E-Mail 'Work Sharp Bench Stone, by Pat Cascio' To A Friend

5 Comments

1. There are a LOT of knife sharpeners available that work pretty good. I discovered in 1976 that most are just gimmicks when my roommate in the army sharpened a blade, shaving sharp, with a file.

2. This is the most frustrating part for me, sharpening knives. I did inherit my Grandfather’s three stone in a similar set up. It is well used and over 100 years old. I will take a look at this product. As always, thank you for sharing your experiences.

3. Get one of these. The sharpest blade stays sharper longer. This is a good deal. I can easily get a hair popping sharp blade with something like this.

4. I have several Work Sharps including one in the kitchen. They are very good and versatile sharpeners because of the two grit, ceramic and leather system. In the kitchen I always rinse and wipe a blade after sharpening to avoid getting metal debris in food. I’ve seen many a man that sharpen and go right to the cut.

   I have found the best sharp system to be the Japanese water stones. I have an expensive set (even the cheaper stones are good) and they really do the job from sharpening to polishing. They are a bit of a project to set up the little water bath but that makes for a fun time sharpening everything you own which might take a whole weekend. OK, just joking.

   Remember, the best approach is to keep your knives sharp so that you avoid a major sharpening job especially in the field.

   Most men I know have dreamed of being a knife maker. I once visited Merle Seguine in his Juneau, Alaska shop and marveled at the basic equipment he used to turn automobile leaf springs into custom knives. The knife bug bit. And I still have that knife of Merle’s basic design.

   Speaking of being bit by the knife bug, see page 245 of JWR’s book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It”. I would agree that most of us are expert at BUYING knives. I chuckle every time I read it.

5. If you prefer not to sharpen your own knives on a routine basis, consider using Cold Steel knives. They sharpen their products for only a flat shipping charge. You send a box of knives to them with $7 flat return shipping fee and they will return them in a few weeks beautifully sharpened. I have many Cold Steel knives which I rotate as the blades dull. When I’m down to a couple sharp knives I send in a box for sharpening. They are far more skilled than I am and their knives are among the best values out there.

Comments are closed.