So I know some of y'all probably had an Arkansas stone in your crib, and can sharpen a knife with a jagged rock and soup lid. I, did not unfortunately and for many years Chinesium mystery steel pocket knifes were all I knew. I started researching different steels and understood that sharp blades do not come from Ozark Trail and the cheapest CRKTs. I eventually started building a small collection of pocket knifes that were of better quality that what I used to own, but still far down from the custom makers, USA Spyderos, and Microtechs. When I got my first Kershaw Leek, I was suprised that razor sharp pocket knifes were not a meme. I started wondering how in the sam hill does one get a sharp blade?
A trip to the Walmart Discount Store ended in a Pioneer Woman pull through knife sharpener. I grabbed my RATs and followed the instructions to the T. I was disappointed when I could see the dips in the blades that were not there before. Owing it to Pioneer Woman still being a woman, I bought an Accusharp sharpener. The results were slightly worse. Yeah, they could slice paper, but the cuts were not clean and you could feel the knife catching thanks to more damage to the blades. I even relented and ordered the Smith's Knife Sharpener that was so highly reviewed only to find out the $7 I spent would have been better used for 7 $1 scratch-off lottery tickets, as I would expect the disappointment.
Feeling motivated with blades edges that looked like Edward James Olmos' face, not wanting to drop $90 on the Spyderco Sharp Master, and intimated by Japanese wet stones, I hit the Youtubez. Some crazy Aussie that probably thinks about knifes more than I think about 9mm firearms had a little ranking video for knife sharpeners. His highest recommended for noobs still intimidated by manual sharpening on stones was the Work Sharp Field Sharpener since it had about everything one would need with angle guides and a $35 price tag. The mailman brought it today and I readied my blades that were screwed by gimmick pull-throughs.
In short, I was amazed by the system. The learning curve was not steep at all, and each knife cleaned up great. Gone were the uneven dips in the blade and the ability to slice paper clean with no dragging was nice. I could now pull a knife across a fingernail and not feel it catch. I was even able to sharpen the bride's Zancudo enough to where I have a relatively smooth spot on my arm. Yeah, it's probably still no match for a stone and technique, but for someone who is new to sharpening knifes, it's a boon to understand the basics.
Highly recommended if you want an easy way to touch up your blades and not ready to invest in a guided system and/or plain stones yet.
