Best Knife Sharpening Device or Technique

[redfish]

I prefer to use an electric knife to clean fish particularly perch. If I have a good sharp knife I can do a pretty good job on any fish albeit slower than most. I always leave touching up my blades so when I do sharper them it requires a lot of work.

What are your techniques and devices to keep blades sharp?

[The kayaker]

I just buy a new one and hope it stays sharp until they go on sale again.   

[Trapper]

For both skinning and sharpening my electic knifes i use a 10 or 12 in a bastard fine mill file.

[fishermandan]

i use a sharpener called  the "Egdemaker PRO"   a buddy recommended this to me years ago.ive had it five years and it looks like it would last 20 . i run the knife through it before every fish cleaning session, and if its lots, sometimes halfway through. mine has a sharpener side and a hone side, but rapala knives dont hold an edge when cleaning fish,so the hone is useless.so the single is probably the most practical. the pins are removeable and if it seem lacking pull them and flip and/or turn them and put them back in.

https://secure.edgemaker.com/sections/products/ProductDetail.aspx?prod_id=15

[redfish]

Fishermandan
That's what I have been using but its very old now and doesn't really do much. It would be great to be able to turn the files around.

[Tonyd]

I am a firm believer in the honing stone method....more time comsuming yes but a much better result. None of this figure eight stuff though a nice straight motion with equal pressure on the blade.....then change to Indian stone if you can fine it for a more keen edge...the more keen the edge the better

[Dan The Moose]

start by buying a high quality sharp knife......and keep touching it up after every cleaning session! I have a few different sharpeners that work in different ways, but I have that edgemaker pro as well. To flip the files around you have to boil some water, and stick them and some of the plastic into the water for a bit, once the glue softens, you can use pliers to rotate them and expose a fresh part. My only issue with the edgemaker is if you don't hold the knife perfectly straight, it puts a sideways edge on it.

[fishermandan]

mine just pull out with pliers no heat

[redfish]

Thanks I'll try it again. It sure is a great tool.

[Magor]

Chef's Choice 120 diamond sharpener will sharpen all of your blades to a razor edge in no time.  Kind of expensive, but you get what you pay for. 

[Catcherman]

Hey Redfish,

Do you recommend buying a good quality electric knife?  It has been circling between my ears for a while (lots of space there).  I always picture turkey cutting and get cold feet at the store. 

Are they finite enough for smaller panfish and do they take a while to get used to?

When sharpening my rapala knives I actually find the best edge is with the quality sharpener that came with my high end kitchen culinary knives (useless unless your technique is sound). 

In the field I have two hand held sharpeners that work ok.  I prefer to use one with an offset handle so a slip does not result in stiches (I enjoy a couple wobbly pops after a good day on the lake).

[Sheepdog]

I lucked out last year at the Sportsman show and bought two of the prosharpeners (edgemaker pro) for $5 each...they are worth the money for sure. I use it on my high end knives without worry about ruining the steel....but as already mentioned, you have to make sure you are perfectly straight in your feed or you get a high side.
And you can finish them on a "chef" quality wet stone.....incredibly sharp!

[redfish]

I tried fishermandan's idea and pulled the files out with pliers and it worked. Now it's as good as new. I would still like to get an electric sharpener.

Catcherman
Electric knives are surprisingly finite for me. I seem to be able to do all the same cuts as with a knife and it is much faster. The problem with some of them is it is difficult to get replacement blades. I can't find any for Rapala and they can't be sharpened.

[Geeman]

I use this little tool and seems to be the fastest and easiest sharpener I've found. My wife's kitchen knives are sharper now than they've ever been. It's about $10 at CTC.

http://www.speedysharp.net/

[fishermandan]

hey redfish glad it worked. cant take credit for the idea tho. it says to do that on the packaging/website.

catcherman-i have a storm 110v knife i bought like 8? years ago for 10 bucks in a bargain bin somewhere. still as good as new and we use it alot. i can do a whitie in less than 2 minutes with it.great for carving roasts aswell, or thin slicing backbacon(freeze the bacon a little, not solid, for goin super thin).

[Grandpa Jim]

I have used a Spyderco Triangle Sharpmaker for many years and find this works very well on my Nella filleting knives. It has a set of medium and a set of fine triangular ceramic crock sticks that fit securely into a holding base. The holder has two angles, 30 degrees for backhoning dull knives and 40 degrees for final edge. The Nella knives are restaurant grade high carbon steel which are much easier to sharpen than the extremely hard stainless used in Rapala and the like knives. I also have a device called a TRIHONE which is a set of three grades (coarse, medium and fine) Arkansas stones. This is used when friends or relatives drop off really dull knives. I use a Nella steel for final edge setting and for touch-up during the season. Sounds like a lot of work but it really isn't if you keep a decent edge on your knives at all times. A couple of passes over the steel is all that is needed after the original sharpening. The only problem experienced is when the bitter half "borrows" a Nella from the knife drawer and carves meat on a steel or glass holding tray   .
I've tried electric knives but prefer the edge attained using this system. Using a well balanced knife with a quality grip just feels a whole lot better as well.

[redfish]

GJ
I think you hit the nail on the head on your point about restaurant quality knives. Sometimes a little investment goes a long way.

[Longshank]

Red. next time you are down this way.drop in at Peter's..they have replacement rap blades.

I'm sort of with trapper here. tried a bunch of sharperners and they do work on some knives, but the rapala fillet knives tun out better for me with a file and fisnih with a stone.

i just ordered some knives from BC....thye come with a spoon attached to rea to reip out "blood line" Made in Finland. Let you know how they work.

[dracokaos]

I echo the thoughts that you get what you pay for....especially in knives....I have a couple and to keep them sharp i use a triangle sharpener...its just a generic sharpener that came with one of my knives....you can tell when its sharpeneing properly because you feel the resistance as you pull it through the device...I have found that when i dont feel that resistance obviously it isnt sharpening properly...what i do then is I have an old steel triangle sharpener that i use first...i run it through and it puts a wide angle on the blade...then i run it through the fine sharpener and I am good to go....

hard to explain...but basically 2 sharpeners...one fine and one coarse...

cheers

[Dano]

I use the lansky sticks sold by OFAH. Easy to use but the fillett knives don't hold an edge.

[Grandpa Jim]

Just a clarification: The Nella knives I referred to were purchased very reasonably from the Nella outlet by Finch and the 400. They keep (kept?) a good supply of their knives that were deemed no longer suitable for heavy duty butcher/chef usage due to repetitive sharpening having reduced the blade thickness considerably. The resultant blades are thin but ideal for filleting purposes. The cost ranged from $5 to $10 for these used but highly serviceable "weapons of mass dissection". Blade lengths and widths vary with the cost being a small fraction of the cost of the knife when new.

[Starfire]

    My choice of fillet knife is anything that is sharp and I have a very old bone handled steel that works just great .It was once my grandmothers and then my mothers ,but now it is in my possesion and will stay there for quite some time. When my fishing buds are cleaning they always come to me to put the edge on ..... 

[Crappieperchhunter]

 The problem with some of them is it is difficult to get replacement blades. I can't find any for Rapala and they can't be sharpened.

John...the Sail store in Oshawa has replacement blades. At least they did in February when I was in there last.

[basshunter1989]

The best knife - http://www.amazon.com/Mora-Sweden-Knives-896-Composition/dp/B002LAR186

http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=77 - the best sharpener

[Crappieperchhunter]

Are they finite enough for smaller panfish and do they take a while to get used to?

Catcherman...it took me about 25-30 fish to get the hang of the electric...no looking back after that. And I think it does an even better job on the smaller fish... particularly perch.

For perch and panfish I would use nothing else. I have 3 old rapala knives collecting dust since I got my electric. It's quicker, less messy and you don't waste any more meat. There really is no downside.

[Grandpa Jim]

BH1989,
             That's the sharpening device to which I referred!

Starfire's comments about using a good steel are right on IMHO. A quality steel actually creates microscopic serrations in the edge of an already honed blade. I find a few light-pressure passes are all that is necessary to produce an extremely sharp cutting edge on my knives.

A cautionary note to those using the cross stick devices through which you draw a knife to resharpen it. If you use too much pressure you can end up with a badly scalloped blade. The only remedy for this malady is to have the knife professionally resharpened which corrects the rocker problems at the expense of removing a fair bit of the blade.

The support given electric knives is very interesting in light of the fact that I doubt any chef or butcher uses anything but a carefully honed, quality steel "manual" knife .

[redfish]

GJ
It's true no chef or butcher would use an electric knife but they get a lot more practice. I dare say they won't let me at an un-butchered cow anyway  

[humpback]

When I was in Cape Breton COD fishing, my buddy showed me a CTC Wet Wheel Sharpener. This is an electric wheel running in a small bath of water. The wheel goes front wards or back. Nice fine wheel, the key is to know the correct angle while holding your knife on the rest. I had to ask them to order one for me here as they are not displayed on the shelf. This unit will give you what you need, I finish the wheel with a ceramic stone. Then if I get a little more anal I finish that off with a leather strap, can use an old belt.

[Longshank]

GJ, my son is a Chef and for sure they/he use premium blades for kitchen work, but when it comes to filleting a whack of fish....perch for instance both he and I go to the electric.

Same fo walleye

Way faster....

I already said in much earlier posts, I used electrics fo all my fish including big salmon with no issues at all until the company manufactured a lower quality knife and blade.

The originals that I still have I would never part with.

[Tdsperch]

I've used the Chef's Choice 320 electric sharpener with my Rapala fillet knives for a couple years now to clean perch. Takes less than a minute to resharpen a knife razor sharp. I also use it to sharpen my kitchen knives on a regular basis. Knives cut beef like butter. Once you use it you won't ever want to use anything else. My wife agrees (that's your true test). Yes it's expensive but you're saving time and effort. Research the reviews for yourself. Hope to get some perch this weekend!

[nauti-too]

I have an old Normark Fiskars filleting knife that gets sharpened with a ceramic triangle sharpener. Usually a few passes is all thats needed on the flat side to retain its edge. If it needs a better sharpening I start with it on its edge then go to the flat side.
Out on the boat I use cheap no name fillet knives that I keep an edge on with a small ceramic sharpener that I think is a Normark as well. Don't want the good knife out there as more than one has ended up on the bottom of the bay.
I also have a cordless elec fillet knife that I received as a gift that does make short work of perch fillets. (when it gets used)

Cheers...Jake

[Robnperch]

I sharpen my normark knife with the back of my wifes good plates.I think they are ceramic plates.I could never imagine using an electric knife.If my grandpa seen me with an electric knife filleting fish he would say,"sunshine your not carving a turkey,move over I'll show you how it's done!!!He was the one who showed me the plate trick.

[fishermandan]

the guy that showed me that one used a coffee cup

[Centerspin]

Tdsperch, that Chef's Choice, do you by chance know who sells it in Ontario?

[redfish]

There was 5 or 6 different models on Amazon.ca and they also showed the stores who sell them.