Ok, it started here with a post by Otis857:
http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27376
If you read the entire thread you will see a post by me expressing my skepticism. Since then I have been reading and researching these things. There a lot of posts and reviews on YouTube. When I saw the Ken Onion edition, I decided to bust loose from $149.00 and give it a try.
The first thing I tackled was a very old stainless butcher knife that I had in a junk drawer. It had really been badly abused. Sharpened many times with one of those carbide blade pull through things that really screw up a blade. It was extremely dull, nicked and really should have been discarded long ago. I have lots of stuff that should have been discarded long ago, but that's just kind of my nature. I decided to use an angle of 20° as appropriate for kitchen cutlery. One of the things that sold me on the Ken Onion edition is the adjustable angle on the guide. It can be adjusted from 15° to 30°. Another feature that sold me is the variable speed. Also Ken Onion's endorsement is a plus. For those of you who may not know, Ken is an internationally known custom knife maker and designer. He designs for Kershaw and CRKT and others.
Anyway, back to my abused knife. I started with the X65 belt, one step up from the coarsest one. It took 16 to 18 strokes on each side of the blade to bring up a burr that was even along the entire edge. I then proceeded to run 4 strokes on each side with each of the successive belts stopping short of the finest polishing belt. Result is a blade that is wicked scary sharp from point to heel. It will easily shave at any point along the entire blade.
I proceeded to sharpen several more knives, with the same result on each one. I used 25° on the rest, since they were thick blade hunting knives. On my carry knife, a Cold Steel Recon 1 I used 30°. The reason is that I stone sharpen my knives at a steep angle to produce a tougher edge. 30° matched what I had already done on my stones.
Bottom line...I am a big fan. On old dog has learned a new trick.
Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition is highly recommended.
http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27376
If you read the entire thread you will see a post by me expressing my skepticism. Since then I have been reading and researching these things. There a lot of posts and reviews on YouTube. When I saw the Ken Onion edition, I decided to bust loose from $149.00 and give it a try.
The first thing I tackled was a very old stainless butcher knife that I had in a junk drawer. It had really been badly abused. Sharpened many times with one of those carbide blade pull through things that really screw up a blade. It was extremely dull, nicked and really should have been discarded long ago. I have lots of stuff that should have been discarded long ago, but that's just kind of my nature. I decided to use an angle of 20° as appropriate for kitchen cutlery. One of the things that sold me on the Ken Onion edition is the adjustable angle on the guide. It can be adjusted from 15° to 30°. Another feature that sold me is the variable speed. Also Ken Onion's endorsement is a plus. For those of you who may not know, Ken is an internationally known custom knife maker and designer. He designs for Kershaw and CRKT and others.
Anyway, back to my abused knife. I started with the X65 belt, one step up from the coarsest one. It took 16 to 18 strokes on each side of the blade to bring up a burr that was even along the entire edge. I then proceeded to run 4 strokes on each side with each of the successive belts stopping short of the finest polishing belt. Result is a blade that is wicked scary sharp from point to heel. It will easily shave at any point along the entire blade.
I proceeded to sharpen several more knives, with the same result on each one. I used 25° on the rest, since they were thick blade hunting knives. On my carry knife, a Cold Steel Recon 1 I used 30°. The reason is that I stone sharpen my knives at a steep angle to produce a tougher edge. 30° matched what I had already done on my stones.
Bottom line...I am a big fan. On old dog has learned a new trick.
Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition is highly recommended.
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