Knife Sharpening, You don't have to be at least 45 y.o.a. to do it!

[Fish-Bait]

Anybody out there as bad as me at sharpening knives?
Heh, every good sportsman or cook should be able to sharpen a knife. For my humble 32 years I have been unable to put a good edge on my huntin' or fillet knives or my pocket knife for that matter....Until I tried a Steamboat Sharpener (http://www.caseknifeoutlet.com/knifedetail.cfm?id=1372). I actually bought it, and then read the instructions on how to use it. I didn't get the Quad that is shown in the picture, I got just the dual that only has the two larger ceramic rods on it. This thing is so simple to use it is unreal.

My struggle with sharpenin' knives started as a youngster, prolly 'bout 10 years old or so. I watched with amazement as my stepfather would go up to my granny's house on the weekends and sharpen up all her knives for her. He could take a freakin' lawnmower blade, sharpen it up, then you could prolly slice maters' and ham with it deli style.
Now he would show me the right angle to hold, and how to stroke the knife. No matter how much I tried or practiced it was always more dull when I got finished. Then I got me the Steamboat the other day. Now I don't have any hair left on my left arm. Just this Saturdy morning I sharpened up all my hunting/skinning knives and my fillet knives, let me tell you, I had a stock pile of dull ones. Some of them were in pretty rough shape. I had to use a diamond stone on some of them that were nicked up good to get the edge somewhat uniform again. After that I just sliced 'maters on the Steamboat and shaved a little more hair!

Now I know there are countless gadgets and techniques for sharpening knives, but for the ones of us who have been challenged at this art, get a Steamboat Sharpener. You will be glad you did!

May you all have a sharper edge!
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[jessi_s]

My hubby is really good at sharpening his knives. He's got a stone that his great grandfather used to sharpen his and it was passed down. It's like one of his most treasured pieces...

[Conveyor Belt]

It's all about the angle, FB. I think what did it for me was reading a Boy Scout manual saying to keep the non cutting edge of the knife about two stacked quarters height away from the stone. After that, I got pretty good at sharpening things.

[58ford]

I can sharpen a knife with the best of them, but I've never had much luck with those gimmicky knife sharpeners. I just use a steel to bring back the edge, and when its finally time to whet it, I like a soft arkansas stone to shape it, then a hard Arkansas stone to polish the edge, and I use Marvel's Mystery oil to lubricate the stones. Just pretend you're trying to shave a thin slice off the stone, but don't let the blade slide off the stone. Unless your blade is severely chipped, or dulled just a few strokes on each side ought to do it. Just alternate back & forth to get a nice even edge.

[Fish-Bait]

I think the main drawback in learning how to correctly sharpen a knife was the lack of my patience, and actually understanding what I needed to do. That Steamboat Sharpener really works though. I got an old Uncle Henry bouble blade that I could never sharpen. A few strokes on the ceramic did the trick. The thing is, if you hold your knife straight up and down, the angle of the ceramic rods is the correct angle for your edge. 20 degrees.
It's simple, thats what I like about it, and it doesn't strip all the metal off like some of those gadgets. It's easier on your knives.

[Fish-Bait]

You know, the older I get the more that "stuff" finally pops into my head. It's sorta like "Wow, why couldn't I have figured that out 20 years ago, I knew it all along." I bought the double sided coarse/fine diamond stone to tote around and do some of my rough work with. I mostly use fillet knives. I got electric ones and all that stuff. My most used knife though is a little 6" rapala wooden handle. Prolly the most sold fillet knife in da' world. I can make a mess of perch fillets in just a few minutes with that little sucker.
I love my Mister Twister electric too. For cleanin' bigger fish with the larger rib cages it works great. Neat thing is the Steamboat will sharpen the tips of those serrated edges also. If ya'll cant tell, I like my Steamboat!