How To Keep Your Knifes Sharp?

[shefford]

My knifes are getting on the blunt side, I had a little stone that I used to sharpen the knife with, but it broke after years of being mistreated.

I've seen a few ppl with those chef steel bars, that you slide your knife up and down on, are they any good?

Or should I take my knifes into work and sharpen them on the flat bench grinder?

So how do you guys keep your knifes sharp?

[Frantic]

Buddy im a chef by trade and i use a diamond steel pretty much everyday ,but if the knives are just for bait and filleting get yourself a self sharpener where u drag the knife through it,you can get them pretty small these days and i keep it in the boat , and a good oil stone for at home ,use singer machine oil its super fine and wont clog the stone up,if you want to go all out get a ceramic stone to finish as well and your knife will be so sharp you wont be needing any razors

craig

[Flightmanager]

Knife sharpening is an art in itself , and can take quite a while to perfect . There are many sharpening systems available on the market today , but beware , there are some snake oil ones as well !!

Basically , if you look at a knife edge end on , it will be in a "V" shape. The angle of the vee ideally should be between 15-24 degrees. A blunt knife will have a rounded edge , this is what sharpening corrects .

For your application ( bait and fishing knives ) , a simple V sharpener and a good quality sharpening steel will do the trick, as Craig suggested. This applies to cheaper knives only, If you are using $200 knives , then it is essential that you learn to hone them using an oilstone .

Ross