Rolling knife sharpeners

BigWaylon

BigWaylon

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I’ve been seeing ads for these nonstop for the last week or so. You can find them for a wide range of prices. Anybody ever used one? In theory, they make sense to me…but that doesn’t mean much at all.
 
Here’s an example if you don’t know what I mean…

tomorrowshops.com

Blade Craft Pro™️ Tumbler Knife Sharpener

Bring old knives back to life with a smooth glide and precision sharpening. Effortless, secure, and tailored for all your blades.
tomorrowshops.com tomorrowshops.com

A different brand, same design:

 
I’ve seen them as well and thought it would be a failsafe way for me to keep the correct angles. I’m not very versed in knife sharpening. Maybe @thrillhill and some of our other blade makers can chime in.
 
Meh.

Don't have one. Probably won't get one.

But that's not because I think they're stupid or something. I'm just proficient at using my stones and the kitchen steel.

This is simply another creative way of mechanically holding a blade at a consistent angle while being sharpened.

All I gotta say is what I say whenever handling knives, whether using or sharpening: Be careful and don't cut yourself.


That said:

If you get one of these things, post a review. I'd be interested in seeing how others think of it after using one. Just because I don't see myself buying one for me doesn't mean I won't buy one as a gift for someone.
 
Average Joe said:
I’ve seen them as well and thought it would be a failsafe way for me to keep the correct angles. I’m not very versed in knife sharpening. Maybe @thrillhill and some of our other blade makers can chime in.
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I’ve gotten most of mine pretty sharp with my 1x30 HF belt sander. But this thing has me curious.
 
I've got a good friend and customer in Alabama who is a disabled navy vet and he loves his tumbler brand rolling knife sharpener. He is highly trained in edged weapon fighting and is a blade guy if I've ever known one. As he ages and his disability he says the tumbler he bought just makes keeping everything sharp so much easier. I like a good old fashion stone or steel myself cause that's how I was taught by my great grandpa.
 
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HandyDave said:
I've got a good friend and customer in Alabama who is a disabled navy vet and he loves his tumbler brand rolling knife sharpener. He is highly trained in edged weapon fighting and is a blade guy if I've ever known one. As he ages and his disability he says the tumbler he bought just makes keeping everything sharp so much easier.
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Tumbler is the main one I see on IG. But if you search Amazon, many other brands are available from <$50 to ~$200.
 
My BIL got one last year and liked it so much that he bought my wife (his sister) one for Christmas this year. I haven’t tried it but, as stated upstream, it appears to be an easy way to keep knives sharp for those not inclined to learn how to use stones
 
Before you buy one of these, take a look at the Warthog knife sharpener. Keeps the knife vertical and has a variety of sharpening angles. Best sharpener I ever owned.

JBC
 
That's pretty interesting. Bet it would be quite good with carbon steels if the drums roll true and you can apply some pressure to the edge surface. But various stainless knives don't hold to a magnet very strongly? I have no idea about the magnetism of the fancier stuff.

But don't listen to me. I've been using files, even a field expedient chainsaw file to get a decent edge back on my s30v edc's for years because my good stones take so long to bring my abused and unkept edges back😬
 
Trevillian said:
That's pretty interesting. Bet it would be quite good with carbon steels if the drums roll true and you can apply some pressure to the edge surface. But various stainless knives don't hold to a magnet very strongly? I have no idea about the magnetism of the fancier stuff.

But don't listen to me. I've been using files, even a field expedient chainsaw file to get a decent edge back on my s30v edc's for years because my good stones take so long to bring my abused and unkept edges back😬
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I have a Gerber with 1/2 straight blade and 1/2 serrated blade. How do I sharpen this thing.
 
Oldbaldy said:
I have a Gerber with 1/2 straight blade and 1/2 serrated blade. How do I sharpen this thing.
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Diamond or ceramic rod of the appropriate diameter for the serrations. That's what I use on my river knife (Spyderco rescue jr) the vg10 steel it uses is pretty "soft" as I would presume most Gerber steels to be, so I would recommend not using actual files as they take away material pretty quick.
 
Oldbaldy said:
Mine is a Gerber 450 EZ out lock blade stainless. It seems pretty hard

View attachment 772019
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I have one of those too. Kind of lost to the knife drawer over the years. But I like it a lot. Most are 440c stainless "soft" but some actually were ATS34 which is a higher end (harder) material.

I'd still lean toward a round, tapered diamond or ceramic rod for the serrations.
 
I bought one of the Tumbler Knock offs from Amazon.

Those of you that don't know, I can take a sharp knife and just by carrying it makes it about as sharp as wet liver. However, I will say from the Lanskys, Stones, Belts, and every other knife sharpener in my tool kit; this is the best by far to give a decent edge. I didn't really spend a lot of time on the knives and half-assed the ones I did try; so I would say one of the lower expensive ones would be worth it.

I SUCK at sharpening knives but I am great making them dull. I am satisfied with the purchase and would recommend a middle price point set.
 
Trevillian said:
Diamond or ceramic rod of the appropriate diameter for the serrations. That's what I use on my river knife (Spyderco rescue jr) the vg10 steel it uses is pretty "soft" as I would presume most Gerber steels to be, so I would recommend not using actual files as they take away material pretty quick.
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VG 10 isn't terribly soft. It usually holds up pretty well. Rockwell 60/61 typically.
 
I did run across this review of the Tumbler being advertised vs the Horl that sounds like it was first?

Had a couple seemingly valid points.

 
VA_GENTLEMAN said:
I bought one of the Tumbler Knock offs from Amazon.

Those of you that don't know, I can take a sharp knife and just by carrying it makes it about as sharp as wet liver. However, I will say from the Lanskys, Stones, Belts, and every other knife sharpener in my tool kit; this is the best by far to give a decent edge. I didn't really spend a lot of time on the knives and half-assed the ones I did try; so I would say one of the lower expensive ones would be worth it.

I SUCK at sharpening knives but I am great making them dull. I am satisfied with the purchase and would recommend a middle price point set.
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when i was a kid, my dad would hand me knives and stones and tell me to go make myself useful. i used to be good at sharpening knives.
not so much anymore.
i tried a lansky a while ago and it probably made things worse. i realized later that probably had my angle wrong and was just reprofiling the edge... like 20 minutes later...

RetiredUSNChief said:
This is simply another creative way of mechanically holding a blade at a consistent angle while being sharpened.
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Sharpening_seq1.gif
 
There are obviously as wide a variety of steels used for kitchen knives as for any other type of knives.

400-series stainless should be magnetic enough for this. 300-series will only be very, very slightly magnetic.

If it's any kind of carbon steel alloy, it should also be magnetic enough, as these alloys almost always use iron in the alloy.

Obviously, the simple test is to see if a magnet will stick to the blades of whatever you have. If the blade is attracted to the magnet strong enough to hold the weight of the blade, you're probably good to go for this.
 
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