What A Pull Through Knife Sharpener ACTUALLY Does To Your Knife | SUPER CLOSE UP
What does a carbide pull through knife sharpener do to your knife edge? Its not pretty, but let's take a super up close look to find out. I do not recommend these types of knife sharpeners due to their inability to sharpen knives properly. In this video I will show you why.
Knife sharpener used in this video⬇️
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Sharpening stone id recommend over the pull through⬇️ (HIGH quality, low price!)⬇️
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CHEAP Diamond stone⬇️
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Chapters
00:00 INTRO
00:33 Close up of the sharpener
01:05 Knife I’m using and close up before using pull through sharpener
02:12 Knife after profiling / sharpening on pull through
04:00 A better option
04:31 Close up of better option
Check the description for GOOD sharpening stones used in this video. All products I recommend are purchased with my own money, and are NOT sponsored. Thanks for watching! Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks man!
Would love to see your thoughts and views with the Lansky sharping kit?
I'm making carbide straightening hammers with different sized bearing balls to test the differences in effectiveness... I blame you, lol. Happy Thanksgiving!
Great video! And happy Thanksgiving with only sharp knives for turkeys! Now I can finally show my mother why I insist on NOT using that junk on her knives anymore once I have reshaped them... (she's got one of those 6-washer crap things, see my other comment about them)
what would you recommend for sharpening for while hiking ? need a lightweight option to replace the pull through with
You didn’t complete the process. Just a month of using the pull thru and any knife can become a serrated knife!
Lol
Fillet knife.*
It is called a flamberge, when the tooth are rounded😉
So that's what there for....
My thought exactly...
For me, these sharpeners have always been a "quick and dirty" way to make your knife cut something. They create basically a saw effect on the edge, which helps to cut things but also tends to wear off pretty quick.
In my mind, if I had a really nice knife, I would go for the traditional method. But if I have cheap knives (which I do) I will stick to a knife sharpener, or a steel rod.
There is a reason I always simply use galodas.
these sharpeners are not meant for super hard kitchen ironically. buy a decent softer carbon steel blade and it will work properly. otherwise your looking at chips in the ceramic/harden steel/quarts/ tungsten carbide on your sharpener and once that happens it will ruin the blade pretty fast. the best ones i've found have replaceable sand paper pieces you can get at get a different grits. very nice, very convenient.
yep. I also don't do that many pulls, just like 8 on the carbide an 4 on the fine. and the cheap knife is good for a few meals. I am not even trying to get the chips out, i just want to make the really dull part a bit sharper again. It is like comparing a professional paint job to a can of rust protection paint on a car. quick fix vs perfectionism. oh and i never used my *one* good blade on that thing. The neighbour has a proper sharpening stone for that one. :)
probably a better quick and dirty is the back of a plate
I’m not in the market for a knife sharpener at the moment, but thank you so much for doing this. I hate awful Amazon products with unreasonably large number of positive reviews. Thanks for exposing it.
i just assume because it works for a quick edge on a cheap blade, which is what most people get it for.
@@jaydeleon8094they really don't. Nothing is going to beat a grinding wheel or a wet stone.
This doesn't expose the product it exposes the general ignorance among people regarding knives
I have one of these I used to use before I bought a Spyderco sharpmaker. You run the knife through it and your onion cuts easier. I now see the way it destroys your knife to do that, but if it's a $10 knife who cares? Actually caring about knives is incredibly niche and most of those customers are genuinely happy with their purchase.
@@CIARUNSITE makes sense thanks for your insight. In many cases the knifes aren’t all that great to begin with, so if it gets the job done, I guess a positive review is still warranted.
I love videos like this. short, To the point, Comprehensive, And I feel like I walk away, knowing something, It didn’t distract me with three minutes of cheap frivolous antics. Instead, he gave me content that I didn’t have to stick around for an entire 10 minutes or 20 minutes to get. At the end, I feel like I’ve learned something valuable
Thanks, I appreciated the kind words 🙏
And thank you for the concise content and words! Subscribed
So true.
@@OUTDOORS55 its not kindness its honesty... true words...
yeah, like I didn't know what the "correct" way to sharpen a knife was just because I never bothered to research or spend time looking in to it, but hey, now I know.
I have a "fancy" pull-through sharpener that costs quite a bit. It came with instructions that very clearly said to apply a very light pressure, only pull 3-4 times through each side, and only use the coarse side for reprofiling. I take my favorite knife through the fine side about once every other month, and through the corase+fine like twice a year. It stays sharp as a laser. Maybe the higher price is justified and the quality itself is superb, maybe it's really the pressure and amount of pulls. But it definitely works and I'm happy with it.
is it the volcano sharpener?
@@user-ns7qw9hd5y It's a local brand, but the local company that makes it is well known for high-end kitchenware
They all work. He should have tested how the knife cuts after sharpening it, instead he just made extreme closeups of the thing. The thing with pull-throughs is that they are cheap and fast, some people just want their knives to cut and don't care if they look good or not.
I have an inexpensive 3-stage sharpener that had the same instructions: no more than 3 pulls, pull gently and lightly, and only use the coarsest one sparingly. The instructions also said to use a whetstone to restore the edge if the knife is damaged, as the pull through will make it worse. Anyway, I've been using a pull through on my Wusthof chef knife for years and the blade is still razor sharp, despite daily vigorous use.
Yeah, this KZheadr has no idea on how to use this sharpener. You should also wet it and do it under running water.
Here's the thing, a full sharpening with several stones going up in grit will be far better every single time for an experienced sharpener. Hardly anyone is an experienced sharpener, though. When I first started for about 2 whole weeks, I literally made any knife I tried to sharpen WORSE! That's not an exaggeration. I legitimately turned paring knives into butter knives. I got so frustrated time and time again, and the only reason I overcame the hurdle of learning how to maintain an angle on the stone is I was simply too stubborn to quit. Those pull through sharpeners aren't the best by any means, but they work far better for the average person than a stone would. Saying "take 5 minutes practicing on a stone for better results" simply isn't true. Sharpening is a skill that needs a lot of effort to beat out that little pull through sharpener.
From the comments, probably paid bots, they make it seem like you can just buy a stone and sharpen knives easily. I think they are paid bots cause they talk about buying his stuff and becoming a master knife sharpener from zero experience.
I've tried with stones and struggled hard, the time investment just not worth it. I picked up one of those fixed angle sharpeners (you attach the knife to an angled clamp and run a fixed stone over it), bloody gamechanger that thing.
Fr. I'd rather have a $20 knife I don't care about ruining, but is sharp enough for my purposes, than a $250 one that I have to send out every few weeks to get professionally sharpened. I've worked in kitchens for 15 years and never met a chef who cared about anything about knife other than, "is it sharp?"
@@GeoffBosco Only one I've ever seen care about their knife was my grandma. Little Asian lady who fit EVERY stereotype you could imagine. Anywho... She cared about her knives and was experienced at sharpening them too. She cared but that's because she was a master with it. 60 years in the kitchen with the same knife will teach you to be VERY good with it. I guess my point is that a Chef isn't going to care as much about a specific knife as someone who works with the same knife and uses it for almost anything. Does that really matter objectively? No. But I'd say it's at least worthwhile to understand that some people spend a lot on a knife, expect them to last, and maintain them so that they cut as well the first day as when that knife is passed on to kids.
Using a stone to sharpen a knife is very far away from quantum physics or rocket science. Literally just watch a KZhead video and then go for it, lol, tf you talking about?
For those that have no experience free-handing on a sharpening stone, you can obtain little plastic clips that function as an angle guide on any of the usual websites (which I cannot mention without getting censored by youtube). they slide on the spine of the knife and help maintain a steady angle while sharpening. Another useful item are the fixed angle electric knife sharpeners, but they also tend to remove more material than needed. If you want the most perfect knife edge without free-handing or using angle guides on traditional sharpening stones, and money is no object, you could always get one of those complete kits of variable "fixed" angle knife sharpeners such as the kme knife sharpening system.
Oh those clips are a brilliant idea. I've seen some "sharpening systems" but I don't like those cuz they seem a bit much, plus don't incentivise or help you with learning to free hand imo.. clips is a brilliant idea.
I must admit that it is rather enjoyable to sharpen a blade using a sharpening stone once I got the idea of keeping it at the same angle whilst sharpening . I like the way it is possible to resharpen disposable hobby knife blades as it seems so wasteful to throw them away when there is plenty of life left in them with a quick sharpening .
For work I use the 25 center harbor freight disposable snap off little box cutters - I sharpen/resharpen them using a whetstone and/or 1000+ grit sand paper on a band file....they last me forever.
Once you get used to sharpening knives this way you no longer really need a hi quality knife unless your working in a kitchen and using it constantly.
@@sethkarma2072 Honestly, that's the entire point of products like this. They cater to the vast majority of people who are either unwilling, unable, or to be fair, don't have the time, to sharpen their knives properly. None of these products are meant for people who actually know and care about their knives. ;)
I have one of these sharpeners. I know nothing about knives but it was recommended a year or two ago by a popular consumer review website. I’ve noticed that the more I use it, the less sharp my knives are. Now I know why. Thanks for the informative, no-nonsense video and recommendations
Same here. I had a very sharp knife which I use in the kitchen and after I use it with a sharpener like this it became dull.
Once in a while you need to resharpen them properly. For the right angle a Lansky is a great tool with dif grits. But for everyday the pull through gets the job done. Knife quality keeps the edge longer, and the pull trough sharpener wears out. On some you can take it appart and reverse the carbide blades. I also use 400 grit Wet/Dry sanding paper on a glass for very smooth edges. Also keep a small pen like diamond stick sharpener in my belly pack, when on the field
NO NONSENSE!!! UPVOTES TO THE LEFT!!!
@@WillyK51 Why would you ever use a properly sharpened knife on this pull through is beyond me. It's only good for knives you never plan to sharpen properly because it undoes whatever sharpening you do in the first place.
Decades ago I was told the fastest way to ruin a good knife is by over sharpening it. I had to learn that lesson the hard way after screwing up one or two knives by oversharpening with a cheap sharpener like this one. Now I only buy very high quality blade steel and only sharpen when absolutely necessary with a professional, laser sharpener.
I've been using these coarse/fine sharpeners for years as I've always wondered what's going on at the micro level, thank you for shedding some light on it. I have no doubt a sharpening stone is a lot better but here's where cost/benefit comes into play. My wife and I use our cheap, second hand cooking knives every day (and usually in a hurry) to cut basic meats and vegetables and the coarse/fine sharpeners seem to do the job well and quickly. You've helped me understand that it's reducing the life of the knives but I'm kind of okay with that since they're not great knives to begin with. When I finally get a chance to invest in some nice knives, I'll certainly get a sharpening stone to go with them. Thank you, great video!
@@vidyaWolfbut one needs to take the time to master the sharpening process. It's a learned skill. These $3 sharpeners are easy and quick and they do make knives cut better (sharp?). So they aren't really dull. Just damaged.
I'd also add that a tool used "every day", for an essential task, should probably be of a higher quality. Decent knives needn't cost a ton. Knives from Victorinox or Dexter can be had for much less than fifty bucks. When properly maintained, they will completely transform the cooking experience. Truly sharp knives save time, give better results with less effort, and can even make prep work sorta fun. This is why professional chefs everywhere use them. And would never use one of these $9.99 knife wreckers.
@@gizzyguzzi Yeah, takes a bit of time to "master" it. Takes only a few times to become proficient. But then you know how. A pretty useful skill if you ask me.
@@gizzyguzzi it doesn’t take long to learn how to use a sharpening stone well enough to put a decent edge on a blade.
a cheap knife will also benefit from a sharpening stone, and in some cases also holds an edge just as well
I have a couple of the pull through type knife sharpeners. The packaging details how to do it. It basically tells you to use light pressure & keep the edge at a 90 degree angle to the 'v.' Once you get a feel for it, it works well. The quality of the steel also matters as you'd expect. The pressure used in the video seems to be far greater than "light pressure" as it sounds like a heavy grating. Regardless, these sharpeners aren't the best in the world, but they do have their place when used properly. I have no bias as I'm not profiting on these or any other sharpeners directly or indirectly via affiliate marketing.
Yeah the guy that did this review is just bias lol. He forced the knife into the sharpener and then called it crap for his own user error. If you can't use a tool right that's not the fault of the tool. These kind of sharpeners work just fine if used properly and are easier for most people to use to get a dull knife sharp again. Not sure why this guy hates them so much.
@@troy510 At which point did you see him forcing the knife into it? I owned a couple of those before switching to stones and let's be fair, they are nowhere near a sharpening rod or whetstones. What good is a sharpener if you have to run your knife through every day?
@@troy510 It doesn't matter how light or hard the pressure is. The design flaws will be the same: too small of a contact area and equal removal of material from the outer edge and the bottom of chips/divots. You can't get a straight edge with these sharpeners unless you are starting with a straight edge - but if you were starting with a straight edge, you wouldn't need to be sharpening in the first place.
@@nunliski Yeah I mean you didn't listen to a word I said clearly, But if you are a fan boy go ahead don't worry about me lol. Spend hours sharpening a knife with your precious sharpening stones they do eventually get a sharp knife. After you spend a ton of money on all the stones of course lol. Oh yee you have to have a proper leather strop also so that's more money for that, You have a proper leather strop too right? lol
@@troy510 Fan boy? I was pointing out an objective flaw with these sharpeners. Why is it so important to you that everyone agree that your chosen method is superior in every context? I don't care what you use. I'm not so insecure about knife sharpening - lmao - that I need you to sharpen your knives the way I do. Be a little less pathetic, and find something that actually matters to get defensive about.
I've been practicing on some old kitchen knives, and while it seemed intimidating to not fully understand how to get the right angle, it has become more intuitive. I have finally gotten into sharpening an old chisel of mine that someone tried to drive through a nail. I haven't gotten the full gouge/chip out yet, but it's getting there.
For some really damaged knives, i lve had to take them edge on to a belt sander, and just redo the bevel completely.
@@cheesesniper473 understood. I don’t have a bench grinder or belt sander, so I have just been using a coarse wet stone and fine wet stone. But I have noticed you really have to remove a lot of steel before honing it sharp.
@@jmfs3497 if you make a job out of it, a belt sander is your first and best investment. Also useful for a surprising amount of applications besides.
As much as I hate when people use them as they use them for the wrong type of work and ruin heat treatments, that is the perfect job for a grindstone/sander. Just keep the chisel (or whatever workpiece) cool and wet until you get that chip out so you don't ruin its temper, then you'll have a way easier time getting it correctly sharpened- also, if you're unaware, the back of the chisel should NEVER be sharpened, only deburred (the most you should do to its edge is lay the whole chisel completely flat on the stone and swirl it to hone the entire face- the edge geometry is important for how a chisel either bites into or glides along the workpiece you use it on in the future). No sense in chewing through your whetstones remaking an edge when there's far cheaper, faster and very similar quality tools to do the same thing
Those are good in a pinch, for a knife you don't care about. So far the best edge I've gotten is from a bog standard ceramic coaster. Second only to a real stone. Nice explanation! Let me add something.. Being a bit of a woodworker this is exactly why you use a long plane to flatten an edge. the longer the plane the flatter the end result because it averages out all those bumps.
Something else you could use in a pinch- the bottom of most ceramic cups or plates! These are reasonably fine and smooth, making for a "good enough" result. It'll probably outdo this gadget easily, and- any kitchen has them. Compared to a stone the contact is fairly small though, so there *is* an increased risk of making the blade wavy if you use just this all the time. But in a pinch- served me well.
Yeah ceramic can do wonders for an edge. I think he was just pushing WAY to hard. Im wondering if he even bothered to read the directions instead of just bashing this thing immediately. Ceramic need a mere glide across the edge to be useful.
The sharpener you use is from an unknown brand, most likely made in China. From the looks, what should be carbide is in fact just hardened steel. Also, decent sharpeners of that build don't use fixed plates of material, but discs which rotate freely, so that at different times different portions of the discs are in contact with the blade. I just tried the sharpening on my Victorinox sharpener. The magnification I could use is only about half of what I you have, from what I can tell, but the discs don't look nearly as bad as those on your sharpener, despite the sharpener being in use for years. All I could notice were some fine steel chips attached to their surface, sideways - they fell of when I brushed them with a tiny brush. I also looked at the blade too, after sliding it through the coarse and fine discs of the sharpener. It's definitely not a finish like what I get on my water stones for chisels and plane blades, not even close, but it's also definitely not as bad as what you show. Truth be told, I started with a clearly better edge and a somewhat better knife. But you know that saying - garbage in, garbage out. Bad blade, cheap sharpener, you obviously won't get very good results. Better blade, better sharpener, and while the results won't be perfect, they'll definitely be much better.
I suspect the problem is Outdoors55 was using way too much pressure on the knife. My sharpner tells you not to apply any downward pressure - just let gravity do the work.
@@shrakaB-I-N-G-O. Pushing into something harder than the object you want to sharpen is a really foolish user error.
I got into and started learning the art of knife/blade/edge sharpening and honing by hand a decade ago. Lookin' back, it was one of the best life decisions I ever made. Keep all my knives hair shaving sharp (I abhor dull knives), with regularly honing of my high use kitchen knives on an equivalent 1000 grit diamond honing rod or 1200 grit diamond stone, or on my leather strop, as well as maintaining sharpness on all my edged tools, all by hand. I simply abhor these pull throughs as much as I do dull knives.
I received a pull through sharpener with a Shun knife a few years ago and the directions specifically state not to use on chipped or nicked blades. It works fine for in between keep up and no issues at all when using my non damaged knives in it.
I agree with your assessment, for the most part. I work on a shipping dock, and I cut boxes all day. Also, as former military, I have much knife experience. I use a Lansky sharpener to create a perfect edge, which lasts a long time. When the knife starts to lose that keen edge, I will use the pull through sharpener as a "touch up" only!! I have learned that a very, very, very light touch will improve the edge, but heavy pressure will start to chip the edge. Later, I go back to a stone to restore the edge. Pull through sharpeners can be a help when at work and don't have time for a stone, but the key is extremely light pressure.
I totally agree. There is a place for pull through knife sharpeners. They have their limitations, as well demonstrated in this video, but for convenience, they're hard to beat. I use a sharpening steel, pull through sharpener, various hones, a Lansky sharpener and even an old Buck Knife Master hone guide at various times depending on circumstances. Maintaining the proper angle on a hone is a real skill which challenges my best efforts without a guide.
Thanks for the advise !
Id recommend replacing the pull through with a Bryn-stål, dont remember the english name, those rods with handles you use to touch up (not sharpen!) the edge of a blade. Its what us chefs use and ive used it at home for all kinds if knives.
@@sgt_kissekatt6686I think it's just called a honing steel
Oh, are there a lot of knife sharpening classes in "the military"? Bwaaahahahahahah. Weird, cause most "former military" folks I know got really good at paperwork. /Eyeroll. Maybe you were a suuuuper secret commando that had to knife a bunch of people? But I doubt it. You have experience with knives? Cool. But that was cringey man, you don't need to bring up "former military" in every conversation. Real badasses don't brag about it, and most military folks are absolutely vital and boring support.
Very good explanation and visuals. My dad showed me how to sharpen a knife way back in the day, I guess I was maybe 6 or 7 at the time (78 now). First start with a hand file, establish an edge, and make sure it is even all along the length of the blade. Then use an emery cloth and continue to slowly pull the knife along. Be sure to reverse the hold on the knife in both cases so that you are making your cuts in the same direction. Then use a stone and pretty much the same way shown in the video. Again, use the same direction on both sides of the blade (reverse and hold the back side by the blade if necessary). Now for the final stage, get an old leather belt, and strop the blade (ever see a barber sharpen a razor before he gives you a shave?) - you take the knife and pull it down the length of the strap and flip it over and pull away from you back down the strap. While common sense tells you leather could not have any ability to shape steel in fact it does. Your final effort will literally cut almost anything you could ever want to cut - yes you do have to be realistic here, You know what I mean. No, this does not work on serrated blades - but you can just use the leather belt every now and then to keep even a serrated blade very sharp.
being told this is how to sharpen a knife is exactly why I bought a bunch of the 3 dollar pull through sharpeners like the one here. Quick and easy
Thank you very much sir.
Stropping is a waste of effort. Hone the blade with 3 light touch alternating passes of a coffee cup lip and get the same razor edge as stropping without the common error of rounding the blade that leather can cause.
@@mbeecher9921 if the edge is so fine that the leather messes it up, it's probably too fragile to use anyway.
@@gizzyguzziyou said it 👍👍 it sounds almost like "and on the third day you must meet the old man with white hat by the magic well..... he will give you the right stone and ancient wisdom..."
I've used a sharpening stone for years and then a Steel to maintain an edge between sharoenings. I'm amazed to see the difference up close in your vid! Thanks
I bought one of those sharpeners a long time ago and it worked in fact I sharpened a machete with it. But now it seems to make the knives dull. You explained why very well. I subscribed.
Great information, so much detail, I can't believe the close-ups. Zac In The Wild showed a Work Sharp pull through today that looks like it has some innovation, so I'm curious how it would compare to something like this. Thanks for the upload.
I used to use a stone to sharpen my knives, but that's no longer possible due to issues with my sight. For the last few years I have been using a similar sharpener to the one you show. You have explained why blunting the knife on a fine file before using the sharpener works so well for me. I make a point of only using cheap knives, the process is not kind to them.
If you've ever been to a gun/knife show where they have a table selling pull through sharpeners, the first thing they do it run the edge over a rock or sandpaper to make it dull; creating a smooth edge where the sharpener will show that it works. This is probably the only way to use this sharpener as effectively as it can work. However, you're removing so much material that it only makes sense to do it with a cheap knife you don't care about.
I've been using one of these for years, mostly the ceramic side, which never seemed to clog or chip for me. I know it won't produce a great edge, but it still does the trick. It keeps my kitchen knife nicely sharp for cooking, and considering how little my friends and family care for sharpness, using this still is a large improvement.
Given how he damaged the ceramic side with his knife its pretty clear he was using way too much pressure
The only thing that matters is: Does the knife cuts better? If so, then that's all I need to know. Nice to see how it looks at micro level though. And like people said, you really put on too much pressure on the sharpener and not passed enough times on the fine one. Yes, the fine one takes a lot of times to be effective on the first time you do it.
Only thing that matters to you. You're entitled to be lazy and ignorant, it's true.
I have a pull through I've used for years with decent results on standard pocket knives, and otherwise its always been more of a quick and dirty sharpening tool. if I feel it needs a better sharpening I've used electric belt sharpeners. but I'm also trying to learn whetstone sharpening because I have some knives/ other blades, that I just cant sharpen well with either a pull through or my electric sharpener
Thank you for this video! Very impressive! Did you also check quality of work by Finnish sharpeners using ceramic wheels like those sold by Fiskars or Ikea? I use ceramic sharpening stones from Haidu, Tyrolit and Fallkniven, but family keeps asking me what could they use. Is it wise to recommend those rolling wheel sharpeners?
Navy vet here. I was the guy that showed the guys that had dull knives how to sharpen a knife to a razors edge. Most had Buck knives that weren't Navy issue. A flat stone with medium grit will do a razor sharp edge. It's like spit shining boots, you don't figure it out until you do, then it's easy. Put the time in and you can sharpen any knife. I have a triangular setup (course, medium, fine) on my kitchen counter for kitchen knives and I just use the course. Works great and takes about 30 seconds.
holy! that difference is amazing! Interesting to see just how well the stones work with this closeup.
How about a video on abrasive sharpening rods? I use a ceramic rod and a wedgek honing rod angle guide for quick hair-whittling edges if I’m feeling lazy. DMT fine diamond rods are good for recurved blades, even if there are chips in the edge. I don’t usually use angle guides, but I can never get a good, consistent angle on rods unless I use them or lay the rod flat like a sharpening stone. They also work a treat on Scandi grinds, surprisingly well, I might add.
I agree it's not a good system, but you can get less terrible results by using lighter pressure on each stroke, which will mean that the sharpening edges won't drop as deeply into the gaps, allowing them to become shallower.
Lighter pressure means no material is removed. As a professional knife maker and sharpener i find it hard to imagine how one is supposed to sharpen without material being removed...
@@OUTDOORS55 I realise you don't like these type of sharpeners, but come on, there is different levels of pressure you can use. It's not just all or nothing. You use different amounts of pressure to sharpen knives with a stone, and you do the same with these.
@@OUTDOORS55 lighter pressure means less material is removed, per stroke, not no material. If no material is removed, you are using no pressure, not lighter pressure. But it's really irrelevant, as far as a professional is concerned, my suggestion would only advise people who have such a system and choose to continue using it for convenience, despite it's inferiority.
A shallower angle should also help with not having the knife catch on the indents and dig them deeper.
@@OUTDOORS55 It seems to work though. I've got one of these that has 3 levels. I use no pressure - weight of the knife only - and with just 10-15 pulls through at each level the knife is significantly sharper. I'm sure a proper stone is way better - you shouldn't have to juke the numbers by using the cheap sharpener in a way it explicitly tells you not to. I'd be very interested to see a close up of the two methods when the crappy one is used properly.
Thank you for SHOWING us up close what a pull-through sharpener actually does to a knife blade. It makes so much sense when you see it under a microscope. It both explains why the knife will indeed cut better through something like a ripe tomato right after it's been "sharpened", but it also shows why it's a terrible idea to remove material in the lengthwise direction of the blade. I will never use my AnySharp pull-through sharpener on my Zwilling kitchen knives again after having seen this. I have now bought the Sharpal 156N dual-grit diamond sharpening stone in stead.
I've been using this for over 2 years and my knifes are still fine. They can cut paper easy after sharpening, which is sharp enough for me, I know you could get them sharper still, but for what it's worth and how easy it is this works great. If you don't have super expensive knives than it's perfectly fine to use.
That was my takeaway as well. I need my knives to cut bread, vegetables and meat. Sharp enough is sharp enough. When the alternative is buying products I can't easily get and practicing a craft, I'll take the cheap option. Worse come to worst, I'll just buy new knives.
Great video. I always knew these sharpeners were terrible for your knives. Now we have excellent proof.
I did notice you really tipped the knife up while using the carbide side rather than use a flat pull through. I wonder if that was causing extra damage.
Using it incorrectly caused all the damage.
First thing I noticed, he managed to incorrectly use the most straight forward sharpening tool in the market. Even a child is able to use a pull through knife sharpener. It will never be as good as a whetstone, but damn he could at least use it the way it's intended to be used
Look at the knife profile. The tip curves to a point. You want the blade edge perpendicular to the sharpener, so you change the angle as you pull through to follow the edge.
@@Dead_Goat Ah, the professionals showed up.
It's just amazing with what confidence people write untrue statements and believe that they are right.
I have a Todocope Three Stage Pull Through Sharpener and my Every Day Knife is a SOG Traction Tanto. Due to the design of my knife's blade, it's rather difficult to sharpen it on a proper stone. It has a slight concave on the blade with sharp angles as well. The three stage Sharpener has the same first stage your two stage has with a Honing Steel Rod Style Carbide Steel and Ceramic Second and Third Stage. It literally saved my knife. My assumption on your results is due to the fact that it's both a two stage and the design of the stages. In addition, my three stage sharpener's manual states to pull through each stage three times, going through each stage one by one. So 3 pulls on Stage 1, 3 on Stage 2, 3 on Stage 3. My sharpener literally made my knife razor sharp, to the point I one accidentally and painlessly cut myself reaching into my pocket one day(Knife had slid open somehow).
dont buy dumb knives. If your knife has an edge that cant be sharpened with a stone then it's a silly knife for mall ninjas.
Don't buy dumb stones. See how this can go? @@CRneu
Wow! That's crazy that those sharpeners do that to your knives. Thank-you for showing this. I will definitely be using a stone from now on.
Well this makes so much sense. been using those for years and after while they just stopped seeming to "improve" the edge of my blade, even though the first few times they did when the knives were new. Had no idea it was that bad,
Great illustration of what these cheap "sharpeners" actually do to steel.
I've been using that pinch sharpener for close to 5 years already. I did notice that my cheap knife is having more and more issues because of those grooves. However I still believes that it does the job just fine for everyday use - as a person who do no specifically care about knife maintenance. I reckon my knife will have to be thrown away in a couple years already, but that doesn't matter considering it's cheap initial price. If my 10$ knife lasts me 10 years, I much prefer the expanse than having to invest time into sharpening properly my knife That being said, your video and explanation accompanied with the visual is really informative and well done. Nice work!
Dude it's so easy to sharpen a knife and that $10 knife will last 15-20 years
I'm with you on this. I think it illustrates why I feel the occasional need to properly sharpen my 10$ knife.. Even if I give it the harsh treatment more often with one of those sharpeners.
Agreed that a stone is the proper tool, you're putting waaaaaaay too much pressure onto that blade - it should just gently rest onto the finer sharpener and slide through it just a couple of times (as per instructions on my slightly less cheap sharpener)
Watch the follow up video
That’s brutal, all I can think of when I see those macro shots is that you’re gonna get micro bits of metal in your food.
That was always my concern when using kitchen steels to hone the knife before use. When I see chefs doing that and then directly use the knife without cleaning, I always think about those metal shavings. Nobody else seems to care tough...
@@floraly88 you might not care but chefs are committed to providing a nutritious meal high in iron.
@@floraly88Honing doesnt produce shavings, it just aligns the edge.
@@floraly88 lol most ceral in the US is fortified with Iron filings. You'll be fine.
wash your knives after sharpening should be common sense I'd hope
thank you so much for this, i was always skeptical of how these pull-through sharpeners worked and now I will never use one again
just the sound when you pull the blade through gives me goosebumps. "Fiskars" has a pull-through sharpener with two round sharpening stones. I like the sharpener for quick results.
Thanks for showing the damage caused by pull through sharpeners. This is the best method to show why we shouldn't use them. Happy Thanksgiving to you & your family !
Thanks for confirming the conclusion I came to about 50 years ago, which was that this device looks crude and brutal. I have never used one. I am not a "sharpener", I am happy with using a pretty worn broken-off piece of a coarse "sharpening stone with handle". It has served me for nigh on fifty years of light domestic use. I take care to use a consistent angle and only sharpen one side. I have not yet sharpened any blade to an unusable width! 🙂 I do have some better flat stones for chisels though.
Try some of the diamond plates for chisels they are phenomenal JMO. Some are better than others but they can last a long time.
@@e.t.preppin7084 I do have a set of 3, coarse, medium & fine, but have not used them since I bought them, since I hardly do any woodwork these days. I just bought them because I saw they could be useful. I have all sorts of tools for things I don't do, hah!
Don't believe the video too much. He was putting WAY too much DOWN-ward force on that PULL-through Sharpener...that's why so much metal was being eaten away when he was "pulling." You're supposed to let the weight of the knife do all the work, and PULL gently. I'm pretty sure he was damaging that knife on purpose in order to make those Pull-through Sharpeners looks bad, so he can sell those Sharpening Stones through an Amazon affiliate program.
@@BrockLee3 I'm not gonna argue with you, but I do wonder if the average user even thinks about these things, and uses whatever force they happen to adopt.
@@flamencoprof Certainly plenty do (probably the comments all agreeing that they destroy their knives on these), but most usually have instructions that will tell you to go really light
Thanks for the magnified views. Always wondered why my carbide sharpeners didn't work.
You need two stones. One coarse and one fine (or fine and finer lol) and you gotta rub them together (while wet) in order to smooth them out and make them both perfectly flat before every sharpening. Works much better that way. The only problem that I’ve found with water stones is that they can make the blade edge so sharp that it becomes very easy to chip. Just gotta be careful with them is all.
Thank you for these detailed close ups, those are incredibly helpful to me. The only sharpener we have is one of those ceramic sticks with a handle. I‘m really bad at using it (we don’t use it as often as we probably should), and the only chips in our blades come from hitting the edge of a plate while cutting etc. I should work on getting some practice…
That's called a hone, and its job is not to "sharpen" the blade by removing material like sharpeners or whetstones. What a hone does is it realigns the blade (which bends out of place with use). So, ideally, you should use both a hone (often) and a sharpener (every once in a while) to maintain your knives' blades in good shape
Also, it's important to remember that really hard knives (usually japanese knives) don't do well with honing rods!@@lesstalkmorefishing1000
Just like the other reply has said. You are not sharpening your knife. You’re just making it straight again.
Extremely well made videos, nothing beats a professional with free hand sharpening also for versatility, he can sharpen anywhere, anytime with improvised tools. ...takes much dedication. 😃👍
Agree 👍 . Totally worthwhile skill to learn . I started with a fixed angle system before freehand
Good video. Short and no repetitive fluff. I do have one of these little things and I do like it on my cheap kitchen knives. But maybe that’s all it’s good for
Great video thanks - I use a pull through sharpener on our mass produced cheaper kitchen knives but a stone on my good ones. Only because when I tried the pull through on my good knives the angle was so far off it would have taken ages to get an edge on them so I went back to the stone. Glad I did but it also sounds like I’m sharpening them wrong so I better watch some more of your videos. 😊
I have some of those dead cheap diamond stones, and the 400grit does wonders for both quick retouches, or full reprofiles. the 1000grit takes too long to get anywhere IMO, and I personally prefer the slightly serrated edge you get with a coarser stone -- it's great for catching on tomato skins or similarly slippery things so you cut into them and not smush them
If sharpened well, a polished 20,000 grit edge will dig into tomatoes better than 400
Though 400 grit diamond will be more than enough for most cases, I actually prefer to finish on a 1000 grit diamond after 400 grit, which makes my knives scary sharp.
You are not supposed to get anywhere with the 1000, you use it after the 400 if you want to sharpen your blade further. Obviously, you don't care about sharpening your blade more, so you don't have use for the 1000 stone.
@@ilikewaffles3689 But, how long does it take to polish an edge vs using the 400 to slice a tomato as this comment suggests? Yeah, it does sound kinda pointless when you say it out loud huh? Common sense is a rare commodity these days.
@@Tatertot_Tommy a 20k grit edge, by definition, is much sharper than a 400 grit edge. They serve different purposes and one may be more appropriate than the other. But you can't cure ignorance, I guess.
Very good ! I bought one of those ceramic stones right after watching your other video. Works like a charm. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Alex
My late father had left behind a 5.90 inch Italian-made stiletto style folding knife. It was as sharp as a spoon. It was as dull and useless as it can ever get. Well, one morning, I was on a phone call, and while waiting on someone to answer, I began casually sharpening the knife using the unglazed rim of the bottom of a mug (I used the circular motion). It took me only about 3 minutes to put a decent edge on it. It still needs work, but hell, does ceramic do a bang on job.
First video I have seen of yours. This was so interesting!! I was going to get a sharpener. Thank you for saving me money and my knives!! I'm buying the stone you recommended. ❤ Thank you
The cheapest sharpener gives the cheapest results...not too surprised LOL. Great video! The editing and pacing were excellent, no silly crap or lame attempts at humor, and great work with the close up shots!! I have some "cheap" kitchen grade knives that I got from my last restaurant job. I use this sharpener on them, but I make sure to use a drop of oil when I run the blade through, and I go VERY LIGHTLY on the coarse and fine sides. It keeps the cheap knifes sharp, but these are also $10 knives that I don't mind having to replace. NOW MY HANDMADE custom 8" chef's knife only gets sharpened at my brothers house on his stones. 😎
Thank you for a great video with lots of close up magnified images! This is exactly what people need to learn what is happening to their knife bevels and edges when they use these different tools. It looked to me like the ceramic side did help it some. I first started using slot scraper devices long ago when I needed to sharpen things, but eventually decided they weren't good enough. It took me years of study and experimentation to figure it out, and I still think I could get better, but I have a system that does some pretty impressive things now, for very little money.
You found the cheap diamond plates I bet. ?
Don't believe the video too much. He was putting WAY too much DOWN-ward force on that PULL-through Sharpener...that's why so much metal was being eaten away when he was "pulling." You're supposed to let the weight of the knife do all the work, and PULL gently. I'm pretty sure he was damaging that knife on purpose in order to make those Pull-through Sharpeners looks bad, so he can sell those Sharpening Stones through an Amazon affiliate program.
@@BrockLee3I agree with you, you are not supposed to put pressure on the course side neither on the whole blade on chipped or damaged areas to level the blade.
I use the ceramic side of my pull through and it seems to do a decent job on my pocket knife. About 6 swipes whenever it seems dull makes it work pretty well. Some day I might send it back to Benchmade or to a professional to see how much better it can be, but the quick pull through makes it good enough.
Do you have a sharpening steel tool? The one you see people in movies glide their knives against to make that noise? What they do is bend your edge back into place and often times this in enough to sharpen it. Your ceramic side might do something similar but of course worse.
You should invest in a strop. I use one on my pocket knife when I get home from work every day, and only have to stone it with 1k about once a month.
I have used pull-through sharpeners for years, and this technique shown is not how it is done.
@@ArthurX-eg8bc What is the proper technique? Also I feel like he went way too many times (and maybe even applied too much pressure?). Whenever I use mine for kitchen knives I only pass the knife 1-2x on the coarse side, using barely any pressure, almost letting the weight of the knife do the work. I rarely use the ceramic side either.
@@MikeTrixPlays He used way too much force. If he kept the knife at a consistent 'height' (i.e. not letting the ceramic bite into the chips) he wouldn't have had the troubles he did. That said, initial blade profiling always requires more work. The tool will only do X degree sharpening. Depending on the initial angle from the factory, you might have to do a lot of passes. That said, weight of the knife, even smooth stroke. You should really be able to feel when the knife is sharpened by this.
Looks so high class
I did not expect that... That is shocking but explaining why I sometimes thought they made the problem worse sometimes. I didn't find a good and reasonable priced grinding stone yet and instead found a great sharpening rod that is not only durable but also highly effective. Traditional methods seem to be the best ones and have proven themselves over hundreds of years. I am sure that they could have come up with such a "V" design long ago, but professionals might have quickly ditched it when they saw the results with an experienced eye. Maybe masters did already know that scratching off material like that will logically result in damaging their hard work.
I think you're supposed to wet the knife during this process so little bits you "filed" off don't damage the edge. It's also used in filing, and for polishing there is even a special lubricant
I mean you might be right but I highly doubt it. The loose filing has no grip so it can’t really cause friction which is what files/breaks the blade. It might very rarely get caught between the knife and the sharpener but it’d be more likely to do so in the gaps/notches. I don’t see how wetting the blade, at least with water, would help and if anything the adhesion would be more likely to keep the filings in place no? That said this is just an observation from someone with no experience on knife sharpening or some related field so I’d love to find out how right wrong I am about this.
@@MossyMoht let me tell you something, I know nothing abouut sharpening too:( sorry
@@thenamestails7152nice arguments
@@Kayther33 huh?
@@MossyMohtWetting will absolutely help. Water may not be as good of a lubricant as oil, but it reduces friction, too. There are some exceptions though, like rubbing two completely flat stones together where it actually sucks them together quite hard. It might seems as if it's doing the opposite, but the wear on the surfaces should still be less than without, at least that's my impression. Either way, that doesn't happen with a knife in my experience. Stones remove the metal on your knife definitely faster without water. But they leave you with a rougher finish and dust in the air.
This is amazing content. This meshes Science, Metallurgy, Macro Photography, and Experimental Customer Review style show is amazing. I'm captivate at seeing the world at such a small scale to see what everything is made of
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Used an old pull thru on a single knife for ages, real sharp, cuts well, fine enough for me
I've been using one of these for over 10 years. I absolutely love the thing and haven't noticed any damage on any of blades after all this time. Maybe if I was a professional chef I'd notice but I still love it for what I do
Me too, it does the job, is easy to use and my knife works fine. Cooking alone is a huge time burden, and i already have hobbies I love, knife sharpening correctly (especially on cheap knives) is just not worth the time for many of us which is why those products are popular.
This is what the video misses entirely... It WAS a blunt knife that is now a SHARPER knife. The sharpener did its job, as advertised and was simple to use. Yes we can analyse it under a microscope, but let's be real here, it works!
Granted the sharpening stone will give a better edge. The pull through sharpeners don't really sharpen but they straighten the edge where it has been rounded over through use. And if the blade has chips then when straightened will sort of give you a serrated edge. So the question is are you going to sharpen your knife every week with sharpening stone or would you simply true up the edge with the pull through when necessary. At some point you may want to give the knife a professional sharpening. Otherwise good video.
You can true up an edge with a coffee cup and not rip your blade apart..
A simple honing steel will straighten the edge and you really should be using one every time you use a kitchen knife. I only have to sharpen my knives on a stone every several months and that's after cutting through a ton of chicken bones, etc.
You are so right on this. I had a factory job once where we would mix 30 tons of milk powder pr day. About 2/3 or 20 tons of that we needed to empty out manually from paper bags that we cut open. That's about 1000 bags per day. Cutting needs to be fast and easy. We had a shapener simmilar to the one you are reviewing and it made everything worse. I could actually feel pain in the forearm because off the resistance from cutting after using this contraption from hell. After cutting open about a million paper bags I can tell you that this kind of sharpener is horrible. And the loose bits and pieces of metal on the blade probably end op in whatever you are cutting.
milk with some iron in it, what could be better?
@@talkingbirb2808 Milk with some iron and blood in it, glad to help
WOW! Eyes opened! I am getting a sharpening stone and learning how to use it, not joking. I bought a 'pull thru' sharpener called a 'hunter honer' YEARS ago at a 'gun show' and now I see what I am ACTUALLY doing to my blade/knife... VERY interesting/awesome video...
What we usually use here in Brazil for a quick sharpening (and I would love to see you try it) is a tool called "chaira". I've heard this is supposed not to remove material from the knife and because of that, people use this immediately after they realised the knife isn't sharp enough and immediately gets back at cutting the barbecue with it, but I'm not completely sure of that fact, so when I use it, I wash the knife afterwards. It's like a straight stick made of steel or ceramic with ridges all around. There are more coarse versions that are cheap and more fine versions that are supposed to just straighten the edge of an already sharpened knife
That's called a honing steel in English. Everyone in the kitchen knows what that is and likely owns one.
@@Un1234l I've never seen that in English language media, that's why I thought it wasn't popular. Thanks for explaining
Standard professional kitchen practice in germany is to just hone it (every day) whenever its not peferctly sharp. The "Wetzstahl" is just a hardened steel rod with a very light surface profile. The knives will stay sharp indefenitelly that way. Then from time to time they give it to a professional for rebuilding, what they then call sharpening.
For those that like the Spyderco ceramic bench stones, grab them quick because they have been discontinued. I put an extra set away because I like the way they touch up my edges between formal sharpening of my knives.
Yeah I hope they think again and think right this time, I don’t understand why they made that decision. Great stones, I wouldn’t wanna drop and break any of mine in the future. Can’t fill the home with spares up to the ceiling though either, i.e we’re screwed.
Agreed 🕷️ spyderco does absolutely make some goodies for sure!!! I prefer their triangular white crock stix with the red tips!!! 1:06
You nailed it! All these things really do is create a 'saw blade', which provides the illusion that one ends up with a sharper blade, when in fact it 'saws' through paper rather than cut through. To an amateur that may appear to be impressive. Your video highlighted what really happens.
I love how it was compared to the stone, it really shows how knife should look when it sharp :)
Like fixing potholes by driving into them. Very informative video.
I always thought these sharpeners were almost making the blade serrated at a microscopic level. As such they often need to be resharpened soon. However, they do a great job of cutting slippery surfaces like tomato skin, tough meat etc. It's not a very sustainable way to maintain your knives but it doesn't require spending ages on the sharpening stone to get them dangerously sharp, so you can see why people like them.
I agree, I have hunting knives I treat special and sharpen correctly, but in my kitchen, full of cheap knives. I use those cheap sharpeners along with a diamond rod and steel to sharpen. quick and easy and works for the time needed. I don't waste time and money on expensive knives for the kitchen, and no stone ever used as it is a complete waste of time for cheap blades. Quick, Cheap, down and dirty. works for me.
Great video, could you possibly do a comparison to another type of popular "no skill needed" sharpener, the one IKEA sells that has a rotating sharpening stone bit inside?
I would say it's way different, as it's rolling, and it's stone, not metal
My mom has had one of those since I was a kid and she swears by it. I think it works pretty well.
it's an old Fiskars product but the IKEA sticker makes it cheaper. 😏👍 it works fine indeed but you have to check the stones from time to time as they get abraded. they used to sell a two stones replacement kit and as it was almost the same price as the complete sharpener, they may have dropped it from their line as i haven't seen it in shop or catalogs for a long time. bonus point, that sharpener is still made in Finland and not China. 😉
I was about to buy a pull through sharpener, thanks, this is eye opening.
I suppose the difference is quick results for short period of time vs slow results for moderately longer period of time. While better sharpening is on all account better, sometimes it's just easier to get quick fix for quick work rather than slow fix for multiple quick works. Cool shots on the edges though, really made the difference pop out.
If you need a quick fix just get a honing rod and a little practice.
@@Mr371312 The part "a little practice" kind of rebels against the point of just getting a quick fix.
@@aev6075not as much compared to a lot of practice with a grind stone.
@@Mr371312 Where can I get the little practice? Is it on amazon?
I bought it before it became popular, and it worked great. To take a picture of the ceramic part, you can put a piece of colored paper over your light or just paint it with a sharpie. I recommend NOT inhaling metal particles, so maybe get the knife and sharpener wet, wear a mask, and wipe the area after. 🙂
Pretty sure they can't get that fine so that you can inhale them
I also get my iron intake from metal schwarft, Here in Oz we have a saying, 'Have a cup of concrete and harden the fuck up' hahahaha, why are aussies so dumb? to much concrete in our diets
@@alexandruiacobescu160 Yes, they can. Just because you can't see something... That metal "dust" on your fingers are metal particles.
It's amazing there are so many views. Glad to see people are interested in learning. (... and KNIVES!!)
Great video, thank you. I would love to see a review like this with these amazing close up shots using a higher end pull through tool that uses rounded blades like the black Lansky BladeMedic. I am trying to decide on a portable solution for my kit. I have stones and I love them, but I'm not going to carry 2 massive blocks on a two-week op. It's either the Lansky BladeMedic or the DMT - Double Sided Diafold Diamond Sharpener (probably two, course/fine and fine/extrafine)
I think the best "gateway" sharpeners to recommend to a complete novice who is not a knife nut nor has any interest learning to sharpen on a flat stone is an angle sharpener using rods like the Spyderco. If they can relatively hold a knife perpendicular then they can get good results without worrying about requiring a steady hand to hold an angle. Even Lansky's very inexpensive angle sharpener will provide results that are far better than a carbide sharpener and an edge that will hold up.
Fixed angle sharpeners like work sharp also good but few bucks more.
@@drewrinker2071 Very true but if you think about the non knife nuts you know, say, your mother or mother in law, or the friend who thinks a Victotinox kitchen knife is extravagant, they are unlikely to want a complex rig with clamps, and set up. They want whatever is quick, convenient and easy which is why they mistakenly gravitate towards a carbide sharpener.
It doesn't really help with the chips though. Same problem - it's repeating the already existing contour instead of making a flat edge.
Perfect. Thanks for the close-up images - I have a really nice set of kitchen knives that we send back to the manufacturer every year or so for sharpening. I hand sharpen utility and hunting knives myself (thank you OLD Boy Scouts). My stone is a tad small tho - so I'll take you up on the offer for an upgrade. Thanks for the great tips and sharp wit.
This seems more like a hobby than an actual thing. I use knives every day when cooking and I just give it a quick sharp on one of those pull throughs every day and they perform very well.
I've never used one of these, but thanks to you, I for sure never will! I'd rather get a proper sharpening stone and patiently learn and learn until I get it right.
This was a fantastic demonstration of how looking with simple optics/photography can reveal the success/shortcomings of a technique. Thank you for doing this. I have never liked those carbide scrapers. It might be interesting to see two more simple steps. 1) look at the knife after one more run through the scraper of death (post Shapton 1000) to see how it messes it up again; 2) then run the edge against the Shapton 1K for a couple of passes to flatten and dull tip to tail, and then put the edge back to see how quickly the chips disappear and the edge is nearly perfect (maybe two passes on 5um diamond strop per side).
To remedy those chips, you have to use a rough stone, or even a file, along the full length of the blade to a point where you have one continuous and straight edge devoid of those chips. When doing this, you should maintain a proper angle on each side of the blade (roughly 15-20 degrees). You're having to remove a good bit of metal to get to this point. On your final strokes, you need to create a burr along one side of the blade. That's when you know the two sides of the blade have met. Then you can start final sharpening and honing. If you don't get rid of those chips, the knife will always feel like it's sticking when pulling through the item you're cutting.
Good info, thanks. Ill pick up a traditional sharpener soon and practice. Thanks again.
I would obviously never use this on quality steel, but it can be useful for cheap knives. It will apply a semi-reasonable edge that lasts for a couple of uses. The ceramic side serves roughly the same function as a traditional steel. It just deburs the edge after the crude carbide sharpener has done its thing
I've come to realize people take everything at face value for the most part. Give it enough stars to make it seem worth buying and everyone that doesn't know better will jump on it. (Similar to "Grab Hags" in china) 🤣🤣 I love this channel bringing normalcy 😎🤙 Stay awesome Alex
It's also the one's that don't know better using it, it will make a very dull knife sharper very easily. They then write a great review
You are absolutely right. I would not use anything that crude to sharpen even my axe. With Amazon reviews I found many Chinese companies selling a lot of different junk that is aggregated under one review where you get tens of thousands of reviews. My problem with sharpening stones however, is I could never get the angle right and the knife turns out to be duller than when I started. Recently I bought work sharp Ken onion sharpener and found that it gives me a consistent sharp knives.
I copied/pasted your words, "Ken onion sharpener" to an Internet search and found what you were saying. Thank you...👍☕
I have several good sharpeners that cost a lot and do a super job, but after I got a ken onion electric sharpener that's the only one I use it is super fast. I can sharpen even the toughest super steels in minutes all my other sharpeners are collecting dust.
I don’t know what you’re doing wrong but I’ve been sharpening my kitchen knives with a sharpener similar to this for five years and it works just fine. But thanks for reminding me I need to sharpen some of my knives again.
Good presentation, thanks for the demo! For those of us less skilled at controlling the angle, there’s always the Lansky knife sharpening system. It makes controlling the angle very simple, they have an attachment called the Super C clamp which imo should be in the kit, it allows you to attach the jig to different surfaces.
Clearly, you forgot to read the instructions. It is a right-handed sharpener. Of course it will look bad sharpening it left-handed.
Wow. I used those pull-thru's for years out in the field, no more. I was using ones put out by companies like CRKT that did ok, but never as sharp as my stones. Never realized they did so much damage. Bought a Work Sharp Precision unit...love it! Puts a razor edge on my knives.
Thanks for this thorough, evidence based, review!
yeah I use that whole set of shapton whetstones with my Yu kurosaki knives and they are very very nice I love them.
I actually love the style of sharpener. I use it lightly with almost no to very little pressure and I use it to remove chips in sections and get it uniform and started with a good enough edge that I could just live with it but I prefer to go further and hand sharpen it since I still need to get my money's worth out of my Spyderco stones. But using this just on its own being light on the pressure, keeping it very straight, not rolling the tip off, and cleaning it every so often actually works extremely well. The vast majority of KZhead reviewers use way too much pressure and they also don't clean it which I see you're not doing. It's what's causing those gouges as I've jeweler loop checked my edge and it never gouges like that so I can't count this vid as too valid. Though the waviness does happen though I still get a lot less than that and it always polishes out to a near mirror finish quickly when I hand sharpen after. Takes like no work to finish it off on the stone. The waviness happens with inconsistent pulls which is exacerbated by the swarf buildup. I just use an old sponge that I keep wet and I clean the shavings off the knife every three passes and I also blow the sharpener a little about every 6 passes and that helps to keep it sharpening more evenly without gouging or much waviness. You couldn't expect that vid shot of all the swarf getting jammed in to not be that cause of that. It's really bad to use this if the knife is magnetic as the shavings are always stuck to it ruin the edge it's trying to make. If it's magnetic you need to wet sponge it every pass.
Totally agree with you're points in this video, I would normally use either a steel or a sharpening stone for my knives but those pull through things are not meant for beauty, they're meant for ease and quickness for knives or people who don't care, and that's totally fine too. I will add though I really loved the close ups that really showcase the state of the blades.
Agreed, though a little bit of knowledge is key. Don't blindly run a Walmart/Amazon knife through a Walmart/Amazon sharpener for 10+ years under the illusion that you're keeping the knife as good as new. Learn some basic feel for sharpness and replace worn-out cheap knives as necessary. 👌
Nicely done, been on a tungsten carbide journey to reprofile, before going to the Tormek.
Deepens on the pull thru sharpener and how you use it. I have been using an old one I bought for around $25 bucks from some store that went out of business years ago. It puts a RAZORS EDGE on all of my knifes and works almost as well as my wet stones and leather sharpening belt. The problem I see with newer pull thru sharpeners is quality of manufacturing and low tolerance standers. I have tried some newer expensive pull thru and you are %100 correct, they ruin the blade and just do not work like my decade old pull thru works. It's like most new products nowadays, they are made inferior and with built in flaws so they will work somewhat for a little bit then fall apart so you have to buy a new one. Greedy people scamming everyone for money and power is the problem their produces just do not withstand the test of time.
I also have one that does a razor edge, but both the coarse and fine ceramic stones are cylindrical. It's not meant for a proper resharpen in my opinion, i just use it for a few passes like a strop and I find it does an excellent job, similar if not better than a steel.
A few things you should've touched on: just as with a stone, using these, or any other tools for sharpening, also requires a steady hand. The wavy pattern? Doesn't create itself. It cannot create itself, it can only come about from the way you've moved your blade through the carbide edge. Second, these sharpeners are specifically focussed on profling the angle of the edge, so the edge itself stays mostly untouched - unless you specifically try to grind the edge itself in the 'v' of the sharpener. Third, you aren't meant to apply pressure, at all. The carbide and ceramic edges are hard enough to the work on their own, so you are just expected to slide it across, without any vertical force. You do that, you're no longer sharpening, but grinding.
If your edge isn't straight, and you apply enouigh force to make the blade follow the outline of the edge, the waves are just going to correspond to the uneven edge.
Nope, sharpening requires material to be removed. You can't sharpen without removing material.
@@OUTDOORS55He's 100% right. The grain is the grind. Track the grain to get an even grind. And for the love of God don't push a steel edge into carbide, as you did here.