That fancy $80 knife sharpener was a waste, old stone did better

Bought one of those pull-through sharpeners with the ceramic wheels last month for $80 at a supply shop in Portland. Figured it would save me time and give me that perfect edge every morning. After 3 weeks of duller cuts and more metal dust than I've ever seen, I went back to my $15 Arkansas stone. Has anyone else found that the old school tools just work better for your routine?

3 comments

3 Comments

grace_gonzalez4614d ago

Nah you're right about the stone being better, but just a heads up that pull-through sharpener with ceramic wheels might be taking off way more metal than it should lol. Those things can wreck your blade if you use them too often or press too hard. The Arkansas stone takes a bit more time but it's way gentler on the steel. A lot of people forget that sharpening is more about maintaining the edge than grinding it down to a new one every time. Your $15 stone will probably outlast that fancy gadget anyway.

emmag2214d ago

Actually Arkansas stones are usually novaculite, not really stone.

drew_bennett2414d ago

Yeah I actually read somewhere that novaculite is basically a microcrystalline quartz, so it's harder than most people think. But @emmag22 this got me wondering if the stuff they find in different Arkansas quarries varies in grit, like the Soft Arkansas versus the Hard Arkansas stones. I've heard guys say the Hard Arkansas is almost like a fine finishing stone while the Soft one cuts faster but leaves a rougher edge.