Wow, really?

Hitting lawnmower blades with bench grinders and Dremels?

File. Just a file. And a blade balancer, or something that works as one.

Grinders... yeesh... meatball surgery.

Bren R.

I think you said you wanted to sharpen kitchen knives too? This is what I use for that:
http://www.theedgemasters.com/Knife-Sharpening-System.html

I'm sure it would do a fantastic job on lawn mower blades, but it'd be waaay overkill.

I need to do something for sharpening kitchen knives, but I suspect I just need to get a supply of stones. I'm afraid I have not heard great things about electric sharpeners, and although I've paid to have it done by a pro once, it was pretty expensive.

I promise I'll be nice to my lawnmower blade and my kitchen knives. <contrite>

Ken, I bought one of these from Amazon. I've only used it a few times, but I'm liking it.

I like the warning on the strap:

CAUTION: YOU'RE HOLDING A KNIFE IN THE OTHER HAND

I have one of those that i use for my pocket knife.. I have a Benchmade pocket knife, and this tool works well in sharpening it.. I included the brand because Benchmade blades are some of the hardest blades around....

For our kitchen knives (we have a full set of Shun) we now only use this; the absolute best sharpener I've ever used for knives. If you want to be able to shave when you're done, you'd need the fine/x-fine, followed by stropping with leather or news paper - no kiding.

For lawn mower blades, I use an angle grinder with a 120 grit flap-disc and a bubble balancer to make sure each end is weighted evenly. If not, it starts out as a vibration, then turns into a blown bearing, then parts start to fly - it's not pretty.

You'll never get blades sharper than this system...

http://www.sharpeningwheels.com/new/

I used to take pride in putting a razor sharp edge on a hunting knife with stones, till my buddy showed me his knives where he used the wheels.... They are paper wheels, not to be confused with stone or abrasive wheels. Good idea to start out with junk knives first though, as it does take a bit of practice to figure it out, but once you get it, you can sharpen a set of kitchen knives in about ten minutes. And do not position the blade against the rotation of the wheel (yes, some people do). I recommend the 10" X 1.25" wheels, as I find it easier to keep the blade perpendicular to it.

Bren, as always, you are able to take what it took me 8 paragraphs to write and effectively summarize it in a few sentences. I wish I had that skill.

Murph, learn to do this:


"yup".