Knife Sharpening…..

[Walery Smirnoff]

And soon a sharpener like this will arrive

[Marc2706]

A friend of mine has to Horl 3 to sharpen knives. I have tested it and it really worked perfectly. But it took a longer time (approx 10 min/knife) as they described it in their user manual. But after the first sharpening of the knife, it should go faster the next time. I think it is not cheap but the handling is more or less idiot-proof. Maybe something for my Santa Claus

https://www.horl.com/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=8274656305&gbraid=0AAAAACftbrwYNOjvOmvUlZQynJju20U4d

[JunkPants]

I've got a Tormek T-8 and a few different wheels. Been very happy with the results. Love a sharp knife, for leatherwork, kitchen duties etc.
(It's packed away currently though, after a recent move)

[TeflonDon]

I've said for years that I leave the sharpening of my knives to professionals. And while that has worked fine (I do use a honing rod for maintenance), I've also gradually stopped using my German knives, and transitioned to harder Japanese knives, that hold their edges very well. However even they need sharpening every once in a while (especially after my wife has started using them, for years she preferred the germans).

But apparently sharpening has become a hipster lifestyle vocation, and the prices have skyrocketed. Without the craftsmanship improving, If you ask me. My preferred sharpener now charges €20 for sharpening a Japanese knife (it's priced higher than sharpening German knives), which means that having all the knives on the rack sharpened would cost the same as a Horl 3. And I doubt the result would be much better.

So I'm looking into a setup for home. I'll taking the sandpaper/mouse mat route for my convex edges (my folder and one of my German kitchen knives, the one I use for heavy chopping), but for the others I'm on the fence - but edging towards a Horl 3 as it seems very intuitive to use, and can be used in the kitchen without setting up something like a Lansky.

Whetstones is another alternative, but I'm not sure I have the patience to learn it properly before using the stones on my best knives.

[Rustygate37]

I bought a KME system many years ago and had awesome results but for the last 6 or so years I’ve found I use my Spyderco Sharpmaker more often.
There’s nothing better than being able to successfully sharpen one’s own knife regardless of which system is used. It can definitely become a rabbit hole for chasing perfection.

[TeflonDon]

I did my first “mouse-mat-with-sand-paper convex grinding”(tm) yesterday. It worked just fine - my heavy German kitchen knife became a lot sharper. I’m not sure if I’ll notice the difference, but in theory it makes sense to have a convex edge in that knife as it’s used for heavy duty chopping.

I’m still undecided as to what I’ll do with the others. I’m leaning towards the Horl, but I’m not ready to make a decision yet.