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Actually I enjoy sharpening and maintaining my knives more than cutting stuff with them. Freehand on Naniwa Pro or Gesshin water stones.. Shapton or Atoma on The Edgepro... KO Worksharp with blade grinding attachment... and my go to everyday SharpMaker. A half dozen strops including a washboard. I have a rotation of about 20 knives now and every night before bed I choose tomorrow’s EDC... check the edge, wipe the blade and grips touch up the edge on the most appropriate tool and put it in a soft sided eyeglass case next to my car keys.

Vivi I'm glad you brought this up for discussion. I voted "OTHER" because my situation is kind of unique in many ways. Ever since I got into knives in the first place I've always immediately tried to address the problem of the eventual need to sharpen the knives. I've always been the kind of guy that tries to do maintenance of anything to the best of my abilities myself. But I've been that way with just about everything in life from working on my own vehicles when possible to doing my own housework to doing my own house maintenance to even sewing and repairing my clothing and footware.

I try not to depend on others for hardly anything if I can help it. But particularly working with tools I've always wanted to maintain them properly and keep them clean and lubricated and sharpened when working with any kind of edged tool.

Ever since I got into the finer aspects of this hobby ( knife collecting and using and maintaining) I've always taken measures to get the correct sharpening tools to keep certain. When I got my first two knives with incredibly good steel I immediately got diamond sharpening tools to be able to sharpen and maintain them.

I look just as forward to getting Spyderco's newest sharpening tools as I do their newest folders and fixed blades with all the new blade steels. I concentrate on sharpening the learning the uses of new tools as much as I go after the better knives for my everyday uses. They both go hand in hand with me and it's been that way since I was in my early teens.

Funny you should ask this. I was telling myself just today that given how many knives I have and how much money I have spent, it is ridiculous that I don't own some kind of guided system. I lean towards the KME, but maybe the Edge Pro. Whatever the case, I am eager to improve my game in the sharpening department. It is all about the edge. Free hand seems like the mount Everest of sharpening and the sort of skill that appeals to me. Maybe someday.

I was a knife sharpener before I was interested in knife steels and folders. I used to think it was silly that people bought fancy steels. They all go dull, you just sharpen it sooner.

6 years ago, when I actually got a legit knife in VG10 and a Spyderco Manix 2 HG in S30v that changed everything.

The Sharpening experience was just better.

Also it was great to see that I could sharpen because I WANT to not because I HAVE to.

Definitely fell down the rabbit hole.

Without being able to sharpen it just wouldn't be same, I would have gotten bored and found something else to geek on.

Long time freehand sharpener. In the early 90's I had just a DMT Coarse (years later, X-Coarse), and an Arkansas soft stone, and used steels on filet knives for cleaning fish. I had a few Bucks and Gerbers at one point, but usually found myself having only 1-2 knives. I had never heard of Spyderco or any other high end company, and was completely ignorant of steel composition and the difficulty/importance of heat treat. 440 and "regular steel" was the good stuff! I always enjoyed freehand sharpening. I thought shaving sharp was about as good as it gets back then.

This new 2nd wave of my knife hobby came about from talking to my son in law about certain companies (Gerber, up until recently) deteriorating over time in regard to materials and build quality. Still ignorant to the knife steel world, both of were basically saying "yeah, we need to find out which companies use some good ol' American or Japanese-made steel". This cheap Chinese/Middle Eastern stuff is for the birds". I had never stopped carrying a knife, but I had no idea how poor the quality was compared to what was out there. I didn't even know what s30v was FOUR YEARS AGO. I immediately set out to the internet to cure my ignorance, reading up on basic metallurgy, blade steel composition/properties, grinds, geometry, and high-end knife companies. 6 months later I had a firm grasp on the basic knowledge one needs for purchasing the right knife for one's needs.

Of course I came across Spyderco. At first I couldn't find a design I really liked. But for some reason, I was like that with every company. To this day, I haven't found a single company in which I'd be willing to carry more than 50% of the models they make. I guess I'm just picky, not sure. It wasn't until I started using spyderco's that I understood. But my first spyderco was a blue BBS exclusive s90v Military. I was prepared for a sharpening nightmare due to what I had read online, but knew that when I finally got it, the edge would hold impressively. To my surprise it sharpened quite easily, but since it took a little longer than the cheap steels I had been used to, my bevels were slightly more convex (my ability to hold the ~15° angle deteriorated over time due to a lack of solidified muscle memory). I could get it shaving sharp, and I had recently purchased my first strop, which to me seemed like sharpening magic. It brought my Military from shaving most hairs in one pass to shaving every hair in one pass. I enjoyed the knife for weeks and eventually stumbled upon the YouTube channels of Cliff Stamp, Michael Christy, Burrfection, and others. What a wake up call that was, regarding what is attainable in sharpening. Over the last 2 years I really put the practice in. Muscle memory is solid, I've mastered burr removal, bevels are only very slightly convex, and hair-whittling is a normal everyday thing now. I enjoyed sharpening new models and experiencing how the steel behaved, and still do. I doubt I'll ever own a guided system. I've enjoyed fine-tuning my skills so much over the years that I'll probably just keep doing what I'm doing. But I will absolutely be trying new sharpening products. I see some more spyderco ceramics in my future, as well as a quality diamond waterstone.

Too long, didn't read... I choose freehand.

I sharpen my knives because I want them to be sharp. That's pretty much it.

I've become interested in sharpening because I like them to be really sharp, and getting better at sharpening means I can spend less time and effort and get them as sharp as I'd like.

I love to sharpen. For me that is half of the hobby. I don’t really understand how someone could like knives and not be interested in sharpening? Different strokes I guess. :) Trying to squeeze as much performance as possible out of a knife or a steel is one of the things I enjoy. As a steel geek I need to put a steel to the stones to know anything about it.

I'd say my interest is the same, maybe even more.
Sharpening - for me - is among other things, meditative almost and relaxing. I sharpen free hand, stone in hand, and never done it any other way.
I use and have an interest in knives. I like trying different/various knives, different/various steels and heat treats (most recently my drop point UKPK in BD1N). Same for sharpening. Different finishes, grits, stones, strops... It's 'fun' experimenting and learning. Add in the joy of having and using a properly sharpened knife... Oh yeah..

ViVi makes a good point too. " Even if I've sharpened a knife a hundred times, it still takes some degree of skill to do it right the hundred and first time. "

u.w.

I love the learning curve of sharpening. Half the reason I like trying all these different steels. Honestly, after a days work while at my job cutting plastic strapping, cardboard, packaging tape and shrink wrap...EVERY knife I have loses the hair shaving edge, atleast near the tip. Doesn't matter if it's VG10, 4V or anything between. Some just touch up quicker than others. I really enjoy it though, I find it relaxing and also satisfying when getting that razor sharp edge back.

The available answers are tad restrictive for me in that, I love sharpening regardless of the system, medium, style, etc. I don't employ them all obviously and have my favorites but I'm interested in most of them and do use different approaches.

I have a KME and it is outstanding. Very repeatable, well made, tons of options, and can be a fantastic confidence boost and learning tool. I've sharpened a lot of knives on that thing. I still use it especially for reprofiling, establishing an apex on a beat up knife, etc. I have a good variety of stones for it so sometimes it is just a better tool for the particular job. It's primary use for me nowadays is baselining. Like I said, if I'm working with a knife with a buggered up apex, then the KME makes a precise bevel and I can move through the grits to achieve the desired edge.

That said, I love freehand sharpening and am going full circle back to my youth and moving back to this method. Albeit, now with a lot more knowledge and experience. It is at once so incredibly simple yet so amazingly complex. It's awesome and I love the challenge and the reward. I'm currently experimenting with different stones (type and grit) and looking for what works best for me and what I like. I'm trying to avoid waterstones as I don't really have a good place for that and it's a deep hole to dive into. I love me some Arkansas stones and am currently focused n building up some diamonds in the arsenal.

For sharpening in general, I love reading about it, contemplating it, watching it, and talking about it. I'm on a mini-crusade to get the general knife community to embrace sharpening. Whatever path you choose to go down, just step onto it and go. You can do it and you will be greatly rewarded for doing so. Even if you don't have a passion for it, like Jazz, you'll appreciate the ability and the results!

Sharpening plays a large role in my knife purchasing decisions. I don't just consider the steels, I look at the designs and see if I spot problematic areas.

Forget so-called knife reviewers, my YouTube subscription list is full of awesome sharpening channels; Big Brown Bear (Dead Box Hero), Michael Christy, Rough Rooster Knife Sharpening, Dean O, JDavis882, Jeff Jewell, and OUTDOORS55 are among my favorites. There's a deep well of knowledge there and conflicting styles, mediums, steels, goals, etc. Great stuff!

These days I crave new sharpening gear more than new knives.

Don't get me wrong, I love knife designs from the pocket to the kitchen and I drool over them all the time, but I just wouldn't feel the same if I didn't sharpen. I enjoy knowing that if I have to, I can make a "cheapy" knife perform like a champ and everything after that is desire.

:)

I actually got into sharpening first, I was/am still bad at it and want to be better

Have to unlearn some bad habits first

I can get by freehanding but I've never enjoyed doing it. I'm not sure what it is but it just feels like a chore, while using my Edge Pro is more entertaining and I guess enjoyable. Maybe I'm just not as good at freehand. I used to obsess over polishing bevels and such but I've kinda lost interest and now I just stick with ~1k or less and touch up on the Sharpmaker and I'm happy.

Chose "other." I don't sharpen my knives.

That's because I don't currently have the money to spend on a quality sharpening setup, and also don't trust other people to put an edge on my nice Spydercos without screwing them up. Am saving for some sharpening tools, will eventually buy some, probably sooner rather than later because some of my knives are getting dull enough to annoy me. I keep getting sidetracked by other things to spend my money on though, like new Spydies... If I just keep buying new knives whenever one gets dull, I don't technically need to buy a sharpener, right? :p

After I actually get a sharpener system, it'll probably fall more into the category of "chore" than "fun" for me. I like knives; sharpening is just an irritating maintenance thing that goes along with them, like vacuuming is an irritating maintenance thing that goes along with living in a house.

I have a Sharpmaker and a Lansky system. I routinely use of the Sharpmaker to keep a good edge on my knives and will resort to the Lansky if I need to set a new edge angle. I’m not fond of sharpening at all but see it as a necessary task in order to sharpen and treat my knives properly.

I started out in this knife journey around October 1st of 2018. I didn’t know anything about knives. It all started seeing a Spyderco Tenacious in Walmart for $40 bucks. The name Spyderco rang true to even me; someone who knew nothing of knives.. Though I still knew quality, and expensive knives existed in the world. I wondered what a really good knife was like. I never had knives, or carried them. I wondered how much they costed.

Fast forward about 45 days! And I own a Wicked Edge, angle finder, several sets of stones, and strops for it! And a Spyderco Military in S110V, and a PM2 in S110V, I gave away my Tenacious, and resilience.

I love sharpening! Even though I just learned how last month lol. I can turn a butter knife in to a polished scalpel that looks like it was made in the factory that way.

I love sharpening on a guided system, it is very fun to me! It’s like playing with toys.

embry386 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 15, 2018 8:50 am

Chose "other." I don't sharpen my knives.

That's because I don't currently have the money to spend on a quality sharpening setup, and also don't trust other people to put an edge on my nice Spydercos without screwing them up. Am saving for some sharpening tools, will eventually buy some, probably sooner rather than later because some of my knives are getting dull enough to annoy me. I keep getting sidetracked by other things to spend my money on though, like new Spydies... If I just keep buying new knives whenever one gets dull, I don't technically need to buy a sharpener, right? :p

After I actually get a sharpener system, it'll probably fall more into the category of "chore" than "fun" for me. I like knives; sharpening is just an irritating maintenance thing that goes along with them, like vacuuming is an irritating maintenance thing that goes along with living in a house.

Sharpening on a guided system is fun. I can’t free hand sharpen. But, when you can recreate that bevel that looks like a factory sharpened knife. it is very fun!. I must say I’ve sat down and ran my wicked edge for like 4 hours one time. I was sharpening a few kitchen knives, experimenting with different things and such. My back was killing me the whole time, I was so entertained, I didn’t even realize my back hurt..

I've never been any good at sharpening knives nor patient enough to learn until recently. Being in and around engineering for most of my life I've not really "needed" a carry knife, and still really don't. At work I'm generally at my desk and never get my hands dirty, but I love tools and fixing things and improving things and to be honest I HATE having to depend on someone else to repair anything I own.

I won't allow anyone to work on anything I have if I have the tools to do it and it's not an emergency. It's not about money, I just don't want anyone to rob me of the enjoyment of pulling out my tools and getting dirty and the satisfaction of completing the job. I will tackle anything unless it enters the area of "artistic" hands, that's where things come to a screeching halt! Drywall? I suck at it, I mean catastrophe levels. Finishing/detail work? Nope not a chance. Knife sharpening? Negative! Thank God for Autocad and T-squares because I can't draw a straight line to save my life.

LSS until recently, last 6 months or so, have I wanted to try sharpening. I have a lot of free time here at work and instead of goofing off I'd try and broaden my horizons. My 1st Spyderco was the sharpmaker and that reason was because I purchased a few different stones to test and practice on and needed something to clean up the mess I made of the knife. I've since purchased some DMT plates and other assorted tools to try. I'm slowly getting to where the mistakes are far and few between so I ask folks at work to bring me stuff to sharpen for them just to get more practice. The guided systems are what I lean on but maybe in a few years I can build up muscle memory and freehand more. Like others have said there is an amount of peace/relaxation to sharpening a knife.

I learned free hand on a bench stone many years back while in the service but was never really happy with my work. I've had a Lanky for a long time now and can get my edges reasonably sharp but nothing close to some of the "hair popping" edges described here. I choose three but would enjoy it a lot more if I could get better results. That said, I recently purchased a PM2 online and paid extra to have it "razor sharp". Before I ever carried the knife I put my own edge on it. Probably a little more OCD than hobby.

I have a Sharpmaker (well, and some antique Pike whetstones I inherited from my father ... but they don't really count). I can touch up edges that have gotten a little dull, and put a basic working edge on the less wear-resistant steels. But I'm not terribly interested in sharpening as a hobby, and when it comes to serious sharpening jobs I'd rather let someone else do it. If nothing else, it's an excuse to buy more knives so I have one "as a spare" when the dull one gets sent off for edge work ...

Right now my interest is shifting more to sharpening. First of all, I am trying to be more intentional about the knives I purchase. I should really use the stuff I own now as opposed to getting more knives (sacrilege, I know). So my attention is now on not messing up the bevels as I use a water stone.