips:
1. Be sure not to drag the tip of the knife off the corners of the rods, otherwise the tip will be a 2mm wide flat area that looks like it snapped off.
2. Don't press too hard (especially when using the corners of the rods), otherwise you'll create a large burr that is initally very sharp, but dulls VERY quickly in use.
3. To get the blade shaving sharp, take another 10 passes per side using extra-light pressure, and then another 5 passes per side using so little pressure you have to concentrate to keep the blade against the stone.
4. The first sharpening will take forever because the grind-angle of your blade will be different than the sharpmaker's angle. Lean a coarse diamond, alum oxide or carburndem stone against the rod to make it go MUCH faster.
5. Your ability to hold the knife vertical, follow the curve of the belly, and apply the "correct" amount of pressure when sharpening will improve with practice. Most people don't think the V-rod systems work as well as their hype until they've done 10-20 sharpening sessions. In comparison, learning to use flat stones "really well" takes most people around 20-35 sharpening sessions.

ps: The Lansky / Gatco clamp & rod-guided systems are good too. Their caveats are:
A. You have to get the clamp in EXACTLY the same spot each time you sharpen – or the edge angle will be different and you'll have to spend extra time re-grinding the shoulder to the new angle like in tip 4 above.
B. The clamps are hard to attach to narrow (spine to edge) or short (tip to handle) blades.
C. The sharpening angle is actually slightly curved, so the edge bevel is taller at the tip and hilt than in the middle. This is more noticeable on longer blades though.

The edge pro is probably the system the knife forum guys all love the best. It has all the plusses of the Lansky / Gatco system, but non of the minuses – execept it's very expensive. However, many knife guys spend the time to learn to use flat stones so they can sharpen "in the field" and not just in their workshop.

For backpacking, I take a 4"x1"x1/4" hard arkansas stone. They can be used with water if you've never oiled it. The fine is all you need – if you use it when the blade starts getting "only medium sharp" but before it gets "dull". A small fine diamond stone would sharpen faster, but would give a coarser edge. This would only matter if you plan on whittling.

For diamond stones – don't press hard (especially is your knife's steel isn't exotic and "super hard") – or the diamonds will come off (gradually) and the stone will seem to "wear-out" in about 15-40 sharpening sessions (depending on how hard you press and how soft your knife's steel is).

I have been using one for years with great results

It is stupid simple to use …which is nice

John,
An alternative is to go to Ragweed Forge (.com, of course) for diamond plates. One is, oh, say 2×5" and double sided. These are diamond on absolutely flat metal plates, so they don't get swaybacked like stones eventually do. They are very fast on any steel and you can cut any bevel you find works best for you and the steel of your knife. Get two. You will wear the fitst one out sharpening everything you can find. For super razor sharpness, a few passes on a crock stick will polish the edge. For good carving and durability, leave it as is.

Another thumbsup for the sharpmaker. Just bought one recently (Thx Ben!!!) and results are very good and instructions easy to follow.